Mike Bird's Key Note at the Colliers Residential Developers' Lunch on the Gold Coast

On February 28, 2024, Mike Bird, CEO of Urban.com.au, delivered a keynote address at the Colliers Residential Developers' Lunch on the Gold Coast. Here are some of the highlights available for public sharing. David Higgins, Director of Residential, who hosted the event, remarked, "The chronic undersupply on the Gold Coast has been worsening over the years. With a decline in confidence among builders and developers struggling to meet the demand for much-needed supply, the problem is exacerbated."‍

WHAT ARE BUYERS SAYING ABOUT BUYING OFF THE PLAN PROPERTY ON THE GOLD COAST FOR 2024?

The Gold Coast off the plan apartment market is expected to have another strong year, anecdotal feedback from local agents paired with data from Australia’s largest dedicated off the plan property website suggests.

New research undertaken by Urban.com.au, who have hundreds of thousands of prospective off-the-plan apartment buyers visit their platform each month, shows that there have been consistent enquiry volumes throughout 2022 and 2023, despite the much-publicized lack of available stock for buyers to choose from.

Urban.com.au CEO Mike Bird says, “he was surprised when analysing the numbers given the lack of new projects being launched to the market”.

Urban.com.au surveyed their user base in Gold Coast, digging deeper into what the barriers are for them to purchase.

The overarching response was a lack of trust in the developer or the builder. Over two thirds of respondents said they didn’t know if they could trust the two biggest stakeholders in the project.

The next two biggest barriers were also both tied to the builder. 60 percent of respondents also said a barrier to purchase was the uncertainty of move in timelines, while half of the respondents said they were concerned with what the build quality would be like come completion.

“These are fairly common concerns statewide when it comes to buying an off the plan apartment,” Bird says, however he adds that the concern is more exacerbated in the Gold Coast than anywhere else in the country.

“There needs to be full confidence now in every stakeholder in the project. The first or second question from the prospective buyer isn’t related at all to the apartment they’re purchasing, it’s related to the developer and the builder.

Mr Higgins believes, “that It seems the lack of trust of builder developer is the number one current issue with off the plan buyers, in fact it’s almost now secondary to be sold on the apartment configuration or the price, the buyer needs to be sold on the fact the project will be built, and to a high quality.”

“The positive for the market is that Builders and Developers who can demonstrate certainty, and has earned the trust of the buyer, will be supported by strong buyer ongoing demand from both the end user and investors”. Mr Higgins commented.

Less than a third of respondents said a barrier for entry was finding value for money in the market, which is incredibly surprising given the Gold Coast’s boom in recent years.

Despite there being very little to choose from in terms of marketed projects on the Gold Coast, only a quarter of respondents said they were struggling to find an apartment that fit their needs.

“Where in other states price and product mix are huge barriers to entry, that doesn’t seem to be the issue in the Gold Coast. It’s purely related to developer and builder confidence. If the market can find a way to fix that, and more projects can get out of the ground, then the market could pop again.” Says Mr Bird of Urban.com.au

It was great to share insights and discuss concepts amongst industry leaders at the Collier Residential Developers' Lunch on the Gold Coast.

Contact Us now to express your interest and secure Mike Bird as a speaker for your upcoming occasion.