Luxury real estate Tasmania: Headland Estate, Woodlands, Trial Bay House
The interstate and overseas demand for multimillion-dollar luxury Tassie mansions is insatiable, a high-end real estate agency says. Take a look inside some of the best homes in the Apple Isle >>
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The interstate and overseas demand for luxury properties in Tasmania with price points touching $10 million is unquenchable, says a high-end real estate agency which made its first local sale earlier this year and has two more sprawling estates on the market.
Forbes Global Properties Asia Pacific Director Tracey Atkins said the agency’s attention turned to Tasmania, which she described as an “emerging giant killer” in the high-end market, last year.
“Tasmanian real estate seems to have a currency right around the world,” she said.
“I was on a Zoom to the Forbes leadership in New York (on Thursday) discussing trends in our market, and as soon as I mentioned we’d just launched another property in Tasmania, all their faces lit up and the questions started.”
Space – of which Tasmania has much outside greater Hobart – commands a premium in 2023, Ms Atkins said.
“It’s land that’s not being made anymore, not houses,” she said.
“And more and more in the wake of Covid, when space and privacy and escapism have been given a greater sense of value, we’re finding that premium buyers are responding very strongly to great land, as much as great homes.”
Forbes’ first Tasmanian sale, in January, was Woodlands, a historic 249-acre estate at North Bruny.
“The buyer list we accrued during that campaign was a genuine who’s who,” Ms Atkins said.
“The quoted range was $6 – $6.6 million and there were murmurings early on that was far too ambitious for Bruny.
“But we marketed it like the rich and rare asset that it is and, in the end, we had several very capable parties competing for it and it sold right at the top of its range.”
Forbes’ latest listing is five-acre Headland Estate, which sits atop the towering granite headland at Seymour, 15 minutes north of Bicheno on the East Coast. Its price guide is between $6 – $6.6 million.
Boasting 300-degree views from The Hazards to Four Mile Creek, Headland Estate comprises a main three-bedroom residence, a secondary ‘pavilion’ linked by 7m boardwalk for family and friends to stay, and Coopers Ocean Cabin & Jacuzzi, one of Tasmania’s most renowned Airbnb properties.
Headland Estate was built by Central Coast NSW expats Kellie Robinson, a retired firefighter, and Julie Flynn, an ex-schoolteacher who now works in the cellar door at Devil’s Corner, in 2015.
The couple lived on-site in a caravan during the first stage of construction, before relocating into Coopers Cabin when it had been completed.
It was “emotional” to be selling the property – their “paradise” – that they conceived of themselves, but they missed their family and friends, the couple told the Mercury.
The pair described Headland Estate as “self-sufficient,” revealing there was a three-month period during the Covid pandemic they didn’t leave the property.
They ate eggs from the chicken run, harvested fruit, vegetables and herbs from their sprawling gardens and relied upon the ocean’s bounty just metres away.
“The main thing I work hard on is going to get crays every morning (when in season),” Kellie said.
“We put the pot out, go for a little dive to get some abalone when it’s low tide – the other night we went up to the lagoon and got some fresh prawns.”
In between Woodlands’ sale and Headland Estate’s listing, Forbes also put Kettering’s Trial Bay House, the winner of the 2010 Robyn Boyd Award for Australia’s best house, on the market.
“It’s priced at $9 – $9.9 million because it’s seeking someone who will see and respect what’s been achieved and, just as importantly, what that has laid for the future,” Ms Atkins said.
“Beyond the incredible house, there has been the most extraordinary regeneration and preparation put into the land and, as former apple orchard with a huge natural water supply, its capacity to be the site of a vineyard or similar highly strategic venture is really very exciting.
“And someone will come along and see that and, in ten years time, we’ll all look back and say, clever them. They bought very well.”
Join the conversation
Titmus’ heartwarming moment meeting young fans in Launnie
Ariarne Titmus broke down in tears, overcome with emotion after meeting one young fan in Launceston. Here’s why.
Read more
Tassie DJ vying for world title after national championship win
After defending his national title, Tassie DJ Max Best will again battle it out at the world championships – and he believes this time he can go all the way.
Read more