Margarita M. Phillips 
Paradise Point on the Gold Coast has $1.467 billion in property at risk due to its canals, the most of any suburb in Australia. About 20% of the suburbs are at high risk, according to the report.
Cronulla in Sydney’s south came second with $486.4 million in property at risk, followed by Port Melbourne with $483.8 million.
Other at-risk suburbs include Manly and Collaroy on Sydney’s popular northern beaches, Melbourne’s Bayside suburbs of Brighton and Aspendale, Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast and Caloundra and Golden Beach on the Sunshine Coast.
The report also looked at rates of coastal retreat, warning of gradual coastal erosion as well as the immediate risk of storm surges.
In East Mackay, Queensland, the coastline is receding at an average rate of 7.72 meters per year, according to the report.
Victoria’s Queenscliff and Portland are retreating over 5 meters each per year, while on the NSW south coast, North Batemans Bay is retreating over 3 meters per year.
A high tide on Bribie Island, opposite Golden Beach on the Sunshine Coast, in 2020.Credit:Blueys Photography
Sea levels in Australia have been rising faster than the global average, CoreLogic noted, citing the latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
It follows separate research this month warning that one million homes are at risk of flooding in 30 local government priority areas and that river flooding fueled by climate change could lead to $170 billion in value losses real estate by 2050.
Risk is already on the minds of potential buyers in affluent riverside neighborhoods.
PK Property managing director and lead buyer’s agent Peter Kelaher said coastal risk was the number one question asked by potential buyers in affected areas of Sydney’s northern beaches.
The Collaroy breakwater was hit by a heavy swell in January. Credit:Brook Mitchell
“[They ask] ‘Is this levee going to protect me when we have a storm? With my flood insurance and storm insurance, am I covered in this particular area? If we have to build a dike, is the council going to pay or do we have to participate and pay? “, He said.
Homes close to the ocean in affected parts of Collaroy and Narrabeen are trading at a discount to nearby beaches with less risk, he said.
“If you buy the property now, people in some parts of these beaches would reduce the property by 10-20%, and other parts of the beaches that are not flooded would retain their value,” he said.
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He advises buyers in these areas to ensure they are paying a low price to cover themselves in the event of a resale, to research the costs of any potential new seawalls and to check insurance cover.
In Melbourne, Whitefox Advocacy chief executive Nicole Jacobs said coastal risk came up in conversations with buyers looking for homes by the bay, or on the Mornington Peninsula, or beach boxes. which can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, although it is not regularly surveyed. on this subject.
“It’s part of due diligence,” she said. “More and more people are realizing it. It’s something you need to look into just to get an idea of what it’s going to look like in the years to come.
