The Brisbane suburb where you can buy a house by the water for under $700k

News Corp Australia Network

Angela Aquilina and Nigel Maguire love living on the beach at Toorbul. Picture: Lachie Millard.

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THERE is a suburb an hour north of Brisbane where the neighbours treat you like family and you can live in a house by the water for less than $700,000.

After two years of incredible price growth and phenomenal interstate migration, it’s hard to believe suburbs like Toorbul still exist — but they won’t last long.

Toorbul beach. Picture: Tysha Thomas.

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Data from PropTrack reveals demand for houses in Toorbul has surged more than 21 per cent in the past 12 months, but the median house price is still an affordable $650,000.

Nigel Maguire and Angela Aquilina are selling their holiday home in First Avenue, Toorbul, and literally moving across the road where they have bought their ‘forever’ home.

“We bought in 2019 and I moved up here permanently last January from Ipswich and then we decided this is the place we want to live forever and bought a downsizer across the road,” Mr Maguire said.

Angela Aquilina and Nigel Maguire, with their dog, Ziggy, are selling their holiday home at Toorbul after purchasing their forever home across the road. Picture: Lachie Millard.

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“We just love it here. It’s just such a quiet, little place and such a great community with a great mix of retired people and younger families.

“We were welcomed like locals immediately. Some places you have to serve your apprenticeship first!”

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Of course, another major attraction of the suburb is being on the water.

“We built a gazebo on our front lawn and sit under it and look down to the water,” Mr Maguire said. “There’s just something about looking at water isn’t there?”

This property at 14 First Ave, Toorbul, is for sale by negotiation.

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He considers himself lucky to have bought back in Toorbul at a reasonable price, given the growth in home prices in nearby suburbs.

“You look at Scarborough and Redcliffe and they’re in the millions already,” Mr Maguire said. “(Toorbul) has been a secret up until the last couple of years and we’ve watched the growth here with interest.”

The pair love the suburb so much they are getting married in July on the Toorbul waterfront and having the reception at the local hall where “half of the town’s invited”.

This three-bedroom house at 82 Esplanade Toorbul, is for sale for offers over $780,000.

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Toorbul & District Realty agent Michelle Jones, who is marketing Mr Maguire and Ms Aquilina’s property, said the suburb’s charm and lifestyle was what made it so appealing.

“There are not very many unspoilt, seaside villages left and we want to keep it that way,” Ms Jones said. “We don’t want infrastucture, we don’t want shopping centres.

“Redcliffe, Brighton, Sandgate, used to be like that 30, 40 years ago, but now residents from there are moving into the area.

“We get people from Toowoomba and Gympie looking for a seaside retirement home, people from the Sunny Coast who are sick of the roads and just want a quiet life. You turn off the Bruce Highway and you’re in a different world.”