Marina berth prices set to sky rocket

Hope Island Resort Marina (HIRM) manager, Marc Hall, said the pressure on the limited number of marina berths available for purchase and annual rental on the Gold Coast was increasing monthly as more and more people achieved the dream of a boating lifestyle.

"In WA, parts of Victoria and on Sydney Harbour, people are paying unbelievable prices for berths and that is going to occur here," said Hall.

"The number of people into boats in SE Qld has just exploded and with the State Government's legislation restricting the development of any further canal sub-divisions or marinas the pressure on the available supplies is enormous," he said.

Hall said HIRM, which opened in 2001, had a total of 210 berths and every berth for rent was currently rented.

"We are 100 per cent fully booked and there is a waiting list of people seeking to get a spot as soon as a berth becomes available," said Hall.

"A basic 12m berth, which is our smallest, will cost a boatie about $6000 a year to rent on current 2008 rates," he said.

Hall said in Sydney and Perth securing a marina berth was so competitive some boat owners were selling their boats and the berth as a package and the value of the berth could be in the hundreds of thousands.

He said HIRM had the highest occupancy of any marina on the northern Gold Coast because of location and access to the dining and shopping facilities available in the marina shopping village which it bordered.

"In the past we have had annual rental increases of around 10 per cent and I believe that will continue," said Hall.

"This means that in 10 years from now, because of supply and demand imbalances, you could conservatively see a 12m berth attracting an annual rental of around $15,000.