Golf homes with sea views are popular in Australia
The view from the wide balcony of 48 Jamieson Court in Cape Schanck, Australia, overlooks the vibrant greens of the National Golf Club, as well as the deep blue vastness of Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania.
The four-bedroom house near Melbourne, which is expected to sell between 1.65 million and 1.85 million Australian dollars or $ 1.1 million to $ 1.24 million, has many features including a double golf cart garage. But it is the combination of the frontage of the golf course and ocean view that gives the house its appeal.
The 37,000-mile coastline of Australia is the largest property. Many golf course developers have recognized this potential and have positioned estates so that residents not only have access to world-class golf facilities but also to waterfront living. These coastal golf courses now have some of Australia's most expensive homes.
In the early 1980s, boat builders Mike and Jenny Gore saw that potential on land on the Gold Coast of the state of Queensland that at the time was a dairy farm. They bought the property and developed a plan for a resort-like community built around two golf courses and a number of artificial ports, with houses along the greens and the water.
Today their vision is one of Queensland & # 39; s most coveted addresses, a gated community called Sanctuary Cove that has nearly 2,000 homes, with values between $ 500,000 for small apartments and $ 14 million.
Sanctuary Cove was so unusual, with the creation of ports and structures built over existing waterways, for which its development required a special act of the Queensland Parliament: the Sanctuary Cove Act of 1985.
"Mike Gore was really a visionary," said Marie Manning, the Sanctuary Cove specialist at Sotheby & # 39; s International Realty. "Australia had never seen anything like it and it is still quite unique."
One of the things that make the estate distinctive, Ms. Manning said, is that 19 houses are in the middle of the main golf course, designed by Arnold Palmer. Last year, a home in Sanctuary Cove set the record for Australia's best-priced golf course, with a selling price of $ 6.5 million. (The most expensive houses on the estate are on the water, rather than on the golf course.)
"We have many South African owners, people from New Zealand, Japan, China," Mrs. Manning said. "And many families from Melbourne and Sydney who have been on vacation here for years and then decided to make the switch full time."
She said that while some owners spend only months in a row in their homes, most are full-time residents.
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal describes the problems that golf course home owners in the United States are facing, and explains the decline in golf popularity for the decline in the value of golf homes.
According to The Australian Business Review, Australia experiences something similar. An article in February quoted the closure of many struggling golf courses and falling property values for adjoining houses. But that decline seems to have no impact on the estates that offer sea breezes, as well as clubhouses and fairways.
Lynne Hayden, a broker who was one of the first residents of the Sands golf estate in Torquay, Australia, said the Sands had experienced revenue growth of around 10 percent over the past decade.
Her statement has very little to do with golf. "Only about 17 percent of our residents are regular golfers," Mrs. Hayden said. Many are young families who want to be near the ocean and appreciate the wide open views associated with living at a golf course.
"It is the best of both worlds," Mrs. Hayden said. "You get all the visual benefits of living on a large area without maintenance."
Madam. Hayden's experience reflects that of the other residents.
"When we first came to see the project, my husband said," I think we should buy here, "Mrs. Hayden said." And I said, "Why on earth would we do that?" We don't even play golf! "But there are so many benefits. I love it. ”
The Sands has 400 house lots, with prices ranging from $ 450,000 for smaller mansions to several million dollars for the 10 houses along the Esplanade, which are back on the golf course and on the ocean. Those houses tend not to come on the market regularly, Mrs. Hayden said.
At the height of the Australian housing market, in 2017, golf properties with ocean views were regularly sold for more than 3 million dollars. As the house on Cape Schanck suggests, houses with that combination of golf and water continue to win high prices, even while the Australian market is cooling down.
