This year’s hottest beach suburbs to buy or rent
Forget the Mornington Peninsula, Central Coast and Byron Bay – there are plenty of other great beach towns to choose from.
For those who don’t live by the water all year round, a weekend retreat to the coast can be the best way to enjoy a relaxing break. Areas such as the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria and the Central Coast of NSW are perennially popular with city crowds looking for a quick weekend escape, while Byron Bay was the hotspot of the pandemic.
So, where are the hottest beach suburbs for 2023? Looking at suburbs with a median price of more than $1 million outside of the inner cities, Terranora in the Richmond Tweed region of NSW has seen the largest growth in demand over the past 12 months.
Although technically not a beachfront suburb, Terranora is sandwiched between the Tweed River and the Terranora Creek and is just 12 minutes’ drive from the beach, so it has more than its share of water vistas.
With many luxury properties and new developments, the suburb is popular with buyers, especially as it is so close to Tweed Heads and the sandy beaches of the Gold Coast.
Second on the list is Shellharbour in Illawarra, New South Wales. Just two hours from Sydney, this is the perfect place to spend Christmas and the summer holidays.
The median house value in Shellharbour is $1.079m, with properties on the market in the area ranging from an apartment listed on realestate.com.au for $559,000 to a house listed for $3.5m.
Victoria’s most in-demand beachside suburbs are on the Mornington Peninsula or towards the Great Ocean Road. The third suburb on the list is Barwon Heads, near Geelong. Its popularity is due to its sheltered beaches along the Barwon River, renowned surf beaches lining the coastline, and its proximity to Melbourne CBD.
Not everyone can afford, or wants, to buy a second home by the beach, so an alternative is to rent for the summer. The suburbs that have grown in demand from renters in the past 12 months are mostly on Queensland’s Gold and Sunshine Coasts, but there are a few in NSW and Victoria.
Yaroomba on the Sunshine Coast has become popular among those looking for property to rent there on realestate.com.au. The number of enquiries per listing is up by 45 per cent, suggesting it is currently the hottest place to rent of all the regional beachside towns.
House values in this suburb are $1.4m and the median weekly rent is $850.
Berry has been popular in the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven for many years and experienced strong price growth during the pandemic. Although it only reached number 38 in the list of top suburbs for buyers, it is number two on the top suburbs for renters.
Despite soaring prices over the past three years driving many to rent in Berry rather than buy, it is clear that people still want to spend time in the thriving area.
Another firm favourite with buyers and renters is Biggera Waters on the Gold Coast, where the median house rent is $750 and that of units is $650. It is a great family hotspot for spending the summer and school holidays due to its proximity to beaches and big attractions such as Sea World.
Whether you are looking to purchase a home to spend your holidays in or are happy to rent for a short time, there are plenty of great beach towns to choose from.
As many of these popular coastal locations are within a short distance of the capital cities, it is easy to extend your time by the beach and go back and forth if you need to.