$290m rush on Jewel Towers

The threat of further interest rate rises has not prevented a combination of Queenslanders and a small number of New Zealand property buyers from spending $290m snapping up beachfront apartments in the Gold Coast’s Jewel towers, as the Chinese owner continues to slowly release them to the market.

All up, 142 apartments have been sold out of the 150 apartments that have to date been released in the 340-unit, three-tower complex by the developer, Sydney-based AW Holding Group.

In the six months to June 30, $90m worth of apartments sold, according to marketing agent TOTAL Property Group, comprising 42 apartments that sold at an average sale price of $2.14m.

Prices start at $1.174m for one bedroom units in Jewel’s Sapphire Tower and $1.6m for one bedroom apartments in the 109-unit Diamond Tower. One bedders come with a car space, according to TOTAL Property Group Managing Director Adrian Parsons.

Mr Parsons said Jewel Private Residences was meeting demand for the Gold Coast’s apartment market from an “unprecedented” level of prestige property buyers wanting luxury beachfront apartments.

At present, the most expensive Jewel apartments on offer are the $7m three-bedders. The developers have not released any penthouses yet, nor put any prices on them. The penthouses were currently shells and the interior configurations had not been confirmed, Mr Parsons said.

So far buyers were mainly Australians, particularly Queenslanders, followed by purchasers from NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and New Zealand. Mr Parsons said that, of the buyers wanting units in the taller Sapphire Tower, 32 percent were owner occupiers; 24 percent were holiday home buyers, meaning they would lock up the apartment and leave it vacant and not rent it out when they weren’t present; and the remainder, 44 percent, were investors who would rent their apartment out.

He said the apartments in the Sapphire Tower that were allowed to be rented out on short-term rental contracts commanded about $1500 a week. Apartments in the smaller, quieter Diamond Tower cannot be rented out on short-term rentals.

Mr parsons said part of the attraction of Jewel was that the owners could use the amenities in the five-star, 169-room hotel and 170-apartment suite five-star the Langham, Gold Coast – which occupied Tower Two of Jewel’s complex.

He said the beauty of the Jewel towers was that they were fully completed, and buyers could inspect the apartments and move in within 30 days.

“All eyes are turning to the Gold Coast for the exceptional lifestyle and beaches, and Jewel is turning heads for its ultra-premium apartments attached to a five-star international resort hotel,” Mr Parsons said.

TOTAL Property Group data on apartment purchases at Jewel Private Residences this year reveals Australian buyers account for 96 percent of purchasers.

The remaining buyers in the project fronting 36 Old Burleigh Rd, Surfers Paradise hail from New Zealand.

Mr Parsons said the success of Jewel was a catalyst for other developers to build on Gold Coast beaches.

“Jewel has completely redefined beachfront living on the Gold Coast,” he said, adding that 49 percent of buyers were Queenslanders, 35 percent were from NSW and 12 percent were from Victoria. The rest of buyers hailed from either WA or to a lesser extent New Zealand.

Originally published by Lisa Allen in The Australian.

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