Inside the Summer Surge Powering Australia’s Holiday Home Markets
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Inside the Summer Surge Powering Australia’s Holiday Home Markets

Summer continues to be prime time for Australia’s lifestyle markets, with Byron Bay and the Gold Coast recording headline sales right through Xmas.

By Staff Writer
Tue, Jan 6, 2026 12:41pmGrey Clock 3 min

Summer is truly the time in the sun for Australia’s holiday destinations.

An embarrassment of riches floods into town from the capitals, many arriving with the idea of securing a holiday home.

That means real estate markets run right through Christmas and New Year, in stark contrast to capitals like Sydney and Melbourne which largely shut down until after the school holidays post–Australia Day.

Some secured their purchases, or sales, in time for the Christmas holidays.

Take The Block judge Darren Palmer and his cosmetics expert husband, Olivier Duvillard.

They bought an original beach shack near Belongil Beach in Byron Bay for $4.2 million, after selling their former Suffolk Park retreat, Pompano House, for $2.6 million.

Sydney-based Cricketer Nic Maddinson secured himself a getaway in time for Christmas, spending $1.88 million on a four-bedroom home in Coorabell.

One of Chemist Warehouse’s largest shareholders, and managing director of its QLD and NSW operations, Brett Clark, and wife Maria paid $27.5 million for Copperstone, the luxury Bangalow retreat of Oroton heir Tom Lane and wife Emma, in July.

Closer to Christmas, they expanded the already 19-hectare holding by spending $3.5 million for the vacant 24-hectare block next door.

Copperstone, a luxury Bangalow retreat

Still in Bangalow, Susan Fashion Group founder Naomi Milgrom sold one of her Byron region holdings.

She offloaded a “Tuscan-style villa” for $4.9 million. Milgrom, who owns three adjoining properties on the dress-circle Lighthouse Road opposite Clarkes Beach in the heart of Byron, paid $3 million for the three-bedroom home on 2.4 hectares in 2017.

Fellow Melbourne-based best-selling author and podcaster Hugh Van Cuylenburg was also in a selling mood.

He sold his Bangalow retreat for $7.5 million. The founder of The Resilience Project took a hit on the 1905 original cottage, which had been architecturally upgraded into an ultra-modern home, having bought it less than two years ago for $8 million.

Hugh Van Cuylenburg’s Bangalow home

Closer to town, retired professional surfer Owen Wright sold one of his new development houses for $6 million just days before Christmas.

The Daniels Street home.

The Daniels Street home, with four bedrooms and a mineral pool, is one of four homes developed by Wright, who is keeping one of them. The buildings were completed at the start of December.

It was the same story for sellers Peter Ostick and his wife Ida Almasi, founders of Soma wellness spa, better known as the main filming location for Nicole Kidman’s Nine Perfect Strangers.

They nabbed a buyer for their five-bedroom Border Street home, which was reportedly asking around $20 million, after just six weeks on the market shortly before Christmas.

The couple sold the aforementioned Soma wellness spa this year in Ewingsdale, in the Byron hinterland, to Lorna Clarkson, founder of activewear giant Lorna Jane, for just shy of $11 million.

The Gold Coast, another one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations, saw the same energy levels heading into the Christmas period.

An apartment in Dune Main Beach, the beachfront new development by Andrews Projects, sold for $6.8 million just before Christmas.

The full-floor, three-bedroom unit sits on the third level of the building that has a who’s who of Melbourne-based owners including former JB Hi-Fi owners Richard and Alison Bouris and a business entity with the directors tied to retail billionaire Solomon Lew.

Villa Casa

Former AFL legend Buddy Franklin and wife Jesinta secured a buyer for Villa Casa, their Mediterranean-inspired Reedy Creek estate.

They sold the five-bedroom, 2021-built home for $10.5 million, three years after they bought it for $8.75 million, such has been the boom in the local real estate market post-COVID and in the lead up to the 2032 Brisbane Summer Olympics.



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A record-breaking $11 million sale at The Centennial Collection has set a new benchmark for luxury apartment living in Bondi Junction.

By Staff Writer
Thu, Jun 18, 2026 3 min

The Centennial Collection, the new apartment development on the edge of Centennial Park in Bondi Junction, continues to break local residential property records.

A local Eastern suburbs buyer has splashed $11 million on a three-bedroom, sub-penthouse on level 10 of the development, topping the previous record within the same development.

At 266 sqm, including internal and external space, the north-facing residence achieved more than $55,000 per sqm, making it one of the most expensive apartment transactions ever recorded in Sydney’s eastern suburbs outside the harbourfront enclaves of Double Bay and Darling Point.

The buyer had originally purchased a three-bedroom apartment in The Centennial Collection in 2025 for $6.5 million before deciding to secure the larger half-floor sub-penthouse.

Ray White Projects Director of Sales Marcello Bo, who is managing sales for the project, said the transaction highlighted the continued strength of demand for premium apartments in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

“This sale is a clear indication of buoyancy in the upper end of the market and reinforces the strong demand and appetite for primely located, larger-sized apartments with all the luxurious inclusions you would expect with a development of this calibre,” Bo said.

“It also demonstrates that superbly-designed, lifestyle-driven residences in tightly held locations continue to outperform, particularly when they deliver scale, privacy, rarity and long-term liveability that aligns with how buyers want to live today.”

The Centennial Collection occupies a prominent gateway site overlooking Centennial Park at the junction of Bondi Junction, Woollahra and Paddington. Following recent State Significant Development approval, the project now comprises 79 apartments across two adjoining towers rising 13 and 16 storeys.

The development has been designed to target owner-occupiers seeking larger-format apartments, with residences featuring inclusions more commonly associated with standalone homes, including private rooftop pools, bedroom fireplaces, wet bars, butler’s pantries and full-sized wine fridges.

The record-setting residence was originally designed as one of the project’s penthouses before the approval process allowed additional levels to be added to the scheme.

Positioned on Level 10, the apartment occupies half a floor and has no common walls. It offers 270-degree views spanning Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Centennial Park and both the northern and southern headlands.

The purchaser said that proximity to Centennial Park, transport connectivity, and the surrounding lifestyle amenities ultimately drove his decision.

“I’m constantly looking at developments everywhere in the east, from Darling Point to Rushcutters Bay, Double Bay, all the beaches, Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama, Woollahra. I wanted something new,” he said.

“Everywhere you go, there’s a trade-off. It might have a great floor plan, but it doesn’t have a view. Working in the city, your daily commute impacts everything, so Bondi Junction train station was a huge factor in my decision.”

The buyer, an avid cyclist who rides regularly in Centennial Park, said his view of the location changed significantly as he spent more time assessing the eastern suburbs market.

“At first, I thought, who would want to live there? It’s one of the busiest intersections in the eastern suburbs. But when you peel it all back, it’s one of the best locations in Sydney. You’re close to everything, you can walk to everything, the amenity is incredible, and the views are amazing.”

Bondi Junction is slated to look materially different in the coming decades, with a draft 100-page masterplan proposing a regeneration of the suburb which would include thousands more apartments as well as a revitalised commercial, retail, and dining precinct.

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