Lifestyle options abound in fringes of Coffs Harbour: HTW
The Coffs Coast is made up of several small coastal and rural townships located at varying distances from the major centre of Coffs Harbour, which was at the peak of market for both houses and units in valuation firm Herron Todd White’s April 2016 property clock.
The HTW property clock is a simple broad brush means of indicating where property markets are, and which direction they're headed in.
A high proportion of the population would be considered fringe dwellers, being within commuting distance of Coffs Harbour for work and major facilities including tertiary education, airport and medical facilities. When considering the fringe dweller, a travelling time of around 30 to 60 minutes from Coffs Harbour is assumed, which would be considered standard travel time to work in most major metropolitan areas.
North of Coffs Harbour, this time criteria would see you reach the more traditional beachside locations of Arrawarra, Arrawarra Headland, Mullaway and Corindi Beach (30 to 35 minutes). Traditionally these areas have been popular due to the small community feel, beach access and proximity to good facilities at Woolgoolga to the south.
Entry level prices start at $300,000 for basic three-bedroom cottages and extended upwards of $1 million for prime headland locations. Corindi Beach is the cheapest of these localities with recent vacant land sales in the $160,000 to $200,000 price range for 600 to 800 square metre sites. House prices start at around $300,000 with average prices around $400,000 and rental returns around $400 per week.
Further north (40 minutes) is the sleepy sherman’s village of Red Rock where there are basic corner store facilities and a bowls club, traditionally developed as weekend style accommodation popular with rural land owners. Entry level is around $275,000 for very basic accommodation with average prices in the $350,000 to $400,000 range. Due to the more distant location and lack of facilities, rental returns are low and not the reason one would purchase in this area. Capital appreciation has been steady over recent years although can be very slow during times of economic downturn.
From here, a further 15 minutes drive will place you in the rural localities of Dirty Creek, Kungula and Halfway Creek. These areas are midway between Coffs Harbour and Grafton and are typically scrubby country with land sizes ranging from 4,000 square metres to 200 hectares. Entry level for small acreage sites with no building can be as low as $25,000 or around $100,000 for sites with basic weekend accommodation. Typically, these are rural lifestyle location with minimal market movement and low rental returns.
To the north west of Coffs Harbour, dotted along the Orara Way (the back road to Grafton) are several rural townships such as Coramba, Nanna Glen and Glenreagh which provide cheap housing options in small communities within commuting distance. Prices for modest three-bedroom homes start around $250,000, however, these areas do not have high rental returns and generally show slow capital growth.
Moving south of Coffs Harbour, the townships of Urunga, Valla Beach and Nambucca Heads are within a 45-minute drive which is soon to be reduced with the opening of the Pacific Motorway upgrade (Urunga Bypass) at the end of 2016. These areas have seen recent increases in rental returns and capital growth as part of the highway upgrade work currently being undertaken. Urunga (20-minute drive) is popular with the retiree market due to its reasonable facilities, good water and beach access and proximity to Coffs Harbour. Entry level is $300,000 to $350,000 with average house prices between $400,000 and $425,000. Expected rental return for the average three-bedroom home is $350 per week.
Valla Beach, which is 10 minutes further south, has become an extremely popular beachside locality with recent land releases for a standard 600 to 800 square metre site ranging from $165,000 to $200,000. Entry level for basic older style cottages is $350,00 to $375,000 with prices rising to around $750,000. Rental returns have recently increased due to the influx of road workers, plus we have seen capital growth in the order of 5% to 10% over the past 12 months.
The cheapest or best value for money locality is Nambucca Heads which lies 45 minutes south of Coffs Harbour. Being a low socio-economic locality, Nambucca Heads has traditionally seen little capital growth over the past five to seven years, however, like Urunga and Valla Beach, has experienced increases in rental returns and market activity due to the Pacific Motorway upgrade. Nambucca offers good lifestyle opportunities with quality beaches and waterways and school and shopping facilities. Entry price is around $250,000 and the average price for a three-bedroom home is around $300,000 to $325,000 returning $330 to $350 per week.
In short, there are many options for the fringe dweller within the region offering a wide variety of options from remote rural localities to popular beachside communities. Typically, these areas have been established for their lifestyle attributes and not capital growth or rental returns, however, increasing population growth and infrastructure improvements in the form of Pacific Motorway upgrades to the north and south of Coffs Harbour are seeing renewed interest in these fringe localities, placing upward pressure on rental returns and increasing capital growth.
Property Observer looked up recently sold homes in the Coffs Coast region around the average prices and came up with these:
A four-bedroom house at 53 Simon Street Corindi Beach NSW 2456 sold for $415,000, according to www.realestate.com.au.
A four-bedroom house at 30 Lee Street Nambucca Heads NSW 2448 sold for $330,000, according to www.realestate.com.au.