Golfing lifestyle resorts grow in popularity

In the last decade, residential golf estates have become an increasingly popular choice for Australian homebuyers, backed by rising property prices in Australia’s major cities.

A concept created in the USA, golf resorts were first established in NSW in the 1970s. With the idea of life on a golf course growing from being a novelty, by the 1990s the concept was in full swing with several golfing estates opening on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Now, Australia is home to more than 100 residential golf communities, while the trend has also been adopted in New Zealand and South Africa.

Significantly, of the 53 Australian golf courses developed in Australia between 2000 and 2010, 75% included a real estate component.

These estates usually feature a range of residential properties - homes, townhouses and units - surrounding an impressive golf course and appeal to buyers who want to combine their living with their chosen sport.

Beyond the appeal of having a golf course at your doorstep, the resorts are proving popular as lifestyle estates. At Pacific Dunes golf estate in Port Stephens, NSW hundreds of house and land packages have been purchased in the last year by a diverse assortment of professionals, families, investors and retirees.

A Pacific Dunes spokesperson insists people buying into golf estates are often attracted to the landscape and lifestyle as much as golf, explained “many of the residents here are drawn to the wide, open green space. The golf course is basically their backyard – a very generous backyard at that."

While golf estates may be seen as being most popular with golf-loving retirees, the demographic at Pacific Pines is considerably younger, with the lifestyle being safe, serene and community-oriented. The people who live here are re-imagining and re-inventing the boundaries of suburban life.

For now, Australian home buyers show no sign of losing interest in residential golf estates. Most developments like Pacific Dunes have been built close to main cities and towns, to ensure easy access to important amenities, schools, public transport and infrastructure.

In a competitive real estate market where property prices in surrounding neighbourhoods are inflated, golf estate properties present an excellent value proposition.

As the baby boomer generation enters retirement, we are seeing dramatic growth in the golf estate market. Although seaside properties were once considered ideal for retirement, soaring coastal real estate prices have made that dream untenable for many.

With the  Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC) most recent participation study showing growth in golf participation – with more than 2 million Australians picking up a golf club to practice or play some form of the game in the previous 12 months – interest in golf resorts is likely to continue.

Endorsements from golfing legends, like Greg Norman have also raised the profile of some of Australia’s residential golf estates in recent years.

The Pacific Dunes residential golf estate is an 18-hole championship golf course in Port Stephens is ranked #54 in the Golf Digest Top 100.

For information on Pacific Dunes go to www.pacificdunes.com.au/port-stephens-residential-estate

Sara Anderson is with Newcastle-based PR agency The Village of Useful

Image: The Pacific Dunes golf course in Port Stephens, NSW

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