Evelyn Smith was the first owner of 2 Emerald Avenue, Pearl Beach in what was then a new estate. She got it for a price that is hard to fathom nowadays.

She passed the property on to her daughter Irene Edwardes in the early 1960s.

In 1965, a three-bedroom cottage was built on the block. Irene and her husband moved there in 1966 with their daughter Kim Jones. They added a fourth bedroom in the 1970s.

Kim inherited the property and lived there with her family until a few years ago.

She and her partner sold the place last month for $2.5 million through real estate agent Alana Gargaro, of Residential HQ Central Coast.

"We will be sad to say goodbye to such a piece of family history, but the time was right for us to move up to Queensland and pass this little piece of paradise on," Kim said. "Never in my life could I have imagined having this much money. We can't believe how much it sold for."

The Newcastle Herald reported this week that Pearl Beach holds the price record for the Central Coast, with an $8.6 million sale in June of a beachfront property at 18a Coral Crescent.

Alana said the sale price of 2 Emerald Avenue showed the high demand for Pearl Beach properties. "There were several interested parties, but it was finally sold to a young Sydney couple who bought it as a holiday home," Alana said.

Dwelling prices have risen there by 46 per cent over the past year, CoreLogic data shows. Alana said the Central Coast had experienced strong demand from buyers from NSW and Victoria.

"Pearl Beach remains one of the most sought-after areas on the Coast for its natural beauty and charm."

Alana said it was "rare to find such a wonderful property that has been in the same family for almost 100 years and passed from generation to generation".

The property sure is a gem.

Speaking of gems and Pearl Beach, the coastal suburb is known for its "jewelled streets".

A history of the suburb, documented on visitpearlbeach.com, said that in 1921 businessman Clive Staples bought four parcels of land that now comprise the village of Pearl Beach.

Some say he renamed the area Pearl Beach because the surf patterns on shore "resembled a string of pearls". In 1925, he subdivided the area and offered the land for sale as the "Pearl Beach Estate".

Many of the streets are named after gems - Diamond Road, Pearl Beach Drive, Emerald Avenue, Amethyst Avenue, Opal Close, Gem Road, Jade Place and Agate Avenue.

No roads were named after the ruby gem. One theory suggests Clive didn't want to be reminded of the death of his daughter Ruby.

"Never in my life could I have imagined having this much money. We can't believe how much it sold for."

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