There was a time when residents of the Shoalhaven town of St Georges Basin would have laughed at the prospect of a property there selling for $3 million-plus.
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"Locals would say, 'if anyone's got $3 million to spend, they're not coming to the Basin'," Jordan Case from Platinum Property Partners Huskisson said.
However, as the Shoalhaven market continues to boom and Sydney residents look to relocate to the regions, it's become a reality.
A block with two dwellings at 218 The Wool Road, St Georges Basin recently sold for $3.4 million.
Selling agent, Mr Case said the home was sold to a couple from Double Bay, who planned to make it their permanent residence, but still wanted to be within reach of Sydney.
"They're in their late 50s, are ready for a new adventure and decided the Basin was the place to start that adventure," he said.
Mr Case said the majority of prospective buyers were from Sydney, and had plans to retire at the property.
He said the property was "like nothing else around the Basin".
"The $3.4 million (buyers) weren't the only buyers willing to pay that level - there were another three just underneath, all showing interest above the $3 million mark," he said.
"They're out there and they're wanting to buy in the Basin, and that's changing things at a rapid rate."
The previous residential sale price record for the suburb is believed to be $2.8 million, set in 2014.
There have been some other significant waterfront sales in the suburb in recent times, such as 23 St Georges Road, which sold for $1,891,500 in January.
Mr Case said some Sydney-based buyers who had previously favoured Huskisson as a place to purchase were now looking for the extra space and water-related lifestyle opportunities afforded by St Georges Basin.
The Wool Road property features two homes on more than six acres of mostly cleared flat waterfront land.
The first of the two residences is a home featuring five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and four toilets.
Two of the bedrooms feature walk-in robes and ensuites and could both be used as masters, with one of them directly overlooking the pool.
The second house is the smaller of the two residences, and is an approved bed and breakfast.
The property also features an outdoor kitchen.
It contains stone bench tops, wine fridges, double sinks, a nine-burner barbecue, a woodfire pizza oven and open fireplace.
According to CoreLogic, the median sale price of houses in the area is $608,000, up from $495,000 in June 2020.
Rhys Bennett from One Agency Elite Property Group Shoalhaven said there were a lot of interested parties from Sydney and Canberra looking to buy in St Georges Basin, as well as the usual amount of locals looking to downsize or upsize, depending on their circumstances.
"You've got that extra flood of competition coming from the cities at the moment," he said.
He said some of the city-based buyers were buying for weekender or investment purposes, with a long-term view to using the home as part of their retirement plan.