Leading Sydney real estate agency, Highland, will expand into the vibrant Gold Coast property market with the opening of its sixth office.
As the company celebrates its 16th birthday this year, the new office in Cavill Avenue will be Highland’s first in Queensland and first outside Sydney and Bowral in NSW.
Highland Chief Executive Officer David Highland will head the 12-team member office, with Luke Barbuto and Clint Willoughby as team leaders.
Mr Highland said the brand had been working on the Gold Coast for the past three years and had already sold more than $200 million worth of beachfront apartments at the Sammut Group development called Coast.
“We’re incredibly excited to establish our presence in the Gold Coast market and firmly plant our flag in this flourishing region,” he said.
“This expansion aligns perfectly with our growth strategy, following the successful collaboration with Coast by Sammut Group.
“There’s still a little bit more stock left in that, which is a $300 million development.”
Mr Highland said the brand also had other developments and land to sell.
“We’ve got two other projects on the Gold Coast at the moment which are multi-res luxury apartments,” he said.
“And then we’ve got a large land subdivision in Banora Point, that we’ve just been appointed to on the Tweed border and we’re taking that to market in three weeks.”
Mr Highland said the decision to establish a physical office in the Gold Coast comes at a strategic time, given the region’s strong market and surge in population growth from NSW and Victoria.
He said with a projected population growth of 146,000 people over the next decade and an anticipated 4 per cent annual economic growth for the next three years, the Gold Coast stands as Australia’s fifth-largest city, with one of the country’s fastest-growing populations and economies.
According to Mr Highland, the Gold Coast has emerged as a sought-after destination for residents from Sydney, shedding its previous reputation as a boom-and-bust town.
“Our observation of the Gold Coast and Southeast Queensland market indicates its maturation into a highly sophisticated real estate landscape,” he said.
“The city now stands as a thriving metropolis that deserves recognition for its numerous offerings and the Gold Coast remains undervalued especially when considering the square metre rates in comparison to Sydney’s high-end areas like Double Bay, where prices exceed $100,000 per square metre without a view.
“Compare those prices to the Gold Coast’s beachfront properties, offering breathtaking views, presenting at $20,000 to $25,000 per square metre, and it’s not hard to see why many people are moving here.”
Mr Highland said the expansion would allow the team to better serve their clients in the region and comes on the back of the brand’s strong project marketing and developer client focus.
“We’ve got a lot of clients who, post-Covid, have moved up there and we want to be able to service them,” he said.
“There’s also a lot of crossover between our developers. We have a lot of developers who are working in NSW or Sydney, also maybe even in Melbourne and also the Gold Coast.
“We’re also a substantial Sydney network and to be able to give those clients up there (on the Gold Coast) Sydney reach is a point of difference.
“It’s incredibly exciting, we’re super pumped about it and we’re already busy.”
The Cavill Avenue office will open in September.
