Six of the best: The bargain waterside homes for sale across Australia
With summer just around the corner, it’s no surprise that home buyers are now on the lookout for homes as close as possible to the water, for a lifestyle change or holiday adventure.
While some homes may cost millions, others more suitable for those with a tight budget have hit the market.
Agents say these homes won’t take long to sell, with waterfront, or close-to-the-water homes selling within days of being listed, especially as the weather heats up.
In Sydney, suburbs with waterfront properties mostly have a median of more than $4 million, but in Belmont, near Newcastle, you can pick up an apartment for far less. A two-bedroom apartment with amazing views of Lake Macquarie, at 5/3 Walter Street, has been listed with a price guide of $575,000 to $595,000.
First National Engage Eastlakes selling agent Jesse Rowbottom said the vendors had owned the property as an investment for 20 years and were selling as the market was running hot.
“It’s quite a rare sale for this price with this sort of view,” Mr Rowbottom said.
Cheaper prices have also been rare on the Central Coast of NSW, where a three-bedroom cottage 500 metres from Brisbane Water and close to Ettalong Beach, has hit the market for about $900,000.
The home at 11 Lake Road is affordable for the area, which does have much more expensive homes, Wilson Estate Agency Umina Beach selling agent Ty Reynolds said.
“About seven out of 10 inquiries are from people in Sydney,” he said. “A lot of people are moving into the area right now because people can work from home and live closer to the beach.”
Beach or waterside property in Melbourne can also sell for millions, but there are Victorian properties that are much cheaper if you’re prepared to move further from the CBD.
In Lakes Entrance, about four hours from the city, a three-bedroom home at 1 Archer Court has hit the market for $360,000.
Monica Moorhouse of King and Heath First National Lakes Entrance said the phone had been ringing off the hook since the fixer-upper with water views hit the market, with first-home buyers particularly keen to do a deal.
“It is one of the cheapest properties in Lakes Entrance,” Ms Moorhouse said, adding that the vendors had owned the property for more than 30 years as an investment but were now looking to move on.
“It won’t last very long. It may sell for more than the asking price, but it does need real work so they might look at it and think $360,000 is fair,” she said. “Time will tell.”
Another home that has had keen interest is about an hour-and-a-half from Melbourne, at 16 Aries Crescent, Ocean Grove.
The three-bedroom property, which is “a stone’s throw” from the beach, is also one of the cheapest in the area, with a price range between $800,000 and $880,000. These types of properties are usually priced well above $1 million, Hayden Real Estate Ocean Grove director Hugh McKewan said.
“The vendors bought the home when it was already built in 1990 and used it as a holiday home,” Mr McKewan said. “They just haven’t been able to use it [because of COVID-19 restrictions].”
While there has been a lot of interest in the home, it is a fixer-upper, and whoever buys it would need to renovate, or detonate and rebuild, Mr McKewan said.
Beachside homes in Queensland may not be as rare as in the southern states but they are seeing far more competition than before, especially for cheaper properties, such as 1d Royal Palm Drive, Mission Beach.
The three-bedroom home close to the ocean has had a lot of interest, Tropical Property’s Tania Steele said.
Local buyers and those from other states are keen to find a cheaper holiday home, or to buy and move in and not have to worry about finding a rental in the tight market there, Ms Steele said.
“Usually anything that’s really well presented and maintained and priced up to $600,000 will sell really quickly,” she said.
In Western Australia, where waterfront homes can also bring a multi-million dollar sales price, there are cheaper options such as Dudley Park, which is surrounded by the Peel Estuary and a number of beaches.
A home at 30 Leslie Street has come on the market for $449,000 offering a great lifestyle, Professionals Mandurah director Simon Gowling said.
“It’s extremely good value,” Mr Gowling said. “The house is about a one-minute walk from the estuary and a couple of minutes’ drive to the beach in Mandurah.”
The suburb is also a 45-minute train ride to Perth, giving buyers the best of both worlds, he said.
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