TENNIS COURTS LOB HIGH RETURNS FOR PRIME MARKET

Driven by shifting lifestyle changes brought about by COVID-19 and furthered by rising market confidence, new research has outed a dramatic spike in the sale of Australian super-prime properties holding tennis courts.

Knight Frank’s inaugural Australian Residential Tennis Court Premium report has found sales of super-prime property with courts spiked during 2020 – $682.8m transacted across 38 sales, up 230% on 2019’s 14 sales.

Properties with tennis courts commanded a 22% higher sale price than those without, the average price rising by 1.6% to $18 million in 2020. The research also found nearly a quarter (23%) of all super-prime residential 2020 sales were properties with courts.

“In 2020, Sydney saw $436.6 million of tennis court-featured super-prime sales across 22 transactions, although this total volume fell short by 3 per cent of surpassing its highest volume reached in 2018,” said Knight Frank’s Head of Residential Research Michelle Ciesielski.

Beyond volume, a cultural shift driven by the pandemic is said to have heightened purchaser desires.

“Australians transformed the way they lived in 2020 due to COVID-19, with the role of the home expanding to become a place of work, education and vacation due to periodic lockdowns during the pandemic,” added Knight Frank’s National Head of Residential, Shaye Harris.

Based on sales figures since 2011, the top three performing suburbs for super-prime properties with tennis courts were Melbourne’s Toorak (39 sales), Sydney’s Bellevue Hill (23 sales) and Vaucluse and Mosman, which were equal third with 16 sales.

Last June Tennis Australia reported a significant rise in interest in the sport – online booking data across 173 venues revealing that the number of court bookings more than doubled from 10,912 in May 2019 to 22,569 in May 2020.

A Mid-Century Modern home in Carmel, California, hit the market on Friday for just the third time in 70 years with a listing price of $4.25 million.

Located in the community of Carmel Highlands, the house is just steps from the coastline and comes with private beach access, according to the listing with Tim Allen of Coldwell Banker Realty in Northern California. Allen was not immediately available for comment.

The property last changed hands in 2010 when Hollywood screenwriter Richard Outten bought it for $990,000, public records show. Outten penned the screenplays for the 1992 movie “Pet Sematary Two” and the 1987 film “Lionheart,” and created the story for the 2012 “Journey to the Center of the Earth” sequel, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.” He was not immediately available for comment.

Built in 1953, the home’s mid-century charm has been preserved over the years while still being updated for modern living. Interior details include wood paneling, exposed-brick walls and beamed ceilings.

The single-level house has 1,785 square feet, which includes three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Though not directly on the water, large windows flanking the adobe-brick, wood-burning fireplace look out at the ocean.

Sliding glass doors create a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor living. Outside, there’s a large patio surrounded by lush landscaping, and there are also meandering paths through sustainable succulent gardens, according to the listing.

In addition to its close proximity to the beach, the home is a 10-minute walk from downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea.

As of July, the median list price in Carmel is $3.1 million, up 8% from last year, even as active listings have increased 50% year over year, according to data from Realtor.com.

TENNIS COURTS LOB HIGH RETURNS FOR PRIME MARKET

Increasingly rare and sought out, residential courts drive a 230% sales surge.

Owned by Richard Outten, who’s penned screenplays for films including “Pet Sematary Two” and “Lionheart,” this is only the third time the home has been on the market