Best in show: Record highs set on the Central Coast as holiday homes are snapped up

There was a time when expensive designer rebuilds of Central Coast holiday homes were often regarded as just over-capitalisation in waiting. After all, Sydney’s high-end shoppers would dig deep for Palm Beach, but not if it meant a 90-minute drive up the coast.

So what to make of the recent spate of record high sales at key holiday-home markets?

At Kilcare, the beachside residence previously owned by adman John Singleton before he sold it for a high of $4.5 million in 2015 has reset local records at $6.48 million, which was followed up by the sale next door this week for $4.8 million after a recent contemporary redesign.

The Macmasters Beach record of $4.5 million was matched next by the architect Matt Thitchener-designed residence Courtyard House.

Belle Property’s Cathy Baker then made it three in row by setting a $5.2 million high in Forresters Beach when she sold a striking designer residence on beachfront reserve.

A recently completed residence in Pretty Beach then sold for $3 million last week, which is Baker’s comparable for buyers of her new Pretty Beach listing on Araluen Drive.

SOLD - $3,050,000

270 Araluen Drive, Pretty Beach NSW 2257

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What was a two-storey house on waterfront reserve was purchased in 2015 for $1.2 million and, Baker said, rebuilt at a cost of $2.3 million into a three-level Hamptons-style residence with a central glass lift.

Set on 582 square metres, the four-bedroom house comes with a four-car garage, open-plan living and dining areas, games room, media room, cellar, high-end finishes throughout and a spa and firepit.

The timing couldn’t be better, says Baker, given the surge of Sydney investors ploughing their holiday travel budget into real estate in the hopes of spending more of their flexible working hours at Pretty Beach.

Better yet, Baker says, the number of high-end builds creating homes in the $4 million and $5 million range means capital growth locally is expected to skyrocket in coming years.