Take me to the beach: 10 seaside houses for $400,000 or less

Ever dreamed of owning your own beachside escape? A cute coastal cottage, just a short walk from the water?

With summer approaching it might seem a little more tempting, but sadly these homes don’t come cheap. That said, if you’re willing to get well and truly out of the cities – and roll up your sleeves – there’s some affordable waterside pads to be found.

And indeed, most of these are well off the beaten track. But who needs shops nearby when you’ve got views like these?

63 Cape Douglas Road, Cape Douglas, South Australia
$315,000

For fishing fans, this three-bedroom home bang on the water with an outdoor entertaining area might go down a treat.

The home of a recently discovered shipwreck – the Iron Age, which sank in 1855 – and a popular fishing and diving spot, Cape Douglas is in the south east corner of the state, less than an hour’s drive from Mount Gambier.

227 Saltwater River Road, Premaydena, Tasmania
Offers in the high $200,000s considered

This cute Tassie cottage is across the road from Prices Bay, about half an hour’s drive north of Port Arthur – or an hour and a half from Hobart.

Described as an “artist’s retreat”, it’s got two bedroom, a formal lounge and sitting room, plus 4034 square metres of land.

160 Cockle Creek Road, Recherche, Tasmania
$340,000

Another Tassie charmer across the road from the water, this three-bedroom A-Frame style home sits on a 2024 square metre block, with separate guest accommodation.

In the far south-east corner of the state, it’s about a two hour drive from Hobart.

9 Fisher Street, Manns Beach, Victoria
$185,000

This renovated two-bedroom cottage dates back to the 1890’s, and has water views from the kitchen window.

Close to Port Albert, Manns Beach is about a three house drive south east of Melbourne.

28 Flinders View Drive, Whyalla, South Australia
$275,000

It could use a little work, but this beachfront shack does provide a cast-iron way of getting away from the neighbours.

The rather private three bedroom timber-framed home has views of the Spencer Gulf, Fitzgerald Bay and the Point Lowly Light House. It’s about half an hour drive from Whyalla.

2311 Shoreline Drive, The Honeysuckles, Victoria
$399,000

This three bedroom home – with furniture included – backs onto Ninety Mile Beach, and is just under three hours drive east of Melbourne. It has been run as a successful holiday rental for nine years.

175 Manns, Emu Park, Queensland
$399,000

This three-bedroom home on two and a half acres has bush views and an enormous deck, and is only a 10 minute drive into Emu Park village.

The seaside town of about 2000 people is a 20 minute drive south of Yeppoon.

61-63 Sixth Avenue North, Paradise Beach, Victoria
$285,000

And about 20 minutes drive to the north of the Honeysuckles, there’s this cute cottage, also just minutes to Ninety Mile Beach – unsurprisingly, it’s quite long

The two-bedroom home has well-established garden, and views of Lake Reeve and the Great Diving Range.

9 Larwood Circle, Seabird, WA
$400,000

Scraping in at $400,000, this Queenslander-style four-bedroom home is being sold fully-furnished. It’s got ocean views: the beach is about a 10 minute walk away, as is the Seabird Tavern.

The seaside town is a 75 minute drive north of Perth.

2389 Pine Creek Yarrabah Road, Second Beach, East Trinity, Queensland
$388,000

Fancy the tropics? This one-bedder is right on the beach, and there’s plenty of room to extend on the 1012 square-metre block. It’s about a 40 minute drive from Cairns city.

East Trinity is the site of a planned indigenous eco-tourism attraction, involving observation towers and 1.1km boardwalk, expected to cost around $39 million.