It wasn’t alone. The top-end beach locations around Australia have plummeted and Ray White believes even Byron Bay has dropped off and the “Chris Hemsworth” effect has dissipated.

Its list of beach suburbs that have lost their shine is led by WA’s Eagle Bay where the median price fell by $701,000, nudging Sunshine Beach into second place by $1000. Sunshine Beach also dropped out of the $3 million plus bracket and its median sale price is now $2.5 million.

Across the border at Casuarina the median sale price has fallen by $325,000 to $1.975 million. Byron’s median price is down 26 per cent to $2.3 million.

“It is, in fact, more common to hear about the reverse Chris Hemsworth effect these days, as commentary focuses on a retreat from coastal regions,” Ray White data analyst William Clark said.

Byron went through a real estate boom four years ago on the back of Hemsworth’s arrival in the beachside town where he and his wife Elsa Pataky, built a mansion estimated at $20 million.

That was followed by a rush to the coast during Covid when people were able to work from home. A similar impact hit the Sunshine Coast.

According to the Ray White analysis, while the top-end beachside suburbs had fallen, those in the $1 million to $2 million bracket have surged.

Dicky Beach increased by $412,000 between 2022 and March 2023. The nearby Shelley Beach jumped by $372,000 to $1.95 million and Noosa was up $290,000 to $2.22 million.

“It appears the coastal holiday market has been far more resilient than early commentary had suggested and as our capital cities now return to growth it is likely the holiday home will see at least of the same gains seen in the cities,” Clark said.