Bar Beach street named most expensive in regional NSW

BAR Beach's Memorial Drive has beat the likes of high-priced addresses in Byron Bay and Bowral to be named the most expensive street in regional NSW.

Memorial Drive at Bar Beach named most expensive street in regional NSW - October 7, 2022 - The Newcastle Herald

New data released by Ray White reveals a rapid rise in luxury home sales has placed Memorial Drive as the priciest address in regional NSW with a median value of almost $7 million.

The median house price on Memorial Drive is $6,850,000.

The property at 96 Memorial Drive, Bar Beach which sold for a record $6.9 million earlier this year to become the most expensive house on the strip.

That figure brings the oceanfront address ahead of Sproules Lane, Glenquarry in the Southern Highlands ($6,112,500); Warren Avenue, Avoca Beach ($5,500,000); Riversdale Avenue, Burradoo in Bowral ($5,100,000); and Shirley Street in Byron Bay ($4,750,000).

'Ocean View' at 92 Memorial Drive, Bar Beach sold for $6,850,000 in April 2022.

A string of sales on Memorial Drive over the past two years has pushed the median price into record-breaking territory.

In the past 12 months alone, five luxury homes have been sold in Bar Beach.

A luxury sale in regional NSW is defined as a residential house sold for more than $5 million.

Views from 80 Memorial Drive, Bar Beach which sold for a price believed to be close to $6 million in August 2022.

In August, an architecturally-designed award-winning house at 80 Memorial Drive sold one day prior to auction with an undisclosed sale price believed to be close to the $6 million mark.

In April, 'Ocean View' at 92 Memorial Drive sold for $6.85 million and in August a modern five-bedroom home at 96 Memorial Drive became the most expensive house on the strip when it sold to a local family for $6.9 million with Robinson Property's Mike Flook.

The property sold two years earlier in May 2020 for $5,725,000, earning the vendor a profit of almost $1.2 million in two years.

'Stella Maris' at 68 Memorial Drive, Bar Beach sold for $5.22 million in January 2020.

Mr Flook said it didn't come as a surprise to learn the street had taken out the top spot.

"It is arguably one of the best streets in that area with quality homes and it has those spectacular, uninterrupted views that you are never going to lose," Mr Flook said.

"It becomes the most expensive street when you get a couple of big sales back to back and that is what has happened here.

"The fact there has been three or four recent big sales has pushed it up into that precinct."

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said that while the pandemic resulted in a rush of high-end sales, it also resulted in an above-average price lift.

The price growth of the top one per cent of homes sold showed above-average performance.

"While high-end sales didn't do particularly well in 2018 and 2019, this completely turned around by 2020," Conisbee said.

Over the past 12 months, the median price of the top one per cent of properties sold has increased by 10 per cent, easily outperforming the rest of the market.

The property at 2/102 Memorial Drive, Bar Beach sold for $4.1 million in October 2020.

"Although homes sold at very high price points were partly lifted by extreme price growth, we did see record numbers of houses sold over $10 million," she said.

"An increase in luxury homes wasn't just restricted to houses, with the number of apartments priced above $3 million also hitting record highs.

"If you wanted to sell a luxury home, the last 12 months was certainly the time to do it, with enough buyer demand to assure that homes have sold."

MEMORIAL DRIVE'S BIGGEST SALES

• Close to $6 million (price undisclosed): Number 80 (August 2022)
• $6.9 million: Number 96 (July 2022)
• $6.85 million: Number 92 (Apr 2022)
• $5.22 million: Number 68 (Jan 2020)
• $4.1 million: Number 2/102 (Oct 2020)
• Source: CoreLogic