Sunshine Coast feels the heat from interstate buyers as virtual inspections ramp up

In addition to the strong surge in the number of prospective buyers, data also revealed that 63.9 per cent of potential buyers inspecting real estate in the beachside region reside out-of-state, well above the national average of 28.4 per cent.  

Notably, 7 per cent of buyers are inspecting property on the Sunshine Coast from overseas, primarily New Zealand, the UK and US. 

“The Sunshine Coast has taken the mantle from the Gold Coast to lead the country in the number of digital inspections that are undertaken outside the region,” said Little Hinges chief marketing officer Mike York. 

Despite this, the Gold Coast continues to see strong interest from interstate buyers, with almost half of its inspections (42.4 per cent) undertaken from outside Queensland. 

Meanwhile, other cities, including Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, are still seeing around one in five of the around 300,000 inspections conducted from outside their respective state. 

According to Mr York, the last two years have changed the way buyers purchase property, as well as where they want to live.

“There’s been a push away from city centres to the regions, which is reflected in the high percentage of digital inspections we’re seeing from NSW and Victoria on properties located on the Sunshine Coast,” Mr York said.

He cited a recent report from the Regional Australia Institute, which showed the Sunshine Coast now accounts for the largest share of total net population flow from capital cities to regional Australia at 37 per cent, which is significantly more than regional NSW (26 per cent) or Victoria (23 per cent). 

“The ability to work from anywhere, the appeal of a sea change, and a considerably higher cost of living in the cities has forced buyers to consider other options,” said Mr York. 

The executive also cited CoreLogic’s latest data, which showed South-East Queensland’s Sunshine and Gold Coasts recorded some of the strongest peak-to-trough declines in value, making the areas more attractive for cashed-up city buyers who are looking to downsize. 

Mr York added, “We’re also seeing sellers hanging onto the recent highs of the property market, which means agents need to open up their listings to the widest possible audience of buyers to achieve high price points. 

“Digital inspections allow buyers to inspect from anywhere, and in the case of the Sunshine Coast, those with the highest propensity to buy are coming from Sydney and Melbourne,” he said. 

Looking at the bigger picture, an analysis of three million digital inspections conducted in 2022 found that one in three buyers inspected property located outside their home state. 

Over the year, data showed an average of 27.1 per cent of buyers digitally inspected properties, sight unseen and outside of their home state.

With the figures remaining consistent over the last 12 months, Mr York outlined that the way buyers inspect property has “permanently changed”. 

Data from November also showed one in three property inspections were conducted virtually by interstate buyers.

“When paired with other trend reports that show that 58 per cent of Australian buyers want a hybrid approach to inspecting properties (Zoom Qualtrics, 2021), the change in purchase behaviour is clear,” he stated. 

Mr York highlighted that remote working, cost-of-living increases and a general sense of fatigue in the big cities following an uncertain two years have driven buyers, particularly from the southern states, to look for sea and tree changes.

“This result has been particularly obvious in Queensland, with an average of 33 per cent of all inspections coming from outside the state. On the Gold Coast, we are consistently seeing almost half of the inspections in the region coming from outside the state.”

Queensland isn’t the only region to see an increase in the percentage of interstate inspections being carried out over the last 12 months. 

Compared to the six-month averages previously reported in the first half of 2022, almost all cities saw an increase in the percentage of inspections carried out from interstate.

In Melbourne, interstate inspections rose from 13 per cent in April to 20.4 per cent in December.

Sydney saw the most variation, fluctuating between 8.5 per cent in March to 13.9 per cent in August. The harbour city ended the year with 11.9 per cent of inspections coming from out of state. While in Perth, interstate inspections have increased from 16.3 per cent in January 2022 to 20.4 per cent in December.

Brisbane was the only exception due to a marginal decrease following last January’s 24.75 per cent peak.

“Buyers and tenants want to be able to inspect property in a way that works for them, and we’re continuing to see a strong uptick in agents and property managers wanting to combine virtual and physical inspections to open up their properties to the widest potential prospect base”, Mr York concluded.