Affluent Chinese buyers are casting their nets wider, looking beyond the city towards northern suburbs, reports the Gold Coast Bulletin (8 November 2014). The up-and-coming and most searched suburb so far is Coomera followed by Southport, says Juwai.com, the #1 Chinese international property portal. The favourites, however, are Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise and Paradise Waters – all which are more expensive suburbs, yet remain the three most popular choices for Chinese buyers. Gold Coast ranks at #5, right behind Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. To bolster its rankings, Taylor suggested it improve its education offerings in terms of quality and reputation. “If there is one thing that the Chinese believe is more important to invest in than real estate, it’s education. The Gold Coast’s three universities are as much a selling point as its beaches,” said Taylor. However, he pointed out that of the 19 Australian universities that made it to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings list of Top 500 universities, none hailed from the Gold Coast. The emphasis on education is logical – Chinese HNWIs consider quality education as one of their top three motivations when buying homes overseas. According to Andrew Taylor, Co-CEO of Juwai.com, Chinese buyers have spent $16 billion on Australian real estate since 2009. “Chinese buyers are helping reduce the potential negative impact of falling investment by other nationalities,” said Taylor. [This article is only available on print.]