Coomera's the northern star

PRICES are surging ahead for Coomera units with the northern suburb outperforming the rest of the Gold Coast over the last quarter, according to the latest RP Data report.

For the year to November 2012, the median price for units at Coomera was $418,650 - a 10.2 per cent increase for the quarter and up 31.2 per cent year on year.

This means units actually recorded a far higher median price than houses which came in at $355,000, down 6.6 per cent for the quarter.

RP Data statistics for units includes when RP Data decides what is a unit or a house it uses a land use code supplied by the Queensland Government.

The discrepancy comes in because some areas community-titled houses, such as those in the Coomera Waters and Genesis Coomera estates.

"It does distort the figures," LJ Hooker Coomera sales manager Jason Read explained.

"But they also show that buyers are starting to take a preference to these estates like Coomera Waters and Genesis."

Mr Read said prices at Genesis had dropped as low as the $400,000 mark, which he said represented "outstanding value compared to other areas".

He said sales since September at his agency had been "very strong" with four to five sales each month in Coomera Waters alone.

Recent sales included a home at Kialoa Lane for $470,000 and another home at 8 Infinity Court which sold for $452,500.

Both homes were at Coomera Waters and sold prior to auction.

"That shows how strong the buyers have been," Mr Read said.

First National Upper Coomera principal licensee Glenn Batten said investors were returning to Coomera in force.

"We're seeing investors moving into the market now," he said.

"The smaller units are being snapped up fairly quickly."

Mr Batten said he was seeing a trend of local investors using equity in their homes to purchase property in the area. He cited a recent sale at Rainbow Circuit as an example where there were four buyers, three of which were investors and three also living in homes on the same street.

"You have people now who have owned their home for a long time who have equity in it," he said.

"Interest rates are low and prices are falling. They don't want to list their home on the market but they are looking to buy using that equity."

Mr Batten said there was increasing confidence in the Coomera market with sales in the fourth quarter last year having doubled compared to the previous quarter.

REIQ Gold Coast zone chairman John Newlands said Coomera had a number of attractions for investors including the availability of modern houses and units.

"The growth is probably a combination of outstanding affordability and also investors positioning for future proximity to developments including the Coomera Town Centre and accessibility to both Brisbane and the Gold Coast," Mr Newlands said.

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