$30m Southern Highlands trophy home Invergowrie returns to the market
One of the Southern Highlands’ most celebrated country estates has returned to the market, with the historic Invergowrie offered for sale amid expectations it could achieve up to $30 million.
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Invergowrie, one of the best-known and most luxurious estates in the Southern Highlands, has been listed for sale with a price of up to $30 million.
The Exeter acreage is being offered for the first time since 2019, when it was sold by former Liberal Party leader John Hewson to little-known Queensland grazier Victoria Anderson.
The property attracted significant attention during Hewson’s ownership, having remained on the market for a decade prior to its sale. He initially sought $11 million in 2009, then ultimately accepted $6 million seven years later.
Architectural heritage and landmark gardens
The main residence dates back to 1936, when it was commissioned by pioneering industrialist Sir Cecil Harold Hoskins, whose leadership helped shape the nation’s iron and steel industry. Designed by architect Geoffrey Loveridge, Invergowrie is a grand Tudor Revival residence set within gardens conceived by celebrated landscape designer Paul Sorensen. His early 20th-century landscapes remain among the most admired in the Highlands.
Today, those heritage plantings — sweeping lawns, ancient oaks, stately silver elms and groves of cedar — continue to frame the home in established grandeur.
A richly reimagined interior
Since purchasing Invergowrie in 2019, Anderson has comprehensively reimagined the interiors, engaging award-winning studio Greg Natale Designs to transform the historic residence into a richly layered and opulent home.
Every detail speaks to bespoke quality: deep navy joinery offset by striking brass fixtures and hand-gilded ceilings; French oak parquetry laid in the classic Versailles pattern; Italian porcelain tessellated tiles; and plush custom carpeting underfoot. One-off wallpapers from Papiers de Paris sit alongside coveted designs by Versace, Gucci and Ralph Lauren, while decorative lighting selections include pieces from Ralph Lauren Home, Kelly Wearstler and Kate Spade.
The designer kitchen is fitted with integrated Miele refrigeration, a Smeg cooktop, a Thermoseal oven, a EuroCave wine cabinet, and a Qasair executive range hood, while Carrara marble surfaces and a Billi tap deliver boiling, chilled, and sparkling water. Bathrooms and powder rooms are finished in Norwegian Rose and Carrara marble.
A private estate on 9.3 hectares
Spanning two levels, Invergowrie comprises six bedrooms in the main residence, along with several formal and informal living and dining rooms, an office, gym, reception room, bar and wine cellar. There is also a trophy room adjoining a billiards room and an indoor 25-metre pool.
Across the 9.3-hectare estate sits a self-contained 1800s Lakehouse with two additional bedrooms, as well as a separate two-bedroom guest house and a caretaker’s cottage. The grounds also feature a tennis court, wrought-iron arbour, aviary and bocce court.
Cullen & Royle agents Deborah Cullen and Richard Royle are marketing the property in conjunction with James Hall of Savills.
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Office rents in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are climbing at their fastest pace since the pandemic as tenants compete for premium CBD space amid tightening supply.
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Australia’s major CBD office markets are recording some of their strongest rental growth since the pandemic, with businesses increasingly prioritising premium office space despite elevated geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Knight Frank’s Australian Office Indicators Q1 2026 report found net effective rents in Sydney and Melbourne CBDs rose at their fastest annual pace since COVID-19, increasing 10.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively over the 12 months to March.
Brisbane posted the strongest growth nationally, with net effective rents climbing 11.7 per cent over the same period.
The report points to a widening divide between prime CBD office towers and secondary office stock, as occupiers increasingly focus on quality, location and workplace amenity when making leasing decisions.
Knight Frank Senior Economist, Research & Consulting Alistair Read said demand remained heavily concentrated in premium assets within core CBD precincts, helping drive stronger rental growth in top-tier buildings.
“Occupier demand continues to be heavily concentrated in the most desirable CBD precincts and the highest-quality buildings, accelerating a sharp divergence between core and non-core markets,” Mr Read said.
According to the report, Sydney’s Core precinct and Melbourne’s Eastern Core significantly outperformed broader CBD markets over the past year.
“In Sydney’s Core precinct and Melbourne’s Eastern Core, net effective rents surged 14.3% and 16.1% over the past year, significantly outperforming the rest-of-CBD precincts,” Mr Read said.
The rental gap between prime and non-prime office locations has also continued to widen sharply.
“As a result, core CBD rents are now 54% higher than non-core locations in Sydney and 93% higher in Melbourne, highlighting the growing premium placed on amenity, accessibility and workplace quality,” he said.
Knight Frank said the strong rental growth across the major CBDs was being underpinned by a limited supply pipeline, with few new office developments expected to be delivered in the near term.
Mr Read said subdued construction activity was likely to support ongoing rental growth and tighter vacancy rates over the medium term, particularly for premium office towers.
“The combination of sustained demand and declining levels of new development will aid ongoing prime rental growth and lower vacancy rates over the medium term, particularly for best-in-class assets,” he said.
The report noted that current economic conditions were making new office developments increasingly difficult to justify financially.
“Economic rents remain well above expected market rents, making the construction of new office towers largely unviable, and concentrating tenant demand into existing buildings,” Mr Read said.
While suburban office markets generally remained subdued compared with CBDs, Melbourne’s Southbank precinct was identified as a relative outperformer, recording annual net effective rental growth of 2.7 per cent.
The report comes as broader Asia-Pacific office markets continue to stabilise following several years of disruption linked to hybrid work trends, inflation and rising interest rates.
Knight Frank’s separate Asia-Pacific Q1 2026 Office Highlights report found Sydney and Brisbane were among the strongest-performing office rental markets in the region, behind only Bengaluru and Tokyo for annual prime net face rental growth.
The Asia-Pacific report also found 18 of the 24 cities monitored across the region recorded stable or increasing rents in the first quarter of 2026, even as geopolitical uncertainty intensified following escalating conflict in the Middle East.
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