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This week, we’re asking our readers to share how they’re engaging with their audience on social media. What type of content are you sharing? What’s resonating with your followers and friends?
What would you pay for a Centennial Park mansion with features such as a solar-heated plunge pool with waterfall, a Gone with the Wind-style staircase; a 20-seat dining room and a 14-car garage?
Hoteliers Sandy and Angelo Elliott’s six-bedroom, eight-bathroom home at 18 Martin Road has all of these things and it’s just been listed with LJ Hooker Double Bay’s Bill Malouf and Margaret Morosi.
There’d been lofty ambitions of breaking the $16.5m suburb record when the property was previously listed in March with another agent.
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The record had been set when tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes sold his Lang Rd mansion, Braelin, for $16.5 million, in 2018.
But these hopes have now been revised to simply exceeding the $13m offer the Elliotts — who have purchased a $20m+ apartment at One Barangaroo — have received previously.
. Among the Martin Rd home’s many other attractions are a continual water supply thanks to a bore and of course palatial interiors.
The house is simply too big for the empty-nester couple, who say they are now “right sizing” to One Barangaroo Crown Residences, which are in James Packer’s Wilkinson Eyre-designed landmark hotel tower complete next year.
Details about the apartment haven’t been provided, except it’s known it was purchased in the $20 million to $30 million range.
CoreLogic records show the Elliotts purchased the 802 sqm property across the road from Centennial Park for $950,000 — the price of some one bedroom apartments today — 32 years ago in 1988.
However, the original house was torn down 20 years ago with the current residence, built in the grand Victorian style, rising in its place.
The master suite has a sitting and living room with built-in TV and two balconies overlooking Centennial Park. The luxurious spa ensuite has gold fittings.
The post Hoteliers Sandy and Angelo Elliott’s Centennial Park mansion comes with 14-car garage appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Qantas is looking to sublease half of its entire Sydney headquarters as it continues to deal with the fallout from COVID-19.
The national flag carrier who announced on Tuesday it could move its head office away from Sydney, is offering businesses the ability to lease two stand-alone buildings at 10 Bourke Rd, Mascot.
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With up to 20,000sqm of office available, prospective tenants are being lured with the promise of a “highly competitive rental rate” of around $450 per sqm.
Forming part of the national flag carrier’s headquarters, the buildings have recently been renovated with new open plan workstations, meeting rooms, collaboration and breakout areas.
The space on offer represents two of the four buildings which currently house Qantas staff, with the airline retaining the head lease for another 12 years. There is 14,690 sqm of office space across six levels available in one building, with the ability to lease each floor separately.
The other building has two level with 5036sqm of space for lease and is being offer in one line.
Colliers International South Sydney director Michael Crombie, who is managing the listing with his colleague Neil Murray, said the buildings were two of the best commercial offerings in Mascot.
“We are seeing an increasing number of Sydney CBD and fringe tenants looking at South Sydney as a great alternative, we still have incredible access to rail and amenities,” he said.
“The rent will be the major selling point, especially when occupiers see the quality of this fit out.”
The decision to lease part of its national headquarters follows the airline on Tuesday confirming it had started a tender proposal with state governments about relocating its Sydney office and maintenance operations in Brisbane.
As well as the Sydney properties, the airline is looking to also sublease 2000sqm of office space in Melbourne at 333 Collins Street.
There is also 1500sqm up for grabs at its Qantas Premium Contact Centre in Hobart, which Colliers said is an opportunity for an organisation to commence a call centre style of operation at a reduced start-up cost.
Previously Qantas has announced a number of saving measures including the grounding of its Airbus A380 fleet until 2023, as well as a number of Boeing 787-9s until at least mid-2021.
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The post Qantas to lease 20,000sqm at head office as airline deals with coronavirus fallout appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Basketball star Andrew Bogut has hit back at claims his Beaumaris mega mansion would destroy precious coastal habitat.
The ex-NBA player used Twitter to say it was “a little concerning to be feeling like a criminal” for returning to his home city and attempting to build his dream home, after his extravagant property plans came under fire from the Beaumaris Conservationist Society.
The basketballer submitted plans to Bayside Council for a three-storey mansion that includes a swimming pool, half-sized basketball court, gym, sauna, massage room, rooftop terrace and a basement with a home cinema, cellar and car stacker that fits 16 vehicles.
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The lavish $5m build, which also has a summer house with a games room, would replace a celebrated Beaumaris garden that was designed by former owner, Joan McCrae.
Beaumaris Conservation Society member Caroline Lawton told the Herald Sun that plans at 2 Point Ave and 401 Beach Road, which Bogut owns, would involve ripping out dozens of mature trees and native vegetation.
She said the “visual bulk” of the mansion and the height of its fence was inappropriate for the area.
“It doesn’t sit comfortably within its environment,” she told the Herald Sun.
“The natural feel of the area, the bird life, the wildlife, the loss of vegetation, the unmade roads and the feel of this very special part of Point Avenue, Beaumaris will be lost forever.”
Bogut responded to the community concerns via Twitter on Tuesday night, claiming the trees were “considered a fire hazard” at the time he bought the property.
He said his property plans were “70 per cent open space and gardens”, with more than 5500 plants and 50 canopy trees included in the landscaping.
“We are comfortable in saying that not one other property in the area would be close to that ratio,” Bogut said.
“Our architect has designed a home that specifically responds to retaining and protecting the beautiful Moreton Bay fig trees … we have a tree which we believed is older than any person currently living and we have made sure that it will be a feature of this property.”
Bogut would not budge on plans for a large fence, retweeting a photo of people standing outside his vacant block yesterday that showed he was already receiving unwanted attention from media and local residents.
“We have two young children under four and I have made a concerted effort my whole career to give them a childhood outside of the spotlight of a professional athlete,” he said.
“I will continue to try and do this moving forward.”
Bogut, who runs a basketball academy in Carrum Downs, was most recently playing with the Sydney Kings in the NBL until he left the club mid-2020.
When contacted by the Herald Sun on Monday night, Bogut initially played down the environmental concerns raised by community members.
“I am building a refuge for cats and birds to live in,” he said.
“They will enjoy the view.”
But his Twitter statement acknowledged the concerns of the Beaumaris Conservation Society and confirmed he had spoken to his direct neighbour, an arborist and liaised with Bayside Council about the development.
“It is a little concerning feeling like a criminal for returning to my home city and attempting to build a home I didn’t think would ever be possible,” Bogut said.
“I don’t want sympathy, or anything like that, I only hope this matter is treated fairly by all involved and we can move on civilly.”
A Bayside Council spokeswoman told the Herald Sun the full proposal for the development could be inspected on the council website.
It was too early to say when the application would be considered by the council, she said.
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The post Andrew Bogut: Basketball champ defends Beaumaris mansion plans appeared first on realestate.com.au.
The coronavirus pandemic is doing little to deter househunters from snapping up property in two regional South Australian locations.
Whyalla and Mount Gambier are among the country’s top 10 local government areas that have recorded the strongest price growth in the past three months (June to August), according to latest realestate.com.au data.
Whyalla came in fourth, notching 25 per cent growth to take its median house price to $174,000, while Mount Gambier came in seventh, with a 20 per cent increase to a median of $277,000.
Blights Real Estate director Gregg Utting said an increasing number of sales, particularly at a high price point, was responsible for the growth.
“There has been a good number of sales at the higher end of the market, which will skew some of the median price data,” he said.
“We’ve been in an improving market for a couple of years and a really strong market for the past four or five months.
“Listing numbers are down now, which creates more buyer demand as well.”
Mr Utting said most of the buyers were locals and they felt confident buying property now because the area hadn’t been too heavily impacted by COVID-19 like some others.
“I think there’s just a continued sense of optimism around the town,” he said.
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In the South East, Ray White Mt Gambier principal Tahlia Gabrielli said local and interstate househunters were flocking to the region, which had bumped prices up.
She said more people were moving to the area because they were able to work from home as a result of COVID-19, while others were investing in the region because they believed bricks and mortar was a safer alternative to a term deposit.
“We’re actually achieving higher prices for properties because the demand is there – we’re listing properties and having multiple offers on it in the first week,” she said.
“There’s been much more demand and there’s less stock on the market, which is pushing prices up.”
Chief economist at realestate.com.au Nerida Conisbee said the national list was “overwhelmingly” dominated by regional areas.
“The shift in interest to the regions is one of the more fascinating – and positive – trends to come out of COVID-19 – and the high level of interest in regional Australia is now flowing through to short-term pricing growth,” she said.
The post Two SA locations among Australia’s top 10 to record strongest price growth in the past three months appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Once a haven from Sydney’s rising property prices, the demand for land in the west is also on the up. But there are still some pockets where it’s possible to snap up an affordable block of land to build a dream home.
Western Sydney was once an antidote to the harbour city’s sky-high property prices, offering buyers a precious chance to break into the competitive market. However, as Sydney’s population rises and the amenity and infrastructure in the west keep growing, prices in the area have been climbing.
“Sydney is the third least affordable city in the world after Hong Kong and Vancouver,” says Nerida Conisbee, chief economist at realestate.com.au. “The north-west in particular has become more expensive — it has been one of the fastest price growth areas in Sydney, primarily because it has had a lot of money spent on infrastructure, particularly train lines.”
While Western Sydney still costs less than other parts of Sydney, where the median house price sits at $860,000, in the decade to 2018, suburbs in Western Sydney topped Sydney’s price growth charts. In fact, the median dwelling price in some western suburbs jumped by nearly 150% in some Western Sydney suburbs.
Behind the boost in prices is a population rise, with projections from the NSW Department of Planning showing that Greater Sydney is forecast to be home to more than 6.6 million people by 2036. Much of that growth is expected to be accommodated in the west.
Another reason is the boost in transport infrastructure, notably the new Sydney Metro Northwest line, which has frequent automated trains running between Tullawong and Chatswood. The next stage will include an extension from the city through to Bankstown, while a link will also be extended out to the new Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek.
“Governments have committed a lot of infrastructure into making Western Sydney a great place to live and that’s made it more popular with home buyers,” says Conisbee.
The flipside to all of this activity is that housing affordability is becoming an increasing challenge. Prices in Western Sydney are still higher than what you would pay for an equivalent area in a different capital city across Australia.
To help solve the problem, Landcom, the NSW Government’s land and property development organisation, is developing new communities in both Northwest Sydney and Southwest Sydney, with a focus on affordability, the environment and community sustainability.
Greg Barnett, sales and project marketing director of Landcom, says it has a variety of developments underway in the west — notably Rosebank in the northwest, and Newbrook and Macarthur Heights in the southwest.
The average land price at the new communities is around $385,000. Barnett says Newbrook is particularly affordable, with some blocks up for grabs at around $330,000.
Providing affordable housing is essential, but there’s also a move towards people wanting a home that’s environmentally sustainable.
“At Macarthur Heights we’ve implemented a sustainability initiative to encourage purchasers to upgrade their energy footprint and then rewarding them with a $15,000 rebate when they do,” says Barnett.
People are also seeking more than just a home – they want a great local community to connect to.
“We have a community development programme running at most of our projects, where the goal is to bring people together to help create the genesis of the new community,” he says.
A number of government assistance schemes are also on hand to help make buying more affordable. Conisbee says first home buyers in particular have been snapping up offers this year.
“House and land in particular is seeing a lot of interest since the HomeBuilder scheme was introduced,” she says.
HomeBuilder is a federal scheme that offers eligible owner-occupiers a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, or substantially renovate an existing home.
Another option in NSW is the First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme, which gives stamp duty exemptions and concessions on land and new homes, depending on the purchasing price.
New projects in Western Sydney is still the best bet for young families looking for land at an affordable price, says Barnett.
“We’re providing people who want to buy into projects such as Newbrook the most affordable land in Sydney,” he says.
The post Finding affordable land in Western Sydney appeared first on realestate.com.au.
They’ve been living the last three years in a character-filled home they had admired for years before moving in, but Peter and Sally Tullet have decided after a major renovation that it’s time for a treechange.
The couple have just purchased a 32ha macadamia farm in the Byron Bay area and will be moving there once they sell their Newport house on Crescent Rd at auction tonight.
“I put my dream kitchen into the house, but it will be for someone else — an opportunity came up that we just couldn’t pass,” Ms Tullet said.
They’re part of a growing wave of Sydneysiders seeking out properties in locations they once dismissed for being out of reach or too insular.
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The opposite is occurring across inner city locations once prized for being close to the CBD: many buyers are viewing the pricier housing and smaller property sizes with caution.
This has resulted in a mismatch in price growth across regions.
Data from SQM Research revealed unit prices in the Sydney CBD have dropped by nearly 10 per cent over the past three months.
Prices in regional NSW have continued to grow, while prices in further-flung Sydney suburbs also had a rise – including in northern beaches enclaves Newport and Collaroy, where the increases over the three months were 14.5 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively.
There was also strong growth over the past year in the Illawarra region, with average growth of 10.7 per cent, and in the Southern Highlands, where growth was 5.3 per cent, according to CoreLogic.
“Being in lockdown made us realise, ‘what are we waiting for?’ We decided if we didn’t (move) now it would have to be in a few more years so we just did it and got what I’d say is a hobby farm,” Ms Tullet said.
“We also wanted more space. I feel like the land is in my DNA. We are looking forward to starting our next great chapter.”
Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said buyers were likely prioritising space after being cooped up at home for much of the pandemic.
Most of the local government areas with the strongest growth in prices over the past three months were in regional areas, especially “white-collar nomad driven” markets like Byron Bay, she added.
Increased work from home arrangements may have also encouraged buyers to seek out “lifestyle” locations near beaches or national parks, she said.
“It’s clear that a longer commute doesn’t bother people as much as it might have before, which makes sense if you’re only going into the office once or twice a week,” Ms Conisbee said.
She added that, in Sydney, this trend was particularly evident in the northern beaches. Newport had Sydney’s most popular listings over the past year measured by the average amount of buyer engagement the homes attracted online, with Collaroy close behind.
LJ Hooker-Palm Beach agent Gordon Spring said there has been a recent influx of buyers into the northern beaches from areas such as Summer Hill and Leichhardt in the inner west. Many were professionals who worked in the CBD, he said.
“Lifestyle is paramount to these people,” he said. “No one was really sure how the pandemic was going to play out in February but now that it has become a bit clearer and it seems working from home will be more of a permanent thing, people want to live somewhere with a bit more space for their families. You get a bit of everything up here.”
The post Pandemic shifts buyer focus from city to further-flung suburbs and regional areas appeared first on realestate.com.au.
Lovers of the iconic ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air can finally sit on the throne and enjoy their kingdom in the actual mansion that features in the TV series and be hosted remotely by the show’s star Will Smith.
At a price even the show’s character could afford of only $41 per night, this incredible mansion could be yours for the night – or at least a wing of the mansion. The shoe collection, however, is off limits.
Located in LA’s Brentwood Park, the Airbnb listing offers nightly stays where guests are greeted by a virtual host, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Smith’s socially-distanced mansion concierge to give you the lay of the land. All meals are supplied “on a silver platter, of course”.
Smith, who listed the space with the permission of the home’s actual owners, said on the site:
“Some may say I’ve done it all, but I’ve never opened the doors to a wing of the iconic mansion that helped launch my career. It holds a lot of special memories for me and my friends, and I hope you’ll leave with memories (and a dope handshake!) to last you well beyond your stay.”
During the stay, guests will get to indulge in a few “royal perks” including:
But it’s not all about flashy bling and finery. Airbnb has pledged to make a one-time donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, a program that supports youth, including those in greatest need, by offering development and skill-building programs, recreational activities and empowerment tools. It is a cause close to Philadelphia-native Smith’s heart.
The actor also addressed the current pandemic crisis and assured would-be guests that their safety was his top priority.
Guests will have a wing of the manor to themselves from check-in to check-out, with no other guests in the house during their stay, “not even a family member from Philly”.
“And you can rest easy in your prince…er, KING-size bed knowing that I’ve committed to cleaning prior to your arrival in accordance with Airbnb’s enhanced cleaning protocol.”
Bookings for the one-night stays on five dates in October open at the end of September. Sadly, only LA County residents are in the running to spend a night in the Fresh Prince’s shoes.
The post Live like a Fresh Prince in the show’s iconic Bel-Air mansion appeared first on realestate.com.au.
When a home has a showroom for eight vehicles – not a garage – it’s no wonder it fetched a $4.4m price – and then there’s the amazing Georgian manor itself, 15km from Brisbane CBD.
The six bedroom, four bathroom, eight car park home sits on a hectare of land at 131 Pullenvale Road, Pullenvale, about 20 minutes drive from the Brisbane CBD.
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Brett Greensill and Jermaine Jones of McGrath Estate Agents New Farm sold the home last week for $4.4m after listing it as a “fully rebuilt, renovated, extended and newly landscaped family home”.
That’s somewhat of an understatement for this sprawling property which the owners had re-done since buying it 15 years ago.
“The quality of this renovation is flawless with exceptional attention to detail and makes this one of Brisbane’s finest acreage properties,” was how it was described in the listing.
It’s more resort-style living than anything else. The six bedroom are all suites, two of which are masters and two for guests.
It has landscaped and irrigated gardens, a resort pool, tennis court, that eight-vehicle showroom, a gym, workshop to potter in, handpainted bespoke cabinetry, stone benchtops, fully zoned airconditioning and comprehensive security systems.
As if that’s not enough, there’s even a “multi-zoned temperature controlled wine cellar with tasting room”.
The sale was the highest price fetched in Queensland last week, according to CoreLogic records.
The post Georgian manor sells for $4.4m appeared first on realestate.com.au.
As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19 — and terms like lockdown, social distancing and self-isolation becoming mainstream — a stronger focus has emerged around how our homes respond to our everyday needs.
Since stay-at-home measures were enforced, Arden Homes general manager of sales Matt Wells has noticed priorities among new-home buyers shift.
“The time we’re going through is uncharted territory, and with it comes uncertainty and stress,” Mr Wells said. “But our home remains our safe place and our sanctuary.”
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Porter Davis new home consultant and knockdown-rebuild specialist Teresa Wright said today’s buyers wanted a flexible floorplan to accommodate some of the lifestyle changes they had needed to embrace.
“They want to futureproof their home for circumstances that may arise like this again,” Ms Wright said.
Home work
Requests for studies that can be closed off and soundproofed are on the up, according to Mr Wells. This follows the majority of Victorians working from home and students returning to remote learning under the stage four restrictions.
“A study with a door, rather than an open study, is preferred so they can effectively close the room off to other household activity,” he explained.
A professional-looking backdrop for video conferences is another popular request, either in the form of stylish built-in cabinetry, feature wallpaper, or a simple gallery wall highlighted with a statement artwork.
“Individual study spaces for kids are also now equally important, with a trend towards built-in study nooks with fitted desks for each bedroom,” Mr Wells said.
Ms Wright said many of their buyers thought working from home would be more accessible to them post-coronavirus and wanted to ensure they had the space to do it effectively.
“Having zoned heating and cooling to be able to heat or cool the areas they are working in, not the whole home, forms part of that picture,” she said.
Light and space
Spending more time together at home has made us crave more space. But Mr Wells said even if you had a small house, there were creative design ideas you could introduce to make it feel bigger.
“If budget permits, stacker sliding doors can really help bring the outdoors in, while a sun court would allow more natural light into the home and make indoor spaces feel airier,” he said.
Ms Wright has seen a growing demand for voids in two-storey homes as another way to emphasise light and spaciousness.
“People are also considering the orientation of their land more than ever, so they can be sure to maximise the best natural light in their new home,” she said.
In the zone
More living zones were also being sought as part of the response to the strict stay-at-home measures, Mr Wells said.
These include a dedicated theatre or games room where people can go and make a bit of noise without disturbing the rest of the family, and a sitting area within the main bedroom to provide parents with a getaway space.
A growing interest in multifunctional rooms was something Ms Wright had observed. Study zones that could be converted to a living space at night and on the weekends, or a guest bedroom, were high on the list.
“This allows us to relax, work and play all within the same room if necessary,” she said.
Mr Wells also found some buyers were choosing floorplans with an extra bedroom to use as a gym, or for yoga, meditation or prayer.
“They want space where they can care for their physical and spiritual wellbeing,” he said.
Take it outside
Having some space for outdoor activity has become more valued among new-home buyers, according to Ms Wright.
“People want to maximise their backyard space for kids to play,” she said. “They are also looking for garage extensions to set up a home gym or to accommodate a home gym in undercover outdoor areas.”
Before the home was built, Mr Wells said people were having conversations around how they could make their gardens feel private and calming with features like vertical gardens, fish ponds and vegie gardens. And those with enough backyard space were making provisions for a pool, he added
“The focus is on creating a feeling of escapism, even though there are neighbours all around,” Mr Wells said.
Health and hygiene
Moving forward, Mr Wells felt there would be greater consideration around the type of materials used for high-touch areas.
“I can see this pandemic fostering more thought around things such as handles, tapware and benchtops that get touched a lot, and a move towards surfaces that are easy to wipe down and more hygienic,” he said.
A self-contained section of the home was another idea he floated as an option to cater for family members who may need to self-isolate.
“It would allow the rest of the family to move around the main home more safely and with ease,” he said.
The post How COVID-19 is changing new home designs appeared first on realestate.com.au.