Getting away from it all on idyllic Norfolk Island

This south pacific hideaway is hardly the place you’d expect to make big money from house flipping. But in the past five years values have more than doubled.

Five years ago an entry level house on Norfolk Island would cost from $200,000.

Norfolk Island, more than 1000km off the east coast, is hardly the place where one expects to pocket substantial cash from house flipping. But in the past five years values have more than doubled.

Residential real estate prices rose substantially during Covid-19 as mainlanders fled lockdowns in NSW, Queensland, the ACT and to a lesser extent New Zealand.

Five years ago an entry level house to the South Pacific island would cost from $200,000. Now you will likely pay $450,000 to $550,000, according to CBRE head of prestige valuations (NSW) Bader Naaman.

Naaman, who has been valuing properties on Norfolk Island for the past eight years, says the price growth on the small island of around 2188 people has been astonishing and many have made substantial amounts of money on the island, which draws its income from tourism and the sale of Norfolk pines.

“Like with other lifestyle markets around the country obviously people wanted to escape the city and lockdowns so they moved over to Norfolk Island.

A luxury clifftop estate called Touchwood on 7.52ha is listed for sale for $2.7m.

“At one point we had purchasers buying sight unseen, they were buying online, they were from the ACT, NSW and Queensland. Some have (since) resold and made some money, some are still living there,” says Naaman, adding that the island has some quirks, such as cows ruling the roads.

“The cows have a legal right over the roads. You must give way to them as they are scattered all over. Pre-Covid-19 the market was stable and there were not many transactions, but with Covid-19 the market went to another level,” says Naaman.

In the years since Covid, Naaman says price growth has slowed and properties usually take longer to sell than they do on the mainland – usually up to a year.

“The growth is slower now as opposed to the spike with Covid-19. The economy is obviously heavily reliant on tourism, but as long as that is trading well it will grow at a more moderate level over the long term.

“It’s a good escape, it’s a very unique place.”

Naaman says that compared with the mainland labour is cheap but there’s a lack of tradespeople and it’s difficult to sell vacant land because there are few builders.

“The hardest thing to sell on the island is vacant land because it is hard to build in terms of the cost of materials and getting them over from the mainland,” he said.

While there are two ports, if the seas are rough ships can’t land and sometimes the island’s shops sit empty for weeks.

‘The White House’ at 65 Martins Road is listed at $1,599,000.

Norfolk Island made international headlines in 2002 when local girl Janelle Patton was murdered – the first murder on the island in 150 years.

The island suffers intermittent water shortages.

But for many buyers – be they retirees or younger people taking government jobs such as teaching – it’s an idyllic paradise. Some, according to Naaman, end up staying for good, while others spend a couple of years and return to the mainland.

When properties hit the market they usually sell for around 10-15 per cent lower than the original asking price.

“They always start high,” he says. “The mindset behind many buyers is they want to relocate and live on the island full-time,” says Naaman, adding that people don’t buy on Norfolk Island because they want a weekender, because it’s not that easy to get to.

Norfolk Island Real Estate agent Rose Evans is offering a luxury clifftop estate called Touchwood on 7.52ha for $2.7m. The property has two bedrooms and two ensuite bathrooms while outside there’s 50,000 gallons of water tank storage. Evans says the property has gained a lot of traction online.

She says another property known as ‘‘The White House’’ at 65 Martins Road is an iconic home presently used as tourist accommodation and is listed at $1,599,000. It is billed as an executive home with ocean views.

An offer has just been accepted on the tropical oasis of 41 Rocky Point Road which sports a contemporary home on 2.93ha. It was listed at $950,000. The three bedroom house has a family-style bathroom and was built in 2010.

It has hardwood decks with views over a valley and out to the ocean. Set back along a long but level unsealed driveway, the secluded house offers absolute privacy, according to Evans. The left boundary is defined by a flowing creek line, and the right boundary runs along a high ridge.