NOOSA IGNITES WITH RECORD TROPHY HOMES
Once a sleepy surf town, Noosa has become Australia’s prestige property hotspot, where multi-million dollar knockdowns, architectural showpieces and record-setting sales are the new normal.
3 min
It wasn’t too long ago that Noosa was seen as a relaxed holiday town, more famous for its surf breaks and weekenders than record-breaking prestige property.
But much like much of Queensland, COVID lit a torch under the market, and in Noosa it was the prestige sector that surged the hardest.
Records tumbled, including one-bedroom apartments on Hastings Street, the suburb’s only true beachfront strip, changing hands for nearly $6 million. That’s a price point not seen anywhere else in Australia, not even Bondi Beach.
While some regional markets have since cooled as workers trudged back to the office, Australia’s wealthy have continued to pour into Noosa.
Their growing fortunes, from corporate payouts to generational wealth, have fuelled the demand. Think former Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka, who just received a $50 million payout from her former employer.
Just before Christmas last year she spent $17 million on a 1970s Noosa home, which she plans to knockdown and replace with a three-level luxury residence by Shaun Lockyer Architects.
The regional price record was set in 2021 when Peter Tighe, non-executive chairman of AuKing Mining and part-owner of champion mare Winx, paid $34 million for Webb House in Sunshine Beach.
Initially, speculation swirled that billionaire Gina Rinehart was the mystery buyer. Sunshine Beach still holds the crown for Noosa’s priciest sale, but the bulk of big-ticket transactions are now spread between absolute beachfront in Noosa Heads and the suburb’s sought-after waterways.
So far in 2025, there have been 42 sales above $5 million across the region. That’s broadly in line with the last three years, with the exception of 2021, when more than 90 properties over $5 million changed hands between January and September alone.
Higher interest rates aren’t applicable to this cohort of buyers.
This year Mark Fraser, the Queensland architect who founded beach shade giant CoolCabanas, paid $18 million on an empty X sqm block of land with approved plans for a new luxury home.
Brendan Pickering, the managing director of Pickerings Auto Group, spent $16.5 million to add to his collection of Noosa waterfront trophy homes, while the lesser known, Melbourne-based millionaires Robert and Abigail Polites, emerged as buyers of a $17.6 million home on Witta Circle, widely regarded as Noosa’s premier riverfront street.
The prestige market has been further energised with the listing of one of Noosa’s most striking waterfront homes, and it could set a new benchmark.
Reed & Co. agents Adrian Reed and Donna Taylor have just launched Casa Luca to market, a newly built Wyuna Drive home that recently won the 2025 Master Builders Regional Award.
Translating to “House of Light,” the home has been crafted by renowned designer Paul Clout, whose name is synonymous with Noosa’s most celebrated residences. Interiors are by Hong Henwood, incorporating Italian marble, Portuguese stone, Egyptian limestone, and hand-blown Soktas glass pendants.
Every detail has been carefully curated, and all the custom furnishings are included in the sale.
The residence offers a 20-metre river frontage with expansive glass panes framing uninterrupted water views. Inside, curved walls and soaring ceilings deliver dramatic impact, while a marble-clad galley kitchen with a 3.5-metre island bench forms the heart of the home.
It features a Gaggenau cooktop and ovens, dual integrated Fisher & Paykel fridges, and Miele dishwashers, a space designed to entertain as much as cook.
Spread across more than 500 sqm of internal living, the four king-sized bedrooms include a master retreat with a private riverfront terrace, walk-in robe, and ensuite clad in limestone and Italian marble.
Multiple lounge areas are anchored by Jetmaster and gas fireplaces, with terraces flowing to the pool, spa, and private jetty. A custom wine cellar and bar sit alongside the dining space, while an alfresco pavilion with an automated roof, BeefEater barbecue, plumbed gas fire pit, floating daybed, and magnesium pool complete the resort-style setting.
Competing for best trophy home listing this summer is another Paul Clout special, this one on Gympie Terrace in Noosaville. The home, dubbed One W, is listed with Century 21 Conolly Hay Group Noosa Heads agent Rachel Sellman, who is entertaining offers around the $20 million mark.
The highlight of the four-bedroom, three-level home is the rooftop terrace, channeling a chic Mediterranean beach club with a private heated pool and spa, floating daybeds, custom dining and lounging areas with a gas fireplace, a built-in barbecue, a bar with beer taps, and an adjustable pergola. Sharing this level is a fitness studio with a full gym, infrared sauna, and a steam shower.
BNW Developments has established a Sydney presence, joining Arada and Sobha Realty among the growing number of UAE developers pursuing Australian buyers and development opportunities.
Australian shares fell on Thursday as Wall Street weakness, rising oil and persistent rate concerns weighed on most of the market. The S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.72 per cent to 8,702. The All Ordinaries lost 0.66 per cent to finish at 8,897. Mining stocks were hit particularly hard, while real estate also dragged on the index. …
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Restored Victorian Italianate manor Earlswood combines two substantial residences on 778sqm and leads the prestige offering from the newly established Ray White Phillips & Co.
3 min
Alexander Phillips has unveiled his first newly launched trophy campaign since establishing Ray White Phillips & Co, with the landmark Randwick estate Earlswood being offered with a guide of $10.5 million.
The listing is an early statement for Phillips’ new Woollahra-based agency. Less than a month after opening, Ray White Phillips & Co had already secured more than $30 million across a series of booked auction campaigns, including the $9 million sale of 92 Ocean Street, Bondi, and sales in Waverley, Bronte, Clovelly, Paddington and Coogee.
Phillips also recently sold 9 Kenneth Street, Tamarama, for $20.25 million, the highest reported Eastern Beaches sale of 2026.
The latest addition to the agency’s books is one of the eastern suburbs’ more distinctive estates.
Occupying 778 sqm at 54 Dutruc Street, Earlswood pairs a restored Victorian Italianate manor with an adjoining two-storey contemporary residence designed by X-PACE Design Group.
The original home was built in 1891 and is a locally listed heritage residence within Randwick’s St Marks conservation area. Its restoration retains much of the formality and detail expected of a grand Victorian property, including a substantial entrance foyer, frescoes by Augusto Lorenzini, four-metre ceilings, marble fireplaces and a series of reception and entertaining rooms.
Four king-sized bedrooms are arranged on one level, while an attic retreat captures views towards the ocean. More recent additions include a custom kitchen with Gaggenau appliances, a butler’s pantry, Spotted Gum floors and ducted air-conditioning.
Next door, the second residence takes a distinctly contemporary approach. Off-form concrete, wide oak floorboards and clean architectural lines establish a deliberate contrast with the ornate historic manor.
The modern home contains three upper-level ensuite bedrooms, two living areas, a designer kitchen, courtyard and north-facing rooftop terrace. Villeroy & Boch-appointed terrazzo bathrooms and Italian lighting continue the detailed finish found throughout the estate.
Although architecturally different, the two homes have been designed to operate together or independently. Each has its own entrance, while both connect to a four-car basement containing a vehicle turntable, wine cellar and internal lift access.
The configuration lends itself to multigenerational living, accommodation for adult children or extended family, or a principal residence with a separate income-producing home. The properties have also been prepared for possible future title subdivision, subject to council approval.
The estate spans approximately 717sqm of internal floor area and has a 39-metre frontage to Rae Street, as well as landscaped gardens and dual-street access. It last changed hands for $10.75 million in November 2023, according to publicly available property records.
Earlswood arrives as Phillips begins the next phase of a 24-year career in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He has been ranked among Australia’s leading residential agents for more than a decade, with his team reported to transact more than $1 billion in property annually across more than 400 clients.
Phillips said his decision to launch Ray White Phillips & Co was driven by the industry’s increasing reliance on technology, data and network reach, while maintaining his team’s focus on the eastern suburbs.
For Ray White, Earlswood provides an appropriately high-profile introduction to its newest prestige operation: a rare dual-residence property that offers both a carefully preserved piece of Randwick’s history and a markedly contemporary way of living.
Earlswood at 54 Dutruc Street, Randwick, is being marketed by Alexander Phillips of Ray White Phillips & Co through expressions of interest closing November 5.
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