Safety Beach near Coffs Harbour tops property hot list

With a beach, lake, creek and golf course - plus kangaroos in the main street - Safety Beach is a well-guarded secret. Until now.

Happy to call Safety Beach home are Robert and Gillian Sward. “The people, generally speaking, are very friendly,” Mr Sward said. Picture: Chris Knight.

Freshly identified as Australia’s top suburb for investors, few know of the sleepy seaside village of Safety Beach just north of Coffs Harbour.

And that’s just how the locals like it - even the kangaroos in the main street seem to revel in the serenity.

“If anyone’s looking to buy my place tell them to forget it. We’re not going anywhere,” said Stephen Abrahams, who moved to Safety Beach with his wife Sue 14 years ago.

“It’s like living in a resort here.”

New research commissioned by Eventus Financial has uncovered the top 20 investment locations in Australia for investors with a $100,000 deposit.

Safety Beach tops the list from Tyabb in Victoria - while other NSW locations to make the hot Top 20 are Valley Heights, Millthorpe, Kariong, Wickham, Medowie, Ropes Crossing and Tarago.

The quarterly Eventus Financial $100k Investment Report analysed every suburb in Australia to find house markets that might suit investors who had a $100,000 deposit and could buy a property valued at up to $1 million.

A number of filters were used to compile the list, and suburbs had the red line drawn through them if the vacancy rate was 1.5 per cent or more; the yield for investors was 3 per cent or lower, and if weekly rent had increased by less than 5 per cent over the previous 12 months.

Grant Vines, a Safety Beach resident and a consultant at Vision Property Sales at nearby Woolgoolga, said the location ticked most of the boxes.

“It’s expensive to buy there, but it’s a nice place to retire,” Mr Vines said.

Grant Vines, a consultant with Vision Property Sales, is so sold on Safety Beach he bought there himself. Picture: Chris Knight.

“It’s just a little bit out-of-town (from Woolgoolga), with a private beach and a lake and it’s walking distance to the high school. Plus there’s an 18-hole golf course.

“But it is highly sought after. The prices have exploded in the last six months.”

Robert and Gillian Sward knew they were on to a good thing when they moved to Safety Beach in 2006.

“I used to surf up here in the ’80s,” Mr Sward said.

“The best part is it is near Woolgoolga and only half-an-hour’s drive to Coffs Harbour. The people, generally speaking, are very friendly.”

Terry Perfrement, the longtime professional at the Safety Beach Golf Club, said the area was rich in potential, and the private course which welcomed visitors drew mostly from the local 2456 postcode.

“I would say 95 per cent of our members come from the local area,” Mr Perfrement said.

Pat Watson moved to Safety Beach 23 years ago and hasn’t looked back.

“My mum was here and I came up to look after her. I love the beach and the quietness of the beach,” Ms Watson said.

Cheryl Midavaine, principal of Woolgoolga Real Estate, said when Safety Beach was first developed there were rules about the types of building materials that could be used and fencing was largely not permitted.

Cheryl Midavaine, owner and principal of Woolgoolga Real Estate. Safety Beach has “gone gangbusters”, she said. Picture: Chris Knight.

“It was to create more of an up-market development. Lovely homes were built and it attracted lovely people,” Ms Midavaine said.

“The original part (of town) is green and leafy. And it’s gone gangbusters. They get great prices.”

Eventus Financial CEO Alex Veljancevski said that despite all the talk of property prices going through the roof, investors who thought outside the box could still buy a quality investment property in a quality location with a deposit of just $100,000.