Construction finance · Gold Coast

Construction finance on the Gold Coast.

Aurelius Private are private lending brokers, and the Gold Coast is home. We arrange construction finance for local builders and developers by placing each deal with a private lender from our panel rather than lending ourselves, so a project goes to whoever actually fits it.

Working here means we know which lenders are funding Gold Coast construction right now, and how the council tends to treat each stage.

Loan size

To $30M

Settlement

In days

LVR

To ~80% TDC

Term

12–24 months

Indicative only. As brokers we place your deal with the right private lender; final terms are set by that lender.

What is happening in Gold Coast construction

The Gold Coast is in the middle of its biggest building run since the pre-GFC years. More than a dozen residential towers are approved or under construction across Southport, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads. One of them, the twin-tower One Park Lane in Southport, is set to include the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere. North of the river, the Coomera corridor is filling with townhouse and mid-rise projects, including MG Homes' Ridge Residences and Cadmium's four-tower plan on Foxwell Road, all feeding off the $3 billion Coomera Connector now being built between Loganholme and Nerang.

The banks have gone quiet on most of that work. The majors still want substantial pre-sales locked in before they will settle a construction facility, and their timelines rarely suit a builder who needs to be on site this quarter. The gap is widest for spec builders, boutique townhouse developers and anyone doing a knockdown rebuild in the established eastern suburbs: deals that stack up on the numbers but do not fit a bank's credit template.

Construction finance that moves at build speed

The money comes out in stages as the build hits each milestone, slab, frame, lock-up, fixing and completion, and you only pay interest on what has been drawn. We place these facilities with private lenders who verify and pay draws in days, which is usually the difference between trades staying on site and the program slipping.

Lenders size the loan against the finished value (GRV) and the total development cost (TDC), commonly up to about 70% of GRV or 80% of TDC, and take the lower of the two. Borrowing against the finished value is what lets construction finance reach further than a loan against the bare site would. We arrange facilities from single dwellings up to small unit and townhouse projects and commercial builds to $30 million, including spec builds a bank would knock back for want of pre-sales.

Where we work

Our building clients are spread right across the Gold Coast, from the Coomera and Pimpama corridor in the north to the coastal strip around Southport, Broadbeach and Burleigh. We also arrange construction finance through the rest of South East Queensland.

Construction is where speed matters most. A bank can take weeks to sign off a draw; the private lenders we use verify and pay in days, which is often the difference between staying on site and the job stalling. Send me the plans and the build contract and I'll tell you quickly who can fund it and on what terms.
Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath

Founder and Managing Director, Aurelius Private

Common questions

Can you fund a Gold Coast spec build with no pre-sales?

Often, yes. Private construction lenders look at the numbers on the finished project rather than insisting on a set level of pre-sales the way a bank does. It comes down to the site, the build cost, your experience and the exit. Send us the deal and we will tell you where it can be placed.

How fast can a construction facility settle here?

For a clean deal with a valuation and a fixed-price contract ready, private construction finance can be documented and settled in a couple of weeks, sometimes faster. Progress draws after that are usually paid within a few business days of the quantity surveyor signing off each stage.

Do you only work with Gold Coast builders?

The Gold Coast is home and where most of our building clients are, but we arrange construction finance across South East Queensland and further afield. Being based here just means we know this market well.

Building on the Gold Coast?

Send us the project. We will tell you what a private lender will fund and on what terms, usually the same day.