Freddie Mercury’s London Home Selling for the First Time Since He Lived There

The eclectic London home that Freddie Mercury designed to fit his eccentric lifestyle has hit the market for offers over £30 million (US$38 million).

Garden Lodge, in the capital’s posh Kensington, was Mercury’s much-loved home from 1980—when on a first viewing he decided to buy the property on the spot—until his death in 1991, at which point the Queen frontman’s residence and everything in it was bequeathed to his one-time fianceé and close friend, Mary Austin.

In the 30 years since, Austin has taken “meticulous” care of the home, according to Knight Frank, which listed the walled and private property on Monday.

“This house has been the most glorious memory box, because it has such love and warmth in every room,” Austin, 72, said in a statement. “It has been a joy to live in, and I have many wonderful memories here. Now that it is empty, I’m transported back to the first time we viewed it.”

“Ever since Freddie and I stepped through the fabled green door, it has been a place of peace, a true artist’s house, and now is the time to entrust that sense of peace to the next person,” she said.

Mercury designed the house to be a memorable, inviting place that reflected his personality, case in point, the dining room, which he painted bright yellow—his favourite colour.

It also served as a place to showcase his collection of beautiful objects and art from around the world— much of which was sold at auction last year .

The home’s most “spectacular” space is the double-height drawing room, complete with a wraparound gallery that serves as a library and bar overlooking the room and Mercury’s grand piano, below.

There’s also the Japanese room, a sitting room that leads out to the home’s Japanese-style garden, which Mercury helped to create, complete with magnolia trees, topiary and water features.

The primary bedroom suite, meanwhile, is lined with floor-to-ceiling mirrored doors, behind which Mercury stored his clothes and stage costumes.

“The sale of Garden Lodge presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a significant property combined with a piece of cultural history, the beloved home of an icon,” said Paddy Dring, Knight Frank’s global head of prime sales and joint head of its private office.

“Having been carefully preserved with love and respect over the last three decades, we expect that the exceptional provenance of the property will be incredibly alluring to buyers across the world,” he said. “Notwithstanding the legacy of the house, it is very rare that unmodernised homes of this scale, set in such beautiful mature gardens come to market, so it is certainly an exciting prospect for any future purchaser.”

Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara, formed Queen, one of the best-selling bands of all time, in 1970. Diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Mercury died from complications from the disease at the age of 45, the day after publicly announcing his diagnosis.

Australia’s housing crisis will not be solved by first-home buyer incentives or tax changes alone, with leading property figures warning governments must tackle supply constraints if affordability is to improve.

Speaking at the Kanebridge Quarterly Property Leadership Summit in Sydney last week, expert project marketing specialist Sam Elbanna, property investor and fund manager Paul Miron and property consultant Karla McNeice said that a lack of housing supply remained the central issue facing the market.

Elbanna, Director of CPM Realty with more than 30 years’ experience in project sales, argued that successive governments had focused too heavily on stimulating demand rather than addressing the barriers preventing new housing from being delivered.

“The misconception is that politicians think the way to solve the housing crisis is to drive demand,” he said.

“The reality is that’s not the way. This is a supply-side problem, and it needs to be solved on the supply side.”

Drawing on his experience in project sales, Elbanna said policies designed to help first-home buyers often had unintended consequences, pointing to previous grants that ultimately flowed through to higher property prices.

Instead, he said developers were facing increasing red tape, approval delays and rising costs, which were discouraging new housing supply.

“In the absence of stock, demand exceeds supply,” he said.

Miron, a Co-Founder and Fund Manager of Msquared Capital, said the housing debate had become overly focused on tax policy while overlooking broader structural issues.

He argued that affordability challenges stemmed from a combination of factors, including planning constraints, supply shortages, migration levels and interest rates.

“No-one can be 100 per cent certain on the real reason for property prices is going up,” he said.

“The reason why property prices are higher is a combination of interest rates, lack of supply, migration, vacancy rates and maybe taxes play a role.”

Miron was critical of recent federal housing policy changes, warning they could reduce the number of new homes being built and further constrain supply that was even highlighted in the budget.

He also highlighted the importance of the property sector to the broader economy, noting that residential real estate and related industries employed more than one million Australians.

McNeice, who advises developers on sales strategy and market intelligence, said understanding buyers had become increasingly important as affordability pressures intensified.

While affordability remained a major consideration, she said today’s buyers were focused on value rather than simply price.

“People are looking for value for money,” she said.

She said buyers were increasingly evaluating factors such as transport connections, walkability, nearby amenities and flexible living spaces that could accommodate changing family needs.

“What infrastructure is going on? Can I walk to the shops? Can I meet people at the local cafe?” she said.

The panel also discussed the mounting pressures facing developers, with Elbanna arguing that many projects become financially unviable from the moment a site is purchased.

“The viability of a development happens at the moment the site is bought,” he said.

He said rising construction costs, higher interest rates and overly optimistic feasibility assumptions had left some developers exposed as market conditions changed.

While acknowledging the growing number of smaller and first-time developers entering the market, Elbanna said property development required expertise across finance, construction, marketing and legal disciplines.

“It is actually a business that requires a level of expertise,” he said.

Looking ahead, the panel agreed opportunities remained in the market despite current challenges.

Miron said property should continue to be viewed as a long-term investment and cautioned against trying to time short-term market movements.

McNeice said success would increasingly depend on identifying projects that genuinely met changing buyer expectations.

Elbanna said affordable housing remained achievable, but developers needed to deliver more than just homes.

“We can provide affordable housing in this country,” he said.

“But we’ve got to wrap that affordable housing with the things that people want.”

As Australia’s housing affordability debate intensifies, the panellists agreed on one point: without a meaningful increase in housing supply, demand-side measures alone are unlikely to solve the nation’s property challenges.

Freddie Mercury’s London Home Selling for the First Time Since He Lived There

Garden Lodge, in the capital’s posh Kensington, was Mercury’s much-loved home from 1980 until his death in 1991

Australia’s housing affordability crisis is being fuelled by chronic undersupply, planning delays and rising development costs, as politicians continue to focus on the wrong solutions.