Inside tradie couple’s stunning Palm Springs-inspired home flip

Madison and Hayden Cameron are selling their home at 87 Bienvenue Drive, Currumbin Waters

Hayden and Madison Cameron dreamed of a sea change after flipping their first home interstate, but were shocked by Queensland’s soaring property prices.

The couple had a budget of $1m, but found homes were about $300,000 more than they would expect to pay for a similar property in their home state of Victoria.

They secured a dilapidated deceased estate in an up-and-coming Gold Coast pocket and transformed it into a contemporary beach house that is now on the market.

A generational analysis by PropTrack shows it is now five times harder for young homebuyers in Queensland to get on the property ladder than it was for previous generations.

The couple moved from Victoria to the Gold Coast. Picure: Annette Dew

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The study compared house prices in every suburb through the decades, with values adjusted for inflation to reveal the real cost of owning a home in today’s dollars.

In Currumbin Waters where the Camerons bought, a typical house cost $28,200 in 1980, or $150,400 adjusted to reflect rising living costs since that time.

But the median house price in the suburb now sits at $1.37m.

The data shows it is nine times harder for young buyers today to own a house in the popular beachside suburb than it was 45 years ago, reflecting an enduring demand for coastal property which surged during the pandemic.

The single-level home has five bedrooms and two bathrooms

Mr Cameron is a builder, while Ms Cameron, a midwife, has an eye for design.

The couple, who are expecting their first child, engaged buyers agent Alex Pope to purchase a lowset house off market for $1.005m in June 2023.

“The market was starting to heat up from we first started looking to when we bought, but I feel like we got a good deal through going with Alex,” Ms Cameron said.

“Luckily, we had bought our last house in Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula just before Covid and sold in the height of the market,” she said.

The al fresco dining area has a built-in barbecue

Despite making good profit on their first project, they faced the reality of Queensland’s booming market, with Brisbane home values overtaking Melbourne’s last year for the first time in 14 years.

“They had a tricky budget as they only had $1m to spend and were conditioned to what that amount could buy where they had lived, which made it a little challenging purchasing a full-size home in a great location that might also have renovation uplift,” Mr Pope said.

“Buyers who are happy to get a property that is a little more original and then renovate, they are the ones who are really setting themselves up for success to start creating equity in that property very quickly.

“My advice to young buyers is that your first property isn’t your last, but it does catapult you to the next.”

Modern coastal meets Palm Springs

The Camerons undertook a full renovation, creating a luxurious five-bedroom, two-bathroom home with Palm Springs flair, complete with a coastal-inspired neutral palette of high-end finishes and features including a stunning al fresco zone with a pool and barbecue kitchen.

“The house was a 1980s-style build with a kidney-shaped pool which was green and swampy when we bought it, but we could see the potential,” Ms Cameron said.

“This is the second home we’ve renovated and after selling in Melbourne we knew we wanted to be on the Gold Coast because we loved the lifestyle and the weather, and Hayden loves surfing.”

Their home at 87 Bienvenue Dr is being sold via an expressions of interest campaign with Base Property Group agents Paul and Max Kearney.

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