Oceanfront caravan park on Australia’s Coral Coast for sale

An oceanfront caravan park situated metres from the beach on the Coral Coast is for sale and it’s one of few accommodation options in the area, according to agent Haydn McCartney.

The 4.5ha Leeman Caravan Park has 58 powered sites, four apartments, four cabins, unpowered sites, a manager’s residence, reception area, shop and it also generates monthly retainer revenue from a number of guests to permanently secure their spots at the park.

“It’s a big four-and-a-half-hectare property that’s right on the beach. It’s pretty tough to find big blocks that back onto the ocean anywhere in the country,” Mr McCartney from Elders Real Estate Geraldton said.

The property is being sold with vacant possession and the stunning location on the Western Australian coast is the main drawcard for would-be buyers, Mr McCartney said.

“Where it is, it’s only 300 meters off Indian Ocean Road and it’s right on the beach. I think that’s probably the biggest selling point for it,” he said.

The town itself is popular with recreational rock lobster fishers and Leeman is attracting more tourists each year yet has few accommodation options, Mr McCartney said.

“Like Jurien Bay was a sleepy little town, four or five years ago. And now that’s really growing rapidly over the last couple of years.

“And I that Leeman’s just the next place up the road, so it’s probably going to follow suit,” he said.

The site is a short walk from the beach. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

Tourists are flocking to the Coral Coast

Tourism Research Australia statistics show the Coral Coast region welcomed 835,000 visitors in the 12 months ending in March 2022, up from pre-Covid levels when 689,000 people visited the area in the 12 months up to March 2019.

Tourists are flocking to the Coral Coast in far greater numbers due in part to the pandemic, according to David O’Malley CEO of the region’s tourism body, Australia’s Coral Coast.

“We basically know there’s been record sales of caravans, campervans etc,” Mr O’Malley said.

“What’s happened during Covid because of the lockdown, people have been traveling throughout WA in record numbers, but particularly the Coral Coast,” Mr O’Malley said.

The state’s border reopened in March and Mr O’Malley said many of those in WA who had purchased a caravan or campervan during lockdown were now touring the region.

“But that means that we potentially have a large number of people who pre-COVID weren’t caravanning or camping, but who are now. So we expect that strong market segment to continue,” he said.

While Leeman isn’t the most popular destination on the Coral Coast, Mr O’Malley predicted it will benefit from the tourists passing through the area as they travel north, particularly during wildflower season, which begins in October.

“I think you’ll find that Leeman will continue to benefit from the last couple of years because people have gone to Leeman. And normally they’d probably have gone to Jurien Bay, because they know Jurien,” he said.

“But now they’re spreading out a bit, so if nothing else it’s benefiting from the overflow.”

The current owner is looking to sell the property and it comes with 1.5ha of vacant land that the next owner could develop further Mr McCartney said.

“I think that it definitely lends itself to someone who is keen on taking on the lifestyle and working it themselves. Or it could be someone that’s more hands off like the current owner, that can see the value in the beachside land.

“There’s a lot of it and, and there’s probably opportunity to develop the caravan park even further to generate even more income,” he said.

Around 1.5ha of the Leeman Caravan Park is vacant and could be developed by a new owner. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

Investors seek out caravan parks as domestic travel picks up

Caravan parks, like other domestic accommodation businesses, are in demand as more Australians are now choosing to travel internally, according to PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty.

“The increase in domestic tourism that occurred during the pandemic has continued throughout 2022 due to rising flight costs. This has helped buoy demand for regional tourism assets,” Ms Flaherty said.

“The most in-demand regions are those that are likely to see higher levels of visitation, especially those within two hours of a capital city.”

There have been a few notable sales of large caravan parks this year.

An oceanfront caravan park in Agnes Waters sold for $27.5million in July. The 35,700sqm NRMA Agnes Water Holiday Park in Queensland was bought by Gary and Ann Kratzmann who previously owned Kratzmann Caravans.

The Collendina Caravan Park in Ocean Grove sold in April for an undisclosed sum to Hampshire Property Group.

In September it was announced that the G’Day Group bought the Beachfront Camping and Cottages Narooma for an undisclosed amount. The company, which owns 300 holiday parks around Austalia, will spend $5million upgrading the facility.