Australia’s Prestige Lifestyle Property Boom

Many wealthy Australians are leaving the city and heading for the hills, or the beach, desperate to find a luxurious hideaway from which they can work and play.

Relocating to some of the country’s most desirable regional locations is an unexpected silver lining for the prestige property market after the pandemic resulted in strict lockdowns, social-distancing measures across the country, and a ban on in-person inspections and onsite auctions.

It didn’t stop buyers from house hunting online, though, and that’s translated into a surprisingly active year for many regional real estate agents in Sydney’s northern beaches, Northern New South Wales’ Byron Bay, Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, South East Queensland and Tasmania’s east coast

“We’re very busy and we weren’t expecting that back in March,” McGrath Estate Agents Avalon senior sales consultant James Baker said from the Northern Beaches, 50 kilometres north of Sydney.

“We were expecting it to be a tough time up here. Last time there was a recession and downturn [after the global financial crisis] the Avalon Beach, Palm Beach, Newport market was very slow,” he said.

More than a decade on, it’s a different story. People were already starting to work from home and change was occurring, Mr Baker said, and the pandemic has only accelerated that trend.

Meanwhile, the introduction of more reliable and faster internet services, coupled with the acceptance from businesses to allow their staff to work remotely, has also helped facilitate the trend.

“Some people are still working out whether this will be a long-term thing and there’s a bit of uncertainty among our clients. But for many who have holiday homes in New York, Greece or closer to home on Hamilton Island in Queensland, they can’t get to them,” Mr. Baker said.

“They’re very wealthy and they want to know they’ve got a place to get away to,” he added. “Everyone is looking for lifestyle and safety.”

A waterfront home on Mossman Court in Noosa Heads sold for A$6.4 million. — A waterfront home on Mossman Court in Noosa Heads sold for $6.4 million. Century 21 Conolly Hay Group

Northern Beaches

The increase in demand is putting pressure on prices in the Northern Beaches area, predominantly on properties valued at $3 million or more.

Homes such as the luxurious five-bedroom, five-bathroom property on Pittwater Road, Bayview, with 180-degree views of Pittwater and Lion Island, sold in September 2015 for $4.4 million.

Five years later, it hit the market again, this time in the middle of the pandemic. It attracted three offers, and although the sale price is confidential, Mr Baker confirmed it sold for more than its $5.5 million price guide.

The luxurious five-bedroom, five-bathroom property on Pittwater Road, Bayview, features 180-degree views. McGrath Estate Agents

Byron Bay

An hour’s flight north of Sydney, or 750 kilometres by car, the southeastern coastal town of Byron Bay is also experiencing some of the most intense buyer action in the country.

Once a sleepy surf town, Byron Bay has transformed in recent years and has become a trendy destination for those escaping the city, and the onset of Covid-19 has only heightened the town’s appeal.

Its relaxed atmosphere and beautiful coastline has long been a sought-after destination.

A beachfront home on Marine Parade in Wategos Beach hit the market in the final week of September sold within five days for a suburb record between $20 million to $22 million through LJ Hooker Avnu managing director Michael Coombs.

This beachfront home on Marine Parade in Wategos Beach hit the market in the final... — This beachfront home on Marine Parade in Wategos Beach hit the market in the final week of September sold within five days. LJ Hooker Avnu

The sellers, recruitment firm Morgan & Banks co-founder Geoff Morgan and his wife, Ros, bought the 664-square-meter beachfront site for A$1.2 million in 1994, according to sales records, and built an architecturally designed four-bedroom, four-bathroom resort-style holiday home.

SQM Research data shows Byron Bay’s property listing inventory at its lowest in the past decade with only 128 properties for sale as of Aug. 30. The number of properties for rent in the area has also plummeted, with vacancy rates dropping to 0.5% in August from a high of 7.5% in July.

Queensland

Across the border in Queensland, prestige homes and apartments in popular holiday destinations such as Noosa Heads have achieved higher-than-expected prices, multiple offers and significant interstate interest.

Century 21 managing director David Conolly confirms offshore, interstate and local interest has been strong.

“We’re not getting everyone here [due to border restrictions], but we’re still selling everything we can get our hands on,” he said.

Queensland borders remain closed to anyone who has been in a Covid-19 hotspot in the last 14 days. Currently, all of New South Wales and Victoria are hotspots.

“Noosa has been put on the map as a place to live and bring up your family,” Mr Conolly said “Covid has kicked our premium market forward significantly.”

In the final week of September, two apartments sold for about $3.5 million without hitting the open market, and a waterfront home on Mossman Court in Noosa Heads sold for $6.4 million in late August after 150 inquiries.

Mossman Court Noosa Heads — A waterfront home on Mossman Court in Noosa Heads sold for A$6.4 million. Century 21 Conolly Hay Group

Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula

Online traffic shows Australia’s most-viewed properties of 2020 are lifestyle homes with wow factor in highly desirable locations either coastal or mountains.

Search activity data from realestate.com.au has confirmed the trend among home buyers is for dreamy mansions in aspirational lifestyle locations.

REA Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee said those who were not tied to a central lifestyle for work were prioritizing lifestyle.

It meant areas such as the Central Coast and Southern Highlands of NSW—a 90-minute drive north and south of Sydney respectively—had regularly appeared at the top of search activity this year, alongside property on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

RT Edgar Flinders agent Peter Kennett has worked in the industry for more than three decades and five years ago bought himself a home on the Mornington Peninsula.

“Even 10 years ago, this area was attracting me for all the right reasons,” Mr Kennett said. “I’m originally from the land, and I did a lot of competitive horse riding. I also like wine, good restaurants and golf.”

Melbourne

Melbourne has experienced tougher lockdowns than any other city in Australia, with two highly restrictive periods of movements, curfews and social distancing measures introduced in March and July when cases spiked for a second time.

It has done little to stop wealthy buyers seeking refuge in the area, which Mr Kennett describes as “the Victorian Byron Bay” with its coastline, world-class wineries, restaurants and myriad of golf courses.

“You talk to people who have holiday houses down here, and they’re now thinking about making this permanent, how they can work remotely,” he said.

“We’re getting a mix of age groups, couples and families in their 30s and 40s who are deciding there’s good education here and a lifestyle that allows them to easily get to Melbourne for work or to see family,” Mr Kennett said.

Since Covid-19 case numbers have eased and movement restrictions were starting to lift, Mr Kennett expects October and November to be busy. Within a week of relaunching the marketing campaign to sell a 28-acre private boutique vineyard and luxury home on Rogers Road at Boneo, it was under offer.

Mr. Kennett said the sales campaign had been paused after in-person inspections were banned but within four days of resuming the marketing on Oct. 1, three offers were made and the property sold well above the $6.5 million to $7.15 million price guide.

The luxury home on Rogers Road at Boneo was sold well above the price guide. RT Edgar Flinders.

Tasmania

The closure of borders to Tasmania has been a blessing and a curse for the real estate industry.

Borders have been closed to all non-essential travellers since March, with mainland buyers resorting to online viewings via digital means.

The state government’s handling of the pandemic, along with its natural beauty, has meant Tasmania’s appeal is greater than ever to city slickers looking for a regional lifestyle escape.

Knight Frank agent Rodney Rawlings has seen extraordinary online interest in a luxury cliff-top property on the Tasman Highway, Four Mile Creek, 150 kilometres east of Launceston, with a A$2 million price expectation.

The pictured luxury cliff top property in Tasmania is asking for A$2 million. — The pictured luxury clifftop property in Tasmania is asking for $2 million. Knight Frank

He’s fielded inquiries from mainland Australia as well as locals and expects the opening of borders, potentially occurring in December, to bring a rush of inquiry, if it hasn’t already sold by then.

“Tasmania is such a safe haven, and because we’ve performed so well during the pandemic, this is going to have some real appeal when the borders open,” Mr Rawlings said.

Greenwich, Connecticut, is in New England (just barely), but that doesn’t mean it’s a quaint, sleepy small town with covered bridges and white churches on the green.

It’s leafy, certainly, but it’s also a luxury-minded power centre close to New York City, with many celebrity residents (director Ron Howard, singer Diana Ross, actor Meryl Streep and, at one time, Australia’s own Mel Gibson).

The main shopping street, Greenwich Avenue, is home to brand stores such as Hermès, Kate Spade, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Tiffany & Co.

And Greenwich, particularly in the “back country” north of the Merritt Parkway, is host to some of the most exclusive real estate in the world.

The average price for a single-family home in the second quarter of 2025 was USD $3.25 million (AUD $4.9 million). But that’s merely an entry point, buying a smaller home in one of the town’s less desirable neighbourhoods.

What does USD $43 million (AUD $66 million) buy in Greenwich?

Last autumn’s most expensive listing offered a 1,068-square-metre waterfront home with eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, plus “Gatsby-like lawns”, a gym, games room, party room, wine cellar, fruit orchard, pool and spa. The front and side porches have heated floors.

Prefer something more traditional and secluded? For USD $33 million (AUD $50 million), buyers could close on an 11,760-square-metre Georgian manor on 3.2 hectares, featuring eight fireplaces, an elevator, and a dumbwaiter.

The first floor features a three-storey cascading chandelier. For bibliophiles, there’s a two-storey mahogany library. If bocce is more your pace, a similar USD $25 million compound on 7.5 hectares, built for a liquor magnate in 2009, may appeal. Fourteen bathrooms should suffice.

The Greenwich market is strong, but not without challenges.

“The big problem is that there’s no inventory,” said Evangela Brock, an agent with Douglas Elliman. “It’s extremely low at all price points.”

In November, just 15 properties under USD $1 million (AUD $1.52 million) were listed without contracts, compared with 23 above USD $10 million (AUD $15.2 million). Of those, six had contracts pending. Greenwich has more than 17,000 single-family homes.

Kanebridge Quarterly toured two mid-priced houses in Greenwich. “You don’t lose money in Greenwich real estate,” said Beth MacGillivray, a realtor with the Higgins Group. “This is the hot spot.”

MacGillivray opened the door to a 733.9-square-metre Georgian colonial in the Sherwood Farms Association development her family built in 2005. The house was expected to sell for about USD $5 million (AUD $7,743,535).

The six-bedroom, four-level house is move-in ready, with staged furniture showing its potential and many of the amenities that buyers in this range expect.

Visitors enter through a two-storey foyer with a marble floor. A circular staircase leads to an airy living room with double-height ceilings.

There’s a main bedroom with his-and-hers bathrooms, a cherry-panelled library with cigar-smoke venting, five fireplaces, and a state-of-the-art kitchen with a breakfast nook by Greenwich-based designer Christopher Peacock.

Most rooms have huge walk-in wardrobes. Even the laundry room has granite countertops. Custom millwork, cabinetry and fixtures are evident throughout.

The drawbacks? A smaller yard and no pool. Still, refugees from the city would marvel at the abundant interior space.

Not far away, an entirely different house was on the market for USD $2.66 million.

The imposing 696.7-square-metre, nine-bedroom, seven-bath Georgian/Federal home on Shady Lane in the Glenville neighbourhood was built in 1900. Its good bones and inherent grandeur were apparent, as was a clear need for updating.

“It’s a good project for someone,” said realtor Kaori Higgins. “It needs the right buyer, someone who is looking to return it to its stately original condition.”

Given the hot market, some buyers may be tempted to tear it down and build anew.

But the house is filled with charming period details, including hand-built stone fireplaces, reading nooks, pocket doors, leaded windows and beautiful original millwork.

The second floor offers a vast veranda with views of Long Island Sound and a built-in swimming pool.

The drawbacks? Bathrooms that were awkwardly redesigned in the 1970s, unsightly flooring on the upper levels, and crumbling exterior elements.

Higgins noted that a nearby sister property, fully renovated, sold for USD $11 million (AUD $17 million). Any buyer of Shady Lane’s faded elegance would need both imagination and deep pockets.

For contrast, Kanebridge Quarterly left Greenwich for nearby Fairfield’s upscale Greenfield Hill neighbourhood to visit Lion’s Gate, a 595 square metre Tudor Revival home built as a modest dwelling in the 1920s but extensively expanded and remodelled in 2000.

With three acres of land, a guest cottage, an artist’s studio and a pool house, the asking price is USD $3.3 million (AUD $5 million). Like the Sherwood home, Lion’s Gate is flawlessly move-in ready, with designer touches throughout.

The entire second floor was added during the renovation and features parquet flooring, a massive main suite, arched doorways and 2.74-metre ceilings.

Many rooms include walk-in wardrobes, extensive carved millwork and built-ins. The wood-panelled library (on the site of the former stable) is warm and inviting.

The expansive kitchen includes a window seat with a hand-painted ceiling, a wine cooler and a butler’s pantry.

Realtor Lorelei Atwood said Fairfield faces the same inventory shortage as Greenwich.

“Demand is growing as more New York-based executives are being told they have to report to the office,” she said. “Fairfield has always been a commuter town.”

Why is this home USD $3.3 million (AUD $5 million), and the Sherwood property around USD $5 million (AUD $7,743,535)?

Location. Greenfield Hill is lovely, but Greenwich real estate occupies a rarefied class of its own.

Note: Thanks to realtor Sherri Steeneck for chaperoning.

This story appeared in the Autumn issue of Kanebridge Quarterly, which you can buy here.

Australia’s Prestige Lifestyle Property Boom

Amid Covid-19, areas outside major cities see a surge of interest and new buyers.

A haven for hedge-fund titans and Hollywood grandees, Greenwich is one of the world’s most expensive residential enclaves, where eye-watering prices meet unapologetic grandeur.