What will the Commonwealth Games do for Gold Coast Property?

It’s great that the Gold Coast has won the rights to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

It will give a psychological lift to the ailing region and bring some employment as facilities are upgraded, but don’t fool yourself that it will bolster the depressed Gold Coast property market. It won’t.

Think about it…what did the Commonwealth Games do to the Melbourne property market a few years ago? Nothing!

Well that’s not exactly right.

In the lead up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games there was an upgrade to Melbourne’s infrastructure and athlete accommodation was built to house the visitors. This came back on the market once the games were over increasing available stock in one or two suburbs, but the Melbourne property market was strong and relatively undersupplied and just ambled along.

The only noticeable blip was a short term rise in short term rentals around the time of the games.

When you look back, much the same happened in the Homebush area after the Sydney Olympics? Nothing!

Now it’s fantastic that the Gold Coast will be showcased to the world and it’s infrastructure will be upgraded and the Games will be a confidence builder, but at present the problem on the Gold Coast is a huge oversupply of new accommodation – much of it in the hands of mortgagees.

And 2018 is a long, long way off, so I can’t see any reason for the Gold Coast property market to alter.

I love holidaying on the Gold Coast and will continue to do so, but I’ll put my money in property elsewhere.