[lifestyle ] Buyers Turn to Outskirts of Byron Bay for Lifestyle in Line With a Post-Covid World

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As Australia’s wealthy descend upon the coastal lifestyle hotspot of Byron Bay, helping house prices rise to record levels, the hunt is on to uncover the country’s next beachside gem.

Buyers have begun spilling into areas north and south of Byron Bay, inundating real estate agents who report a shortage of stock and high demand for homes during the final few months of a year affected by economic uncertainty and the coronavirus pandemic.

As Australia’s most easterly point, Byron Bay is famous for its beautiful beaches and rural backdrop, an idyllic haven on the far north coast of the New South Wales, 90 kilometers south of the Gold Coast in Queensland and 760 kilometers (472 miles)—or a short flight—north of Sydney.

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In the past five years, it’s become a hive of activity for hipsters, the health-conscious and Hollywood heavyweights such as Chris Hemsworth and his wife, Elsa Pataky.

A real estate darling, one of Byron Bay Shire’s most desirable suburbs, Bangalow was named as Australia’s best-performing regional center over the past two decades in a report released by the REA Group this month.

The REA Insights Regional Australia Report 2020 found prices in Bangalow increased 1,281% from A$76,025 in 2000 to A$1.05 million (US$770,000) this year.

The report also noted the move to remote-working since the pandemic reached Australian shores in the first week of March has accelerated interest in parts of regional Australia including NSW’s Northern Rivers, the area around Byron Bay where interest has pushed prices up almost 30% in the past three months, according to realestate.com.au figures.

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REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee, who authored the report, said the movement out of capital cities has led to strong property market conditions in many regional areas around Australia.

“Prior to Covid-19, fringe cities were benefiting from po[CENSORED]tion growth and affordability and that trend has continued to accelerate,” Ms. Conisbee said.“The biggest change occurring is the rising po[CENSORED]rity of areas that are not within commuting distance to a CBD [Central Business District]. Over the last 20 years, beachside areas have become more attractive, which has resulted in significant price growth.”

The Next Byron Bay

Agents working the NSW Northern Rivers region and neighboring Mid North Coast are benefiting from Byron Bay’s buoyancy, which they say has forced buyers to look for more affordable options and less in-demand locations.

Sotheby’s International Realty agent Dominique Vasers-Williams said improved road infrastructure and more flights into the closest regional airport at Ballina, have improved accessibility and brought fresh buyers to the area immediately south of Byron Bay.

“It’s transformed the travel time from Sydney and it’s become an option for people to get into this part of the world rather than somewhere more high profile and busier such as the Gold Coast,” she said.

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Two of her most recent listings have attracted extreme interest including a vacant block of oceanfront land at Ocean Street, Yamba, which has a price guide of A$2.75 million.

The pre-auction sale of a luxury holiday home on Peninsula Street in Hastings Point set a record for the town, which is a 40-minute drive north of Byron Bay, when it sold for A$4.45 million in September. It last sold in 2006 for A$2.75 million.

Several of the potential buyers interested would historically and traditionally have looked at Byron Bay,” Ms. Vasers-Williams said.

“There’s definitely a consideration around value for money and the po[CENSORED]tion has grown significantly [in Byron Bay] too. People who are coming out of the city are asking themselves why they would go from one busy hotspot to another. They want space, peace and quiet, they don’t want to battle crowds or get caught in traffic.”

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REA Group indicates the average number of views per listing on realestate.com.au for NSW properties is 1,591. In regional NSW the average number of views per listing is 963.

Figures compiled for Mansion Global show the average number of views per property listing in Hastings Point and Yamba has increased 89% and 90% respectively compared to November 2019.

“One of the strongest areas in Australia for property search and price growth is the coastal region of NSW from the Mid North Coast up to the Queensland border,” Ms.Conisbee said.

“In regional Australia, the Mid North Coast has seen the third strongest price growth over the past three months. In regional NSW, only Coffs Harbour-Grafton has seen stronger price growth.

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“People are definitely looking beyond Byron Bay and heading both north and south. Coffs Harbour-Grafton and Mid North Coast are seeing some of the strongest price growth in NSW at the moment.”

Coastal Shift

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data in November that revealed a mass exodus of people moved out of Australia’s two biggest capital cities, Melbourne and Sydney, in the June quarter, with regional areas the greatest beneficiaries of this trend.

The one-way traffic away from city areas correlates with property figures from CoreLogic, which shows property prices across Australia’s capital cities dropped 2.3% between March and October. In contrast, there has been a 1.7% spike in values across regional areas during the pandemic, with regional NSW surging 3.3%.

Anecdotally, Ms. Vaser-Williams confirmed the trend is well and truly underway.

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“The interest is definitely coming from Sydney and Melbourne from people looking to relocate,” she said.

“Relocation is the common story. It’s almost clichéd, even though people knew prior to Covid they could work from home, people are telling me on a daily basis now they don’t need to be in a city.”

Areas once known more as getaway and holiday locations have become permanent homes, with smaller apartments being kept in Sydney for visits back to see family and friends.

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“People are thinking very much with their hearts not their heads at the moment, there’s a lack of stock and a sense of urgency to jump in and get in. That’s what’s happening,” Ms. Vaser-Williams said.

Further south again, two hours from Byron Bay, Elders Real Estate agent Jake Kroehnert has also seen a rush to buy coastal properties.

An original beachfront property on Main Street in Wooli he took to auction in late October attracted 20 registered bidders and sold for A$1.361 million. It was a record price for the area and well in excess of the pre-auction price guide of A$850,000 to A$900,000.

It just went off,” Mr. Kroehnert said of the auction.

“It always had the potential to generate that interest but it came very late. There were some big players but there were a lot of opportune buyers that thought they’d have a crack at it.”

The interest was mixed, Mr. Kroehnert recalled, with “heaps of inquiry” coming out of the Byron Bay shire, Sydney, Brisbane and internationally from Abu Dhabi.

He said plenty of buyers had reassessed their priorities since the pandemic and were looking for lifestyle and relaxation, which Wooli is renowned for.

The nearest major township is Grafton, inland by 30 minutes, with Wooli’s services limited to a public primary school, bowling club, pub and a community built around outdoor activities such as surfing and fishing.

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“We had at least 30% of the inquiry coming out of Byron Bay and lots of bidders prepared to purchase sight unseen,” he said.

“The prices around where they’re coming from have risen substantially compared to Wooli, and it’s a little coastal town much like Byron Bay used to be. A lot of people are trying to get out of Byron Bay as it has become too mainstream, they’ve been priced out or they’ve sold out for big dollars.”

Mr. Kroehnert is so confident demand for the area’s property will continue he made an offer on an investment property in Wooli for himself within days of the red hot auction.

“Two weeks ago I definitely wasn’t thinking of doing that but off the back of that campaign I thought ‘I’m mad if I don’t’ because there’s only one way that town is going and that’s up,” he said.