News Corp Australia
First published 21 Nov 2025, 12:30am
Semi-permanent cabins are becoming a popular option for buyers seeking their own holiday home, with tighter budgets leaving few able to afford more luxurious beachside digs.
Located within caravan parks, the cheaper offerings still ticked most of the boxes when it came to holiday homes – and even had some unique advantages, said Century 21 SouthCoast NorthEast selling agent Diedre Mastroyannis.
“There’s no stamp duty (on cabins sold within a caravan park in South Australia),’’ Ms Mastroyannis said.
“And you have access to all the beautiful (caravan park) facilities … without having to maintain anything.
“The grounds – everything – is maintained by the park (caretakers) so basically you get the place (dwelling) to enjoy and somebody else is doing your garden.’’
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Normanville is a popular holiday spot in South Australia.
Cabins offer a much cheaper alternative to luxe holiday homes without compromising on lifestyle.
Ms Mastroyannis currently has two cabins within the Echo Caravan Park, at 157 Willis Drive, Normanville, listed for sale.
She said the one and two-bedroom listings met the desire of those wanting their own personal holiday getaway but were limited by rising property costs.
“(Many buyers) love to stay at Normanville and would love to have a holiday home down there but they certainly can’t afford to buy one at (current house) prices so they’re looking at these cheaper options,’’ she said.
“Here, you are right at the beach, you can come and go as you like and it’s all set up (for holiday-makers).
“I could see somebody that would just love the peace and quiet spending a lot of weekends there just relaxing.’’
Under the holiday park’s regulations, owners of semi-permanent cabins can stay in their cabin for up to 120 days a year.
Staying longer will incur park accommodation fees, Ms Mastroyannis said.
Owners are also required to pay a monthly $700 site fee but compared with mortgage repayments on a typical Normanville home, the cabins still represented good value, she said.
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They’re small but easy and cheap to maintain.
Owners can also use the park’s facilities.
According to PropTrack, the median price for a Normanville home is $770,000.
Based on a $154,000 (20 per cent) deposit and an interest rate of 5.76 per cent, a holiday home of that value would cost more than $3,900 a month in mortgage repayments.
“The main thing with that site fee is that (the cabin owners) have full use of the facilities so if they go down there and have family and friends visit, they can use all the kitchen facilities – and there’s two kitchens there,’’ Ms Mastroyannis said.
“There’s also a big open fireplace so it’s a great set up for families and friends to come and visit.’’
The park also has a games room, a fish-cleaning station, a waterpark with slides and a playground.
Ms Mastroyannis said most buyer interest was from those who regularly holidayed on the Fleurieu Peninsula and retirees looking to travel and needing a home base.
She said no price guide for either cabin had been released but both vendors were open to “reasonable offers’’.
While buyers of caravan park sites might own the vans or cabins they don’t own the land, rather they rent it from the park owners.
Buyers can occupy a caravan park full-time in SA, QLD and Victoria, however New South Wales restricts most stays to around 180 days per 12-month period, unless a long-term agreement is signed with the caravan park.
– by Lauren Ahwan
English (US) · 