How much it costs to buy a home near Australia’s best beaches

While many Australians have opted for a sea change amid the pandemic, others can only daydream of making such a move as they settle back into work for yet another year.

Luckily, just as many are mourning the end of their summer break, Tourism Australia has ever so kindly released its annual list of the best beaches in the nation, which are sure to have you contemplating a move to greener pastures — or in this case, crystal blue waters and soft white sands.

Misery Beach, WA, has been named as the top beach in the country by Tourism Australia.

Buying a home near one of Australia’s top beaches does not come cheap, but some stunning, under-the-radar locations are more affordable than you might think.

Here’s what it will cost you to buy near Australia’s best beaches for 2022:

1. Misery Beach, Western Australia

The little-known Misery Beach, five hours south-east of Perth, took out the top spot for 2022. The beach has a grim past, with a long-closed nearby whaling station once staining the beach blood-red. Today, though, visitors are greeted by little more than turquoise water and white sand.

You won’t be able to buy a house by Australia’s top beach, it’s pristine for a reason, but the port city of Albany — which boasts several other crystal-clear beaches — is about a 15-minute drive away.

Houses in the suburb of Albany traded for a median sale price of $574,000 last year, Domain data shows, with a four-bedroom character home on a 615 square-metre block recently selling for $655,000.

The typical price tag for a house in Spencer Park, in the north-east of the city, was at a lower $360,000, and would place you within about a half hour drive of Misery Beach.

Closer to the pristine swimming spot, buyers could look to the likes of Little Grove and Goode Beach, where three and four-bedroom house on good-size blocks have recently sold for upwards of $500,000. Neither area had sufficient sales for Domain to calculate a median price.

A four-bedroom house in Goode Beach, close to Misery Beach, sold for more than $500,000 last year.Credit: Wellington & Reeves

2. Horseshoe Bay, NSW

For those looking to stay on the east coast, Horseshoe Bay on the mid north coast of NSW was this year’s runner-up.

The beach is just a short stroll from the coastal town of South West Rocks, where the median house price sits at $585,000 — after jumping more than 20 per cent over the year to December. House pieces across regional NSW, by comparison, climbed about 28 per cent annually to a median of $720,000.

Scenic coastal views from Horseshoe Bay Beach, South West Rocks. Credit: Destination NSW

Meanwhile, on the state’s south coast, Murrays Beach (9th) in the Jervis Bay Territory, and Depot Beach (8th), both in national parks, also made the top 10. The median house price across the Shoalhaven local government area, which takes in suburbs close to both beaches, sits at a $820,000 but jumps to $1.1 million in Vincentia, about a 20-minute drive from Murrays Beach and less than 10 minutes from well-known Hyams Beach.

3. The Spit, Queensland

The Spit, Gold Coast, ranked third on this year’s list.Credit: Gold Coast Waterways Authority.

Buyers will also need to spend a sizable sum to secure a slice of real estate near this year’s third best beach: The Spit on the Gold Coast.

It’s in the suburb of Main Beach, where apartments sold for a median price of $855,000 in 2021. Prices were comparatively more affordable in neighbouring Surfers Paradise, where units sold for a median of $455,000 and houses for $1.83 million.

Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island in the Whitsundays also made the top 10, ranking 7th, though buying anywhere in its vicinity is probably well out of reach of the average buyer, with a four-bedroom home on the resort island on the market for $7.7 million. Still, one can dream.

Buying on Hayman Island, home to one of this year’s top beaches, does not come cheap, with this four-bedroom home for sale for $7.7 million.Credit: Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty

4. Flaherty’s Beach, South Australia

Over in South Australia, Flaherty’s Beach took out fourth place. The dazzling beach is about a three-hour drive from Adelaide on the west coast of the Yorke Peninsula, which has a median house price of $300,000.

Flaherty’s Beach on the Yorke Peninsula took out fourth place.

In the nearby seaside town of Point Turton, houses with water views have sold for up to about $550,000 over the past year. It’s only about a five-minute drive away from the beach if you and your four-legged friend (yes the beach is dog-friendly) fancy a dip after a day spent gazing at the turquoise water from your home office.

5. Loch Ard Gorge, Victoria

Loch Ard Gorge in Victoria.

Rounding out the top five was Loch Ard Gorge in Port Campbell National Park, with its golden sands and towering limestone cliffs.

It’s a short drive from the Twelve Apostles and about a ten-minute drive from the coastal town of Port Campbell, where a four-bedroom house sold for $800,000 last year.

It had too few sales for a median house price, but the typical price for the broader local government area of Corangamite sits at $380,000.