One of the Sunshine Coast’s major development sites has become a hotspot for interstate migrants eager for the good life.
Although most buyers at the $3 billion Harmony estate near Palmview are local families, interest from NSW and Victoria has been soaring amid an interstate migration wave.
In the past financial year about 25,350 people have migrated from other states to Queensland, according to CoreLogic.
The developers behind Harmony say they are fielding more and more interstate enquiries as droves of people look to make their way up to Queensland.
AVID Property Group General Manager Bruce Harper said Harmony had experienced a surge in the number of buyers relocating from over the border.
“We’ve seen a lot of interest from people down south in New South Wales and Victoria who are eager to make a lifestyle to Queensland,” Mr Harper said.
“Over the past financial year at Harmony, we have seen that the majority of our interstate buyers are coming from Victoria and New South Wales – with more than 34 per cent of all interstate purchasers moving from Victoria, 26 per cent from New South Wales and almost 13 per cent from the ACT.”
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The local Palmview State school has also been inundated with enquiries from interstate families looking to get their kids settled in for the new year.
Harmony plans to deliver more than 4,800 homes to house some 12,000 future residents as more stages are rolled out.
Adam and Carla Williams – both originally from England – are among those now enjoying the Sunshine Coast lifestyle having made the move from Canberra in January.
The couple are building a double-storey home with five bedrooms and plenty of space for their kids and visiting family.
“Our parents are much happier to visit us in the tropics than down in Canberra,” Mrs Williams said.
The kids started attending the recently opened Palmview State School.
“The deciding factor for us was the opening of Palmview State School – the kids love it there and it was perfect timing that all the other kids were new and in the same boat having to make friends,” she said.
Mrs Williams said moving to the Coast was a dream that was many years in the planning.
“My very first experience of staying on the Sunshine Coast was going to Australia Zoo with some friends and I’ve never forgotten it,” Mrs Williams said.
When Adam and Carla’s visas expired they returned to England but their dream was to return and live permanently on the Coast.
But it took seven years of living in England before they made their way back to Australia and ended up in Canberra for work opportunities.
“We didn’t come to Australia to live in Canberra, the end goal was to always live in Queensland – it’s taken a while but we’re finally here,” Mrs Williams said.
