The sought-after Byron Bay.
Byron Bay’s popularity with seachangers is peaking at never-before-seen levels as homebuyers flock to the area as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Byron, as it is affectionately known, has also become a beacon for celebrities and industry leaders as the successful flock to the northern NSW town.
Both factors were again witnessed by the latest purchase in the town’s highly prized ‘golden grid’ enclave.
Byron Bay’s ‘Golden Grid’ has become some of the most wanted real estate in Australia. Picture: Supplied
Josh White, CEO and founder of sports and entertainment marketing agency Lampoon Group, who counts cricket superstar Ellyse Perry, former rugby international and TV star Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins and Olympian Jessica Fox as among his clients has eyed a shift to the northern NSW town for over a decade.
He finally made his move to the location favoured by the likes of Chris and Liam Hewsworth, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman (just to name a few), snaring a blue chip property in the heart of Byron Bay on Carlyle Street.
The sale price was undisclosed but is believed to be around $2 million.
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Sports Agent Josh White with client Ellyse Perry. Picture: supplied
The home was very much a ‘renovator’s delight’ and White plans to build a new home on the 474 sq m block he can call his own.
“I grew up surfing and still remember going to Byron with my family for the first time when I was 9. Dad got me my first surfboard from the old Maddog Surf Shop. I have always had this love of the place and wanted to get up there one day,” White said
White and his Golden Buy. Picture: supplied
A ‘renovator’s delight’. Picture: Supplied
But it was the COVID-19 epidemic that was the tipping point.
“It’s become a time when people are reassessing where they are at and looking to get more balance in their life,” he said.
“To get out of the hustle because it can be all consuming. You can find that balance up there. I wanted to head north and get back to my roots and this was the perfect opportunity.”
A seachange or a treechange is the move many Australians are considering as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Over the last quarter through July regional home values dipped just 0.1 per cent as opposed to a 2 per cent fall in the combined capitals, according to Core Logic.
You can see why Byron is in demand.
Wategos Beach has long been a Byron Bay highlight.
In Byron, consistent demand has seen house prices trend strongly upwards over the last decade. According to realestate.com.au data, the median house price has jumped from $712,000 in 2011 to $1.41 million last year.
The peak year was in 2017, when the average house price hit $1.578 million, before the market slipped.
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However leading Byron Bay agent Ian Daniels, who sold White his new property said demand and prices are reaching new highs.
“I’ve been here 20 years and there was a peak in September 2007 before the GFC and a peak again almost exactly 10 years later in September 2017, but I think what is happening now has surpassed that,” he said.
Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon with some locals in Byron Bay. Picture: Instagram
Zac Efron’s is living in Byron Bay. Picture: Instagram
The ‘Golden Grid’ is a leading plank in the latest price spike.
“It’s the part of town where the old quarter acre blocks are and where settlement here started,” Mr Daniels said.
“It’s where the bank manager lived and the station master lived. Now it’s walking distance to Clarke’s Beach and the iconic Top Shop. Everyone knows it.”
Byron Bay real estate has come a long way since 1972, when you could buy a souse (top left) for $5200. Picture: Real Estate NSW
Byron Bay’s town centre and the beach beyond. Picture: News Corp
The change in consciousness that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought is another leading factor in Byron Bay’s surge in popularity.
“Now due to COVID-19 people are saying ‘let’s make that move we always wanted to’,” Mr Daniels said.
The famous Cape Byron Picture: Dylan O’Donnell
“People who were thinking of doing it in their 50s and 60s are saying ‘let’s do it now’,”.
“The first two months of Covid, there wasn’t much happening, but the last two months have been my best sales months for a long time. There are a lot of buyers ready to go.”
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Sports Agent Josh White of Lampoon with one of his clients Nick Cummins. Picture: supplied
“We are very blessed to live here and the town is made up of some pretty amazing people who have made the conscious decision to take a leap of faith and make the move to a better life for them and their family.”
For Josh White, that dream is already being fulfilled.
“When I started looking a few months ago there wasn’t much interest but then things changed. I’m stoked I’ve now got a place up there,” said White, who also counts global brands, Oakley, ASICS, Beats by Dre and Danone YoPRO among some of his other clients.
The post Byron Bay: popularity with seachangers peaking as agent to the stars buys up appeared first on realestate.com.au.