A Werribee South beach shack has sold for just $125,000, but buyers only secure a 99-year lease, not the land.
A Werribee South beach shack has sold for a “baffling” $125,000, but the buyer has effectively paid six figures for a shed they are not allowed to sleep in.
The shack at 98 Campbells Cove Rd, about 30km from Melbourne, sits right on the shoreline with uninterrupted bay views, yet comes with strict rules that prevent it being used as a full-time home.
Instead of owning the land, the purchaser secured a 99-year foreshore lease.
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Harcourts Werribee principal Petar Krnjeta said the unusual set up had confused many buyers who initially believed they were looking at a traditional beachfront property.
“It is a 99-year lease that you’re purchasing, so it’s not actually the land that you’re buying,” Mr Krnjeta said.
“It’s not supposed to be made for habitable purposes.”
The restriction means the property can only be used as a leisure base, rather than a permanent residence.
The Campbells Cove property offers direct waterfront access at a fraction of typical coastal prices, with strict usage limits.
Despite the limitations, the sale drew strong interest from buyers chasing a foothold on the water at a fraction of typical coastal prices.
Set at Campbells Cove, the shack offers direct beach access and sweeping views across the bay, at a price point that would struggle to buy a car space in some inner-Melbourne suburbs.
But the trade-off is stark, buyers get access to the location, not full ownership or full-time living rights.
Mr Krnjeta said most owners used the properties as hobby cabins, gathering with family for weekends, barbecues and boating.
The low price tag highlights growing demand for affordable lifestyle properties, despite significant compromises.
“Majority of people that do have it, have it as like a hobby sort of cabin where they meet family down there, have barbecues and enjoy the scenery of what Werribee South has to offer,” he said.
Listings like this are also extremely rare.
Mr Krnjeta said in 13 years in real estate, this was just the third time he had sold one.
“They’re not very common,” he said.
“The person that just sold the property actually had the property for 21 years.”
Many of the shacks are held within families for decades and shared across generations rather than sold on the open market.
“A lot of people do share them within the family,” Mr Krnjeta said.
“They use them as a hobby cabin.”
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