The Byron Bay-adjacent towns that home owners never leave

Forget the Hemsworth effect. Byron Bay’s most tightly held towns and suburbs aren’t in its influencer-packed epicentre, but in its quieter, family-friendly neighbours, new data reveals.

Schools, footy fields, charming pubs and a strong community vibe are the real secret sauce, the new figures show, with Brunswick Heads and Suffolk Park revealed as the Northern Rivers region’s most exclusive enclaves.

Brunswick Heads has long been tipped as the next Byron Bay.Credit: Danielle Smith

Turnover rates in the two towns remain well below the national average of about 6 per cent, with Brunswick Heads – some 19 kilometres north of Byron Bay – emerging as the number one place home owners never want to leave.

Over the past decade, the laid-back seaside spot has averaged just 36 home sales annually. That translates to an average turnover rate of 4.5 per cent. Only 38 homes changed hands in the year to October 2024.

Suffolk Park clocked a higher decade average, with 5.9 per cent of properties changing hands. But it dropped to 4.8 per cent in the past year, with just 79 properties selling.

By comparison, Byron Bay recorded an annual turnover rate of 5.1 per cent after 183 homes were sold in the same period. The town’s decade-average turnover was 6 per cent.

Experts point to Brunswick Heads’ coastal village charm, reminiscent of Byron Bay circa 2010, as a key reason for its tightly held status. Most home owners dig in for decades, drawn by its proximity to both the beach and river without the trappings of celebrity glitz.

“It seems to have the lowest turnover rate and proportion of stock levels in the region,” says Eliza Owen, CoreLogic’s head of Australian research.

“For me, that points to exclusivity there. And you only have to look at the prices of these areas to know that there is [a] desperate need for housing supply.

“Suffolk Park and Brunswick Heads are million-dollar pockets. Suffolk Park is almost a $2 million median house price suburb.”

Only 79 properties sold in Suffolk Park last year, making it one of the most tightly held suburbs.Credit: Oli Ayo

Property punters say the region’s market weakened across the board last year. Interest rate hikes and high land taxes – particularly in Byron Bay’s star-studded suburbs such as Wategos Beach – curbed demand.

Despite the price hit, Suffolk Park remained a magnet for families, with the suburb recording exorbitant growth during the pandemic, said Bryce Cameron, director at Cape Byron Property.

“While there has been a fair bit more that has come onto the market there recently, the tightly held aspect of those suburbs is family-orientated,” he said.

“Buyers make a longer-term decision there, and they don’t want to sell. It has that proximity to the beach and the schools, you’ve got the high school nearby and its affordability in comparison to Byron Bay makes it even more desirable.”

Cameron said while the market had recently corrected, demand from both locals and interstate buyers remained strong.

“Before the pandemic peak, the average brick and tile home would have sold for $1 million there. Then in December 2021, you might have seen that same million-dollar home sell for $1.8 to $2 million,” Cameron said.

“There were maybe five or six properties on the market there at that point,” he said. “We have seen that correct by about 20 per cent since then, and it’s now back to about $1.5 million for the same house.”

Cameron said the suburb’s western side held the lion’s share of long-term owners where families stayed for decades, fuelled by a strong sense of community.

Ray White Byron Bay’s Damien Smith added that Suffolk Park was home to a generation of people who brought up entire families before eventually moving on.

“Brunswick Heads is the same. It is its own little town with shops, pubs, the beach and river. You’re just five minutes from the ocean shore, it has a shopping centre and its own little epicentre, and anyone who is into water sports is very attracted to it,” he said.

“Suffolk Park, on the other hand, is just a five-minute drive to Byron Bay, yet you don’t have to be in the middle of that, but at the same time, it’s so family-friendly. It has got its own pubs and restaurants and sports fields and shopping centres.”

While the “Hemsworth effect” has put Byron Bay on the international map, Todd Buckland from Bryon Shire Real Estate said for a strong throng of buyers, the quieter cousins and lesser-known pockets were becoming increasingly attractive.

“Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads are night and day. Brunswick has that charm that Byron used to have. It’s just 30 minutes to Coolangatta Airport, and it can’t be developed any more,” he said.

“I think up and down the eastern seaboard, people are looking for the lifestyle and community.”