Secret suburb with cheap beachfront property sees prices rise by 191 per cent over five years

 A small beach suburb about 86 kilometres north of Sydney, where buying a unit for around $300,000 was the norm just five years ago, is now Australia’s premier property market.

The median unit price in Ettalong Beach on NSW’s Central Coast has skyrocketed by a whopping 191 per cent over the past five years, according to the latest Domain House Price Report, making it the best-performing property market in Australia.

The median price has risen from $304,000 to $887,500 – an increase in value of $583,500, or $116,700 a year for the past five years.

With a median unit price of $887,500, Ettalong Beach’s prices now outstrip those of Toorak in Melbourne (units $875,000), Potts Points and Leichhardt in Sydney (units $860,000) and Bulimba in Brisbane (units $830,000).

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3/116 The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257

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Once a hidden waterfront gem with bargain properties aplenty, Ettalong Beach is no longer a secret suburb known only to locals, says local agent Scott Ford of Domain Property Group.

“They’ve improved a lot of things around the area. It still remains a sleepy little beach hollow, but it’s not as big a secret now as what it was many moons ago,” he says.

“They’ve built a couple of new complexes here as well. That demand is created because people can’t afford to live in Sydney. They can come here and still have a lot of change in their pocket if they sell up in Sydney.”

$1,250,000 to $1,290,000

101/237 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257

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Ettalong Beach has easy access to Woy Woy Station, from where commuters can reach the city in just over an hour. It also has a ferry connection to Palm Beach. 

In recent years, the suburb has seen an explosion of new high-end apartment developments, which has pushed the median unit price up further, says real estate agent Helen Hughes of Stone Real Estate Ettalong Beach.

When the borders were closed during the pandemic, many Sydney residents ventured north and discovered Ettalong Beach for their holidays, she says.

“A lot of people who had never been here before came and decided to buy.”

SOLD - Price Withheld

303/47-49 The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257

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During that time, units had a median of roughly $300,000, and there was an increase in investors buying cheap properties that were held for a short term as property prices boomed, Ford says.

“The rental market [in Ettalong Beach] is the strongest market around here,” he says.”You’re probably going to get about $750 to $800 [a week].”

Now there are more owner-occupiers competing for properties than investors.

“A majority of the population is retirees, so they’re not looking for big, substantial homes,” says local agent Meredith Spencer of Coastal Edge Property. “They’re looking for the lock-up apartments, and we still have a lot of [weekend home buyers].

“It’s becoming more desirable – it’s completely flat, they can walk to the beach, there’s free parking. It’s made for a pleasant holiday or pleasant lifestyle.” 

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401/237-245 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257

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For the median unit price of $887,000, Hughes says you’re more likely to find an apartment without water views of around 100 square metres. For something bigger and with views, your budget needs to be well over $1 million.

“Your average unit apartment in Ettalong would be two-bed, two-bath and a car space,” he says. “The top-end ones you get in the $2 million-plus [bracket] would be the three-bedders with two car spaces.”