A 1970s beachfront home in one of Mollymook Beach's most coveted streets has hit the market for the first time since the area was developed.
Price expectations for 26 Beach Road are in the $5 million range, with interest already coming in from NSW buyers and beyond.
On the southern end of the beach in adjoining Mollymook, the suburb record was smashed last year when a home on Shipton Crescent sold for an eye-watering $10 million.
Even amid the South Coast's booming property market, it's never an easy decision for families to part ways with the holiday homes they grew up in. For the Clinch children, Peter Clinch and Sally Cleland, it was a very emotional call to make.
Their parents Bill and Deirdre were living in western NSW in the late 1960s when they heard about a land subdivision in the coastal town.
"Somehow dad found out about it and they drove down to Mollymook, which was probably about a 10-hour drive," he said.
"They were looking at some blocks further up the back and then dad asked the agent if they could have a look at one of the blocks along the waterfront in Beach Road and, of course he fell in love with it."
They purchased the 759-square-metre block for $5000 in 1968, which Mr Clinch said would have been "an enormous amount of money" at the time.
In the mid-1970s the couple built a "kit home" on the block and went on to spend decades holidaying there with their children and grandchildren.
"When mum and dad built the house they didn't even put a telephone line in," Mr Clinch said.
"Dad was working in Canberra as a pharmacist and he said, 'Well, if they really want me they can ring the local pharmacy and he'll come down and get me'."
The original home is still perched on the block and features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two living areas. It boasts a verandah at the front and one at the rear, which leads out to a sloped backyard.
Aside from the fond family memories, Mr Clinch said the best part about the property was its location on the northern end of the beach, which offered "unbeatable views".
"It's probably the oldest house on the street. It's certainly the smallest house on the street - most of them have been redeveloped," he laughed.
"But as mum used to say, 'It might be the smallest house but it's got the biggest verandah'."
The current residential property record for Mollymook Beach was set in April 2021, with the sale of 26 Mitchell Parade for $4,425,000.
The last time a home on the tightly held Beach Road changed hands was in 2018 when a five-bedroom house at No.16 sold for $1,875,000.
Selling agent Ben Pryde of Raine and Horne Mollymook/Milton said the home is already attracting strong interest from buyers ahead of its auction in late April.
"Interestingly so far it's either been expats or Sydneysiders predominantly, which is generally what happens in that high-end of the market and then we do tend to get a few people from out west on larger farms that are looking for something on the coast as well, and the odd one interstate, too," he said.
He said a lot of interested parties were considering it as an investment property.
"With everything that's been happening in the world for the last couple of years, it would be a fantastic [property for] holiday letting," he said.
"It's just that kind of low-key, nostalgic retro weekender that I guess a lot of people remember in their childhood growing up and holidaying in places like this where they don't need to be that fancy, it doesn't matter if you drag a bit of sand through the door. Just kick back on the deck, put your feet up and absorb the views."
