December 22, 2021

The interstate developers lighting up the Gold Coast apartment market

Everyone has wanted a piece of the Gold Coast in 2021, both developers and buyers, interstate and local.

GV Property Group agent Luke Reaby, who sells amalgamated sites to developers across the whole of the Gold Coast, says the number of interstate developers interested in apartment sites went through a noticeable shift in 2021.

“Around half of our sales over the year went to interstate developers,” Reaby said.

“Most, if not all of the developers we’ve spoken to who secured a site in 2021 have already secured a second or even third site, or are otherwise still on the hunt for another given the pent up demand for new apartments. However, given the lack of sites availble in desired locations such as Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach and Coolangatta, most are struggling to find prime land.

“Their belief is that the Gold Coast apartment market will thrive for years to come which is partly due to the interstate migration, affordability, proximity to the beach and of course the lifestyle.”

We’ve taken a look at the Sydney and Melbourne-based developers who have made their mark on the Gold Coast.

Hirsch & Faigen

It was a stellar debut 2021 on the Gold Coast for the Melbourne-based developer Hirsch & Faigen.

Their first project, Hemingway at Palm Beach, sold out all of its 78 apartments in a matter of months earlier this year.

They’ve sold over 60 per cent of their luxury Kirra Beach apartment development, Emerson, a collection of just 27 apartments on Musgrave Street.

Now the team, led by Daniel Faigen and Richard Hirsch, has launched Yves, a rare development in the sleepy Mermaid Beach.

Yves, again designed by Rothelowman, who has handled each of Hirsch & Faigen’s Gold Coast developments, will comprise three 25-level towers. They will home a total of 145 apartments.

The building’s are crowned with outdoor rooftop seating, with the residential amenity located in the shared lobby, which Rothelowman designed as a greenhouse to create a suburban feel.

There will be a north-facing swimming pool as the centrepiece, as well as a pool and yoga deck, a gym, sauna, recreation lounge and barbecue seating.

The design is also a nod to the history of coastal masonry walk ups.

Faigen said Mermaid is still the best suburb on the Gold Coast, with the millionaire’s row Hedges Avenue fronting the beach. He said the apartment towers of this size fit the location better than the sites of their previous two developments.