12:00a.m. 1st December 2007

| By Erle Levey

Marcus Beach: A place where you can walk to the beach and feel the sand between your toes.

It's one of the nicest drives along the Coast you could imagine. The drive is from Sunshine Beach, south past Sunrise Beach and Marcus Beach to Peregian Beach, with the leafy extremities of Noosa National Park one side and the golden sands, the blue of the ocean on the other.

Marcus Beach is a retreat from suburban living. A place where you can walk to the beach and feel the sand between your toes.

TM Burke opened up the coastal strip between Coolum and Noosa when it was granted land in exchange for the building of roads. TM Burke himself started the Noosa Beach Estate project in 1928, but it floundered until revived by his son, Marcus (after who Marcus Beach is named) as Sunshine Beach.

Peregian Beach was opened up from 1958 and LJ Hooker Peregian Beach principal Lyn Wildman believes Marcus Beach was developed in the late 1970s.

It comprises three areas – the private beachside precinct around Tristania Avenue; the more affordable and leafy residential area across David Low Way and adjoining Noosa National Park; and the gated, elevated enclave at Marcus Dunes with views to Noosa Heads and Point Cartwright.

Ocean-side Marcus Beach was part of the original TM Burke development and Ms Wildman remembers blocks selling for $10,000 while in the early ’80s you could still buy beachfront for $20,000.

Meanwhile, land on the national park side around Mahogany Drive and Redwood Avenue resulted in stages selling out within an afternoon in the early ’80s. It is more affordable as instead of beach you have trees, very leafy streets and big blocks. There is a large parkland reserve at the heart of this precinct, which is ringed by national park.

A little further to the north the Castaways estate is ringed by national park, yet everything is within walking distance to the beach and has the added bonus of having underpasses.

Marcus Dunes is a gated development by Norm Provan launched in the ’90s. Prices for the land ranged from the $300,000s up to the $600,000s. It’s magnificent land and by the early 2000s resales were up to $1.9 million. Since then, the development has really taken off and some magnificent houses have been built there. Prices are now often in the $5M-plus.

Ms Wildman said No.39 Tristania Avenue has been on the market for $2.85M and was the cheapest beachfront available but the split-level John Mainwaring designed home is now believed to be under contract.

Ms Wildman sold the land next door a year ago for $2.3M.

On the books is No.5 Peppertree Close which she describes as “a beauty”. It’s a brand new four-bedroom, three-bathroom house with a pool for $1.595M. It is in a quiet cul-de-sac, north facing, and has a media room, music room or office.

No.38 Callitris Avenue is a very environmentally friendly beach house by Bark Design, with pool and on the market at $895,000.

No.5 Paldoa Rise is an architect-designed three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with expansive ocean views. On a 949sq m block with private in-ground pool, air-conditioned and with loft or fourth bedroom for $965,000.

No.2 Cordia Place is an 864sq m block of land next to the national park, just 400m to the beach and with $20,000 of architect design house plans included in the price of $425,000.

Justine Coleman at Zinc Properties has lived in the area for 14 years and absolutely loves it.

She said Marcus Beach was very sought after and appeals to a lot of Melbourne people who are very fixed on Noosa but now they are understanding there are a lot of beautiful places in between Noosa and Coolum.

The streets in Marcus Beach are mostly named after trees as it provides quiet enclaves.

“Really, it’s for someone who wants quietness and yet be close to the beach,” Ms Coleman said. “It’s an escape for those who like the anonymity, yet also appeals to others because of the address.”

Ms Coleman said Sunshine Beach beachfront land is worth $6M-plus, while Sunrise Beach commands $5.3M and an immaculate beach house at Yaroomba is on the market at offers over $6.3M.

Among the properties she has sold recently are 52 Tristania Avenue, an original beach shack which was listed at $1.6M. A great block of land with views in Kingfisher Drive at Peregian Beach also sold after being listed at $1.65M.

Listed with Zinc at the moment are two up-market properties in Marcus Dunes. An absolute beachfront four-bedroom, four-bathroom house with 180-degree ocean and coastal views at $5.25M is spread over three levels and makes the most out of space, style and privacy. It offers an internal in-ground heated pool, steam room and bar.

An architecturally-designed house with three spacious bedrooms, two bathrooms, private north-west pool area nestled among easy care landscaped gardens is $3M. It has whitewater, coastal and natural sand dune reserve views from its elevated position.