Surfers Paradise Real Estate Snapshot

In 1869, James Beattie was one of many first selectors or farmers to travel down to the South Coast and Hinterland. Beattie settled south of an area which the Kombumerri people called Jarri Parila (today's Narrowneck). He selected 80 acres on the northern bank of the Nerang River. The location of his farm was not far from the future Cavill Avenue. Beattie built a shingle-roomed cottage, a barn for his produce and a jetty on the river bank. Around him, farmers were just barely surviving on their farms or selections, growing crops such as maize and sugar cane.

Around 1920, Brisbane hotelier, Jim Cavill acquired twenty-five acres (10 hectares) of land in an area known as Elston - the place we know now as Surfers Paradise.  However, to understand the full story, we need to first look back at an earlier age. By 1888, a horse and coach service was operating from Surfers Paradise three times a week. The coach crossed the Nerang River at Meyers Ferry and then traveled along the beach. In 1889, Meyer's Main Beach Hotel was declared a postal receiving office, officially titled Elston. A postal address meant an official place name and a mark on the map. People would still refer to the place for a long time as Meyer's Ferry. As early as 1917, a Brisbane real estate company, Arthur Blackwood Ltd offered for sale the 'Surfers Paradise Estate'. The auction was unsuccessful, partly because access to the area was still difficult. It was a great promotional name though and in Jim Cavill's day, he lobbied strongly to have the name Elston changed to Surfers Paradise.

The opening of the Jubilee Bridge in 1925 and the extension of the South Coast Road brought a revolution to the South Coast. Motor cars could now travel along a road which bordered the seaside villages of Elston and Burleigh Heads. Estates such as Ocean Wave, Northcliffe, Mermaid Beach and Miami Shores were promoted as sure fire investments. Investors and visitors needed a place to stay on the coast and in 1925, three hotels, the Surfers Paradise, the Miami and the Burleigh Heads Hotel opened to take advantage of a tourist boom.In 1925, at a relatively isolated spot near a long white surf beach, Jim Cavill opened his 16 bedroom hotel at the intersection of the South Coast Road and the old coach track which ran from Meyers Ferry to the beach. Around the hotel, the township of Elston came to life as local people re-opened the post office, provided refreshments and facilities for campers and holiday-makers.

Surfers Paradise is home to a myriad of quality hotels including The Marriott, The Gold Coast International, Legends, The Watermark and the World's tallest residential tower the Q1.  It is the epicentre of the Gold Coast which attracts almost 10 million visitors each year.

According to the latest census, Surfers Paradise’s population is 18,501 and consists of mostly couples with children (22%) and couples without children (62%). 74% of the properties in Surfers Paradise are units and 16% are houses. There are 7,516 properties in Surfers Paradise. The median sale price of properties in 2010 was $390,000. The Post Code is 4217.