Central Coast havens take on a luxury touch

The NSW Central Coast is transforming from a popular area for holiday getaways into a haven for people seeking a picturesque alternative to big city life.

29 Green Point Road in Pearl Beach sold for $5.8 million.

The NSW Central Coast is transforming from a popular area for holiday getaways for Sydneysiders into a haven for people seeking a picturesque alternative to big city life in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Once quiet hamlets are buzzing as city-bound executives switch to working from home and telecommuting while a new breed of residents spending two or three days a week in Sydney are trading up into some of the country’s most striking houses.

The area, which sports homes owned by such corporate luminaries as former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate, is now drawing a larger crowd as more people look to make their home-based lifestyles work for them.

While the relaxed lifestyle is bringing buyers to the area in increasing numbers, the dramatic price escalation is also helping to lift turnover and make the coast a better investment.

REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said demand for big homes on big blocks close to the beach was a highlight in the wake of the pandemic, along with properties catering to a new working from home lifestyle.

“No longer being tied to the office means greater choice in terms of where visitors to realestate.com.au focused their property searches,” Ms Conisbee said.

“This all combined to make one area stand out nationally in terms of price growth, and that was Sydney’s Central Coast. Property prices in this area increased in 2020 by 9.4 per cent across the board, with the rate of change almost exactly the same for houses and units — 9.5 per cent for houses and 9.3 per cent for units,” she said.

Teh view from 8 Gem Road, Pearl Beach.

In a sign of the broad nature of the lift in the market the number of Central Coast suburbs with median prices over $1m, also increased, doubling to six.

Ms Conisbee said that if conditions continue in a similar way this year, Saratoga (median $907,500), Bensville ($887,500) and Terrigal ($980,000) could join the million-dollar club.

There are already strong signs with the three top performing Central Coast suburbs for price growth in 2020 being beachside gems Copacabana, Pearl Beach and North Avoca.

Luxury homes saw some of the biggest jumps, with the largest sale at 8 Gem Road in Pearl Beach, for $6.3m. The home occupies an enticing beachfront position and was designed and owned by one of the country’s most eminent architects, Brian Mazlin.

It was bought by Anastasia Willis, according to property records, after a campaign handled by Dale Bassett of McGrath Ettalong on the Central Coast.

The home at the southern end of Pearl Beach escarpment has a kitchen with commercial-grade finishes, as well as a boat shed, which make it an entertainer’s paradise, particularly on the sun-drenched entertaining deck.

It was followed by the sale of 29 Green Point Road for $5.805m last October via Central Coast Realty. It last traded for $3.95m in 2012 when it was bought by the O’Neill family. The oceanfront home, known as Seascape, sold to the Cordina family and sports stunning 240-degree ocean vistas.

65 Forresters Beach Road, Forresters Beach.

Seascape makes use of light and glass to effectively bring the sea into its living spaces, which include open entertainment areas decked with natural timbers. Full length balconies on each level flow to a spectacular resort style infinity pool, spa and courtyard.

Floor to ceiling glass, and almost invisible glass balcony barriers, mean the rooms boast uninterrupted, and expansive, ocean views.

The sale of 65 Forresters Beach Road showed similar price appreciation. The clifftop home, pitched as the ultimate holiday home, changed hands last July for $5.2m as it was picked up by the Thompson family via Belle Property Terrigal.

The Fuge family had outlaid $3.5m in 2016 for the mansion which is set above a beachfront reserve that provides knockout views from nearly every room.

The glass-wrapped living spaces roll out into terraces, more sheltered entertaining zones, and a heated pool and spa. The house has multiple living areas and a direct pathway to the sand and surf, another prime reason that more buyers are calling their Central Coast mansions home.