Burleigh Heads 3-Bed apartment sells for $2.5 million as market booms while supply drops to critical lows

Competition is hotting up for luxury apartments in Australia’s beachfront hotspot of Burleigh Heads as a surge of interstate buyers creates a critical shortage of supply, particularly for three-bedroom apartments, according to agents.

The recent sale of an ageing three-bedroom apartment on The Esplanade for just under $2.5 million has underpinned the strength of the Burleigh Heads beachfront market as the prime apartment market on the Gold Coast.

Incredibly, the apartment was sold for more than $600,000 over its reserve price at auction of $1.8 million.

The penthouse apartment featured at 5/44 The Esplanade on the corner of Second Avenue is within a close walk to the famed James Street in Burleigh and a world-class point break surfing location. 

Within the same building, Bon Sol at 3/44 The Esplanade is a 60’s themed holiday let apartment with current rates at $760 per night, designed by Brisbane-based Interior Designer Anna Spiro, who is behind the design at the luxury Halcyon House in northern New South Wales.  

“The market is very strong, driven by interstate migration and downsizers who see apartment living in Burleigh Heads as under-valued given its central location and the national park setting which is not unlike Noosa,” says Adam Young of Burleigh Heads’ Black and Young Real Estate.

“Burleigh is the ‘go to’ destination on the Gold Coast as a lifestyle, entertainment and dining precinct and real estate sales are reflecting the suburb’s newfound popularity.”

Mr Young said three-bedroom apartments in particular were in ‘incredibly high demand” as downsizers looked to buy into beachfront apartments without sacrificing space.

“The problem Burleigh has is that there are very few three-bedroom apartments on the market and those that are put on the market are snapped up very quickly.

“You only have to look at what happened with Spyre Group’s Natura project under construction at Burleigh Heads to see the demand, as they sold 25 apartments our of 33 in one weekend last year.

“But the market has gone north since then and people are prepared to pay big dollars to secure three bedders that are rare as hen’s teeth.”

In recent weeks, a number of three-bedroom apartments have been sold in both in market and off market deals.

One unrenovated apartment sold for more than $1.5 million in an off-market deal.

Last weekend, managing director of Scottwagner Beachfront Brokers Scott Wagner, took an older apartment in a three-storey walk-up on the corner of Second Avenue and The Esplanade to auction.

“The bidding was ferocious to the extent that the property went more than $600,000 over the reserve price of $1.8 million.

“That tells the story of the Burleigh apartment market.”

Mr Young, who has been involved in many major transactions in Burleigh Heads for more than 30 years, said he had never seen the market in Burleigh so strong.

“It’s incredible but not surprising.

“We have swathes of interstate buyers who think we are under-valued, and they are probably right.

“Some of the new apartments under construction on Goodwin Terrace have sold for between $3 and $5 million, so buying an older renovated apartment of comparable size on The Esplanade for half the price makes for a compelling argument and this is what we are seeing at present.

“Coupled with this is the lack of supply. There are just no three-bedroom apartments currently on the market along a very finite stretch of beach and if there are, they are snapped up quickly.”

The recent sales in Burleigh come under a backdrop of incredible sales across the southern Gold Coast.

These include sales of more than $4 million for luxury apartments in 15 Jefferson Lane at Palm Beach, the sell-out of S & S Projects’ Flow Residences for an average price of $3.5 million, and more than $90 million in sales in less than three weeks at an average price of $1.61 million in Miles Residences at Kirra, which is part of the re-development of the Kirra Beach Hotel being undertaken by Brisbane’s KTQ Group.

Mr Young said he saw no let-up in the market. He highlighted two recent sales of unrenovated two-bedroom apartments along The Esplanade, for $1.3 million and $1.35 million respectively, as examples of the strength of the Burleigh Heads apartment market in general.

“The post Covid world we live in with no international travel is continuing to drive domestic real estate and there is no doubt that like Byron Bay and Noosa, the southern Gold Coast and in particular Burleigh Heads are becoming magnets for real estate investment.”