blog.buysellrealestate.com.au

We’re being told that sea levels are on the rise, but that hasn’t slowed down the Aussie love affair with seaside homes. I’ve mentioned before that I thought house prices under threat” href=”http://www.realestatedaily.com.au/2008/06/30/beach-and-canal-house-prices-under-threat/” target=”_self”>low-lying coastal homes could drop in value in a big way if sea levels start rising, but people are still willing to spend a lot of money on a seaside property.

Down in Sydney the suburb of Narrabeen is deemed the one most likely to see the effects of rising sea levels:

“… a sea level rise of just 20 centimetres combined with a one-in-50 year storm would erode the dunes at the famous Sydney surf beach and push the shoreline back by more than 100 metres, according to a confidential draft United Nations report leaked to the Herald.”
- Life’s a beach, and then it disappears: The Sydney Morning Herald

Yet last month a property in Narrabeen sold for over $4 million, a rise of 20% since 2005. At the moment the threat of an ocean-generated disaster seems to be generations away, although oceanographer Dr John Hunter, from the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Hobart suggests that it might be closer than we think. Although there is talk of sea level rises of as little as 18cm - which sounds pretty small - the fact is that for every 1cm rise in sea level the beach will retreat by 1 metre, and that’s massive.

A retail property located in Cabramatta, New South Wales has been sold at auction on a 5.8% yield to an undisclosed investor.

A pair of Sydney industrial properties have been sold at auction by
agents of Taylor Nicholas, one in Camperdown and the other at Alexandria.