Surfers Paradise 
GONE are the days when cheap beach shacks lined the streets of Mermaid Beach.
The latest REIQ Quarterly Market Monitor Report, which was released at the weekend, shows the central suburb was the most expensive on the Gold Coast with a median house price of $1.556 million.
Clive Palmer’s purchase of a beachfront home at 9 Hedges Ave in Mermaid Beach was a standout sale in September — fetching $12 million.
Other suburbs in the million-dollar club include Surfers Paradise ($1.375 million), Broadbeach Waters ($1.15 million), Paradise Point ($1,077,500) and Clear Island Waters ($1,054,950).
REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said the annual median house price had surged to $629,000 in the past five years.
“Over the medium term, the annual median house price increased nearly $155,000 from … $475,000 in September 2013,” she said.
Main Beach topped the list of most expensive suburbs for units with a median of $720,750 followed by Hope Island and Hollywell.
