Belongil beachfront home sold for more than $30m in record-breaking sale

Byron’s most luxurious house has finally sold after two years on the market to interstate buyers for more than $30m.

The 8 Border Street home has set a new property record for the area.

A spectacular architecturally designed beachfront home in Byron Bay has smashed the record for the far northern NSW township, selling to an interstate buyer on Wednesday for more than $30m.

The selling agents were tight-lipped about the buyers’ identity but the sale price is believed to be well above the record $30m paid when Queenslander Adam Flaskas purchased a Wategos property in December 2023.

The vendor of 8 Border Street, Belongil, Central Element director and adviser to the McGrath Estate Agents board, Shane Smollen, said it was ‘‘bittersweet’’ selling the ‘‘passion project’’ which he developed with wife Rebecca, but ‘‘life had moved on’.’

“I am really happy for the buyers. They will get immense pleasure, but it will be a really hard property to drive past,” Mr Smollen told The Weekend Australian.

“It’s irreplaceable, a very special property. There’s next-level sophistication coming into the Byron market ... with some of the projects coming on stream,” Mr Smollen added.

The Belongil Beach property has sold after more than two years on the market to people from interstate. Picture: Supplied

The property on the famous Belongil strip, which first hit the market with a guide of $40m in late 2023, is set on a 70m deep, half-acre beachfront block. The site was purchased from the late showman John Cornell, five minutes from the ever popular Byron Bay township. Following a three-year build, the Smollens’ beach house is designed in a U-shape with its roof deck capturing Julian Rocks, Cape Byron Lighthouse and the bay. It is next door to chef Shannon Bennett’s Belongil House and sports a 30m-plus beach frontage.

The home has five bedrooms. Picture: Supplied

Christian Sergiacomi and Shelley Craft of Pacifico Property Buyers Agents introduced the interstate buyers. The deal was negotiated by Nick Dunn of McGrath and co-agent Ed Silk. Mr Dunn said the record sale revealed the strength of the Byron Bay real estate market.

Mr Smollen purchased the site with plans to build his forever home but has since decided to decamp further north to the Gold Coast, due to his two daughters’ schooling needs.

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom house was constructed from three types of stone, with Italian Fondovalle porcelain wall tiles, 16mm thick slabs of Italian travertine flooring and blackbutt timbers.

The front entrance of 8 Border Street, Belongil Beach, Byron Bay. Picture: Supplied

While the 8 Border St sale is a record for the Byron township, the current rural/hinterland record is held just outside of town. It was negotiated at $37.5m when Tom and Emma Lane of the Oroton fashion empire sold The Range at Coopers Shoot.

That deal stands as the most expensive rural sale in the highly sought-after far northern NSW region.