The Southern Gold Coast continues to attract buyers seeking sun and surf, especially downsizers and lifestyle-driven investors shifting away from traditional beachfront palaces toward more approachable, flexible apartment living.

In Market Insights EP 97, Urban.com.au CEO Mike Bird sits down with SRQ’s Nicholas Clydsdale to unpack this transformation, why demand is soaring in places like Rainbow Bay, and how developers are navigating a more measured but still highly competitive market.

Clydsdale says the post-COVID real estate wave reshaped both buyer behaviour and developer strategies in Southeast Queensland.

“What we saw was that the prime beachfront market was very well serviced,” he explains. “A lot of developers from the south, along with a lot of interstate migrants, decided to bring forward their retirement plan or alter their lifestyle. They wanted to live on the beach in the Gold Coast.”

But now, the focus has shifted toward “A-minus” product—still beach-adjacent but more accessible in price.

“We’re seeing a real resurgence in the A-minus market,” Clydsdale says. These are typically two or three-bedroom residences, ideal for buyers who want flexibility.

“It’s a lock and leave holiday home, but they might also want to let it out in a holiday-let style business.”

SRQ’s work with Brisbane-based developer Chapter Two on the Holm Rainbow Bay project illustrates how developers are responding to the market’s evolving preferences.

The project was launched around two and a half years ago, at a time there were no builders.

"The market was quite chaotic," Clydsdale recalls.

Instead of pushing ahead under pressure, Chapter Two and SRQ paused the release, reframed the project, and later re-entered the market. Six months after starting construction, the project is now over 80 per cent sold.

Holm consists of 87 two and three-bedroom apartments and a handful of four-bedroom townhouses, designed by Plus Architecture.

Crowning the 12-level building will be a residents' club featuring a 25-metre rooftop pool, spa, sauna, steam room, yoga deck, outdoor dining area with barbecue facilities, and a fire pit.

Additional features will include a gymnasium, a work-from-home area, a library, and a function room.

Another emerging trend, Clydsdale says, is longer-term planning from buyers. Rather than making immediate moves, many are purchasing apartments off-the-plan with two to three-year completion horizons.

“What we've seen is a specific trend in the last six months is buyers - whether they're in Brisbane, Sydney, or Victoria - come up and do two or three holidays and hone in on the area. Rather than going the whole hog and selling the house, they'll buy a two-bedroom or a smaller three-bedroom apartment and look forward to take delivery in two or three years."

These buyers often retain their existing homes while gradually preparing for a future relocation to Southeast Queensland. For some, the timeline from purchase to full relocation may stretch to a decade.

Clydsdale highlights southern coastal areas such as Burleigh, Palm Beach, Coolangatta, and Rainbow Bay, as well as northern New South Wales towns like Kingscliff and Cabarita, as current areas of strong buyer interest.

He adds that projects in the range of 20 to 150 apartments are striking the right balance.

“From a buyer’s point of view, it's not just investment stock. They’re more livable. But also from a delivery point of view and a risk point of view for a buyer, there are a lot more builders out there in that project size. There's a lot more certainty of delivery and of quality.”

SRQ's next project to launch is The Frederick at Nobbys Beach by Big Projects.