Many of us do like to live beside the seaside - especially in Australia, where more than eight in 10 people reside within 50 kilometres of the coast, according to a government census.
'Living the dream' of a beachside hideaway is these days more of an urban myth, given the pace of coastal development and, besides, who can afford it? Even aside from the Sydney harbourfront, which has always been a blue-chip address, coastal property seems to ride the crest of any house or rent price increases.
But the global financial crisis, compounded by extreme weather events in Australia, caused the tide to turn. In the traditional coastal hot spots of Queensland and northern New South Wales, prices have, in some cases, plunged. According to RP Data, Gold Coast property has lost 8.8 per cent of its value in the past 12 months alone, while Far North Queensland, the Cairns/Port Douglas region, is down by 11.1 per cent.
Locally, realtors say the situation is far worse than these numbers suggest. Geoff Brand, of Geoff Brand Real Estate, describes a southeastern Queensland market 'in freefall', losing nearly 3 per cent per month. 'Actual values of properties have fallen by as much as 60 per cent since 2008, particularly in the upper end and the prestige market,' says Brand, who is based in Gold Coast.
Brand notes that not every market has fallen. He says: 'In some locations, including the Fitzroy region of Queensland, house values have increased by 5.9 per cent.' But overall, there are 'more properties for sale than ever before', but few buyers - as a result, Brand says, of declining tourism due to the high Australian dollar, the effect of last year's floods and cyclones, and the fact that 'property here was overpriced for a long time'.
He says those who thought coastal property was out of their reach should look again.