Affordable properties: Where to find a beach house on a budget in NSW

BUYING a beach house doesn’t have to break the bank. These NSW towns have budget holiday homes for half the price of a standard Sydney property.

Cheapest beach houses

THEY are the holiday homes that cost just a fraction of the median Sydney house price, and with the sun and surf nearby, plenty of savvy buyers are jumping at the chance of a bargain buy.

While an average house in suburban Sydney now costs about $730,000, the dream of living surf-side can set buyers back millions.

However up and down the NSW coast there are several waterfront spots where beach shacks can still be snapped up for well under $400,000 — the average price of a pokey city studio apartment in Sydney.

According to figures by RP Data Core Logic, the mid-north coast town of Stuarts Point is the cheapest waterfront address in NSW, with a modest median house price of just $261,507.

For Sydneysiders the closest affordable beach spot is the Central Coast suburb of Budgewoi, where the median price is $326,190.

Just days before Christmas, Rebecca and Brad Langworthy realised their family’s dream when the Kellyville family of six bought a holiday house in Budgewoi for $307,000.

“It’s fantastic, I can’t believe we finally have a beach house. And we were lucky because the owners gave us the keys early, so we’ve already been staying here. We don’t actually settle until the middle of the month,” Mrs Langworthy said.

The Langworthy family’s new holiday house at Budgewoi. Picture: Peter Lorimer

She said the simple two-bedroom cottage suits the family perfectly.

“We also have lots of pets so we can just pack everyone up and go together,” she said.

“I think it can be affordable for families. You just have to have a budget and stick to it.

“We have family in the area so have been looking for a while and wanted to get in before prices in the town skyrocketed.”

In the past five years, the median house price in Budgewoi has risen by 12.9 per cent.

Denis West, of Ray White Thompson Partners in Budgewoi, sold the Langworthys their holiday house and said they represent about 25 per cent of buyers in the area.

“Then you probably have about 50 per cent who are locals looking to downsize, or upsize, and the remaining 25 per cent are from all over,” Mr West said.

He said not all buyers are looking for a temporary holiday spot, estimating about 10,000 of locals commute regularly to Sydney for work.

“High prices in Sydney have pushed people to move in to places like Budgewoi,” he said.

Bronte, Jasmine and Kade Langworthy love that their holiday house in Budgewoi is so close to the beach. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Adam Stevenson, of LJ Hooker Old Bar Beach on the mid-north coast, said rising prices on the coast have created a wave of budget buyers heading north.

He said about 30 per cent of buyers in Old Bar — where the median house price is just $327,950 — are buyers from the Central Coast, Newcastle or Sydney.

“They tend to be buyers who feel like they’re either being priced out or built out of other places,” he said.

“Old Bar is really like the Central Coast used to be about 30 years ago.”

Mr Stevenson said that the residential investor market in the small beach town, which is 323km north of Sydney, had recently “gone gangbusters”.

“As of this week, our office currently has a zero per cent vacancy rate and the rental return here is between 5 and 7 per cent,” he said.

Senior analyst at RP Data Core Logic, Cameron Kusher, said there are still affordable suburbs near beaches, but generally further than the waterfront.

“Generally speaking when you are looking at the suburbs where those opportunities are they are fairly remote,’’ he said.

“And it probably won’t be right on the waterfront.”

Like other buyers snapping up beach houses at budget prices, the Langworthy family live close to the beach but not right on the waterfront in Budgewoi. Picture: Peter Lorimer

The state’s most affordable waterfront suburbs (houses)

Suburb Median value

Stuarts Point $261,507

Bodalla $297,359

Nambucca Heads $305,423

Moruya $321,243

Eden $324,066

Budgewoi $326,190

Wallaga Lake $327,104

Lake Tambourie $327,950

Old Bar $327,950

Burrill Lake $330,254

The state’s most affordable waterfront suburbs (units)

Suburb Median value

Eden $201,950

Moruya Heads $209,032

Narooma $223,564

Port Kembla $230,450

Old Bar $236,906

Merimbula $237,386

Nambucca Heads $239,424

Surf Beach $246,387

Iluka $248,947

South West Rocks $256,693

The state’s most expensive waterfront suburbs (houses)

Suburb Median value

Vaucluse $3.971 million

Tamarama $3.265 million

Dover Heights $2.967 million

Mosman $2.583 million

Palm Beach $2.562 million

Bronte $2.425 million

Watsons Bay $2.425 million

Queenscliff $1.968 million

Clovelly $1.911 million

Coogee $1.875 million

The state’s most expensive waterfront suburbs (units)

Suburb Median value

Tamarama $946,766

Manly $865,409

Clovelly $864,896

Little Bay $826,813

Vaucluse $811,055

Dover Heights $806,649

Curl Curl $795,193

South Coogee $785,705

Coogee $782,891

Bronte $756,656

Originally published as Affordable properties: Where to find a beach house on a budget in NSW