Noosa Property Market Update, September 2024

Australia: rising stock, persistent scarcity

Stock levels are increasing into spring, providing buyers with more opportunity and lifting days on market. Victoria is showing stock 30 per cent above its five-year average. Despite the lift, Australia remains in housing scarcity overall, both for purchase and rental, given the level of overseas migration and population growth.

The recovery phase of the cycle still has time to run. Population growth combined with low and steady unemployment underpins the projection from the major banks of approximately 8 per cent national median price growth over the next 12 months.

Performance is uneven by state. Victoria has fallen to sixth position by median, with Brisbane now in second. Most other states are performing well, lifting the national average.

Investor activity is rising

Borrowing for investor mortgages is up 31 per cent. The signal is clear: investors are positioning for the peak of the rate cycle. Inflation has continued to ease, with underlying inflation falling for a sixth consecutive quarter. Consensus among economists is for four 25-basis-point cuts beginning around February or March 2025, totalling a full percentage point reduction by year end.

The implication for buyers, particularly at the entry level, is that rate cuts will likely intensify competition. Some experts are forecasting that rate cuts could trigger another nationwide property boom.

Noosa and the Sunshine Coast

The pattern visible nationally is replicating locally: strongest growth and activity at the affordable end. Investor interest is also pronounced in Noosa, with many buyers acquiring now and renting for a five- to ten-year horizon, with a view to relocating themselves later. They want a foothold before they need it.

The market is becoming slightly more balanced as stock levels rise, though it remains multi-speed:

• Entry level (around $1M), buoyant and competitive, with strong open-home turnout.
• Mid market ($1.5M to $5M), the segment most exposed to borrowing capacity, presenting the most opportunity for negotiation.
• Prestige market, multiple results above $5M in the past 60 days, with one transaction just over $20M.

Auction activity is patchy. Increasingly, buyers are presenting with conditions (finance or subject-to-sale) rather than as cash buyers.

Pre-market and off-market activity is intensifying

There is a meaningful distinction here. Every property goes through a pre-marketing phase with a sales agent before public listing. What is changing is that vendors are extending that pre-market window, sometimes for weeks, before allowing properties to appear on the major portals. Separately, more vendors are choosing to never go to portal at all and to transact through buyers agents and qualified buyers, avoiding marketing costs.

The practical consequence: a Noosa buyer not on the ground daily is likely missing approximately 30% of available opportunities. The recurring frustration we hear is that buyers see properties on realestate.com.au already under contract, typically because the property had already been viewed and offered on pre-market.

Postcode 4567 snapshot (Noosa Heads, Sunshine Beach, Sunrise Beach, Castaways Beach)

• Listing volume: a modest upward trend, lagging the actual on-the-ground lift.
• Days on market: rising slightly, consistent with rising stock.
• Asking prices: still trending up over 12 months and the quarter; small monthly softening.
• Gross yield (houses): 4.9 per cent.
• Median value: 7.4 per cent monthly increase, marking a new all-time high at $1.825M.
• Auctions: roughly 20 per cent of properties; clearance rates patchy. Properties not selling under the hammer typically transact within days.

Notable recent results

Prestige

• 40 Noosa Parade, $20.5M
• Quay Court (waterfront), $13M
• Picture Point unit, $5.7M
• 13 Dolphin Crescent, Noosaville, $13M
• 33 Saltwater Avenue, Noosaville, $9.3M
• Orient Drive, Sunrise Beach, $6.8M
• David Low Way, Castaways Beach, $8.6M
• Tristania Drive, Marcus Beach, $5.1M

Entry level

• Wantima Street, Noosa Heads, $1.34M
• Edward Street, Sunshine Beach, $1.175M
• Port Rush Court, Tewantin, $1M
• Jacksonia Place, Noosaville, $1.315M
• California Boulevard, Peregian Beach, just over $1M
• Cottonwood Drive, Cooroy, entry-level result

How a Noosa Buyers Agent helps

Off-market and pre-market access is no longer a marginal benefit in the Noosa market, it is a significant share of available stock. Vendee adds qualified opportunities to the database every week, conducts forensic due diligence, and negotiates on the buyer’s side only. Removing emotion from the transaction typically improves the price outcome.

If you would like to acquire in the Noosa market with confidence, book a complimentary consultation with Amanda or contact Vendee Property Buyers.

Related Reading

• Noosa Buyers Agent: forensic acquisition
• Sunshine Coast buyers agent
• Off-market property in Noosa and the Sunshine Coast
• Buying Property in Noosa: The Definitive Buyers Guide
• Vendee success stories