LIKE its neighbour New Brighton, South Golden Beach is a lifestyle hotspot, with very limited housing stock and big demand.

It's a popular suburb with families, who love its proximity to the beach and the nearby school, which is an easy, flat cycle ride away.

Given the size of the suburb, it also has some pretty good amenities - a recently renovated community hall, the cafe/takeaway Mrs Birdy and the newly built beachside skate park and playground.

It's a small, tight-knit community, and people don't want to leave. There's limited opportunities to get into the market and this has helped push up the median price by more than $100,000 in the past 12 months from $720,000 to $837,500. In the past five years, the median price in the suburb has more than doubled.

Prices haven't quite reached the dizzying heights of neighbouring suburb, New Brighton, but they are still well above the adjacent Ocean Shores, which sits at $730,000 but has a much larger pool of housing.

Vacant land is extremely scarce, and this is reflected in prices.

Local agent Julie Manahan of Raine and Horne Ocean Shores says she recently sold a block on Redgate Rd for $640,000 which is a premium for the area.

Ms Manahan says out of area buyers continue to be the larger percentage of buyers in the area.

"They can take their time as Sydney and Melbourne have both experienced exceptional market growth over the last five years."

Along with Sydney and Melbourne, people are also coming from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

"We have also seen an increase in empty nesters coming off acreage and looking for the sea change. The kids have left home and they are looking for more low maintenance and lifestyle," she said.

"Locals are also jumping in as they appreciate that it is not slowing.

"We've had several buyers coming from Byron Bay for a quieter lifestyle, less traffic, and the ease of access to north and south."

Renovations are also increasingly popular.

"There is very limited land available so locals are looking at maximising property potential," Ms Manahan said.

BUY OR RENT

Buy house: $837,500

Rent house: $565

CAPITAL GROWTH

3 months: 0.3%

12 months: 16.3%

3 years: 73.6%

5 years: 113.6%

10 years: 6.1%

THE STATISTICS

Days on market: 96

Hold period: 7.9 years

Rental yields: Houses: 3.5%

Units : na

Population: 809

Household income: $1130

Median age: 40