‘Byron 20 years ago’: Best towns if you can’t afford Byron Bay
For home buyers wanting to move to one of the most desirable regional areas in the country, Byron Bay might be the dream location.
But with a median house price of $2,005,000, the town is out of reach for many household budgets. Nearby towns, where locals have been relocating, could offer alternative options without breaking the bank.
A bird’s eye view of the coastline at Skennars Head, between Ballina and Lennox – both suburbs presenting better opportunities to buy than its more expensive neighbour Byron Bay.Credit: Danielle Smith
Lennox Head
Lennox Head is a small coastal village in the northern rivers region between Byron and Ballina. It has a median house price of $1.5 million – the same as the median priced Byron Bay unit, on Domain data.
McGrath’s Nick Bordin said Byron Bay locals have been moving to Lennox Head for two main reasons.
“One, it is affordability and, two, they are searching for a community feel that they feel they have lost in Byron,” he said.
“A lot of the old Byron locals, and it sounds a bit cliché, feel like Lennox is probably what Byron was 20 years ago to them. So what they loved about Byron they are finding in Lennox and East Ballina.”
Bordin said the town has been gentrified, raising the status of the sleepy little village that it once was.
“Everyone knows their neighbours and looks out for each other,” he said.
Ballina
Ballina is a humble, family-friendly town that has been piquing interest for a while now. As a result, house prices in the coastal town have recorded a steady rise. Ballina, along with its giant prawn outside the local Bunnings, even made it into the travel pages recently.
The median house price in Ballina sits at $800,000 and for a more exclusive living experience buyers can still find a house in the quieter streets of beachside East Ballina for a median price of $1.09 million.
LJ Hooker Ballina’s Travers Golding said as a tourist hot spot, Byron Bay is no longer the town it was 20, or 30 years ago. He said locals are relocating to more community-oriented areas because Byron is very transient.
“We do have a lot of people that make the shift from Byron, obviously, as it’s gotten dearer. A lot of people would have been there for a long, long time, but with the area changing, sold there, and moved all of 20 minutes down the road to Ballina.”
Yamba
Yamba has a $1 million median house price, and for a period, Byron Bay locals were moving out in droves.
Ray White Yamba’s Daniel Kelly said the biggest influx to his area occurred in 2022 and the first half of 2023.
“We did see quite a lot of people from the Byron Shire relocating to our area, especially while the market was performing very well.”
Kelly said buyers were able to transact from one property to the next and maintain a similar home and lifestyle with money left over.
“Around that million dollar mark now you could get yourself a reasonably modern home, typically, that will fetch you a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, double car garage,” he said.
The closer the property is to the beachfront, the fewer bells and whistles at that price point, Kelly said.
“$1 million now is pretty reflective of a reasonably decent home. They are just a little bit harder to come by than they were previously.”
Alstonville
At a median house price of $880,000 and about 10 kilometres inland, Alstonville is a more affordable option again. For the sale of a unit, members of the Byron Shire could purchase small acreage starting at $1.3 million.
LJ Hooker Alstonville principal Richard Campbell said the market is quite robust in particular for residential houses and units.
Campbell said the biggest drawcard of his area is that it’s not Byron.
“It’s quieter, a more stable population, safe, not as transient. We’re only about probably 10 [kilometres] off the coast so we don’t get the salt corrosion that Byron does,” he said
“It was a lovely little halfway point between Lismore and Ballina,” he said, adding that 70 per cent of property sales in Alstonville were from the local government area.