When the weather is a little dreary and you're not having the best of days, it's easy to start thinking of places you'd rather be. Some take this all the way, which is where the phenomenon of the sea change comes into play. Although the holiday home market may have suffered slightly with the downturn in the economy, the sea change trend is still alive and well.
As the term implies, sea changes more often than not see people relocate to coastal living. Already our coasts offer some of the most beautiful, expensive, and crowded real estate there is and the ongoing popularity of the sea change means that even more population movement is expected to these areas.
Most sea change moves are a result of personal circumstances and cultural factors, and the increasing costs of property in many of Australia's capital cities is giving property owners an incentive to make a sea change. These investors are realizing high capital gains from city housing and down sizing to a lifestyle destination can be quite a good move financially, especially now that the barriers of entry aren't as high for many locations as they have been even when compared to a year ago. Many young families are also seeing the appeal in sea change locations as they find themselves priced out of inner city real estate markets. And of course there are the obvious lifestyle benefits associated with a sea change!
Whilst increasing demand for real estate in these locations is great news for real estate agents in the area, there also needs to be the appropriate level of infrastructure in place to cope with an increasing population. Unfortunately some of the smaller coastal towns are finding they are growing faster than they can cope with.
Some reports show that in spite of new population growth, there are many non-metropolitan coastal communities which are characterised by high levels of unemployment, lower than average household incomes, and greater levels of socio-economic disadvantage. Some also have a higher number of seniors than other parts of the country. All this means that as more people move to these areas, the increased activity doesn't necessarily translate to long term economic gains for the area.
All these factors work together to illustrate that no matter how romantic a sea change may seem, like any real estate transaction, there are many factors that need to be considered, and like any real estate decision, it is a big one! Take it seriously, do your homework and talk to your local real estate expert!