Little Bay Beach: A secluded beach nestled between headlands, making it calm, rip-free, and highly popular for snorkelling and families.
Ocean views, golf courses and community make Little Bay irresistible
From golf courses and parks to contemporary homes and vibrant apartments, this coastal suburb blends relaxed seaside living with urban convenience. Photo: Vaida Savickaite
Steve Ausling says postcode 2036 is a “sticky suburb”. The NGFarah agent, who has seen plenty of repeat clients over the 20 years he’s been selling homes in Little Bay, tells Domainthere are even residents with 2036 tattoos.
Ausling says there’s a legacy of family links in this coastal hamlet, encouraging lifelong living in the suburb, from first homes to downsizer dwellings.
The locals like staying local, and who can blame them? If you’re chasing the quiet life but don’t want to be too far from the city, this southernmost eastern suburb is a lovely option.
It helps if you like golf – three golf courses run along the eastern border – and a sea breeze. There’s a sheltered beach tucked into the foot of a cliff at the northern end of St Michael’s Golf Club, where the locals like to fish, swim and snorkel.
If you move into the Prince Henry development, the conversion of the former public hospital site, you’ll be able to tap into the perks of a master-planned community. Home to more than 20 heritage-listed buildings and landscapes, the site was designed to create a landmark coastal village.
Linda Mearing, general manager for the Coast Centre for Seniors, one of seven not-for-profit organisations (NFP) that operate from the hospital’s former nurses’ quarters, says Prince Henry is a synergistic set-up with visitors and locals patronising both NFP services and the local businesses clustered around Pine Avenue.
Mearing says strict design guidelines have led to a highly liveable neighbourhood, with 30 per cent of the site devoted to public space.
“View corridors have been maintained here and there’s restrictions on sizes and heights and there can’t be any deviations from that,” she explains. “It’s quiet and clean and not over-developed.”
Little Bay offers a laid-back charm reminiscent of the country, yet only 16 kilometres from the CBD.
“You come to Little Bay and you feel like you’re in a seaside town, but you’re 15 minutes out of Coogee and 10 minutes out of Maroubra,” says Ausling.
My local
Coffee fix
I enjoy getting my coffee from Piccola Baia. They greet you by name, they remember your coffee order, and the coffee is always good. They’re open from 6am every day, they’re dog-friendly, and they’ve got an extensive breakfast menu.
Suburb highlight
If you can get up at about 5.30am, you can watch the sun come up over the Coast Golf Course and fill Little Bay Cove full of that early morning light. The oranges and pinks bounce over the rock pools and the cliffs … it’s amazing.
Market insight
Good quality stock is selling quickly at the moment, and a lot of it – maybe 50 per cent – is off market. So, if you see something that you like, make an offer straight away because it won’t be there next week.
For sale in Little Bay
With nothing but fairway and sea between you and the horizon, this award-winning property boasts an outlook worth waking up for. There are indoor and outdoor living zones on both the ground and upper floors, and a floating stairway connecting the two levels. Available fully furnished, the home comes with four bedrooms and en suites, including a main with a walk-in wardrobe and ocean views.
There are five beaches and scenic nature trails within walking distance of this modern duplex, which enjoys a northerly aspect from its central position between the restaurants and shopping in La Perouse and Little Bay. Recently updated with a new kitchen and new bathrooms, the property features timber floors, ducted air-conditioning and vacuuming, and a low-maintenance garden.
The leafy green stretch of coastline of Sydney’s eastern suburbs has some of the lowest housing supply in Sydney, and opportunities to buy in this tightly held area are few and far between.
A rare chance to make this sought-after area home is on the horizon, however, with the arrival of ESTE, a new development of 94 apartments in Little Bay providing oceanside living with easy access to lush natural surroundings and high-quality amenities.
Located about a 25-minute drive from the CBD, Little Bay is part of a cluster of suburbs adjoining the Kamay Botany Bay National Park, home to untamed Banksia scrub and other native flora.
While the area has a distinctly bushy feel to it, the development is just 11 minutes from nearby Westfield Eastgardens, where future residents will find groceries, chemists, cafes and a medical centre.
Philip Thalis, founding principal of ESTE architect Hill Thalis, refers to Little Bay as “one of the hidden gems of Sydney”, a rare spot where panoramic views take in the ocean, native bush, and nearby St Michael’s Golf Club.
“It has a quality which is so rare,” he says, “not just in metropolitan Sydney, but in fact in any big city.”
Developed and built by iCIRT-rated developer Urban Property Group, the ESTE apartments will range from cosy one-bedders to generous three-bedroom homes with over 160 square metres of internal space. All will feature natural stone, like travertine, and herringbone timber flooring.
“The materials have been selected for their lasting quality and to shape interiors that are sophisticated, refined and understated in their expression of luxury,” says Urban Property Group chief executive Patrick Elias.
Many apartments have multiple aspects to take full advantage of the ocean breeze and allow for cross-ventilation, while others are north-facing to maximise natural light.
The build itself pays homage to its wild surroundings, with a colour palette inspired by the area’s natural sandstone.
The effect, Thalis says, is that ESTE has “a unique character that is derived from this sort of setting, quite specific to this setting”.
Elias agrees that Little Bay’s raw natural beauty “has really shaped everything”.
“The buildings have been carefully positioned to frame views of the ocean and capture the changing light throughout the day,” he says. “The material palette and landscaping are drawn directly from the coastal environment.”
Elias expects the buying clientele to comprise a “mix of downsizers who know the eastern suburbs well and want quality without compromise, and younger families or professionals who are drawn to the lifestyle here – people who want a home that balances nature, design and connectivity to the CBD”.
Future residents, he adds, can enjoy “a lifestyle that feels restorative; you’ll have morning swims or coastal walks at your doorstep, ocean breezes and natural light at home”.
Future ESTE residents will appreciate the easy access to the national park and surrounding bushland, which they can explore on well-signposted walking tracks that extend past the Malabar Headland as far north as South Coogee Beach.
Buyers won’t be forced to leave the development to breathe in the fresh ocean air, however. The development features two sprawling rooftop terraces with workout pods, a sauna, shared barbecue areas, and garden beds where green-thumbed residents can grow vegetables.
It’s home to the development’s most luxurious feature: an infinity pool with ocean views.
Elias says the outdoor spaces have been designed to “encourage connection to nature and community”.
From the rooftop, residents can enjoy the sunset and moonrise, watch the dramatic lights of nearby Sydney Airport and Port Botany twinkle to life, or take in the open vista to the blue horizon.
“The outlook will be just sensational,” Thalis says.
