Tom and Emma Lane list Byron hinterland estate for $10m
Having spent over 12 years living in and developing property around Byron Bay, Tom and Emma Lane have decided to move to Sydney while their four kids finish school.
Having spent over 12 years living, working and developing property around Byron Bay, Tom and Emma Lane have decided to focus their attention on investing in beachfront Sydney while their four teenagers complete their education.
Their “hanging up their farm boots” decision has seen the family buy a $8.5m Manly penthouse and list their Newrybar hinterland estate High View for sale.
Set overlooking rolling hills and the Pacific Ocean coastline, the 2.75ha property has been priced at $10m through Byron agent Ruth Gotterson.
High View was previously the Four Winds luxury retreat, which attracted the likes of vacationing actors including Victoria Tennant, Ada Nicodemou and Naomi Watts when run by the De Leede family.
It also has current-day celebrity cachet, being next door to Liam Hemsworth’s property, which is set for a $14.6m pavilion-style SSdH-designed residence.
High View comes with concept renders by the architects MORQ.
The couple hold the Byron region record with their previously completed Spanish finca-style 50ha estate project, The Range in Coopers Shoot, which sold for $33.65m in 2023 to a company trust fronted by tech company boss Ben Bray.
The Lanes have also recently listed their luxury ranch, Copperstone, with $37m hopes for the 19ha Bangalow estate. Complete with stables, dressage arena and 2.5km of post-and-rail fencing, it is listed through Kim Jones of Kim Jones + Co.
Tom Lane, of the Oroton fashion founding family, was born and bred in Sydney’s Manly, the grandson of Boyd Lane.
The couple came to prominence with their agri-tourism business, The Farm on the outskirts of Byron, which was sold in 2020.
On the block
David Barbour, the co-founder of the Channel Nine’s long-running renovation show The Block, and his partner, artist Angie Summa have listed their newly-built Gold Coast home. The Mediterranean-style Mermaid Waters home is located on a 915sq m block with 22m of canal frontage.
Thehome, with four ensuited bedrooms, was completed in 2023 featuring rendered 330m walls, French-pattern travertine floors, custom blackbutt joinery and cobblestone paths.
“It was built to last and designed to dazzle,” the marketing by WhiteFox agent Nic Whitehead advises.
The house has 277sq m of internal space plus an entertainer’s rooftop space.
Offers closed last Friday with some 7759 page views on realestate.com.au.
The east-facing Rumrunner Street block was bought in 2020 for $1,375,000 by the TV producer who pocketed $4,150,000 when selling in Manly. He started The Block in 2003 with the now Melbourne-based Julian Cress.
Pure Sunshine
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast had the weekend’s priciest auction listing, with the Sunshine Beach property now having a $7.6m asking price through Tom Offermann Real Estate agent Jesse Stowers. There was a $5.5m offer followed by a $6m vendor bid at the auction of the four-bedroom, three-bathroom Arakoon Crescent beachfront.
The home by architect Gabriel Poole is set on a 608sq m northeast-facing block with a pool and cabana. There’s a path to the sand and the dog-friendly off-leash area of North Sunshine.
It was listed for the first time since selling for $520,000 in 1994 when bought by the Kirk family.
The listing has attracted 4705 page views so far on realestate.com.au.
“For those seeking a private, safe, secure and unrivalled lifestyle, this delightful beach house is in one of the most revered streets of beachside Sunshine Beach,” Stowers advises.
“It’s a classic beach house and produces great income with the full time holiday letting approval, but our post-auction interested buyers are more centred around a beachfront site to accommodate a modern new-built home.”
The current rental rate is $495 to $1510 a night through Aspire Property Management.
There was $138,000 income in the 2023 financial year, with expenses totalling $52,000 including $16,000 manager’s commission, $12,000 for cleaning, $4000 on advertising and $3400 on pool maintenance.
Sale fail
The Friday morning auction of the five-bedroom home at 49 Sir Bruce Small Boulevard, Benowa Waters did not find its buyer. There were two registered bidders.
There is now a $3,175,000 asking price through Sam Guo and Julia Kuo at Kollosche on the Gold Coast.
Set on a 981sq m parcel, the two-level house comes with a pool and a pontoon on its 21.8m of Main River frontage.
There is 326sq m internal space including the ground-floor master bedroom, which accesses the waterfront deck.
Most on the coast
Realestate.com.au reported 107 of the 216 auction results sold over the past week. The top advised coastal auction sale came pre-auction at Corlette in the Hunter region of NSW.
The $1.68m sale of the double-story, five-bedroom Bagnall Beach Road home was through Dane Queenan at PRD Port Stephens.
The top known coastal sale so far this year came on the January 11 weekend, with a Moffat Beach knockdown fetching $6.72m on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
There were 10 registered bidders.
The 506sq m block was being marketed as “medium-density residential land offering flexibility for development” but the oceanfront was bought by a young business couple from Caloundra who will build their own residential property.
It was last sold in 1972 for $13,000 to interests associated with the King family.
Its official land value is $3.6m.
Five doors along McIlwraith Street saw a similar knockdown property sell for $6m in 2022.
National auction activity picks up this week to 672 offerings and then 1890 as January turns into February.
“This year’s auction volumes are lower compared to a year ago, with the next two weeks down 60 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively,” PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said.
Big Event
Sometimes touted as the Magic Millions real estate calendar equivalent, The Event, an in-room auction gala by the Ray White Surfers Paradise Group, will be held on Monday, January 27 with 111 auction offerings.
The volume is down on the 127 Gold Coast listings last January, which attracted 318 registered bidders.
A luxury Grand Mariner villa on Commodore Drive, Surfers Paradise, headlines the limited prestige offerings. It has been listed by the downsizing Paul Douglas, the Events Management Queensland chairman and his wife Megan, who initially listed the four-bedroom, three bathroom Grand Mariner villa in October through estate agent Andrew Bell. It includes 24-hour security, marina access, and resort-style amenities including pools and tennis courts. It last traded in 2010 for $1,380,000.
The Event started three decades ago when the Bell brothers arrived from Maroubra and held an auction event with a dozen properties.
Landmark looming for Gold Coast
Queensland developer Aniko is moving closer to realising its long-held dream of building a $2bn mixed-use apartment project in Mermaid Beach involving luxury apartments, fine dining, office space and a branded hotel.
How’s this for a stunning view?
This luxe five-bedroom home on the Mornington Peninsula, which captures sweeping bay vistas from its expansive terraces, lap pool and grounds, is for sale at $17-$18.7 million.