Value Views

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday May 8, 2003

Margie Blok

It's a suburb no one remembers, within cooee of the ocean.

BEACON Hill is "the forgotten suburb" of the northern beaches, says 34-year-old David Roughley, foreign exchange vice-president with Royal Bank of Canada.

"No one knows where Beacon Hill is, which is odd considering we're 12 kilometres from the city and we can see Bondi Junction from our balcony. It's a sleepy little pocket that goes unnoticed because the traffic whizzes straight up and down Warringah Road," says Roughley.

Bounded by Brookvale, Narraweena, Oxford Falls, Frenchs Forest and Allambie Heights, Beacon Hill is a hop, skip and jump from the surfing beaches of Dee Why and Curl Curl, and a short drive from Manly. Warringah Road slices through the middle of the suburb and the style of houses on the two sides are quite different. Most houses on the southern side were built in the '60s and '70s. On the northern side are new homes and duplex houses built on bushland at Red Hill, which was rezoned in the late 1980s.

"Compared to other nearby northern beaches suburbs, Beacon Hill is still good value. Curl Curl is expensive, Harbord is expensive. A lot of homes in Frenchs Forest are more expensive than houses here - and we've got ocean views."

Before moving to Beacon Hill, David and wife Jodie lived at Rozelle for three years and, before that, in Singapore. David spent part of his childhood growing up in Terrey Hills and was familiar with the area.

"Four years ago, we looked around to buy a family home with a backyard. What we liked here are the views. We can see Manly and the ocean from our front deck, and the view will never be built out."

In June 1999, David and Jodie paid $420,000 for their property in Courtley Road. "It was a cream brick house. We did a massive renovation - gutted it, rendered, it, painted it, added the glass balustrade balcony and concertina doors at the back. We've had two kids since we bought it.

"This side of Warringah Road is going through a generation change. Three houses in our street have sold to couples aged under 40 years old with families. A few weeks ago, the house next door sold for $765,000 to a young couple with two kids."

On the Red Hill side of Warringah Road, the streets are lined with large new homes, many of which have sold for more than $1 million. One house in Iris Street sold last year for $1.6 million.

When the Roughleys first moved to Beacon Hill, David drove his car to work. "But I now catch the bus because I got sick of paying for parking stations, petrol and bridge tolls. The bus only costs $3, the stop is about 400 metres from our front door, and the trip takes 30 to 35 minutes. I was much more stressed when I drove to work. Catching the bus allows me to clear my head. I'm more relaxed when I arrive at work and when I get home. We sold the second car because we only need one car at weekends. When we go out for dinner in Manly, which is about 10 minutes from here, we often catch a cab and that costs about $10.

Last year, Beacon Hill's median house price rose by 21.5 per cent to $615,000.

BEACON HILL

Style New homes and '60s and '70s houses

Price range From about $550,000 to more than $1.5 million

Transport Buses

Facilities Beacon Hill Reserve, Red Hill Park, Beacon Hill Technology High School, Beacon Hill Primary School, Beacon Hill War Memorial Community Centre

Amusements Shopping at Warringah Mall, surfing and swimming at nearby beaches, eating out at Dee Why and Manly

NEXT WEEK

Tempe

© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald

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