Its property market may have been under-rated in the past, but the secret appears to be out regarding the benefits of life in Oak Flats.
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Sue Beaver and husband John, both retired and living near Fairfield, wanted to relocate to the Illawarra.
"We were looking for somewhere close to the beach and close to the lake," Mrs Beaver said.
"So we started looking around Berkeley, Lake Heights, Warilla, Albion Park; within a radius of about ten kilometres of the lake and the beach.
"We wanted something with not much land, three bedrooms, and didn't need a lot of work.
"We hadn't really investigated Oak Flats that much. So when we came and saw the shopping centre, and the location near the train station and buses everywhere, we thought it was ideal."
The Beavers bought a two-year-old townhouse in Theodore Street and moved in during May.
Mrs Beaver said they hadn't necessarily planned to buy a townhouse, as they were concerned about stairs, but said this hadn't been an issue.
She said they enjoyed the privacy and low maintenance.
"Being close to public transport is good, the shopping area is lovely, and the people are really friendly," she said.
Gail Cady has run Layla Blu Boutique in Central Avenue for 28 years.
She lived in Lyne Street for a number of years as a teen.
After not residing in Oak Flats for about 30 years, Ms Cady sold her property at Yallah and in January bought a home in the same street she grew up in.
"Not a lot has changed in my street," she said.
"There's two sets of units that have gone up down my end... Nanna and Pa's house is still there, their two little houses. They used to own the whole corner with their little farm there with the chickens and vegie garden.
"It's a beautiful suburb, it's got everything. The lake, the cycleways, a great little shopping centre. And it's just a lovely community.
"It's a beautiful area. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."
Judy Garrett has lived in the same Barton Street house for 57 years that she built with late husband Edward.
They had been living in Kiama beforehand.
"We just liked the area - it was in the bush then," she said of Oak Flats.
"The change has been amazing, especially in the past 15 years. You wouldn't get a spare block in Oak Flats now. A lot of the old houses have been pulled down and units put on because our blocks are so big.
"I think those big blocks appeal to people, and the area too, as it's a great area."
Development within Oak Flats is not without its critics.
Keith Lopuszynski has lived in Oak Flats for 27 years.
Retiree Mr Lopuszynski said he had recently seen a vast increase in the number of "two-storey, 99 per cent concrete covered blocks, with no green, no trees, just concrete" being built in Oak Flats.
He likened these types of builds - sometimes stand-alone homes and sometimes duplexes - to "prison blocks", and said they were inappropriate for families and seniors, while the high density of the builds wasn't consistent with the character of older suburbs like Oak Flats.
"It's not really taking into account community or family needs, rather the investor who's just putting apartments up for rent," Mr Lopuszynski said.
"When you're in a unit-type town, there's less contact between families, so there's less community."
Market overview
Alex Cockcroft from Ray White Shellharbour City said while Oak Flats had perhaps been under-rated in the past, it had caught on during recent years.
"I sold a house on Lake Entrance Road in June for $1,020,000," he said.
"I've sold that house three times in seven years, and each time it's grown. People are paying over a million dollars now to live in Oak Flats."
Mr Cockcroft said families and investors were the demographics most interested in Oak Flats, with the occasional first home buyer.
"You're five minutes from Stockland Shellharbour, you can be at the beach, the lake, it's so central to everything," he said.
"It's really like the heart of Shellharbour City when you look at it on the map."
Mr Cockcroft sold 87 Wentworth Street for $850,000 last week to an investor, after just two days on the market.
It was going to go to auction later this month, but "the owner's expectations were exceeded within two days".
"I put that down to just purely low stock at the moment," Mr Cockcroft said.
"Houses on the big blocks are becoming less and less.
"You are getting a lot of developers who are making big offers because they can make money. But you still are getting families and first home buyers who really want that whole, let the kids play in the backyard, maybe put a pool in one day type of thing, that you don't get in these newer subdivisions."
For sale
According to CoreLogic, the median sales price of houses in the area is $677,000.
Other recent sales in Oak Flats include 88 The Boulevarde for $750,000, and 72 Bridge Avenue for $970,000.
Monique Field from Monique Field Property is selling agent for 57 Fisher Street.
Set on 696 square metres, the four-bedroom, three-bathroom house is due to be auctioned on August 30.
There isn't currently a price guide, but Mrs Field said there was considerable interest from mainly local buyers, and some Sydney parties.
"If you put that house in Shell Cove or Kiama, I don't know what it would be worth," she said.
"It's just an outstanding property. They've spared no expense on the internals."
Features include an in-ground swimming pool, and an outdoor, all-weather home theatre projector, which allows for home dive-in movies.
Among Michelle Mannex from Shellharbour Marina Real Estate's current listings is 74 Griffiths Street.
The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home has a price guide of $630,000 to $650,000.
Ms Mannex said the home was primarily attracting interest from first home buyers and downsizers, as well as a few investors.
Also on the market is the townhouse at 14B Moore Street.
Featuring three bedrooms and two bathrooms, it has a price guide of $750,000.
The selling agent is Amanda Bonnici from Ray White Shellharbour City.
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
