Beyond Byron: Northern NSW towns where house prices doubled in a decade

Over the past decade, a string of suburbs in northern NSW have doubled or nearly tripled in value as home buyers chase a more relaxed lifestyle on the coast.

Byron Bay was the standout, but several others in the Tweed and Byron shires and throughout the North Coast have boomed, figures show.

Byron Bay house prices have more than tripled in a decade.Credit: Danielle Smith

Byron Bay’s median house price soared 280.6 per cent, almost quadrupling, to $2.28 million over the 10 years to June.

It was followed by Casuarina, which rose 185.8 per cent to a median $1,815,000 over the decade.

There were jumps of more than 150 per cent in Kingscliff (to $1,627,500), Pottsville ($1.25 million), Suffolk Park ($1,679,000) and Old Bar ($770,000).

The figures measure suburbs in the Richmond-Tweed, Coffs Harbour-Grafton and Mid North Coast statistical regions.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said that what unites many of the top northern NSW towns that have experienced the highest gains is their coastal location.

“Because of the exodus of Sydney into lifestyle locations, that has a flow-on impact to regional areas where people are priced out,” she said. “It shows the power of location and the power of lifestyle in driving price growth over that decade period.

“These median prices are not for the faint-hearted. These are million-dollar suburbs,” she added, saying that Casuarina and Suffolk Park have had low sales volumes, which means they are tightly held. “People put their elbows out to get into these locations.”

Powell said there was an element of spillover effect from Byron Bay that showcases the desirability of coastal beachfront locations for which Australians are willing to pay that premium.

“We see that spillover occurring to more affordable locations. We know that Ballina is more attractive to the hip pocket.”

KPMG regional economist Terry Rawnsley agrees. “Byron Bay has always been a kind of special situation, but then it just ripples out to the Ballinas of the world,” he said.

“Since COVID, Brisbane boomed, the Gold Coast boomed, Tweed Heads has really taken off. So you [have] this ripple effect coming from the north,” he said.

Rawnsley said it appears the south-east Queensland region is crossing the border and buying into these locations.

“A pinch of movement from the Queenslanders coming down from the north and then the buzz and vibrancy of Byron Bay from the south,” he said, regarding growth in the Tweed Shire.

“People are going, ‘Well, it’s expensive living in the city. I could do my job from almost anywhere. I’m going to head on out here to save some money’, and then it becomes a self-fulfilling little cycle,” he said, adding that the more people there were, the more the local economy was stimulated.

In the Tweed Shire, Coastal Property Collective’s Mason Garten said that before COVID, buyers from the south weren’t able to relocate until they retired.

“That remote working culture has been a big benefit to many who’ve been able to then transition to locations earlier than they would have expected,” he said.

Garten said out-of-towners experienced significant value in the size of their dwellings, as well as lifestyle.

“You can literally live in Kingscliff or Casuarina without a traffic light stop.”

Garten said the region had a good community, low crime rates and plenty of healthy sporting activities.

“There’s a giant cycleway that goes all the way from Pottsville to Fingal Head. And you can ride your bike without any fear of being hit by a car. It’s awesome. You can run on it too. And the beaches are generally uncrowded.”

Selling agent Adam Stevenson from LJ Hooker Old Bar Beach said Old Bar on the Mid North Coast attracted a lot of Sydneysiders during the lockdown years.

“Most suburbs in Sydney, you can get to Old Bar within about 3½ hours. So its proximity to Sydney is what has made it popular,” he said, adding that affordability was also a factor.

“You can purchase a brand-new four-bedroom home in a nice new estate a couple of minutes’ drive to the beach for under a million dollars.”

Stevenson said the Central Coast had become so big now that people were bypassing it in search of a “quiet little coastal haven”.

“Old Bar has pretty well everything you need. We’ve got a Coles, butcher, bottle shop, bakery, school, library, bowling club, cafes, doctor.

“It’s still a small coastal village. It could double in size and still be a small coastal village.”