Byron Bay is fast becoming Hemsworth heartland.

Hollywood hunk Chris Hemsworth and his extended family already own two Byron properties, including the mega-mansion he and wife Elsa Pataky are building.

Now Pataky’s half-brother Cristian Medianu, a film director who has worked with Hemsworth on Thor: Ragnarok, has bought a $1.5 million house in Suffolk Park, just five minutes away.

Medianu will live there with his new wife, nurse Silvia Serra, adding more star power to the town already dubbed “Hollywood by the sea”.

Hemsworth’s Hollywood buddy Matt Damon and his family are regular visitors, as are brothers Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth, and his music star wife Miley Cyrus, and Westworld’s Luke Hemsworth.

The clan’s Byron property purchases now total $12.8 million — plus another $8.8 million on a knockdown rebuild.

Chris and Liam are listed as directors of the company that spent $4.3 million on a Suffolk Park beachfront late last year, which was mooted to become the home of their parents Craig and Leonie.

The Thor star and Pataky are putting the final touches to their Broken Head mega-mansion, after knocking down the eight-bedroom home they bought for $7 million in 2014.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

Fashion designer Kit Willow Podgornik has listed her Vaucluse home with $5.8 million hopes.

Property Observer gets a sneak peek.

The creative brains behind KITX fashion brand and her husband, property developer Mark Podgornik, have called the four-bedroom house home for nine years.

Perched on the hillside above Vaucluse House, they paid $2.1 million with a subsequent two-year renovation.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

Professional surfer Owen Wright has emerged as the mystery buyer of luxury beach villa building opportunity within the heart of Byron Bay.

It sits just under 300 metres from Clarke’s Beach.

The $5.1 million outlay was the fourth highest sale in the Byron Bay township over the year.

The Rip Curl ambassador bought the Daniels Street property on delayed settlement terms late last year.

Wright, a Culburra Beach-born South Coaster, is yet to lodge plans for any redevelopment, but a villa project seems likely.

Currently on the 1605 square meter site sits an elevated three-bedroom timber beach house built in the mid 1970s, with few ­updates, if any, since its construction.

It only occupies 175 square metres of its land holding.

The surf-enthusiast moved north to Lennox Head a decade ago when he was in his late teens.

Sister Tyler is also on the pro-circuit and is a two-time world champion surfer.

Owen has since become one of the country’s leading surfers. He nearly won a world title after two perfect 10-point rides to win an event in Fiji in 2015.

Days before the final event at Pipeline Masters even in Hawaii, Wright suffered a traumatic brain ­injury during a warm-up session.

During his recuperation from the career-threatening injury, Wright spent $765,000 on Ahimsa, a Berry district retreat.

He used the private one bedroom Brogers Creek home on 2.4ha as his refuge, calling it “a little slice of ­heaven”.

Having fully recovered, Wright recently sold the property for $1 million.

Wright, his partner, singer Kita Alexander, and their son currently own at Byron in a home bought in 2010 for $975,000.

The 1930s Federation home was architecturally ­­re-designed by Running Dog Design.

Alexander has just released a new single ‘Between You & I’.

The Byron Bay native penned the indie-pop jam about experiencing the hardest kind of love.

“One that is so strong, it almost breaks you,” said Alexander.

“I wanted this to be a hopeful ­anthem in the face of adversity.”

Byron Bay’s residential house price record was quietly set earlier this year when F45 gym boss Adam Gilchrist and Eli-May Havas spent $18.85 million on Wategos House, the longtime record holder of Vaucluse developer Danny Goldberg who paid $15.68 million in 2006.

Gilchrist and Havas are no ­strangers to the area, having ­married at the exclusive Rae’s across the road.

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.

Christopher Pyne and his wife Carolyn, who are heading to the Adelaide Hills given his retirement from Federal Parliament, have had a quick offer on their Adelaide home.

The Wattle Park home has been the family home for nine years. 

They had been seeking $1 million to $1.1 million offers for the 1970s property listed through Klemich Real Estate.

The couple have about an acre in the Hills, plus an old town cottage at Robe, the fishing port located in the Limestone Coast of South Australia, which was bought in early 2016 for $520,000.

Two of the five bedrooms were added by the Pynes after their $800,000 purchase in 2010.

Pyne has drawn the curtain on a 26 year political career.

He was still living at home in Burnside on gaining his pre-selection in 1992.

This article was first published in the Weekend Australian. 

Former Socceroo legend Stan Lazaridis is selling his longtime Perth home.

The left winger bought the City Beach property in 1997 when he was playing for West Ham in London.

He joined Perth Glory from Birmingham in 2006, the same year he knocked down the old 1970s home and built a home which is being marketed as influenced by Versace's mansion.

Past its grand entry foyer with piano, the custom-designed home on 900 square metres has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a cinema and a games room.

An alfresco entertaining space overlooks the swimming pool, spa and bar.

Ray White Dalkeith Claremont agents Vivien Yap and Phoebe Shi have the listing.

Lazaridis was capped 60 times for the Socceroos. He took to the property game after retiring in 2008.

This article was first published in the Weekend Australian. 

The Northcote-based former ALP politician turned private citizen David Feeney and his lawyer wife Liberty Sangar have sold their East Melbourne investment apartment for $3.9 million.

They had been asking $4 million to $4.4 million for the apartment in the 150 Clarendon block when it was listed back in February.

It has a 25 metre entertainers terrace with views across Fitzroy Gardens.

They paid $2,875,000 in 2007, a year before Feeney was elected Labor member for Batman in Melbourne's north.

In 2016 Feeney was caught in a controversy over his declaration of his property interests, which briefly morphed into a political attack over Labor's negative gearing policy.

Fennel, a fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, studying a PhD at university.

The Clarendon Street block's sub-penthouse was listed this week with $46 million hopes.

This article was first published in the Weekend Australian.

Billionaire James Packer finally cashed out of his personal property holdings in Sydney when his last property, a Woollahra trophy home, recently settled at $8,375,000.

The six-bedroom home sold on extended settlements terms last November through Ray White agent Elliott Placks to mystery bidders represented by buyers’ agent, Janne Sutcliffe, from Change of Address.

They were the Henley Homes tycoon Rob Bowen and Skye Holden, the Sydney socialite.

Financing was not the reason behind the extended terms because the purchase came without any registered mortgage. 

The home purchase looks similar in design to her family's former Point Piper residence.

It was part of a family compound amalgamated by the late media tycoon Kerry Packer, who bought on Rosemont Avenue in 1965 for £36,000.

The sale ends Packer’s real estate ties with his hometown, barring the upcoming $60 million off-the-plan purchase in his Barangaroo casino high-rise block.

He sold his Bondi Beach pad for $29 million last year and La Mer in Vaucluse for $70 million in 2015. 

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.

Business Chicks boss Olivia Ruello and her banker husband Andrew Hagger have swapped Paddington for Randwick, spending $3 million on a contemporary house that was rebuilt in 2014.

Spanning two storeys with two separate living areas, the home has four bedrooms including a private master suite with dressing room and ensuite.

The open-plan kitchen, living and dining area opens on to a landscaped north-facing garden.

Ruello and Hagger snapped the home up just 13 days into its marketing.

The couple, with their young daughter, had previously called Paddington home.

They sold their modernised 1880s Boundary Street terrace, which cost $1,751,000 in 2016, through 1st City Woollahra agent Simon Doak at $1.8 million.

Ruello heads up Business Chicks Australia, Australia’s largest and most influential women’s network.

She has been chief executive since 2016, after longtime boss Emma Isaacs moved to LA as the company’s global CEO.

Isaacs sold the Northbridge home she shared with husband Rowan and their three daughters for $2.89 million.

This article first appeared in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

Nashville star Clare Bowen is reluctantly selling her south coast home, where she stayed whenever she was back home from the US.

The Minnamurra waterfront property has been completely modernised during Bowen’s ownership, with the renovation undertaken by her interior designer mother Kathleen, who runs The Inside Story Design Concepts in Kiama.

Actor-singer Bowen spends most of her time travelling and her primary residence is in the US, where she lives with her husband­, folk musician Brandon Robert Young.

“I’d keep it if I was here more,” Bowen said of the home. “Brandon and I are very fortunate to travel internationally quite a bit, and to have the careers we have, but it means we are away a lot.

“The location is too beautiful not to be enjoyed on a regular basis. I want someone to love it so much, give it new life, wake up every day and look at the Minnamurra­ River, and know that they’re home.”

The couple wed in ceremonies in both Australia and the US in 2017, after Young proposed to Bowen when they were on stage at the iconic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Performing at the concert was one of Bowen’s childhood dreams.

Bowen’s roots are on the south coast. Her family settled in Minnamurra after having lived all over the country due to her father­’s work with Qantas.

“There is no where else like it in the world,” Bowen said.

“It’s where I sat and dreamt my dreams and got brave enough to follow them.

“I wrote songs in my head as a kid while kayaking upriver through the mangroves.”

In 2013, Bowen spent $870,000 on the five-bedroom, three-bathroom 1980s family home overlooking Minnamurra River.

Ray White Kiama agent Gail Connellan has it scheduled for a May 25 auction.

Bowen is now readying to release her first solo album later this year.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

The former Malvern East home offloaded in 2017 by the Real Housewives of Melbourne star Chyka Keebaugh and her husband Bruce has been sold again.

This time without the public fanfare, indeed shrouded in price secrecy by the Marshall White selling agent Rae Tomlinson.

The celebrity couple sold the then much televised home for $3.95 million to Hayley and Tim James, from the recruitment firm Ampersand International.

Their love of Byron Bay, and its emerging innovation hub, sees an end to the Melbourne commute for the couple.

They tried to sell the 1935 English manor-style home last year and this time it came with with a revised guide of $3.6 million to $3.96 million.

This article was first published in the Weekend Australian. 

Retired founder of Chadwick Models, Peter Chadwick, has sold his apartment in a luxury over-55s Woollahra complex with plans to move to the heart of the foodie scene at Danks Street, Waterloo.

The still hip Chadwick has spent $1,275,000 on a 2015-built, two-bedroom apartment in an award-winning project designed by SJB Architects for Made Property Group.

His north-facing apartment in Emanuel Gardens had been on the market for four months before Raine & Horne Double Bay agent Jane Schumann secured its sale.

She was asking $1.45 million for the two-bedroom apartment.

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and wife Lucy have sold their Canberra waterfront penthouse to Sydney barrister Keith Rewell.

The two-level, three-bedroom Kingston apartment, a short stroll to Capital Hill with views over the river, has been put up for rent at $1185 a week.

It sold for $2.06 million having been listed for sale last September, just weeks after Turnbull lost the top job.

Turnbull then listed it for rent with an ambitious weekly asking price of $1350-$1550.

The Turnbulls bought it off the plan in 2006 for $1.95 million.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

Deloitte Australia chief marketing officer Matt McGrath and his wife, acclaimed fashion designer Jodie Boffa-McGrath, have bought in Darlinghurst.

The couple, who have been renovating their $3.7 million Palm Beach home, have quietly paid $2.16 million for an updated terrace.

Bresic Whitney Darlinghurst secured the off-market sale.

It had been a $1100-a-week rental in recent years, having last sold for $812,500 in 2003.

The home with three bedrooms, two designer bathrooms and a landscaped garden on 95 square metres has been listed for rent by the couple at $1395 a week.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

The US-based star of Nashville Clare Bowen withdrew her south coast home from its weekend sun-splashed onsite auction.

The crowd who had gathered on the Minnamurra riverfront were advised the property was not going to auction as scheduled through Ray White Kiama agent Gail Connellan.

“No doubt it will be sold very soon,” the auctioneer said of the home which was modernised during Bowen’s six-year ownership.

There has been a recent nearby $1.9 million sale on the riverfront strip that gave potential buyers something of an unrenovated price comparison.

Actor-singer Bowen, who has been spending time in Australia, is soon to kick off a tour across the US, where she lives with her husband­, folk musician Brandon Robert Young.

“I’d keep it if I was here more,” Bowen said during the home’s marketing.

“Brandon and I are very fortunate to travel internationally quite a bit, and to have the careers we have, but it means we are away a lot.

“The location is too beautiful not to be enjoyed on a regular basis.

“I want someone to love it so much, give it new life, wake up every day and look at the Minnamurra­ River, and know that they’re home.”

It was in 2013 when Bowen spent $870,000 on the five-bedroom 1980s family home.

“Mum says there are healing powers in the ground, and I believe her,” Bowen said.

The renovation was undertaken by her interior designer mother Kathleen who runs The Inside Story Design Concepts in Kiama.

Bowen is now readying her first solo album. Rolling Stone magazine noted this week Bowen embraces her scars in the new video for Let It Rain.

The couple wed in ceremonies in both Australia and the US in 2017, after Young proposed to Bowen when they were on stage at the iconic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Before landing the role of Scarlett O’Connor on TV series Nashville, Bowen grew up in rural Australia.

She heard her first broadcast of a Grand Ole Opry concert on the wireless in her grandfather’s kitchen.

After her leading role of Wendlain in the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Spring Awakening, Bowen took the advice of the STC’s artistic director, Cate Blanchett, and bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles in 2012.

“There is nowhere else like it in the world,” Bowen says of the south coast on NSW.

“It’s where I sat and dreamt my dreams and got brave enough to follow them.

“I wrote songs in my head as a kid while kayaking upriver through the mangroves.”

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.

House Hunting website boss Drew Muirhead and his naturopath partner Linda Dal Molin are selling their Balmain East home.

The couple paid $2.1 million in 2016 when moving from Paddington where they flipped their two-bed terrace for $1.94 million, having paid $1.16 million for the property two years earlier.

The couple has renovated the Balmain townhouse with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a galley kitchen and courtyard.

It has a $2.45-$2.69 million price guide.

Muirhead’s former Cottage Point home featured on Grand Designs Australia.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph. 

The Malvern home of Paul Binfield, chief financial officer at Nufarm, has been sold having had a $2.295 million asking price.

His renovated Victorian cottage with plunge pool is only a few minutes walk from the station.

The three-bedroom home comes with a kitchen with Bosch appliances and generous open-plan living spaces which open via bi-fold doors onto a landscaped garden.

The upstairs master bedroom includes a study nook, walk-in wardrobe and en suite. and there is a double garage with rear lane access.

Fiona Ansell-Jones of Marshall White Stonnington had the listing which had previously sold at $2.16 million in 2015.

This article was first published in the Weekend Australian. 

It's now official, with settlement revealing corporate lawyer Amanda Banton paid $23.56 million for the Rose Bay home of property baron Stephen Burcher and his wife Melissa.

The waterfront home — designed by Bruce Stafford, with interiors by Hare + Klein — sold through Ben Collier at The Agency having been passed in at $23.25 million.

Set within gardens by Anthony Wyer, the five-bedroom residence came with a boat shed. There were initial $25 million hopes for the property, that has an internal lift across three levels.

The sale ranks as the slow year’s second highest sale behind Alex Ma’s pre-auction Vaucluse deal. The Burchers have bought a $15.25 million Tuscan-style Woollahra house.

Banton sold her Paddington terrace for $7.4 million to Quadrant Private Equity partner Alex Eady and his wife Jodie last year.

She had been renting at Centennial Park from Wesfarmers exec Ed Bostock and his wife Emma following their move to their $5.5 million 1910 Cottesloe, Perth, home.

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.

The former member for Wentworth, Dr Kerryn Phelps, who conceded defeat to Liberal Dave Sharma after the recent federal election, and her wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps are selling their Southern Highlands retreat.

Angus Campbell-Jones at Campbell Jones Property Bowral is seeking $4 million for the private oasis behind its automatic security gated entry.

It seems family commitments in Sydney, including grandchildren, have meant the Potts Point couple were infrequently getting to the Bowral estate.

It’s been renovated since the couple bought the 2.15ha parcel in 2015. Jacquie Ezer at Ezer Styles Architects oversaw the works constructed by local builder Greg Samsa, who previously worked on Gai Waterhouse’s Highlands escape.

The country-style house, in the foothills of Milton Park, has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a billiard room and tennis court.

This article first appeared in the Sunday Telegraph.

Sydney Roosters young gun Joseph Manu has bought his first home in the rival club’s Rabbitoh's heartland.

The 22-year-old winger has spent $1.15 million on a Botany apartment. It’s set on the first level of the recently completed Magnolia building of Tailor’s Walk, an urban village complex developed by Frasers Property.

Marketed by Phillips Pantzer Donnelley agents Tristan Oddi and Debbie Donnelley as having house-size proportions, the 160sq m apartment has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen comes with a butler’s pantry. Wall-to-wall glass opens to a full-size alfresco entertainers’ terrace.

Manu (pictured), who joined the Roosters in 2016 and has extended his contract to the end of the 2020 season, joins teammate Latrell Mitchell as a first-home buyer.

The Origin shoo-in spent $1.45 million on a 2015-built, four- bedroom home in Chifley, just before the Roosters’ 2018 grand final victory.

Fellow Rooster Victor Radley spent $1.2 million on a Bondi apartment, having previously scoped out an apartment in Double Bay.

Star fullback James Tedesco, who has built an impressive property portfolio, has quietly bought his first eastern suburbs property. Tedesco had been renting in Bondi Beach before settling in Rose Bay, where he paid $1.75 million for a two-bedroom, two-level updated apartment with 115sq m of landscaped terraces.

Veteran backrower Mitch Aubusson also bought in the east, spending $1.45 million on a two-bedroom unit in North Bondi, and promptly found a tenant at $995 a week, reflecting a 3.5 per cent yield.

This article first appeared in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.