Australia’s Prestige Lifestyle Property Boom
Amid Covid-19, areas outside major cities see a surge of interest and new buyers.
By Michelle Singer
Wed, Nov 4, 2020 4:44am
6 min
6 min
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.”
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
MOST POPULAR
BNW Developments has established a Sydney presence, joining Arada and Sobha Realty among the growing number of UAE developers pursuing Australian buyers and development opportunities.
The Australian leather house has opened an immersive four-day pop-up in Manhattan, unveiling its Bloom Collection and redefining what a product launch can look like.
A vibrant 1954 Palm Springs home featuring eight colorful murals by late artist Shawn Savage is on the market for $2.295 million. The 2,237-square-foot property features bold hot-pink doors, three bedrooms, a pool, mountain views and playful interiors blending modern glamour with classic Palm Springs style.
By Chava Gourarie
Mon, Oct 5, 2026 3 min
3 min
A bold 1950s home in Palm Springs, California, adorned with eight colorful murals by the late artist Shawn Savage, is coming to market ahead of the city’s annual Modernism Week.
The white stucco home on El Camino Way, built in 1954 and recently renovated, has an asking price of $2.295 million. Its staggered facade features three playfully abstract murals on either side of double-height hot pink doors.
MORE: Megamansion Outside Princeton, N.J., With a Pub and Two-Story Library Heads to Auction
The sellers are Los Angeles-based partners John Freeman and Mathieu Faure, who knew it was “the one” when they saw it after several months of searching in the winter of 2023. “It’s a happy house,” Freeman said. “We really liked the feel of the house: the uniqueness, the openness, the brightness—and the art.”
Located in the Mesa neighborhood of Palm Springs, which backs up to the San Jacinto Mountains, the 2,237-square-foot house features three bedrooms, an angled bonus room and a yard with a pool, desert mountain views and another colorful mural running alongside the pool.
“I never thought in my life I would have a house with pink doors,” said Faure, a producer at Apple TV who is originally from Paris. “It’s so colorful, it’s so different. And so Palm Springs.”
The layout of the home creates a smooth flow from the front doors through the open-plan common area—a foyer, bar, and living and dining room—into the kitchen around a fireplace wall and out to the yard. A corridor leads to a private bedroom wing, where the primary suite has floor-to-ceiling windows and the primary bath is only a tad smaller than the bedroom.
Faure has filled the home with Jonathan Adler furniture, rugs and accessories, riffing on the energetic California vibes of the house to create an aesthetic of “modern American glamour,” he said.
“It was enjoyable for me to play with different types of furniture and make this house ‘happy chic,’ as I describe it,” he said.
MORE: Beverly Hills Villa of Late Philanthropist Glorya Kaufman Sells for $19.25 Million
“He did a fantastic job,” said Freeman, who is an attorney and consultant. “It does kind of bring a smile to my face whenever I walk into the house.”
Since the furniture and decor were chosen for the particularities of the space, the couple is open to selling them with the home. Their West Hollywood house is already furnished; the collection doesn’t match the vibes of a Houston loft they bought near family; and Faure can’t imagine these pieces in New York—where he’s lived in the past—he said.
The duo bought the Palm Springs house for $1.925 million in 2024, according to property records, and will list the home Monday. They are represented by Stewart Smith, Patrick Jordan and Kevin Stanley of Bennion Deville Homes/Luxury Portfolio International.
The previous owners had purchased the home in 2021 for $975,000 and then spent more than two years and $700,000 on the renovation, according to Realtor.com. They commissioned Savage, a local Palm Springs artist and painter known for his joyful abstract work, to decorate the home.
MORE: Alpine Villa From Lady Gaga Movie ‘House of Gucci’ Lists for €2.9 Million
Savage, who died in 2024, lived in the Coachella Valley from 2003, and his work can be found in various local institutions and is on exhibit at the Illumine Gallery in Palm Springs. “Some artists pass through a place. Shawn Savage became a part of it,” the gallery’s description states.
Unsurprisingly, the murals invite lots of friendly conversations, as well as guided tours and interested lookers, but never to a degree that it disturbed the peacefulness of their home or the neighborhood, the sellers said. “It felt like living in an art gallery, and you have the exterior that you would share with the world,” Faure explained.
The neighborhood also played a role in their decision to buy, because of its access to the hiking trails of the San Jacinto Mountains, the lack of through-roads and the neighborly environment.
“It’s a very friendly place,” Faure said.
