Three completed developments bring a quieter, more thoughtful style of luxury living to Mosman, Neutral Bay and Crows Nest.
5 min
Luxury means different things to different people. On the Lower North Shore, it often means the everyday things are well considered and exceptionally executed.
House-like proportions. An abundance of natural light. Security and privacy. Materials crafted with care.
Homes built for the way people truly live, shaped by industry expert and Lower North Shore local resident at the helm, Justin Brown, whose attention to detail is constant and uncompromising.
This is the space Abadeen has occupied for more than 25 years.
The developer has delivered premium residential, commercial and mixed-use projects across Australia, but the Lower North Shore has become the clearest expression of its philosophy.
A recent example is Cremorne Point Estate, completed in 2020.
Its craftsmanship is so enduring that the penthouse is now reselling for almost twice its original price in only four years. Smaller buildings. Real liveability. Design that retains its elegance over time.
Abadeen’s current portfolio also includes The Villas, Mosman Residences, Park Residences, Northcote Collective and the newly announced Burran Residences in Balmoral. But three completed buildings now take centre stage: The Hampden in Mosman, ENSO in Neutral Bay and KOYO in Crows Nest.
All are complete, move-in ready, and only a limited number of residences remain. At The Hampden, only one whole-floor residence remains available.
Meticulously crafted by acclaimed Mathieson Architects and delivered by Abadeen, The Hampden offers a rare level of refinement within an exclusive collection of only three residences.
The final available home is a brand-new, whole-floor residence capturing sweeping Middle Harbour views over Chinamans and Clontarf Beaches from a prized northerly aspect. It delivers a house-like ambience with floor-to-ceiling glass that draws in natural light, paired with exquisite finishes in natural stone and warm timber.
Expansive open plan living and dining areas are anchored by a premium fireplace and flow out to a generous north-facing entertainers’ terrace overlooking boat-studded waters. The high-spec kitchen includes a full butler’s pantry, WOLF appliances, an integrated Sub-Zero fridge and freezer, a wine fridge and a Taj Mahal Quartzite island.
With only nine residences, ENSO is a boutique collection where Koichi Takada’s architecture focuses on calm, contemporary living.
Natural stone, timber and soft curves create a sense of warmth, while generous glazing and landscaped outlooks bring light and greenery into the heart of each home. Rooms are designed for real daily use, with integrated joinery, considered storage and floor plans that prioritise ease and comfort. The result is a series of homes that feel composed, tactile and effortless to live in every day.
Designed by Koichi Takada, KOYO is a boutique collection of 27 residences shaped by natural textures, soft curves and a refined sense of luxury.
Its low-rise form sits within a leafy cul-de-sac, offering privacy only moments from Crows Nest village and the new Victoria Cross Metro station.
Inside, every space is crafted for daily ease. Timber, stone and sculptural details create a warm, tactile palette, while full-height glazing draws light into the heart of each home.
Integrated joinery, intuitive circulation and thoughtful storage keep rooms open, calm and effortless to live in.
KOYO reflects Abadeen’s approach to modern living: refined, confident and beautifully functional. KOYO is modern, confident and created for daily life without unnecessary embellishment.
Abadeen’s philosophy is shaped by Executive Chairman & Founder Justin Brown, whose three decades in the industry have defined a distinct approach to residential development on the Lower North Shore and beyond.
Justin believes luxury should feel effortless. A home should work beautifully every day, with planning that makes sense, materials that age gracefully and detailing that supports calm, comfortable living long after the first inspection.
This philosophy is embedded early in the design process. Acoustic comfort, natural shading, solar orientation and circulation are resolved from the outset.
Landscapes are designed to welcome residents rather than simply frame buildings. Interiors prioritise clarity and ease, with joinery, storage and spatial proportions refined to deliver homes that feel composed, tactile and intuitive to live in.
Justin’s values-led approach unifies Abadeen’s Lower North Shore projects. Each reflects the same commitment to certainty, longevity and quiet architectural excellence. These are homes built to be lived in, not performed, shaped around the daily rituals, warmth and comfort that define enduring residential design.
This part of Sydney reflects Abadeen’s values. Established neighbourhoods. Walkable villages. Tree-lined streets. Natural light and natural rhythm. It is a quieter style of luxury that holds its value and relevance over time.
Abadeen is a leading Australian property developer with premium residential and mixed-use projects across NSW, VIC, QLD and WA. Limited residences remain at The Hampden in Mosman, ENSO in Neutral Bay and KOYO in Crows Nest. Private appointments and viewings are now available. Call Jay Carter on 0417 248 117.
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Georgetown agent Jamie Peva blends history and real estate on Instagram, turning local stories into a powerful sales strategy.
5 min
On a recent morning in Georgetown—Washington, D.C.’s oldest neighborhood—real-estate agent Jamie Peva strode down leafy N Street, brimming with historical tidbits.
Jackie Kennedy once lived on the street, he said. So did Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of the Washington Post, along with a former Miss America and a powerful U.S. Senator. Bradlee’s widow, author Sally Quinn, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, own stately homes there.
“I’ve seen a picture of Lyndon Johnson coming out of this house,” said Peva, passing a Federal-style brick mansion. “Also, the Beatles went to a lawn party here.”
Peva, a 60-year-old agent with Washington Fine Properties, has sold Georgetown real estate for over three decades, often traversing the neighborhood by bicycle. Of the roughly 2,500 houses in the historic neighborhood, he has been involved in the sale of 460, he estimated. A self-styled historian of the neighborhood, he knows stories behind its houses and their owners going back generations.
With a knack for lively storytelling, he shares his knowledge with some 37,500 Instagram followers, who have made Peva—sporting the bow ties he has worn since boarding school—an unlikely social-media influencer. Many of his followers are locals, and most have no plans to buy or sell real estate—until they do. It is then, according to Peva, that his spirited reels bring him to mind.
“It’s the digital version of a refrigerator magnet,” he said.
After Peva’s first video in November 2023, his eponymous Instagram account sparked a 10% increase in sales volume in the first year, and another 20% the next, he estimated. “It’s been very good for business, there is no question about it,” he said.
But Peva’s posts have also made him a local celebrity. As he walked down N street, the driver of a Mercedes station wagon slowed down to honk and wave. A lady walking a large dark gray dog stopped to ask what he was filming that day (a reel about a Colonial-era bottling plant.) Peva knew the dog from walking his two springers, Jumpy and Peggy-O, in the neighborhood.
“I need to make a video about the pooches of Georgetown,” he mused.
A growing number of real-estate agents now use social media to sell, and some have millions of followers with reels featuring ultraluxury pads, selling tips or reality TV-style reports on their daily lives. While Peva posts about his listings—and sometimes those of other agents—he mostly focuses on Georgetown history, local businesses and community events, saying his goal is to benefit both his business and the neighborhood.
“If we don’t find something genuinely interesting and worth sharing, we won’t do it,” said Peva’s daughter, Violet Peva, a New York social-media strategist who films, edits and posts his reels. “We cover many topics, not just real-estate information.”
Peva is originally from Connecticut, but has lived in Georgetown for over 30 years, currently in a cottage-style house with a white picket fence. Over the years, Georgetown has changed. The Georgetown Set, a powerful group of Cold War-era residents whose Sunday-night potluck dinners are said to have swayed U.S. policy, has long faded away. The community is still home to high-profile Washingtonians, including a Republican senator and several cabinet members. But it increasingly also attracts technology and finance executives, according to Peva. He now routinely signs nondisclosure agreements, ensuring privacy for wealthy clients. The shift has made him rethink his marketing approach.
“For years, a big part of our Georgetown business was made up of people who maintained a low profile,” he said. Real-estate agents were similarly low-key. Today, curb appeal is more important, he said, and agents are promoting themselves more. “As this change was underfoot, I was thinking that I needed to evolve myself too,” he said.
Though his own social-media use is mostly limited to following sailing accounts, he asked his daughter to help him post his listings online. Violet, now 26, started coming to D.C. once a month to film his reels. After an early video, on a condominium building called the Elliott, her sister Fern called her to report: “Daddy’s blowing up on Instagram,” Violet recalled. The reel got over 50,000 views. The next two each drew over 300,000. Peva’s most popular post ever, with over 838,000 views, was about the Grateful Dead playing in Georgetown. Sometimes, Peva interviews Georgetowners such as Quinn, the author, or Jamie Stachowski, the owner of a local butcher shop.
Peva, who majored in history in college, now spends up to two hours a day on research, usually in the morning while on his stationery bike. Online, he pores over old newspapers or the Library of Congress website, and he has a collection of articles and books—in and out of print—about Georgetown.
Companies often approach Peva for promotional posts, he said, but he turns them down, feeling that followers would lose interest in constant commercials. One exception is a recent paid post on Mount Vernon, the former home of George Washington. Peva wanted to share its history, he said, and didn’t want to lose the opportunity to another Instagrammer.
Anthony Arend, a professor at Georgetown University, has lived in his current home for 19 years without any plans to sell or buy real estate. But he follows Peva and often likes his posts.
“He is very charismatic, he is energetic, and he obviously knows a lot about the community,” said Arend, who has referred house-hunting friends to Peva.
One of Peva’s biggest deals—the $10.5 million sale of a 19th-century Italianate mansion—came after he made two 2024 reels featuring the property. In March, he sold the longtime O Street home of Tim and Jane Matz for $5.8 million after featuring it on his Instagram. Peva had showed them the home 25 years earlier, with Violet in a baby carrier on his back.
Last year, Kate Watts, 49, a digital consultant, called Peva to sell her late father’s three-bedroom house on Q Street; her husband had seen Peva on Instagram. In an October reel, Peva praised the architecture of the house, designed by modernist Hugh Newell Jacobsen. Halfway through, he mentioned an open house the next day, ending with an upbeat: “Did I also mention this house is for sale? $3.75 million!” The reel got 27,000 views, the open house was packed, and the buyers made an offer at the list price on the same day.
