The beachside towns where you can still buy a HOUSE for under $400K

You’d be forgiven for thinking Australia is a country where only the very rich – or those who bought in the ’70s and ’80s – are able to own a house by the ocean.

A home with a backyard now typically has a price tag in the millions – and even the highest earners can expect to live under mortgage stress if they want to live in a city like Sydney or the Gold Coast and still enjoy a sea breeze and coastal view.

With the median national house price sitting at $873,116, even houses in the outer suburbs of the big cities are a stretch for someone buying on their own.

But we’ve studied the real estate data and spoken to property experts, and the good news is it’s still possible to live in a house with a backyard for less than $400,000.

The catch is you’ll need to be prepared to go to more remote, regional centres – but once you’ve made that leap, you’ll have your pick of stunning, spacious homes, all within walking distance of the beach.

With a 20 per cent deposit of $80,000, you can have buy your piece of seaside paradise on a $62,000 salary, whether you move to tropical Far North Queensland, a seaside town near Adelaide, a port suburb in Tasmania or a fishing and mining centre in Western Australia.

This means those earning less than Australia’s middle income have a chance to buy coastal real estate that’s predicted to surge in value, based on strong economic activity.

Lloyd Edge, a buyers agent and managing director of Aus Property Professionals, says regional coastal areas are a much better bet than buying something far inland for cheaper – and that’s for one reason alone: lifestyle.

‘Certainly you won’t get anything in a capital city now for $300,000 but I do think the coastal areas are the next best thing to go,’ Mr Edge tells Daily Mail Australia.

‘People prefer to live by the coast. The regional markets away from the coast are probably going to have slower growth.’

Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie says many regional area residents were able to earn more than those living in Australia’s outer suburbs – and buy a house without suffering from mortgage stress.

‘Additionally, capital city housing prices have reached levels that make them simply unaffordable for many people,’ she tells Daily Mail Australia.

‘Whilst many regional communities have also seen prices increase, overall, they remain more affordable than Australia’s capitals.’

Western Australia 

• Geraldton has a median house price under $400,000
• Regional Australia Institute noted affordable for workers
• Port city exports iron ore, wheat and lobsters to China 

Geraldton, 420km north of Perth, has a particularly affordable median house price of $391,648.

It was highlighted on the Regional Australia Institute’s Good Life Guide as being particularly affordable when house prices were compared with local incomes.

The town’s median income of $60,280 means those with a 20 per cent mortgage deposit of $78,330 are able to qualify for a home loan.

The port town also exports iron ore, wheat and lobsters and is set to thrive as China reverses its punitive tariffs on Australian produce.

Resolve Property Solutions founder Peter Gavalas, who specialises in the West Australian market, says ultra-cheap regional areas offer good value if they have multiple industries.

‘They’re good to invest in terms of the price point – buying sub-$400,000 across Australia these days is very limited,’ he tells Daily Mail Australia.

‘So if you can buy somewhere that’s got adequate employment prospects [and has] good solid industries that are planned for expansion, that’s going to give some pretty good capital growth.’

The Geraldton area has been a particularly strong performer. Bluff Point, north of the town centre, has seen annual growth of 22.6 per cent during the past year, taking its mid-point to a still-affordable $430,304.

Mr Edge says having at least two major industries means Geraldton would be more resilient if one of them faced a significant downturn, with the fortunes of the mining industry heavily tied to the Chinese economy.

‘If you’ve got at least two, if one of them goes belly up, there’s at least something else that will prop that town up,’ he tells us.

But its proximity to WA’s Wheatbelt means Geraldton has economic activity from three big industries: wheat, iron ore and seafood.

‘I generally like to have at least three,’ Mr Edge says.

Other areas of regional WA also offer good value.

Leeman, south of Geraldton, has a median house price of $395,622.

South Carnarvon, north of Geraldton, is even cheaper at $257,332 and is near the Ningaloo Reef and Shark Bay.

Mr Gavalas says these parts of regional Western Australia are popular with farmers who want a holiday home.

‘A lot of them are buying properties on the coast,’ he says.

Queensland 

• Areas between Cairns and Townsville particularly affordable
• They would suit those seeking warmer weather near the beach
• But tropical areas are also prone to having summer cyclones 

Far North Queensland is particularly good value with Kurrimine Beach, a popular holiday spot south of Cairns, having a particularly affordable median house price of just $394,266.

Areas north of Townsville are also cheap.

Forrest Beach’s mid-point house price is just $363,647.

But Mr Edge says the danger of cyclones makes him wary of north Queensland.

‘The ones around Townsville I tend to stay away from because there’s quite a bit of weather events around there, like cyclones,’ he says.

‘The weather events do have quite a big impact on overall growth – it’s more of a perception than anything.’

South Australia 

• Cheap beach towns three-hour drive from Adelaide
• Areas also receiving lots of state government investment
• Coastal homes are only half Adelaide’s median house price 

Coastal towns in South Australia, a three-hour drive from Adelaide, are very affordable.

Edithburgh has a median house price of just $378,610, which is less than half greater Adelaide’s mid-point value of $856,856.

The Spencer Gulf also offers cheap housing near the water with Cowell, north east of Port Lincoln, having a median house price of $300,405.

Whyalla, a steelmaking town, is even cheaper at $279,129 and the South Australian government is building a hydrogen power plant in the area that is due to open in 2026.

Port Augusta is even easier on the hip pocket at $229,947, with the government duplicating the highway from Port Wakefield to Lochiel, meaning a better road connection to Adelaide.

Mr Edge says Whyalla and Port Augusta were particularly good prospects because the state government was spending money in these tourism-focused areas with a crayfishing and yabbying industry.

‘The South Australian government has got a lot of infrastructure that’s going in – that’s going to splurge out beyond Adelaide,’ he says.

Ceduna, the gateway to the Nullarbor Plain, is particularly affordable with a mid-point house price of $280,335 but it is an eight-hour drive from Adelaide.

Tasmania 

• Bargain near port city of Burnie in Tasmania’s north
• Burnie is home to North West Regional Hospital 
• Former logging area reinvented itself as artisan hub  

Areas of northern Tasmania are still cheap with Upper Burnie having a median house price of $388,993.

This suburb, next door to the port city of Burnie, is the state’s most affordable area within a short drive of the coast.

Burnie, north-west Tasmania’s second largest city, is 47km west of Devonport, where the Spirit of Tasmania docks after sailing across Bass Strait from Melbourne.

The satellite city also hosts cruise ships, and has reinvented itself as an artisan hub following the closure of the area’s old-growth logging and pulp milling industries.

Upper Burnie’s mid-point house price is also significantly more affordable than greater Hobart’s median house value of $692,504.

Burnie is also home to North West Regional Hospital, which is Tasmania’s third largest health centre.