The four coastal towns more expensive than Byron Bay

While Byron Bay had its own reality show and is home to global celebrities, there are some sea-change towns that are now more expensive than the prized Northern Rivers enclave.

Two Gold Coast suburbs top a list from Cotality, which tracks the country’s regional suburbs with the highest median house value. Mermaid Beach claimed pole position with a median house price of $2,696,119, followed by Broadbeach Waters at $2,664,528.

Sunshine Beach – a prestige Noosa pocket – ranked third at $2,517,810. Casuarina in NSW’s Tweed region – about 50 kilometres north of Byron Bay – sits ahead of it at $2,483,406.

Cotality’s data, which runs to the end of February, shows Byron Bay ranked fifth among the nation’s priciest regional suburbs, with a median house price of $2,476,501. Byron Bay’s median house price peaked at $2.81 million in April 2022. The town last held the crown for being the priciest regional town in September 2022, but lost it in October that year.

Experts say the town’s price fall was the result of a perfect storm, beginning with a pandemic-era price surge that overshot the market, a string of natural disasters and a growing shift among cashed-up buyers towards quieter, better-connected coastal enclaves over the “Hollywood of the Northern Rivers”.

Cotality research director Tim Lawless said the 2022 floods had a profound impact on Byron Bay’s values – hitting at a time when pandemic-driven demand was already unwinding.

“Byron is right up there in terms of values … but when it went through the floods it saw a 15 per cent price drop, and it came at a time that the pandemic stimulus was being wound back,” he said.

“Adding to that it had probably also overshot the market amid this frenzy of buying that pushed prices too high.

“Yet Mermaid Beach bounced back to near record price highs after the same floods, so that’s a demonstration of people willing to overlook those risks.”

Despite the setback, Lawless said Byron Bay was staging a recovery, recording 9.4 per cent growth over the 12 months to the end of February. He said tight supply and enduring brand power – bolstered by high-profile residents such as actor Chris Hemsworth – continued to anchor the market in the nation’s prestige tier.

Across the top 10 regional suburbs, price growth has remained strong over the past year, with some recording double-digit gains. However, with interest rates elevated and household equity becoming more volatile, Lawless said even prestige markets were unlikely to remain untouched – flagging further reshuffling ahead.

“It’s hard to see that rate of growth being sustained moving forward … there’s too many headwinds building and while these areas are more insulated, they are not completely immune,” he said.

Just north of Byron Bay, Casuarina has emerged as one of the key beneficiaries of that shift, with house prices rising 9.2 per cent over the year to the end of February.

Nick Witheriff, of Witheriff Group Kingscliff, said infrastructure investment over recent years had helped transform the area into a high-end lifestyle hub attracting buyers chasing amenity, connectivity and community.

“I think quite simply the location is the thing that’s attracting people here alongside the fact that it’s a heavily owner-occupier community,” he said.

“And having easy access to the Gold Coast means we have the ability to tap into the amenity there as well, whereas Byron is more isolated.

“This means if you’re living in Casuarina, you can still work on the Gold Coast – and during economic downturns, that matters.”

Witheriff said the buyer mix was now split between young families and downsizers, with the lion’s share hailing from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and around 25 per cent coming from Sydney.

Further north, Nic Hunter, of Tom Offermann Real Estate, said sustained infrastructure investment and an evolving local economy had helped propel Sunshine Beach.

“We have seen a large reinvestment in the area, and it’s not just Sunshine Beach but also the surrounding areas,” he said.

“We’re seeing more services come into town as well as a better calibre of cafes and professional amenities and growth … and yet, we still have that village feel.”

Hunter said the region had come of age over the past decade, evolving from a place where job opportunities were largely limited to hospitality and construction into a thriving hub with a far broader economic base.

“I think Byron is a special place, but up here on the Sunshine Coast the growth prospects and infrastructure spend is considerable and that spend has made a lot easier to get in and out, whereas in Byron there’s one road in and one road out,” he said.