Why is right now a great time to buy on the Gold Coast?

The Gold Coast is a fantastic place to live. There are lots of activities for families, galleries dedicated to abstract art and some great universities for students.

So why wouldn't you want to live here? Well, right now you'd be silly to pass up any opportunity to do so, buying or renting for a number of reasons.

Affordability at the top of the list

A property purchase lies atop the pyramid of financial expenditure in a person's life – it doesn't come cheap. However, the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has found some great news for buyers worried about affordability.

More than three straight years of recording national growth has come to an end, as REIA reported a drop in the median price of a house around the country.

"The weighted average, capital city median price decreased by 0.4 per cent to $695,788 for houses and 0.7 per cent to $543,468 for other dwellings," said REIA president Neville Sanders in a March 10 media release.

"Strong growth in Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane, followed by marginal increases in Darwin and Perth, were unable to offset falling median house prices in Sydney and Melbourne while Adelaide recorded no change over the quarter."

While the prices have dropped, it doesn't necessarily mean that the housing market is weakening. It may just be that the peak of prices in the current climate has been reached which means people won't be buying as readily. That in itself could be great if you're trying to get a foot on the property ladder because competition will be reduced.

Different cities have also shown a range of results. The strongest growth city over 2015, as reported by CoreLogic RP Data, was Sydney – increasing by 9.68 per cent to $999,870. However, the city has seen the largest decrease through the first quarter of 2016, and Mr Sanders believes that to be significant.

"Sydney, the strongest market in the recent years, showed the largest decrease in median prices leaving some commentators speculating whether the city's housing market has reached its peak."

How can you cash in?

Whether searching for an owner-occupied home or wanting to buy an investment property (a great way to take control of your financial future), buying on the Gold Coast could be a very shrewd move.

A BIS Shrapnel report finds that there has been a weak period of construction around Queensland overall, but more specifically the Gold Coast is seeing undersupply and prices are predicted to increase steadily over the next few years. In fact, that growth has been very consistent since 2013, showing between 5 and 6 per cent annual growth over that period.

Are you after capital gains on your properties? You should be looking at purchasing in regions that will grow and develop, not in big cities that are on their way down. While there is merit in waiting on a market to decline to a very low point and making a move, Sydney prices are still very high and the Gold Coast is much more accessible.

Residex lists Surfers Paradise, one of the most popular suburbs in the south-east of Queensland, as having a median house price of $1,230,000. While Surfers Paradise sits above the Sydney median at the moment, it's worth remembering that real estate in Surfers Paradise is in very high demand. Buying in Adori Street, for example, will mean a significantly lower median – almost half – at $624,798.

While these changes keep coming, buying on the Gold Coast could send you down a very successful path.

Contact the experts at Ray White Surfers Paradise today and see how you can take advantage of the market.