The whole area is quiet , but we wanted somewhere really quiet , as a contrast to Sydney , so we ended up in North Arm Cove . It's cheaper than the south side but with the changes to the freeway in the last few years it's quicker to get there than the south side which to me is suburbia on the sea . We're in wahroonga and door to door its about 1 hr 50 which is doable for a weekender .
North Arm. Cove was originally chosen as a possible site for the Australian capital and a whole pile of paper subdivisions where put through around the turn of the previous century . A dodgy developer sold these off in the 70-80's but these are zoned non urban so you can't build on them . Local council has been very proactive in their opposition to these beeping re zoned. Outside these non urban blocks there are around two hundred blocks in the village which can be built on , with a fair number of these being waterfront.
Prices have dropped down significantly in particular in upper market. This particular house ( not the one we bought ) started at 1.6 mill four years ago and is now asking 799 though would probably sell for less. Complete with boat house and a shared jetty.
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-north+arm+cove-105296928
I quite liked this place
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-north+arm+cove-106182438
from the point of view it has a really nice block of land ,1/2 acre slopping down to a usable waterfront . There's enough slope from the house to the water so any possible rise in water level is ( IMHO) unlikely to be an issue. The house is solid but tired . For those guys who like a shed , this has a serious industrial strength shed you'd expect to see on a farm.
Again I'd expect it to sell for less , maybe around 750 or maybe less.
You can pick up houses on the non water front side in the 300's and some are very nice houses with views. According to the agents there is a fair amount of interest in this section of the market.
We did look at pindimar however it's very low lying and on the first day we were there , with the combination on high tide and a strong southerly I saw bits of one block being washed into the water. There were some that looked ok from this point of view , but you'd need to do your dd.
Cliff
