Palm Beach Property Update 1st Half 2020

Palm Beach recorded a median house price of $907,000 and a median unit price of $552,000 in Q4 2019. This represents annual (Q4 2018 – Q4 2019) median price growth of 6.5% for houses and 14.7% for units. Between Q4 2018 – Q4 2019, total sales strengthened by 11.8% for houses (to 38 sales) and by 4.8% for units (to 66 sales). The Palm Beach market is strong, with an increase in demand and high capital growth. Now is the time to transact in the market, particularly for first home buyers before prices become unaffordable.

Average vendor discounting between Q4 2018 and Q4 2019 has tightened to -1.8% for houses and -2.8% for units. Market conditions in Palm Beach have now shifted to favour vendors, where buyers are willing to negotiate closer to the initial listing price. Palm Beach is heading towards a sellers’ market as demand is increasing due to current low interest rate environment and lenient access to finance.

House rental yields in Palm Beach were recorded at a rate of 4.9% in December 2019, well above that of Gold Coast Main (4.1%) and Brisbane Metro (3.9%). Over the 12 months to Q4 2019 house rental median price was stable at $650 per week, followed by unit rental median price growth of 4.7% to $450 per week. This suggests that the rental market is in a healthy position, as an increase in rental demand have not caused a decline in rental prices.

2-bedroom houses have provided investors with +11.5% rental growth annually, resulting in a median rent of $535 per week.

Palm beach recorded a vacancy rate of 0.9% in December 2019, a lower rate than Gold Coast Main (2.3%) and Brisbane Metro (2.9%). This confirms there is a healthier rental demand in Palm Beach, with rental properties occupied quickly.