Beach house outlook for 2009

By Alex Brooks

Summer beach rental prices have been slashed in luxury areas while more humble beach shacks filled quickly as fear
of holidaying overseas encourage a return to a traditional beachside Christmas holiday, say coastal real estate
agents.
In swanky Palm Beach – where holiday houses rent for between $4,500 and $35,000 for one week – holiday home owners
have been discounting to ensure they don’t miss out on a lucrative rental, according to L.J Hooker Palm Beach
property manager Amethyst McKee.
 But in more humble Avoca Beach, a swag of holiday rentals priced from $900 a week filled up fast, as middle
Australia cancelled holidays to Bali and Thailand and chose to holiday at home, often sharing a house with another
family to split costs.
“We have absolutely seen a massive pickup in holiday lettings this year and our bookings have firmed up much
earlier than usual,” says Ray White Avoca Beach Property Manager Bekky Fallon.
KPMG consultant Bernard Salt says this summer will see a two-tiered holiday rental season, with the top end of town
hurting as economic woes force them to sell their second homes and international companies cut back on generous
benefits for employees.
“Not that you can feel too sorry for people down to their last few million but the top end of town will hurt before
Middle Australia feels the pain of this economic meltdown,” he says.
“This will be the summer to try a taste of luxury at Palm Beach because it will be cheap but I suspect that by next
summer the economic problems will have spread to middle Australia and it will be the apartments at Avoca that have
problems during Christmas 2009.”
Raine & Horne Palm Beach executive leasing agent Jayne Nancarrow agrees wealthy peninsula home owners have been
discounting their holiday prices this Christmas season to secure a much-needed rental.
 “Some people have multiple families sharing a house to make it more affordable – but business is brisk. We’ve
booked $350,000 in business.”
Palm Beach home owners can boost their bank balance by as much as $70,000 for renting their house for three or four
weeks, says McKee.
“I would normally have more high end rentals between $25,000 and $30,000 but it’s been reduced this year and
$10,000 to $15,000 is the main rate,” McKee says.
 “Renters who booked early have also been asking for discounts and owners have been happy to work with the
situation. I had one house booked for $15,000 a week that came down to $12,000.”
Today (Dec 28) marks the start of the peak holiday season up and down the NSW coast.
In the premium Central Coast town of Pearl Beach, holiday rentals have been slower and property manager Judy
Thompson says there are plenty of beach houses to rent from next week.
“We still have a beachfront available for $6550 a week – it usually rents for $4500 in off-peak but is also
available for a long term lease at $2500 a week,” she says.
“I would definitely say things are slower this year but the phones are still ringing and I find people are choosing
to stay for a shorter period rather than not have a holiday at all.”
Further north in Byron Bay, holiday rental properties range from $2500 to $15,000 a week and local agent Ed Silk
says this peak season is packed as Australians choose to holiday at home.
“Events like Mumbai have had an effect and the weak Aussie dollar means we should have a good season this year,” he
says.
Australian Property Monitors economist Liam O’Hara says beach house owners relying on rentals for $20,000 will be
“having a tough year”.
“Those Tom Cruises and CEOs and multimillionaires will find it hard as companies make less money and less profits
and employees won’t be getting the fanfare they got in previous years,” he says.
Salt – who is also a member of the Tourism and Transport Forum committee – says this is the Christmas season of
domestic travel, as Australians forego travel to Thailand or Bali and stay home to relax at the beach.
“Our naked lust to be near the beach will never wane. People might not have the means this year, but that lust will
always be there.”

MORE ABOUT PALM BEACH

The Christmas season at Palm and Whale Beach involves dinner parties at sunset, early morning swims at the southern
end of the beach and shopping during the day.
“It’s a bit like the Hollywood of Australia. It has the glam and glitter of the Gold Coast but more culture. It’s a
unique little bubble,” says Raine & Horne Palm Beach’s Jayne Nancarrow.
“It’s not unusual to find dining tables, crockery and all, set up on the beach for a dinner party.”
The locality is a year-round hotspot for daytrippers hoping to catch a glimpse of the Home & Away crew filming the
TV soap, but Christmas changes the atmosphere as the wealth-set from Sydney’s east and ex-pats from all around the
world zoom in to experience a classic Aussie beachside Christmas.
And celebs like Nicole Kidman, Elle Macpherson and Rachel Griffiths love to visit because “we never name names
around here – Palm Beach is known for protecting people’s privacy,” says L.J Hooker Palm Beach’s Amber McKay.
“One year I was chatting to this nice man with a beard and a Scottish accent and I realised it was Ewan McGregor,”
says Bow-Wow shop founder Susie Bowden.
“We try not to make a fuss and that’s why high profile people come here. I’ve had celebrities ask me to close the
doors to my shop so they can buy in privacy, but we don’t do it because we prefer to treat them just like everyone
else.”
No-one is saying who is scheduled to visit Palmie this Christmas, but Australian’s most expensive holiday rental,
$38,000-a-week Kalua on Ocean Road, has been rented to a highflyer.
Christmas is boom buying time for the tiny little shopping strip at Palmie on Barrenjoey Road, where Bow-Wow
founder Bowden says it’s not unusual to find Rupert Murdoch loitering outside the shop in his boardshorts or a
highflying finance type buying her $180 papier mache dog sculptures “which are hard to gift wrap but for the person
who has everything”.
“This year, the signature dress of the season is a long flowing silk dress and it gets very difficult making sure
they don’t all turn up to the same party in the same outfit,” she says.
But will it be the same kind of Palm Beach Christmas now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse?
“There will be less money but they seem to want more extras – more tennis lessons, boat charters, personal
shopping, that kind of thing – so we will all be working harder this year,” predicts McKay.
“For the last six months, all the women who make their own money and work are still spending to reward themselves
but I’ve noticed the trophy wives are buying less as everyone worries about not spending as much,” says Bowden.