The coastal towns where prices have changed little in five years
Property prices have been soaring across Australia’s coastal towns and suburbs, but there are still some pockets where prices have not raced ahead.
House prices have grown rapidly in many sea-change destinations in recent years, skyrocketing even further in some areas amid the pandemic and rise of remote working.
In Byron Bay on the NSW’s north coast, Sunshine Beach in Noosa, and Somers on the Mornington Penisula, median house prices have more than doubled in the space of five years.
However, growth has been more subdued in other markets, Domain data shows, with prices in some suburbs and towns near the coast still back at, or close to, their 2016 levels.
Here’s our pick of some of the markets where house hunters can get into the market at a similar price to five years ago. But be warned, house prices in many of these locations are on the rise.
Cairns, QLD
While house prices in Cairns were up 16.3 per cent over the five years to June to a median of $465,000, there are suburbs a little inland with softer price growth.
Earlville, about four kilometres south-west of the city centre, recorded a median house price of $395,000 over the year to June, up about 4.1 per cent on 2016 prices.
While further south, median prices in the neighbouring suburbs of Edmonton and Bentley Park climbed 3.9 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, over the five-year period.
Selling agent Therese Plath, principal of Ray White Cairns South, said there was strong demand for affordable homes in Bentley Park and Edmonton from locals looking to upsize, interstate tree-changers and investors.
At Bentley Park’s median house price of $371,250, buyers might get a four-bedroom house with one or two bathrooms, Ms Plath said but noted buyers on such a budget were increasingly having to look at three-bedroom homes due to rising prices over the past year. Edmonton’s median now sits at $366,000.
Though not directly on the coast, Bently Park and Edmonton are within a 40-minute drive of multiple beaches and 20 minutes from the Cairns Esplanade, while Earlville is about 10 minutes closer.
West End, Townsville, QLD
Further south, but still in north Queensland, prices in Townsville’s West End are now 1.8 per cent higher than 2016 prices, after the median fell 2.4 per cent over the year to June to $351,250.
Those looking to buy at the suburb’s median house price could expect to secure a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house within a 10-minute drive of Townsville’s foreshore.
Across Townsville, the median house price is up 4.4 per cent over the past five years to $340,000.
Wallaroo, SA
A port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, Wallaroo, lies 160 kilometres north-west of Adelaide.
Prices in the area dropped 3.3 per cent over the year to June to a house median of $260,000, and are back at 2016 levels.
But that is unlikely to last long, according to Ian Macaskill, director of NYP Real Estate, who has seen strong demand from retirees relocating from Adelaide and the west coast, as well as fly-in, fly-out workers looking for a nice home base. Interest from interstate investors and holiday-home buyers had also picked up, he said, with people redirecting savings into the property market while rates were at record lows and international travel remained off the cards.
Mr Macaskill said prices in the area had been hard hit by the GFC, and again several years ago, but had improved since.
“Three or four years ago, things were struggling to sell, people made an offer of $30,000 under the [asking price], and some owners would take it. Now, if you want to negotiate, good luck, you’re more likely to have to go above the [advertised] price,” he said, adding many well-priced properties were selling within a week of hitting the market.
West Busselton, WA
Over on the west coast, in the seaside town of West Busselton, the median house price jumped 12.5 per cent over the past year and now sits at $450,000 – 1.8 per cent above 2016 prices, with prices rebounding after previous falls.
Selling agent Jason Cooper, director of Stocker Preston Busselton, had never seen such growth in the region, with demand stronger than that seen in the 2007 boom before the GFC hit.
Busselton, a two-and-a-half-hour drive south of Perth, had always been a popular holiday hotspot but had been increasingly drawing house hunters looking to make a sea change during the pandemic, Mr Cooper said.
“The last 18 months, since COVID came into the world … have catapulted interest in Busselton and the south-west like I’ve never seen before,” he said. “We had families moving down [from Perth thanks to remote working], enquiries from the east coast and overseas buyers looking to relocate and invest. The fact that we’re so isolated is paying huge dividends.”
Those looking to buy in the $450,000-$500,000 price range were likely to find a four-bedroom house on a 700 square-metre block that was built between 10 and 15 years ago, Mr Cooper said. However, four-bedroom homes on the market closer to the beach are asking close to $1 million.
In addition to being home to the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere, Busselton will soon welcome a Hilton hotel set to open in 2022.
Margaret River, WA
Further south in Margaret River, buyers can expect a median house price of $490,000, with prices in the town up 3.2 per cent on their 2016 median. In the 12 months to June prices rose 3.4 per cent, after falls in previous years.
It’s best known as the gateway to one of the nation’s premium wine regions, but the town Margaret River also offers proximity to beautiful beaches, with the coastline only about a 10-minute drive away.
Those with a budget of $490,000 could expect to purchase a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on more than 500 square metres of land, with one such home recently selling for $495,000.
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