'We all love it here': Why Sydneysiders can't get enough of the northern beaches
After 10 years of living in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the Phillips family were ready for a sea change but just couldn’t decide where to go. They knew Bondi would be just too busy, so they decided to try Byron Bay.
They lasted four months before finally opting to check out Sydney’s northern beaches with their young family. “And at the end of our first two weeks in Avalon, I told my husband I was never going to leave,” says Amelia Phillips. “We all love it here. It’s such a beautiful peninsular, a bit cut off from everywhere else, with a really relaxed vibe.
“A lot more people have come to live here too after COVID, looking for a nicer lifestyle. But that’s been good; we feel it’s for the better. We now have some really fabulous restaurants that have opened up, and the village has an even more fun vibe now with a great deli and bars.”
Sydney’s northern beaches have indeed been the big winner out of the pandemic. Ever since their lockdown over Christmas 2020, the 30-kilometre stretch of coast from Palm Beach on the northernmost tip to Manly in the south have been swimming a massive tide of popularity. As a result, prices of both houses and apartments have soared, and rental vacancy rates have plummeted, although auction clearance rates have just softened 16.1 per cent to 74.4 per cent.
Yet, with improvements in the local infrastructure like the new Northern Beaches Hospital, in transport with the B-Line bus service, upgrades to the town centres of suburbs such as Dee Why, and the swell of remote working, it’s floated to the top of so many people’s wish lists.
Nutritionist, fitness expert and podcaster Amelia, 42, her husband Tim, 44, the founder of Sunny Eddy Gin Seltzer, and their four children, Lachlan, 9, Charlotte, 7, Angus, 5 and Ella, 4, understand exactly why.
“We’re coming up to our four-year mark here now and we’re so glad we made the move,” says Amelia. “We felt the eastern suburbs weren’t the best place to raise kids but here, it’s such a tight community and it feels very safe.
“The kids walk to school or ride their bikes to school but we would never have allowed the nine-year-old to ride on his own in the east. It’s so outdoorsy on the beaches too, and in Avo it’s a common sight to see people walking down the street with wet hair, and shoes are optional.”
Domain chief of research and economics Nicola Powell says the pandemic gave people the taste for moving further afield, especially if they’re able to embrace flexible working. The northern beaches are seen as such lifestyle-oriented suburbs, with sand, sea, fresh air and relaxed living, they’ve become even more popular as a result.
“They also tend to be very family-oriented,” Dr Powell says. “Some people bought holiday homes there too and, during the pandemic changed them from secondary homes to their main homes. Sometimes they sold their houses closer to the city or just rented something in the city for when they needed to be there.
“Some of the suburbs in the northern beaches ended up with phenomenal growth during the pandemic with the influx of buyers and some already there changed their property type from maybe a unit to a house.”
As a result, three northern beaches suburbs took out the highest price rises of last year across Sydney, according to the latest Domain House Price Report. Warriewood, between North Narrabeen and Mona Vale, saw a median house price rise of a stellar 51.6 per cent to $2.19 million, while Palm Beach rose 45.2 per cent to a median of $5.7 million and Manly 45 per cent to $4.405 million.
At Palm Beach, agent Peter Robinson of LJ Hooker says – for those who can afford it – the suburb offers so much. “I think everyone re-evaluated their lives and how they wanted to live during the COVID period and decided they wanted to come here for the lifestyle,” he says.
“It’s only an hour, or an hour and a half at worst, from the CBD, so it’s not too inconvenient, yet it feels a world away. And it has some of the best beaches. You can cross from one to another in three minutes, and a beautiful relaxed lifestyle with incredible cafes and restaurants and boutique shops.”
Moving south, Avalon experienced a price hike of 35.8 per cent over the year to a new median of $3.11 million, Bilgola Plateau 37.6 per cent to $2,625,000, Newport 42.3 per cent to $3 million and Mona Vale 36.9 per cent to $24.9 million until we reach star performer Warriewood.
“It can be hard to find properties in neighbouring suburbs at the same price point as Warriewood,” says Sam Bruton of Raine & Horne Mona Vale. “You can buy something in Warriewood that’s turnkey and in good condition for the same price as a classic red brick home nearby that needs a lot of work. So, relative to some of its neighbours, it can be more affordable.”
To Warriewood’s south, not enough property in Narrabeen changed hands to accurately measure a price change, although the median is now sitting at $3.5 million. Then comes Collaroy, with a 36.8 per cent rise to $3.58 million, and Dee Why, with the house median rising 26.4 per cent to $2.3 million and units up 15.6 per cent to a median of $942,500.
“Dee Why is now undergoing a lot of gentrification,” says agent Peter Mosedale of the Upstate. “We’ve seen infrastructure upgrades and a lot of people coming for its lifestyle and the new ability to work from home.
“It always offered a good entry point to the northern beaches, but it has become more expensive, although Manly outprices it at probably double the price. But Dee Why is close enough to the city if you need to work five days a week in the office; every suburb you move north adds another 10 minutes of travel time.”
Then, in the southern part of the northern beaches, there are suburbs like North Curl Curl, also with no reliable percentage rise but now with a median of $3,462,500, Freshwater, up 36.3 per cent to $3.586 million, Seaforth, up 26.1 per cent to $3.65 million and finally Manly’s standout result.
“I’ve never been busier,” says Michael Clarke of agency Clarke & Humel. “Manly’s appeal is that it’s so beautiful and has a harbour beach and ocean beaches, yet it’s only 15 minutes on the fast ferry to the inner city.
“There’s no other part of Sydney that has the combination of surfing and harbour beaches and a world-class marine sanctuary. You can watch the sunrise, the sunset or go scuba diving. It’s the Australian dream personified.”
Jake Rowe of The Agency also covers the lower half of the northern beaches and says it was possibly the most popular lockdown location in Sydney. “There are so many beautiful walks along the beach and swims, with so many swimming to Shelley Beach and back when that was one of the few forms of exercise available,” he says.
“We even had people in Mosman renting places around here while they renovated, and liking it so much, they ended up relocating here permanently.”
There’s a reason people call it the “insular peninsular”, Stone Real Estate Seaforth’s Maria Cassarino laughs. “As soon as you cross the Spit Bridge, you don’t have to go back for anything. If you do want to go to the city, of course, it’s pretty easy, but why would you? Everything you need is right here.”
Three to watch
Palm Beach
Peter Robinson from LJ Hooker Avalon Beach is selling the home with a guide of $5.3 million.
Manly
Michael Clarke from Clarke & Humel takes the home to auction on April 2 with a guide of $10 million-$11 million.
Warriewood
Jeff Johnson from Upstate is selling the home with a guide of $2.4 million-$2.5 million.
