Aussie families use $250k to access $2m holiday homes as Gold Coast tops global second-home rankings – News Hub
Key Facts:
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Australia has been ranked the second‑best country globally for holiday home investment, based on climate, amenities and lifestyle appeal.
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The Gold Coast is ranked the number one city in the world for second‑home buyers, with several other Australian cities (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth) also in the global top 10.
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Copay is a Brisbane‑based proptech enabling small groups of families to co‑own premium holiday homes via fractional ownership.
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Families can access a $2m+ coastal property from around $250k per household, typically via 4–8 ownership shares per home.
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Each property is held in a unit trust, giving co‑owners deeded equity, proportional exposure to capital growth and the ability to sell their share after a minimum hold period.
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Owners receive secured weeks of exclusive use each year, similar to what they would normally book as holiday rentals, but now with equity instead of sunk costs.
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Copay’s model aims to redirect the $10k–$30k per year many families spend on Airbnbs into equity in multiple lifestyle assets (“lifestyle portfolio” rather than a single second home).
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Properties are professionally managed (cleaning, maintenance, insurance, booking systems), so owners “own the asset, not the headache.”
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Roughly one in five Australian households already owns at least one property beyond their primary home, showing that multi‑property ownership is already part of Australian wealth‑building behaviour.
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Copay is initially focused on South‑East Queensland and Northern NSW (Byron region, Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast), with a target of growing a portfolio of premium coastal and hinterland homes over the next 18 months.
BRISBANE: Australia has just been ranked the second‑best country in the world to buy a holiday home, while the Gold Coast has been named the number one city on the planet for second‑home buyers. Yet many families still burn through hundreds of thousands of dollars on short‑stay rentals and end up owning nothing.
Brisbane proptech startup Copay is offering an alternative: small groups of families co‑owning premium Coastal holiday homes from $250,000 per share, instead of taking on a full $2 million mortgage alone.
Under the model, up to eight households buy legally structured shares in a single property for example, a $2 million coastal home in the Byron region each securing several weeks’ exclusive use per year plus a proportional stake in any capital growth. Copay arranges the trust structure and professional management, so the home is cleaned, maintained and guest‑ready whenever owners arrive.
“Why lock $2 million into one holiday house you’ll use for six weeks a year, when the same capital can give you access to several high‑quality properties across different locations?” says Himanshu Arora, founder of Copay. “Our owners are not chasing a bargain; they’re building a lifestyle portfolio instead of a single, highly leveraged asset.”
Why now: demand up, access down
A 2025 global study by Compare the Market ranked Australia second out of 50 countries for holiday home appeal, with a score of 7.46/10 on climate, amenities and lifestyle. Separate analysis of online search data put the Gold Coast at number one worldwide for second‑home interest, with Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth also in the global top ten.
At the same time, regional Queensland house values have surged since 2020 and short‑stay markets continue to grow, making it harder for typical households to buy a whole holiday property outright. Many families now spend tens of thousands of dollars per decade on coastal rentals without building equity.
“A lot of owners were already spending $10,000 to $30,000 a year on Airbnbs in places like Byron, Noosa and the Gold Coast,” Arora says. “Over twenty years, that can easily add up to more than a quarter of a million dollars with nothing to show for it except old booking confirmations.”
How Copay’s co‑ownership model works
Each Copay property is purchased through a unit trust, with ownership typically divided into eighths. Buyers purchase units in the trust rather than booking nights, giving them:
- Deeded equity and proportional exposure to any property value changes
- Secured weeks of exclusive use each year, allocated via a clear booking calendar
- Professional management, including cleaning, maintenance, insurance and compliance, handled by specialist partners
When an owner wants to exit, they can sell their share after an initial minimum hold period, with Copay facilitating the resale under defined rules.
From sole property to lifestyle portfolio
Industry data shows that roughly one in five Australian households already owns at least one property beyond their primary home, whether as an investment or a holiday house. Copay’s founders argue that the shift is less about introducing a new idea and more about changing how second properties are structured and financed.
“Australians understand property portfolios,” Arora says. “What’s new is doing it with co‑ownership, lower individual exposure and better utilisation. Instead of over‑leveraging for a single beach house, you can hold fractional stakes in several homes that match your lifestyle.”
Copay is currently focused on South‑East Queensland and Northern NSW, with homes planned for Noosa, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast over the next few months.
“Australia is locked in as a global holiday‑home destination, the numbers prove that,” Arora says. “The question now isn’t if people will invest in lifestyle property, but how. We believe the future looks more like small groups co‑owning multiple assets than one family shouldering a single, massive mortgage.”
About us:
Copay is a Brisbane‑based property technology startup enabling strategic co‑ownership of premium Australian holiday homes and lifestyle assets. Founded in 2026, Copay structures fractional property ownership via legally binding unit trusts, giving families genuine deeded equity, professional property management and access to high‑value coastal and hinterland properties at a fraction of traditional whole‑ownership cost.
Contact details:
Contact details:
Himanshu Arora & Mo
Director
Level 18, 324 Queen Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
