Lakes Entrance is a typical coastal holiday town . Yes , it has...

Lakes Entrance is a typical coastal holiday town . Yes , it has a fishing industry and a steady permanent population but in summer that population goes from around 5000 to 25000 . Just like all those holiday places they stay flat and then boom , maybe once a decade or two . Usually when the general economy is flying .

I would say that Lakes Entrance and many others like it wouldn't have seen any capital appreciation for a decade . And , for those who bought at the top of the last boom , they would be no better off now . That is , they would've lost money .

Those coastal towns ( or most country towns ) don't really have any relevance in comparison to the city property markets . That said , they probably are an indication of a booming economy when the blue collar is doing well though .

I'm actually thinking about buying a place up that way ( Gippsland Lakes ) in the next couple of years and spending a bit of time up there . It is a beautiful part of the country .