For five years, John and Carol Deaville have enjoyed bay and mountain views from their Batemans Bay home, perfected their garden and walked their great-grandchildren down to the beach.
The retired couple moved into the two-storey home thinking they might add an elevator to make it more accessible as they aged, but the large block was becoming difficult to manage, and their family started asking them to come back to Googong.
"They've been wanting us to come back for years," Mr Deaville said.
"We've put it off as long as we could, and now we're going to make a big plunge and come back to the cold."
Their three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 5 Broomfield Crescent, Long Beach, has been listed for between $1 million and $1.2 million.
Mr Deaville said he hoped to get more than the $910,000 they paid for it five years ago, despite the softening market in the area.
"It would be absolutely perfect for somebody who wanted to retire down here that wasn't in his 80s," he said.
"We love it. The neighbours are fantastic, the views are great."
According to Cotality's Regional Market Update, homes in Batemans Bay are now cheaper than they were a year ago, having dropped 1.4 per cent over the June quarter. The average cost to buy a home in the area is now $805,928.
Megan Goucher from My Agent, the selling agent for the Deavilles' house, said while the market had become price sensitive, there were still good buyers in the area.
Ms Goucher said the last three months had been the busiest of her 10-year career, selling a total of 18 homes.
She said most purchasers were now owner-occupiers, with the number of properties purchased as investment properties or holiday homes slowing since the federal budget was announced in May.
"Holiday homes are a luxury item, and investors are trying to get their head around capital gains," she said.
However, she said she expected to see an uptick in holiday home purchases moving into spring because "Canberra will come down".
"They forget about the budget because it's been too cold and they'll want a coastal home," she said.
According to Cotality, homes in Batemans Bay were holding for longer than other regional areas, with the average home taking 67 days to sell.
Buyers should remember sellers were often motivated to sell, and to not be put off by a slightly higher price point than they had budgeted for, Ms Goucher said.
"If people are interested in a property they need to start a conversation with the agent, because these slower markets do put a lot of pressure on people," she said.
The downturn in Batemans Bay was unusual for a regional area, which had generally shown growth in property values since mid-2023, Cotality head of research Gerard Burg said.
However, he said it was consistent with a pattern seen in areas which were popular with those buying a second home.
"Those expensive holiday towns are dropping," Mr Burg said.
"That second home or holiday home option, at a time that rates have been lifting and the cost of living pressures have sort of heightened - it becomes less of a viable option to a lot of people."
