Hi, I live at Bilgola Plateau (just above Newport), and have been here for 31 years. In my view it is a great time to buy a house in the area particularly in that price range , as prices are depressed here at the present time. Neighbours who really want to sell are having a hard time and a number of them have moved out and rented their house out and will sell when the market improves.

However, it is quite different for apartments in Newport. I assisted my daughter in buying a one bed apartment in Newport  2 years ago and as there is now a great shortage of 1 bed apartments in Newport it has shot up in value. The "greening" of the Newport shopping centre etc by the Council just after she bought certainly helped.

She is on the lookout for a house in Newport in your price range. There are some great buys for her as she will get top price for her apartment and a depressed price for a house on buying it!!!! She will probably sell/buy early next year after getting married. I would not wait too long to act though if I was in your situation. Make sure you get a Geo tech report before buying by a good structural engineer as it is a slip area on the sloping blocks which are common in the area.
Hope this helps a bit.