Sea change on the cheap: Where you can live a life of sunshine and beach for as little as $100,000

Fancy a sea-change escape where you can dip your toes in the water without (almost) getting out of bed?

How about another that’s a complete getaway, only accessible via a 45-minute scenic ferry ride? Or another just a 13-minute drive from Cairns’ stunning esplanade?

And you’d still have change left over from $150,000 …

The latest research from Domain shows that, despite dramatic property price rises over the past two years, there is still a range of coastal destinations around Australia with homes for sale at rock bottom prices.

Take the cheapest of them all, for example, the picturesque Gold Coast haven of South Stradbroke Island, with no cars, no traffic, a population of just 41 people, according to the last census, and a median unit price of $112,500.

“It’s just so beautiful and remote,” said agent Samantha Marshall of LJ Hooker Property Hub. 

“You have the surf beach and the marina, and it’s like a millionaire’s playground.

“You can go there via your own boat or there’s the regular ferry or a taxi boat ride of 10 to 15 minutes, and it’s a wildlife national park, so it’s so peaceful. It is a bit run down, but when it’s that cheap, what does it matter?”

One of the properties she has for sale is one-bedroom Unit 3301 on – what else but? – Island Street. 

Overlooking the lagoon, with Sunset Beach a short stroll away and the surf beach a two-kilometre wander, it’s inviting offers over a mere $100,000.

Another is the actual over-water Unit 1908, from which anyone prepared to pay a smidgeon more than $99,000 could slide straight out of bed and into the lagoon.

Offers over $99,000

Unit 1908 Island Street, South Stradbroke QLD 4216

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“One of the reasons they’re so well-priced is that the body corporate is a little bit dysfunctional at the moment, and there’s some litigation going on,” said Marshall. 

“It’s possible, at the end of it all, that there might be a special levy. But the body corporate fees also include water and power, and it’s a wonderful place for children with swimming, fishing, tennis and surfing.”

If you’d prefer somewhere a little less isolated, the second most inexpensive sea change location in Australia is up the coast, behind Cairns. 

Manunda, with a unit median price of $155,000, is only 13 minutes by car to the city’s esplanade and all its attractions.

SOLD - $170,000

21/1 Chester Court, Manunda QLD 4870

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A one-bedroom apartment at 1 Chester Court, Manunda, with a ground pool in the complex and walking distance to the local shopping centre, is for sale for offers over $149,000.

Five kilometres south are more bargain basement buys – apartments in the suburb of Woree, with a median of only a little more, at $165,000. Here, there’s currently a fully self-contained studio for sale at 341/1-21 Anderson Road overlooking the resort-sized pool and gardens for just $89,000.

“I’ve owned it for about six years, but I’ve now bought a four-bedroom house, so I’m selling off my other investments,” said owner Daniel Skill.

SOLD - $103,000

341/1-21 Anderson Road, Woree QLD 4868

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“It rents for $230 a week and has given me a consistently good return of about a 5.9 or 6 per cent net yield.

“The people who live there are owner-occupiers or renters or holiday rents, where you can put it in the managed holiday pool.”

If you prefer a house for your sea change, the most affordable ones in the country cost a median of $182,750 and are in South Australia’s Port Augusta, on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf, about 320 kilometres north of Adelaide.

“It’s such a great place here,” said Charmaine Budd of Ray White Port Augusta. 

“It’s on the edge of the ocean, the edge of the Flinders Ranges and the edge of the desert, so we attract a lot of tourism … we’re the crossroads of Australia.

“The town itself has changed too and is now very diverse with lots of employment opportunities. We used to have a coal-fired power station, but now we’ve got renewable energy, and that’s an industry that’s really expanding.”

She’s now advertising a three-bedroom house at 124 Carlton Parade for $195,000, which is just a five-minute drive from the sea.

In Western Australia, the most affordable sea-change destination is now Halls Head, a coastal suburb of Mandurah with a resident population of dolphins at its beach, 70 kilometres south-west of Perth. 

Units there sell for a median of $317,500. 

At only a tad more, Emma Pinington of Belle Property Mandurah is selling a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, fifth-floor apartment at 6A Valley Road, with spectacular views of the ocean, for $335,000.

$335,000

18/6A Valley Road, Halls Head WA 6210

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“Halls Head is one of the most preferred suburbs of Mandurah with a beautiful beach and plenty of cafes and restaurants and shops, and great schools,” she said. “This apartment is tenanted at the moment, paying around $350 a week.”

Further south, Tasmania offers a good option for a sea-change house at Smithton, on the far north-west coast, 85 kilometrtes north-west of Burnie, for a median of $320,000. 

SOLD - $300,000

5 Nelson Street, Smithton TAS 7330

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Betty King of Betty King Realty, who’s selling the three-bedroom house at 5 Nelson Street for $328,000, says it’s an excellent area.

“This would be a beautiful spot for a sea change,” she said. “It’s got a great community, there are opportunities for jobs, and it’s quite rural and relaxed, but it’s only a 50-minute drive from Burnie Airport. You could buy cheaply here then put your money away and live comfortably ever after.”