Prices within oceanfront suburbs are much higher in Western Australia than all other states, with the most affordable suburb Withers in Bunbury having a price tag at about $270,000.

In Australia, the cheapest states for oceanfront properties were South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland.

In Port Pirie West in SA, the median house price was $140,000, while in Loch Sport in Victoria the median house price was $149,250, and in Halifax in Queensland, the median house price was $200,000.

In the first Property Pulse for 2009 by RP Data, which provides real estate property valuation and house prices around Australia, senior research analyst Cameron Kusher reveals that while waterfront properties have traditionally been viewed as safe havens for investors, the housing market was "now seeing dramatic changes".

"The common belief that waterfront property is a safe haven changed dramatically in 2008 with some of the nation's best known waterfront areas witnessing a skyrocketing number of listings and heavy discounting in order to achieve sales," Mr Kusher said.

"This increase in listing and price reduction has come largely due to the inclement global financial markets which saw many highly geared individuals suffer not just margin calls but simultaneously, massive cuts in executive bonuses as a result."

Some reports are suggesting that in the worst cases, high-end vendors have been known to discount their properties by as much as $1 million in order to sell waterfront properties.

Interestingly, over the past year most of the WA suburbs detailed in the report recorded positive growth or only slight falls, which Mr Kusher said was surprising considering that most areas of WA recorded price falls through 2008.

13-January-09 by Adam Orlando
http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au