It is a buyers' market in Australia's Gold Coast as property prices plummet up to 50 per cent since 2010, while median price is a third below Sydney's prices. Although property prices in Gold Coast went up 0.8 per cent in the past year through June, other large Australian cities logged an average of 3.8 per cent hike.

Other factors in favour of buyers are the low interest rates due to the Reserve Bank of Australia reducing the overnight cash rate to its lowest level of 2.25 per cent, which in turn caused variable home-loan rates to go down to their lowest point since September 2009.

Louis Christopher, managing director of data from SQM Research, said what is happening in Gold Coast is a property crash "in its truest sense," although he said there are some indicators that the market is finally bottoming out.

It is timely that there are more visitors to the Gold Coast who are also potential home buyers since the 16 per cent decline in the value of the Australian currency from April to August led more local to take the vacation in domestic locations, causing a 10 per cent boost in tourist arrivals in Queensland, according to the state's tourism agency.

Source: Luxuryhomesgoldcoast.com.au)

Twelve months ago there were no buyers at open houses, but lately three to five groups are showing up and in auctions there are multiple bidders and price duels, especially for lower-prices homes, said John Newlands, the spokesperson of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland.

The median price of an apartment in Gold Coast is $370,000 as of June 30 while its counterpart in Sydney is $491,845 and that in Melbourne is $411,714, according to Australian Property Monitors. But due to the property crash, a property investor was able to purchase her ninth Gold Coast investment property for only $121,000.

Home prices across Australia dipped, but due to house shortages in Sydney and strong demand in Perth caused by Australia's mining investment boom, the declines were kept in check.

Even the larger and more expensive homes in Gold Cast that offers magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean from all windows are also being discounted heavily at 25 per cent.