Highlife Property on Finding its Toehold in a Frothy Gold Coast Market

James and Elyse George launched their business during the Global Financial Crisis when “more businesses were ending than starting”. It began with a $5000 newspaper advertisement on the day of the State of Origin line-up announcement, which led to their first renovation. And from little things, big things grew into Highlife, a vertically integrated builder-developer with a $250-million portfolio of completed projects. “We got one phone call from that advertisement, and it was through that one phone call that we got our first renovation here on the Gold Coast,” James George says. The couple found their feet at Palm Beach Heights as a custom homebuilder. “Then we sort of went from new homes pretty quickly to luxury homes because I’m pretty fussy about what I hand over,” he says. Highlife Property Group then moved on to custom homebuilding, luxury homes, and townhouse projects, all of which, George says, provided growth opportunities. And the brand’s latest evolution is a complete transition into multi-residential apartment projects on the Gold Coast, as it wraps up the last of its townhouse projects and puts the finishing touches on Blonde, an apartment development at Bilinga. The brand has focused on developing its vertically integrated model, in-house development, interior design, construction, and, now, sales. It has proved a winning formula for the couple, providing stability through different market conditions and business transitions. Elyse has brought her interior design skills to the partnership, while James is a qualified carpenter. They have focused on developing a values-led approach and long-term relationships with subcontractors, something they have had to lean on during the leaner times of the pandemic. ▲ Construction is under way on the Bilinga beachfront development, Blonde. George says it was “another difficult time for builders” and a turning point in Highlife, when they decided to move away from building for others and focus on their own projects. “The cost escalation was crazy,” he says. “We were lucky enough. We only had two or three projects on for clients, and then the rest were ours. Our projects were okay because we sold for more, and we were able to [as a builder-developer] share our profit.” Riding the wave of development The Highlife founders say they are focusing on “responsible growth” of the business. “Even though we’ve been around for say 13 years now, there’s still been a lot of growth in that 13 years. I still think you’re going to need a little bit of luck on your side. “When you see other builders come through the troubles and also other builders that have gone into insolvency ... no one could see Covid coming and, you know, if we had 15 projects open rather than two or three projects open for clients, maybe we would have been those as well.” But it wasn’t just luck on their side. It was also foresight. “I suppose I made a little bit of a strategic decision a little bit earlier on knowing the volatility of life as a builder, and to sort of grow wider than higher.” Elyse pursued a real estate agent license for in-house sales, which also provided key insights on what resonates with buyers. “We weren’t just a builder that was getting their income from the actual builds—we became a builder getting their income from their builds, we were getting the development margin on things too, and the management margin, and then we were also ... getting the sales,” George says. “And we’ve been working with buyers now for about 10 years directly, selling our own product. So we’ve had this continuous feedback loop from our buyers about what they love, what they hate, and what frustrates them—all the little things that make up a quality product. “Collecting that feedback and building over time, we have a pretty fine-tuned instinct for what the market wants in terms of floor plan, design elements, interiors, qualities, brands, that kind of thing. “But it’s those little things that make the difference ... we’re right there with every buyer, through every part of the process.” Bilinga beachfront one to watch The builder-developer is firmly entrenched in the Gold Coast’s medium-rise boutique apartment market with product at Mermaid Beach and Bilinga. But George says the Bilinga beachfront market is one to watch. “I think Bilinga is just an amazing place to be able to develop. It’s a little bit of a quieter corner of the Gold Coast and still quite reasonably priced down there to be able to get absolute beachfront like we’re doing in Blonde,” he says. “It just makes really good logical sense for us, as a builder. “Because it is beachfront, we’re able to make it really beautiful with resort-style living, communal areas, and they’re large blocks, so we’re able to make big, beautiful apartments.” ▲ The vertical integration of the business has enabled Highlife to capture valuable insights on buyer demand. Blonde has direct access to the uncrowded beachfront and panoramic ocean views stretching from Tugun to Kirra. It is a collection of 19 beachfront apartments that taps into the strong thematics underpinning investment in wellness facilities, including infrared saunas, cold and hot plunge pools, and a magnesium swimming pool. “There are a lot of developers out there chasing fast wins,” Elyse George says. “We’ve always been more interested in doing work that lasts and in building trust along the way.” But it’s not all smooth sailing for the husband-and-wife duo. The builder-developer has been subject to the same challenges that have wiped out numerous builders across the Gold Coast. “It is tough with building prices, where they are at the moment, and even with what’s predicted, with where they’re going over the next couple of years,” James George says. “In an apartment market, if something’s not in as good a position, then they’re struggling to get the feasibility to add up. “But it’s a difficult time if you’re just a developer too and you’re not a builder. And there are fewer builders doing apartments at the moment, probably because many of them disappeared or got really badly burnt over the past few years. “Like us, if they’re still around, they’ve probably minimised what they’re doing or moved to a builder-developer model.” Activating sites on the Gold Coast is undoubtedly a tough nut to crack at the moment. The city’s apartments hit $950,000 in September 2025, according to Ray White data. Gold Coast’s crane count has also hit a record high with 67 cranes on the Glitter Strip skyline, 64 of which are solely working on residential and mixed-use projects. Ray White Group head of research, Vanessa Rader, says the region is delivering robust 8.6 per cent annual growth and 0.6 per cent monthly appreciation. “This significantly outperforms the national apartment market average of 6.9 per cent and positions the Gold Coast as Australia’s most expensive apartment market, trending ahead of Sydney,” Rader says. “This highlights the premium investors and owner-occupiers place on the region’s lifestyle amenity.” Population growth continues driving demand across the southern coast, with the region attracting interstate migrants seeking lifestyle amenity and professionals relocating from southern capitals. Pricing projects is a dark art in 2025 Getting comfortable with pricing projects a few years down the line is no easy feat for Highlife, but the builder-developer is confident in Bilinga’s value proposition. “The square metre price of beachfront Bilinga is better than the square metre price anywhere else on the coast,” George says. “When it comes to us as a builder landing on a price or being able to meet that price in a build sense, it’s really about making sure that we get those contracts out as early as possible so we’re securing the pricing of today and we’re not paying prices of tomorrow. “So it’s getting the design finished, making sure we’re using good reputable companies and trades and then going to contract with them so you know they have a commitment with us. “We’ve always built our business on reputation. During cost escalations, we didn’t put a margin on it; we didn’t cancel any contracts.” ▲ James and Elyse George: The builder-developer duo has a midrise apartment development at Mermaid Beach, and is focused on acquiring new sites. At a time when sunset clauses are making headlines for the wrong reasons and buyers are nervous, George says this is an essential point of difference for the values-led developer. George says buyers are far more astute and ask them directly about whether they have crashed contracts previously. “I think once upon a time, a while back, people didn’t want the sunset clause too far away because they were worried you would take too long to build it. Now it’s done a complete 180, and people want a longer sunset clause because they’re worried you’re going to take it out from under them. “So it’s very interesting how that’s completely switched direction.” But a cautious buyer is a good buyer for the Highlife team. “We’re happy to put the sunset clause wherever they want the sunset clause to be able to give them the security of knowing that we’re never going to rescind their contract or ask for more money. “We bring them through builds that we’ve already done and completed, so they’re able to see our quality. We use the same teams and the management team on the next building, so they know it’s going to be replicated.” Developing trust and relationships as a developer has become critical in the battle for off-the-plan sales, according to the Highlife team. “I think when people are going into off-the-plan projects, whereas before you could have a brand for the project, you know who the builder is, now I think people want to know who the developer is, what level of integrity they have, and how they will act in the process of the project,” George says. And for the Highlife team, it’s the personal touch that is winning hearts and minds on the coast. “We recently had a coffee cart and handed out coffees out the front of our project, just for a bit of exposure within the community and to sort of be out there as the developer and builder as well. “There was a guy that I knew from next door that’s actually looking at purchasing one of the apartments, and he said ‘Wow, that’s a bit different because, you know, usually you never see the developer, they’re sitting up somewhere in that ivory tower’.” But for Gold Coasters James and Elyse George, they live and breathe every aspect of the development lifecycle, from coffees on the ground, to boots on construction sites.

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