Why Kiwis are obsessed with the Gold Coast

Kiwis are searching for surf, sand and sunshine with New Zealanders making up the biggest portion of overseas searches for the Gold Coast.

House-hunting from across the ditch made up almost 40% of overseas-based searches for the Glitter Strip, according to PropTrack data over the past three months. Surfers Paradise was the most popular suburb followed by Burleigh Heads, Southport, Hope Island and Robina.

REIQ Gold Coast chairman Andrew Henderson said it wasn’t surprising to see so much interest from New Zealanders. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in enquiry level and purchasing from New Zealand,” Mr Henderson said. “After experiencing heavier lockdowns over the pandemic a lot of are potentially wanting to move here for the lifestyle, to retire or to study.”

Founder of Siera Brent Thompson, said the Gold Coast’s subtropical lifestyle and affordability was attracting an increasing number of New Zealanders. “The strength of New Zealand’s property market is enabling more people to capitalise on the value of their home and achieve a higher level of lifestyle opportunity, and lower cost of living on the Gold Coast,” Mr Thompson said.

John Cole of Lucy Cole Prestige Properties said the level of demand from expatriates wanting to secure a slice of home was keeping the Gold Coast market stronger than Sydney and Melbourne. “A lot of expats who are working in places like Singapore, New Zealand or the US are starting to look at returning home after spending years away during the Covid-pandemic and are now experiencing life overseas in a time of increasing global uncertainty,’’ he said. “Added to that, the expats can see global exposure of South East Queensland’s property market is only going to increase in the lead up to the 2032 Olympics. “All that combines means the expats increasingly looking to come home and that has kept the Gold Coast market more buoyant.”

Top 10 most searched suburbs on the Gold Coast from overseas house hunters

1. Surfers Paradise

2. Burleigh Heads

3. Southport

4. Hope Island

5. Robina

6. Palm Beach

7. Helensvale

8. Coolangatta

9. Mermaid Beach

10. Varsity Lakes

SOURCE: PropTrack data