What's driving property prices on the Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast has a clear 20 year Economic Blueprint and vision to build a high-value economy of choice for business, investment and employment, on the back of strong economic foundations and valuable capital assets. A planned economic growth over the next 20 years to reach $33bn in 2033 accompanied by an increase in high-value employment, export and household income.
Over the course of the pandemic, we saw an influx of migration into the Sunshine Coast, as the opportunity for many to remote work was available, and the possibility to live in a location offering the idyllic lifestyle and environment was attractive for many.
Throughout 2022, the Sunshine Coast property market saw an immense amount of growth, with property prices increasing 34.3 per cent for the year to January 31st 2022. As mentioned, the lifestyle appealed to a large audience of people who decided to make the move from New South Wales and Victoria up north.
There is a significant amount of investment currently underway. A new city centre - the only greenfield CBD in Australia at this time - will be established in Maroochydore and the new A$1.8 billion tertiary teaching hospital opened in 2017. The Sunshine Coast Airport is to be expanded to deliver Australia's next international airport and an A$81 million expansion of the University of the Sunshine Coast was completed in 2015. More than A$2.5 billion in direct investment has been committed across these four major projects, in addition to significant private investment fuelling growth in a number of high-value industries across the region.
Maroochydore’s new Central Business District is set to shape the future, with Australia’s fastest data connection to Asia from the East Coast. Sunshine Coast Council, Walker Corporation and SunCentral Maroochydore Pty Ltd have signed a historic agreement to deliver 160,000sqm of commercial and retail space and 4,000 residential apartments over the next 15 to 20 years within the new Maroochydore City Centre. The project itself will create 15,000 new jobs for the region and is aiming to provide a $5.9 billion boost for the Sunshine Coast economy.
If you would like to discuss the Australian property market in more detail, please reach out to the team to organise a time to have a conversation about how Wealthi can help you build a successful property portfolio.
Chris Hynes is Wealthi’s Global Research Analyst, Based in London