Tasmanian beach house centimetres from the sand is a steal – but there’s a catch

You couldn’t get closer to the beach than with this Tasmanian beach house, which just hit the market for a surprisingly small sum.

The newly renovated two-bedroom home with uninterrupted sea views of Kingfish Beach is available to anyone offering over $425,000 — but there’s a catch.

The 352m² property on 159 Kingfish Beach Rd, Southport — 90 minutes from Hobart — is located in what the listing describes as “the most majestic absolute waterfront position one could imagine.”

For more Real Estate related news and videos check out Real Estate >>

It’s also listed for about half the price that similar properties have sold for, EIS Property real estate manager Nyal Merdivenci told 7NEWS.com.au.

An older-style waterfront shack, 30km north at Surveyors Bay, recently sold for $800,000. A brick shack in the same area, but in a marginally better condition and set back slightly further from the beach, sold for $1.1 million.

The catch is, the Kingfish Beach property is on Crown Land — and while that means residents don’t pay a land tax, the property is also on a 30-year Crown Lease which expires in 19 years. That means the purchase is somewhat of a gamble.

The Crown could renew the lease, but Merdivenci told 7NEWS.com.au: “There’s no certainty there.”

Back in the 1950s, the 26 waterfront shacks on the street were modestly priced, and offered on year-by-year propositions.

“But then, in 2011, the Crown wanted all the landowners at Kingfish Beach Rd to put in (Envirocycle) wastewater management systems,” Merdivenci said. Because this was a costly exercise for landowners, the Crown extended the leases for 30 years.

The Crown is likely to extend the leases again in 2042, according to Merdivenci, who added: “Crown really has no interest in taking possession of it … because they’re essentially a landlord that’s generating income from all the leaseholders.”

But without the possibility of certainty, the property still remains somewhat of a depreciating asset.

“If you went to sell it 10 years down the track, there’s only about nine years left, so you go: ‘What can I justify for a nine-year timeframe?’ Because there’s no guarantee you’ll have it longer,” he said.

The beach is popular for fishing, boating, diving and kayaking, and Merdivencivi said locals maintaining the beaches have preserved the banks and built a vibrant local community.

From the property, residents can head out straight onto the water, catch some fish, wash off under the home’s outdoor shower, and cook up their catch on the property’s open wood fireplace.

It’s close enough to the pristine waters of Deephole Bay that residents can even expect some sea spray without even leaving their verandah.

“If you do get a strong easterly, or north-easterly (wind) blowing in, then you are just gonna cop it,” Merdivencivi said.

The current owner, an elderly gentleman, is selling up due to health concerns and because, with an “excess of properties,” Merdivencivi said: “He doesn’t really utilise it”.

“In saying that, all the shack owners who are down there, and I’m talking everyone else, they absolutely maximise it down there.

“It’s their escape. It’s just bliss down there. Pristine white sand. You get all the morning sun coming in first up on the beach.”

“When you’re sitting in that lounge chair and all you see is just the water and the beach, it’s pretty impressive.”