Five Rural Estates To Own

The well-documented escape to the country continues unabated – metro dwellers looking for something more given ascendant city prices and COVID’s forced rethink on space and the traditional working week.

Here, we cut through the dross to deliver five standout escapes from across the country.

Olio Milo Estate, Pokolbin, NSW

Olio Milo represents the pinnacle of Hunter Valley living. The country estate features a 25.5-hectare vineyard and olive grove, including a small olive oil and wine business.

Elsewhere, the southern European styled six-bedroom main residence is accompanied by magnificent grounds, while a two-bedroom guest house, managers cottage and olive processing plant round out what is an exceptional and unique offering.

POA; Cullenroyle.com.au

5 Blake Court, Mount Samson, QLD

Situated in a breathtaking location — with views of the hills and beyond — this impeccable residence is a combination of Hamptons and contemporary Queenslander, with soaring ceilings and beautiful timber adornments.

Beyond the two-hectares of land and jaw-dropping pool, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom, four-car garage pile offers impeccable ‘granny flat’, cinema room, Smeg, Miele and Liebherr appliances and a raft of smart home gadgetry.

POA; Innov8property.com.au

534 Donaldson Road, Ancona, VIC

Donaldson

‘Hayfield Rise’ is an incredible take on high-country architectural modernity, situated in Victoria’s impressive Ancona Valley.

Sat on 20 hectares, the home’s s four pavilions, five bedrooms and four bathrooms offer space, light and designer flourishes at all turns.

The home – which also wraps around a central pool – is characterised by the use of recycled timbers, concrete, stone and galvanised iron, touching on the past and also developing a unique, modern narrative.

The gardens, by acclaimed landscape designer Paul Bangay, surround the house and include fruit tree orchard, rose garden, perennial garden beds and more.

POA; Mcgrath.com.au

3383 Chittering Road, Chittering, WA

This is a majestic and modern 1000sqm home perched on a rise that allows stunning views across the Brockman River Valley.

The single-level house – which rests on 61-hectares – boasts five-bedrooms, three-bathrooms and room for 14 cars. Yes, 14. Floor to ceiling windows dominate, so too the use of cedar and Toodyay stone.

Wrapped around a luxury 25-metre pool, it’s outside you’ll also find an LED floodlit tennis/basketball/netball court, with an all-weather surface and fully enclosed cricket pitch as well as large, undercover playground area.

Located in the hills outside Perth — meaning trips to the ‘big smoke’ remain an option whenever needed.

$4,750,000; ljhooker.com.au

71 Sand Road, Jupiter Creek, SA

A heady combination of privacy, luxury and functionality, ‘Bandarrah’ provides the best in country living.

The expansive 574sqm residence offers six living spaces, five-bedrooms and three-bathrooms and is set across 21.85-hectares. There’s also designer pool and impressive entertainer’s pool house.

Set up for horses with 16 paddocks and four holding yards, the shedding complex will prove attractive to any serious car collector or those seeking a solid workshop.

While you won’t want to leave – Adelaide remains an easy 35-minute meander.

POA; Williamsproperty.com.au

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.

Five Rural Estates To Own

Escape the rat race with one of these sprawling country retreats.

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.