Twelve of the 15 lots in the second Bonville Parkway release were snapped up in the first 24 hours.

The lots were nestled between The Links golf course and bush reserve, ranging in price from $270,000 to $410,000.

While the 2007-8 downturn in the residential market forced Australand to delay the marina, development director Glenn Colquhoun said sales were now increasing.

"It's got a lot of amenities on offer and a lot of promise - there's not too many locations with a coastal lifestyle with a boat harbour," he said.

He said a mix of families, empty nesters and investors were buying the properties, with 60 per cent already living within a 10-kilometre radius and a further 20 per cent from the broader Illawarra.

"The price rules out first home buyers," he said.

Illawarra Real Estate Institute division chairman Trevor Molenaar said the Sydney boom had trickled south and it was the second best market he had experienced in 15 years, after the 2003 boom.

"But people can be unrealistic, even in a really hot market," he said.

"If people don't listen, they will still be priced out of it."

Two development applications have been lodged in the Shallows Drive area of Shell Cove, one for 88 residential lots, 14 super lots, four public reserves and a lot for future car parking and a sewage pump station, and another for 24 two-storey dwellings.

They were lodged with the Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel but have been referred back to Shellharbour City Council.

Construction began on a new 27-home display village and sales centre on Cove Boulevarde recently.

Stage one of the boat harbour was due for completion last week, but the date will most likely be pushed back to March 12.

Mr Colquhoun said Australand hoped to announce the contract for stage two in the next two months.