Where you can buy a beach house in NSW under $1.5m, $1m and $750,000

The most exclusive beach houses now cost multi-millions of dollars, yet it is still possible to buy a house in a beachside suburb for less than $1.5 million in several pockets of regional NSW.

There are even a handful of coastal towns where the median house price is half that much, or less.

House prices in the most sought-after postcodes have long surpassed these levels. Byron Bay’s median house price is just over $2 million, on Domain data, and nearby Suffolk Park is at $1,925,000.

But further along the coast, Ballina’s median is still $800,000, while East Ballina is $1.09 million.

Just to the south, in the secluded Patchs Beach in Ballina Shire, Vicki McCarty is selling her parents’ home at 3 Patchs Beach Lane with a guide of $1.3 million.

Contact Agent

3 Patchs Beach Lane, Patchs Beach NSW 2478

3

2

3

View property

Patchs Beach was named in honour of her grandfather, a farmer who subdivided lots from his farm in the mid-1960s, Albert “Reub” Patch. A third-generation Patch, McCarty grew up playing on the beach.

The family home that is now for sale was built by her parents in the 1980s as well as the second home they built there.

“There’s only 16 houses from memory, and there’s one block of land that hasn’t been built on,” she said.

“It’s a very, very nice, quiet beach,” she added. “It’s not often you get a place that has both beautiful sunrises and beautiful sunsets. But we do.”

The 63-year-old retiree owns her own home at Patchs Beach after buying into the suburb with her husband in 2016. She managed her parents’ estate for six years, which included a flood “for the first time ever” and a subsequent brand-new fit-out of the inside.

“I’m selling it because I can’t manage to mow my yard plus this yard.”

LJ Hooker Ballina’s Travers Golding, who is the listing agent for the property, has fielded more than 100 enquiries for the home, with a guide of $1.3 million. Most of the interest has come from potential investors.

“Opportunities like this don’t come up too often. So it’s been very popular,” Golding said.

For buyers looking to spend less than $1 million on a coastal lifestyle, or a beach investment, there are a range of options.

On the south coast, the median house price is $950,000 in Culburra Beach, $942,000 in nearby Callala Bay and $915,000 in Shoalhaven Heads.

Ray White Real Estate Callala Bay and Culburra Beach’s Julie Gauci recently sold a freshly spruced-up beach shack at Culburra Beach at auction for $970,000.

SOLD - $970,000

5 The Bowery, Culburra Beach NSW 2540

5

1

-

View property

“To have a block of land of that size with a house on it, albeit that it needed work, a couple of hundred metres to the beach is presenting really, really good value,” Gauci said.

“Even a sale at just under $1 million, you know, that was still making a very good profit and very happy with the results.”

The home last sold for $97,000 in 1998, records show.

Gauci said the suburb is no longer a hidden gem after COVID put it on the map for buyers who are a mix of holidaymakers, young families and retirees.

“We get a lot of people, even first home buyers, that will buy here, that will actually commute to areas south of Wollongong because they can’t afford to buy in those locations.”

Other south coast towns at a similar price include Ulladulla ($837,500), Tura Beach ($830,000) and Tuross Head ($785,000).

On the north coast, buyers with $1 million to spend could look to Port Macquarie ($812,500), Old Bar ($780,000) or Forster ($777,500).

For those with a budget under $750,000, there are a handful of options, ranging from Sussex Inlet ($749,000) and Coffs Harbour ($740,000) to South West Rocks ($715,000), Eden ($632,500) and Nambucca Heads ($620,000).

H Real Estate’s Grant Holman sold a single-level three-bedroom home for $610,000 in Eden earlier this year. The home was a five-minute walk – or less than 500 metres – to a sandy, family-friendly beach.

SOLD - $610,000

2 The Mews, Eden NSW 2551

3

2

1

View property

Holman said the majority of buyers are from out of the area and tend to secure investment properties as a retirement plan.

“There’s been, over the years, quite a bit of buying and renovating that’s gone on. So there’s been gradual improvements across the market,” he said.

Holman said he has not seen many newly renovated properties return to the market but expects more to be listed.

“Every sort of six or seven years there’s a turnover,” he said. “You’ll probably see some better quality homes come on the market in the next few years.”