Byron Bay Rents Surge

Renting in regional locations has surged in the last 12 months, with the celebrity-filled Byron Bay seeing a rise of over 32% in rents in the past 12 months.

The result is five times the annual rental growth of the past five years with higher demand and limited stock fuelling the rise.

Over the past 12 months, weekly rents in Byron Bay climbed to $1150 for houses and $806 for unites – overtaking the $1083 and $797 rents for Sydney houses and units respectively, according to analysis by CoreLogic.

The sharp increase is caused by a lack of rental property supply with the area seeing just 60 properties available last month, compared to the 177 available in April of 2020.

It’s not only the Byron Bay market feeling the pinch with tight vacancies and strong demand also seeing sharp increases for houses in locales like Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast. Here, rents grew by 28.4% over the year due to rental listings falling from 228 in April of 2020 to just 73.

Outside of NSW, Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia notched a 28.1% rental rise while Buderim on the Sunshine coast saw rents climb 26.1%.

Further, locations like Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast (28.1%) and Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast (25.3%) are also experience rental rising.

A Sydney waterfront mansion that has just hit the market could set a countrywide price record as the first home to sell for A$200 million (US$129.77 million).

Located in the affluent suburb of Point Piper, the sprawling home sits on a lot that’s equivalent to “four normal housing blocks” and features 98 meters (321.5 feet) of water frontage along the harbor, according to an announcement on Wednesday from Ken Jacobs, director of Australia Pacific of Forbes Global Properties, who has the listing in association with real estate agent Brad Pillinger.

“The estate is Australia’s most iconic residence and ranks amongst the best in the world, combining both privacy and space, exuding elegance and comfort, while featuring gun-barrel views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge,” Jacobs said in a statement.

The residence is expected to sell for A$200 million or more, Pillinger added. “There is no comparable property in Australia.”

The home, named Wingadal, as it’s located on Wingadal Place, was built for Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond, who purchased the property in 1999. It took eight years to complete the mansion, which was designed by architect Alec Tzannes, according to the listing agency.

“Wingadal is a highlight of my career in residential design and architecture,” Tzannes said. “The timeless design on the Point Piper peninsula offers a unique appreciation of Sydney Harbour from a variety of angles, rotating around an axis that lines up perfectly with the Sydney Harbour Bridge.”

The colossal home has enough internal space to entertain up to 500 people, and underground parking provides space for 20 cars, plus eight more can fit inside the garage.

The four-level home has four bedrooms as well as a two-bedroom apartment. There’s also a 2,500-bottle wine cellar, a home theater that seats 22, two commercial kitchens and a swimming pool.

“Wingadal has been a special home for my family over the past two decades, and now I’m looking forward to spending more time traveling overseas,” Symond said in a statement. “While being an exceptional family home, we have also enjoyed hosting many important events for charities and other worthwhile causes.”

This is not the first time Symond has tried to sell his waterfront estate. In 2016, he listed the home in hopes of selling it for at least A$100 million, which would’ve been a price record for the country at that time Mansion Global reported . The current benchmark was set in 2022, when a baronial-style estate, also in Point Piper, sold for A$130 million, according to The Sydney Morning Herald .

Byron Bay Rents Surge

The coveted coastal location saw rents rise by 32% in 12 months.

The harbourfront estate has views of the Sydney Opera House and can entertain up to 500 guests