The concrete-and-steel house, last owned by Peter Woodland of Barbeques Galore, has Pacific Ocean views and a helicopter hanger
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The home of an Australian businessman who died tragically in a helicopter crash in 2022 is on the market with a A$9 million (US$5.9 million) price guide.
Peter Woodland, the late director of Barbeques Galore who purchased the expansive family estate just north of Sydney in 2017, was killed in April 2022, when his helicopter crashed in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. He was 75.
Woodland, who was a keen pilot and even installed a helicopter hanger and helipad at the residence, bought the home from acclaimed landscape photographer Richard Green, who built the unique property in Terrey Hills in the 1990s. He also died in a helicopter crash in 2015 .
The vast five-bedroom house is located in a lush native bushland setting off Mona Vale Road.
“Sitting right on the cliff’s edge, it looks right out over the bush to the water, and its proximity to the beach and even the city means it’s pretty special,” said listing agent Shayne Hutton of Sydney Country Living, which listed the home earlier this month.
Walls of fireproof glass and dozens of skylights with electronically operated Vergolas mean the natural landscape acts as a dramatic backdrop to every room. The neighbouring national park and 5 acres of landscaped gardens are met with panoramic views stretching to the Pacific Ocean.
“It’s really country living in the city. That’s the only way to describe it. This place is perfect for anyone who is just sick of crowds and wants to get away, even if it’s as a secondary property they’ll use as a weekender,” he added.
The concrete-and-steel trophy home has a Travertine-tiled entrance foyer with 20ft ceilings which leads through to two separate wings; one for living and another for sleeping. With a choice of everyday spaces, each living zone has sweeping district views and doors to the wraparound veranda.
In addition to casual living and dining rooms, there are formal entertaining areas, a library, a home office or extra family room, a professional photographer’s darkroom plus a large artist’s studio that could also be used as a poolside cabana with wet bar.
The granite kitchen has Gaggenau appliances, a grand island bench, a walk-in pantry, and an adjoining central courtyard with water features, perfect for a chef’s herb and vegetable garden.
While two bedrooms sit on the ground floor, four more occupy the upstairs accommodation level including a palatial primary suite. This parents’ retreat has a balcony, a vast dressing room plus walk-in wardrobe and a deluxe ensuite with freestanding bathtub, a double shower and twin vanities. One other bedroom features an ensuite and two more share a full family bathroom and powder room.
Outside, there are multiple entertaining terraces and courtyards, but the icing on the cake is the solar-heated pool and sun deck. Then the property’s standout feature is its state-of-the-art helipad with a fully incorporated turntable and a full-size helicopter hangar. Above the helipad, there is also a treetop viewing platform.
“A lot of people who might live on a farm have helicopters or just want the convenience to get in from the airport. It’s a great feature of the home and could be used for a variety of uses. For buyers without a helicopter, it could be an ideal car showroom,” Hutton said.
Additional features of the Terrey Hills residence include remote-controlled lock-up garages for up to five cars, storerooms, a wine cellar, ducted air conditioning, a security alarm and video intercom.
The Sydney sanctuary is surrounded by walking and biking trails, is a short drive to the transport and shopping hub of Chatswood and is an approximate 15-minute drive to local beaches.
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The US housing market remains under pressure as high mortgage rates continue to weigh on affordability and demand. Industry leaders say 2026 has been one of the toughest years for home sales, with slower price growth, weaker mortgage activity, and fewer buyers entering the market. However, experts say reduced competition and more price cuts could create opportunities for well-prepared buyers.
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The typically busy spring season for the housing market was a dud, and the summer isn’t looking much brighter.
Housing services companies like Zillow Group and Rocket RKT +3.78% were loud and clear last week on earnings calls: Rocket CEO Varun Krishna called the quarter through June “one of the toughest spring housing markets in years.”
Jeremy Hofmann, Zillow’s chief financial officer, said on a conference call that the company predicted earlier this year that the market for mortgages would be flat. “We actually now think it’s going to be down low-to-mid-single digits,” he said.
The rest of 2026 will remain challenging for mortgage origination volume, says KBW analyst Bose George. The question now is what happens in 2027. “If mortgage rates remain [around] 6.75%, I think that’s going to be challenging even for next year,” he says.
But what’s bad news for mortgage companies could be a positive for bargain hunters. Buyers can expect prices to grow more slowly—or mildly decline—with less competition as long as mortgage rates remain unpredictable.
Mortgage rates at the beginning of the year were solidly below year-ago levels, notes Zillow senior economist Kara Ng. But they surpassed last year’s levels recently, she adds, referencing Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of 30-year fixed mortgage rates. Last week’s reading, at 6.69%, was higher than year-ago levels for the first time in 2026.
“From the affordability point of view, it’s going to get more challenging in the second half of the year,” she says. “And when affordability gets more challenging, that impacts sales and home price appreciation.”
Mortgage application data tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association has cooled since the beginning of the year. The trade group expects that the number of mortgage originations in the remaining two quarters will lag behind last year’s levels, after exceeding 2025 levels in the first half.
Rocket’s early-stage data—which the company told Barron’s it derives from its brokerage Redfin, demand for its mortgage products, and signs in its servicing portfolio that a homeowner is preparing to refinance or move—“leads us to expect the third quarter mortgage market to be smaller than the second,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Brown, said on the company’s call. He added that such an occurrence is “something the industry has not seen since 2022.”
Prices will be about flat nationally, Ng says. Zillow’s most recent forecast, which shows how values are expected to change in the year ending June 2027, show them dropping in roughly half of the 100 largest U.S. metros for which data is available.
Buyers aren’t rushing in at a time when mortgage costs are rising and unpredictable. But those with the right combination of patience and cash could stand to benefit. “If you are financially qualified to buy a starter home, you are facing less competition and you’re more likely to get a price cut,” Ng says.
