Domain has found Victorians looking for a coastal home can buy properties for less than $1 million in a string of more affordable towns along the Bellarine, the Mornington Peninsula and beyond.
While a typical property in the prestigious beachside suburb of Sorrento will set buyers back upwards of $2 million, homes in nearby Tootgarook and Rosebud cost far less, with median house prices of $910,000 and $755,000, respectively, Domain data shows.
On the other side of the bay on the Bellarine Peninsula, a handful of beachside suburbs offer homes for less than $1 million, including St Leonards ($745,000), Portarlington ($880,500) and Ocean Grove ($970,000), offering more affordable alternatives to the Surf Coast towns of Anglesea ($1,467,5000) and Torquay ($1,207,500).
Domain head of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said buyers looking for a coastal home could find larger properties and lower prices if they looked away from typical tourist hot spots to lesser-known beach locations.
“There are many factors that influence price. It will be location, the amenities, the community and the types of homes on offer,” Powell said.
Powell said while many coastal towns had recorded price falls since the lockdown-era sea change boom, house prices in sought-after areas with long-term holiday homeowners remained high.
“We know those coastal locations saw extreme rates of price growth relative to Melbourne, but demand isn’t what it once was and we have seen a pullback in price … it’s moved away from those ferocious price increases that we had experienced,” she said.
“If properties are tightly held, that also helps to boost up the price because it means the area is really hard to get into. So when a property does come up, it’s highly fought over.”
At Strategic, we have bought or sold, once or more, in many beach suburbs and those in ‘beach reach” : St Kilda East, Sandringham, Bentleigh, Elsternwick, McCrae, Cheltenham, Elwood, Carrum Downs, Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, Safety Beach, and Cowes.
After the summer holidays, many beach suburb owners have their last summer at the beach, then put their properties on the market. After Easter, available property numbers drop off. Peninsula properties are more affordable this summer than for many years.