Tasmanian Housing Market Begins To Cool

Following a record 12 months for real estate sales for Tasmania, fresh data from the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania shows sales and prices are beginning to slow.

The REIT’s March Quarterly Report shows the first three months of 2022 have seen Tamsnai’s median house price increase a modest 1.7% to $610,00 with unit prices remaining unchanged at $485,000 and land prices decreasing 5.2% to $241,800.

As a whole the Tasmanian market softened in the first quarter, recording 2846 sales with a value of $1.66 billion with the number of sales down 4.7% on the previous quarter and down 11.2% compared to the same time last year.

Across the state, activity has varied greatly with the number of house sales across Greater Hobart falling 18% over the quarter, while prices grew 5.8% to $820,000.

According to REIT president Michael Walsh, there have been signs of a cooling market.

“Price growth had slowed but so has the number of properties coming onto the market,” Mr Walsh said.

“We are told that buyer inquiry levels and open home participation levels have dropped.

“World unrest, the upcoming Federal Election, rising inflation and interest rate increases have buyers and sellers cautious.”

The report also outlines first home buyer activity in the state was down 13% on the previous quarter, while investor activity remained stable, with sales numbers increasing 1.3% over the year to 567 — down 4.7% for the past quarter.

A home that’s right at the entrance to Jeff Bezos’s Beverly HIlls estate, which the billionaire purchased for $165 million in 2020, is now on the market asking $19.8 million.

Shaded by mature olive trees, the three-story modern mansion on Angelo Drive spans nearly 10,000 square feet, and includes five bedrooms, a bar and lounge, a home cinema, a pool with floating benches, and a 15-car garage.

The modern home centers around a striking wood staircase that extends through all three floors, creating an eye-shaped spiral.

Other design choices include a full-height black marble fireplace, herringbone wood flooring, grayscale marble backsplashes in the kitchen and bathroom, banks of floor-to-ceiling windows and a seating area in the middle of the pool.

There is also an outdoor kitchen and eating area poolside, and a living space with sliding doors that open directly onto the pool deck, for indoor/outdoor living.

The home was built in 2021 and designed by Gabbay Architects for the owner, who purchased the underlying property for $4.1 million in 2015, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark.

The seller, who runs a Beverly Hills-based plastic surgery practice, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Benedict Canyon house came to market Friday with Tomer Fridman of Christie’s International Real Estate. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Bezos estate is also known as the Warner Estate, named after its first owner, Hollywood mogul Jack Warner of the Warner Bros.

After Warner, the 9-acre estate was owned by music executive and film producer David Geffen, followed by Bezos. The property includes a palatial Gregorian Revival mansion built in 1939 and designed by architect Florence Yoch to befit the status of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.

At $19.8 million, the new listing offers quite a deal compared to other properties neighbouring Bezos. In Florida, the owner of a vacant lot next door to the Amazon founder’s estate on Indian Creek Island is asking $150 million for it.

Tasmanian Housing Market Begins To Cool

A sense of unease has made buyers and sellers cautious.

The nearly 10,000-square-foot home stands right at the entrance to the Amazon billionaire’s grand, $165 million estate.