Part of the Australian psyche is to be by the sea. We take it for granted the beaches belong to all of us, and all over Australia we heed it’s briny call.
Traditional knowledge, and cultural practices over the millennia of our First Nations peoples has a powerful and significant, holistic and custodial relationship with Australia’s land, sky and water. As a dry continent, First Nations Australians understand and respect the sacredness of water. It is the interconnectedness of all life. Uncle Cecil Briggs, 82, Chair of the Dorrigo Plateau Aboriginal Land Council, was asked about the plans for a major public artwork in the main street of the small Northern Tablelands town that had put an angry fissure in the small community.
Water Cloud is a sculpture of aluminium tubing that references the expanse of sky, moving clouds and waterfalls of the Dorrigo plateau. Things got heated. There were protests and placards and petitions.
The respected Elder’s response was, “Well you couldn’t dispute a cloud, that is for sure. What it produces is rain, water – doesn’t matter what lives in this world, no living thing lives without water, no humans, no animals, birds, insects, lives without water. Water covers every centimetre of this world. For this reason I support the cloud.”
Somehow, that feeling of connection is accessed and by all when we surrender ourselves to the ocean. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been dumped, washed into the rocks, or caught in a rip, few of u give up our abiding Aussie love of blue skies, sand and sea.
Indigenous Australian societies have always considered the beach a source of food andenjoyment. First Fleet reports observed the fishing prowess, and graceful behavioural familiarity of the Cadigal mob – although of course that distinction was unknown at the time. Being British, French, American and African, First Fleeters were personally less enthusiastic about such involvement with the water, but the coast and its beaches have come to symbolise a quintessentially Australian way of life.
No place in Australia is as egalitarian as being on the beach. It doesn’t care who you are or how much you earn.
Real estate does though, if you want to actually live at the beach and feel like you own those spectacular views.
While there’s a crazy pretence that insists you can’t really quantify how much more people pay for a waterfront home, there’s always a higher price for that uninterrupted view. Waterfront property prices are booming. Current research shows that those wanting a home with unbroken ocean views end up paying the price for the privilege.
The Australian Waterfront Prime Index for the September 2020 quarter found that properties are worth 69% more when they’re perched on the water’s edge – an almost 6% increase from the previous year.
Premiums are rising because the coronavirus has the ultra-wealthy stuck in Australia, so they’re looking to add waterfront property to their portfolios. It’s the thing to do when you would otherwise be traveling the world.
Not surprisingly, the index, which gauges the rise in coastal, harbour, canal and riverfront property values in Australian capital cities, revealed that Sydneysiders pay the biggest premium for an ocean view.
Buyers can expect to pay more than double – a 104.7% premium – for beachfront. Up by almost 10% from 2019.
Brisbane water property is up 2% to a 47% premium; and Melbourne rose by 3% to a 30% premium. Certainly the scarcity of stock, with the finite nature of waterfront land and general tight hold owners like to have that keeps punching prices skyward.
One of biggest jumps is Perth, where beachfront increased 7.5% to 61.1%.
Demand has increased with more people now permanently working from home, prompting buyers to look beyond owner-occupier to lifestyle investment. The attraction is not only the stunning waterfront views but the vibrancy, access to world class wine, produce and nature all wrapped in a laid back community.
You’ll be surprised to learn that amid all this, the ultimate property dream doesn’t have to be ridiculously pricey. Across Australia there are still places to find that bargain home near the beach.
Often they’re put on the market after 20, 30 or 40 years, when owners are getting older and different lifestyle needs influence a move.
Two years ago, available data showed coastal areas with beachside properties for under $200,000. Now the bargain price is anything under $500,000.
The cheapest beach suburb is Barney Point, Queensland, where you can still buy an apartment or a house for under $300,000. Close to Gladstone and with a population of 1100, the average mortgage repayments are $1600, and an average weekly rental of $200.
In Victoria, forget Portsea and Sorrento with each almost a million bucks more than they were in 2018. Respectively they now have median house prices of $2.83m and $1.92m. Lock in Loch Sport instead, at $310,000 on average; it makes it the cheapest coastal area in the state. In 2018 it was the bargain of all bargains having to cough up just $175,000 overall.
Three hours east of Melbourne, the suburb of Seaspray, near Ninety Mile Beach offers that sought-after relaxed beach life for $290,000.
There is more than one reason to want to buy a beach house. For some it’s investment, others a holiday home, and there are those wanting to live there permanently. Generally beachside areas closest to capital cities and major hubs have the strongest price growth. More remote beachside locations are cheaper because they’re often busy in summer and empty out in winter.
They used to say that about Byron Bay.
If a home loan for a property in Phegans Bay on the Central Coast seems temporarily out of reach, Stuarts Point, midway between Port Macquarie and Coffs will give beach town living for half the price. Averaging $450,000 is still under the bargain hunter’s half-a-mill.
In South Australia, there’s Cape Jervis to consider and only $278,000 involved. A hundred and seven kilometres south of Adelaide, it’s a headland on the most the western tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula with some of the best views ocean views in South Australia. It is indeed the place for a particular lifestyle in mind. With a population not even nudging 300, and not much more than a general store, tavern, petrol station, Pear Tree Bistro and a lighthouse, primarily it’s the terminus for the ferry to Kangaroo Island.
The nearest supermarket is 30kms away in Normanville.
Cape Jervis is a rather isolated place for those who live for the outdoors; it’s the start of the 1,200km Heysons Trail to take you north. It’s a track that traverses South Australia’s most diverse and breathtaking landscapes: from coastal and bushland, to rugged gorges and pine forests as well as vineyards, farmland and historic towns. Closer to your possible new home is nearby Morgan’s Beach, the go-to destination for fishing and swimming.
Ponder the picturesque coasts of Tasmania and there’ll always be a toast to Wineglass Bay. What you pay for a water view generally comes down to proximity to a major city, and because Tassie’s an island there are no great distances to water, and you can still find a low cost home with a beautiful outlook.
Beaconsfield is a hidden light that offers a more affordable life by the water.
A purchase here is around $300,000 and you’re well situated next to the Tamar River, and Greens Beach. Less expensive waterfront properties can also be found in Tassie peninsula towns like Nubeena and Port Arthur.
For Western Australia, head to Beresford, a northern coastal suburb of Geraldton. For beautiful weather and the seaside in your yard, affordable living starts with a median house price of $345,000. And just like Sydney in the ’80s you can pick up a one-bedroom unit for just under $80,000.
There are compromises to be made in finding affordable ocean views. Life is compromise, adjustment, sacrifice or surrender – nd in the scheme of things, much less so when you’re lucky enough to live in Australia. If the dream is that house by the beach, it’s still possible.
All that’s left is making it happen.