Tony Smith’s Mermaid Beach mansion sells in biggest Gold Coast residential sale in years
Big bucks change hands as Tony Smith’s Mermaid Beach mansion sells to a Melbourne businessman.
Beach club developer and former AFL player Tony Smith has pocketed $25m from the sale of his prominent Mermaid Beach mansion to a Melbourne businessman.
The deal, flagged by The Australian last week, is the biggest Gold Coast residential sale in years, and is a major shot in the arm for the struggling southeast Queensland real estate sector.
The $25m price is the highest sale recorded on the Gold Coast in a decade. The last record price was set in 2016 when the nearby 159 Hedges Avenue, Mermaid Beach sold for $13.25m. Prior to that the highest price paid was $12m in 2018 for 11 Hedges Avenue, according to REA figures.
Mr Smith’s 2 Heron Avenue, Mermaid Beach property, which has a 40 metre beachfront, was sold in an off market campaign to a Toorak-based businessman. Mr Smith, who has extensive hospitality interests in Bali, bought the site in his wife Simone’s name back in early 2014 for $12m, according to public records.
At the time 2 Heron Avenue, Mermaid Beach, just a couple of doors down from billionaire Clive Palmer’s new digs, sported a dilapidated block of residential flats.
It has since been redeveloped into the Smith family’s four-bedroom home, which is designed in a Bali-meets-Hamptons style on the northeast corner site.
The $25m sale price almost doubles the last highest price paid on the Gold Coast and eclipses the $6.95m for 11 Southern Cross Drive, Surfers Paradise, which was the highest price paid in 2017 according to REA.
The selling agent for Mr Smith’s 2112 sqm Heron Avenue site was Harry Kakavas, of Prestige Property Sales, who was once a big-time property developer on the Gold Coast. Mr Kakavas declined to comment. Mr Smith could not be reached for comment.
Mr Smith came to national prominence just prior to the global financial crisis when he built a $60m beachfront house at Mermaid Beach. At the time it was billed as the highest priced Australian beachfront in history.
Although he has divested much of his southeast Queensland property interests, Mr Smith still owns and operates Bali’s famous Finns Beach Club at Canggu which, according to public records, is the world’s largest beach club with 11 bars and four swimming pools.
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