There’s flat with a basketball half-court INSIDE the unit, a famous TV sitcom home and a plan to build a pencil-thin apartment block on a suburban driveway

But the ‘what-the?” story of the week must be the Tassie town that wants better mobile phone coverage but doesn’t want a new phone tower.

These quirky stories and more in this weeks’ round-up from the Left Field Communications feed.

Domain

Is a heritage listing a help or a hindrance?
To own a heritage home is to be a custodian of the past. Many buyers assume that role by necessity and learn to cherish it, while others actively seek homes in protected streetscapes.
Emily Power
  
Iconic house from Gavin & Stacey lists for $400,000
There’s a street in Wales that millions of people instantly recognise but few have visited. Trinity Street in the seaside town of Barry is famously synonymous with British television history.
Kate Kachor
 
Unit block and house next door for sale together in Rose Bay – currently earning vendors $240k annually in rent
A block of three units and the house next door are being sold together in the heart of Rose Bay – and buyers are circling at the rare opportunity to secure almost 1400 square metres in one of Sydney’s most elite enclaves.
Joanne Brookfield
  
Peppermint Grove apartment comes with a basketball half-court in the living room
Ball sports are usually played outdoors but not in this luxurious apartment, which features a basketball backboard, half-court markings and reinforced windows for shooting hoops in the living room.
Joanne Brookfield
 
Phillip in Canberra crowned most pet-friendly suburb for renters in Australia
Canberra has been crowned the number one capital city for the most pet-friendly accommodation.
Joanne Brookfield
  
How one renter is making thousands with a borrowed shovel
A renter in New York City is cashing in on North America’s polar blast, charging residents to dig out vehicles trapped in metres of thick snowfall.
Kate Kachor
 
Wes Mountain
 
Developer snaps up Newtown driveway for $1.25m, plans to build on it
A driveway sold in Newtown for $1.25 million at auction on Saturday, with the successful bidder planning to develop it.
Robyn Willis
  
‘Where is it?’: Missing feature in woman’s New York apartment has onlookers startled
When Katie Cornelia posted a tour of her home online, she was met with a flood of questions – one drowning out the rest. The content creator, known for sharing musings on New York City and travel, received a barrage of the same question in response to a video of her Manhattan apartment.
Kate Kachor
 
Fashion designer Rebecca Vallance selling glam Vaucluse mansion
Fashion designer Rebecca Vallance of the eponymous brand and her financier husband David Gasan have put their glamorous Vaucluse mansion on the market.
Kristy Johnson
  
‘Be very careful’: Homeowner unearths mystery brick structure in front yard
A homeowner in the UK has shared their shock after uncovering a mystery brick structure in their front yard. The owner was out gardening and had dug down into the earth to plant a new apple tree when they hit a hard surface.
Kate Kachor
 
Sports cities: From event venues to experience-led precincts
Over the past decade, Australia’s major sports venues have shifted from being primarily event-based assets to operating as high-frequency, experience-led destinations.
Holly Byrne
 
Wealthy Aussies pocket $19bn tax break
The PM is under pressure as new housing data reveals 80 per cent of a $24bn tax benefit goes to wealthy Aussies while renters struggle with affordability. This after an Anglicare Australia report – out Tuesday – found more than 80 per cent of the benefit of the capital gain tax discount for investors flows to the top 20 per cent of households, while two per cent flows to the bottom 20 per cent.
Sophie Foster
 
Everyday errors turning homes into fire hazards
Aussies are unknowingly risking catastrophic house fires via everyday errors, with a new survey revealing a staggering 83 per cent admitted to at least one dangerous habit in the last year.
Kaylee Cranley
 
Inside Bad Bunny’s sprawling multi-million dollar global property empire
Bad Bunny made history with a vibrant Super Bowl 60 halftime performance that blended storytelling, cultural celebration, a surprise onstage wedding, and special appearances by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and other guests.
Belinda Palmada
 
Yachtie Matt Allen lists Potts Point apartment with $15m+ hopes
Australian Olympic Committee Vice President and Sydney to Hobart winner Matt Allen AM has listed his luxury Potts Point apartment with a $15m+ price guide.
Stephen Nicholls – Sydney
 
Darryn Lyons lists lavish Geelong mansion for record-breaking $8m
Former Geelong mayor and paparazzo Darryn Lyons’ waterfront mansion has hit the market with a hefty circa $8m price tag.
Nicole Mayne – Geelong
  
Liberal senator Dennis Hood lists $3.275m North Adelaide property
He’s battled it out in the political arena for almost two decades, and now Liberal senator Dennis Hood hopes to enjoy another victory when he sells his North Adelaide family home after 12 years.
Tom Bowden – Adelaide
 
Historic Port Adelaide warehouse-turned-home sells for record price
A historic Port Adelaide warehouse-turned-home that was briefly a film set for a popular Australian movie has been snapped up – again. The 1880s-built property at 25 Divett St sold for $1.408m at auction, after an earlier contract on it fell through.
Jessica Brown – Adelaide

Sandstone church sold for just $80K among Australia’s cheapest sales
A Sydney has buyer snapped up a circa 1883 former Anglican Church in a remote NSW town for just $80,000, marking one of Australia’s cheapest home sales last month.
Lisa Calautti
 
Substations and skate parks: Buyers seek out unique and imaginative homes
From luxury pads with ocean views to budget stunners, a 19th century church and a quirky substation, some truly imaginative listings are drawing visitors to realestate.com.au this summer.
Caroline Riches
 
How Tina Turner turned 50 cents into $380m property fortune
The late Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll walked away from her abusive marriage to Ike Turner with just $US36 cents ($A50 cents) and a Mobil credit card in her pocket.
Belinda Palmada
 
Married at First Sight psychologist’s $5.8m Sydney home for sale
John Aiken, the psychologist on Channel 9’s Married at First Sight Australia, and his interior designer wife, Kelly Swanson-Roe, have listed Tyneside, their impressive Willoughby East estate.
Jonathan Chancellor – Sydney
 
Inside the Stella Maris luxury sub-penthouse with its own backyard
Luxury apartment living takes on an extra dimension at one of the remaining sub-penthouses in Geelong’s newest waterfront development, Stella Maris, Rippleside.
Nicole Mayne – Geelong
  
NRL’s Payne Haas $850k ahead as he gears up to head south
As the game’s most feared forward, Payne Haas, prepares for a blockbuster move south, this is how he has already set himself up for life beyond the Broncos.
Sophie Foster – Queensland
 
‘Don’t do it’: Renovations that devalue your home
Most renovations aim to improve a house, and if you’re lucky, add some value to your property when it’s time to sell up.
Taylor Troeth
 
First-homebuyer reveals how buying an apartment left him $70,000 worse off
An Australian first‑homebuyer ended up about $70,000 worse off despite tapping first‑homebuyer perks, underscoring how entry‑level apartments can erode wealth when strata, borrowing and transaction costs snowball.
Lydia Kellner
 
The hidden danger lurking in Aussie backyards as swimming pond trend takes off
A growing number of homeowners are opting for recreational ponds over a traditional swimming pool, but when it comes to regulations around water safety, it can be murky territory.
Bec Milligan
 
Sydney now rivals New York, tops London, for mega property deals
Sydney has become the darling of the world’s rich, with new analysis of global transactions revealing it now rivals New York, and has eclipsed London, as a destination for wealthy property buyers.
Aidan Devine – Sydney
 
The Sydney suburbs where over 65s are set to surge revealed
Sydney’s ageing population is forecast to forgoe traditional coastal havens for central and outer suburbs, with expected growth pushing over 65s across a variety of surprising locales. The data from research company Informed Decisions is predicting NSW areas set to surge in 65s and over spotlighting the greatest growth suburbs by 2046.
Kaylee Cranley – Sydney
 
Sam Armytage lists Hyams Beach cottage
Golden Bachelor presenter Samantha Armytage has relisted her whitewashed Hyams beachfront cottage with agent Bradley Cocks, husband of designer Collette Dinnigan.
Stephen Nicholls – New South Wales
 
Olympic champion Mack Horton sells South Melbourne apartment for $940k
Olympic swimming champion and Celebrity SAS contestant Mack Horton and his wife Ella have sold their South Melbourne apartment for $940,000.
Alesha Capone – Melbourne
  
Inside Nonno’s house: Filmmaker’s callout sparks nostalgia for Italian-Australian homes
Italian-built homes in the suburbs are becoming increasingly rare time capsules, preserving a unique slice of Australian housing history. When Australian film director Frank Lotito put out a call on social media recently for a humble Italian-Australian home stuck in a time warp, he was overwhelmed by the response.
Melissa Iaria – Melbourne
 
City’s full-floor riverfront apartment now up for last-chance sale at more than $9 million
The developer of a record-breaking luxury project is parting ways with the building’s last home: offering one more chance for a homeowner to snag a unit worth more than $9 million.
Nicholas Finch – Brisbane
 
Queensland’s boomer boom: The suburbs set to surge with 10,000 new retirees
Queensland will become Australia’s boomer hotspot as explosive growth sees over-65s populations surge by more than 10,000 in key suburbs over the next two decades.
Aleisha Dawson – Queensland
 
Sydney buyer pays nearly $4m for Kiama duplex with ‘insane’ views
An out-of-area buyer has splashed the cash on a duplex in a sought-after seaside town. It’s also not the first duplex in Kiama to fetch an eye-watering sum recently.
Brendan Crabb

Lindsey Vonn’s property portfolio: The Miami oasis that won’t sell as Olympic dream ends in heartbreak
The Olympic comeback dream of American skier Lindsey Vonn has ended in heartbreak after a horror crash saw her airlifted from Cortina d’Ampezzo on Sunday.
January Jones
 
PAY-WALLED STORIES

Are younger generations finding it harder to buy a home? Data says no
We all know that there’s a housing crisis and home ownership is slipping out of the reach of young Australians, right? But what if I told you that while younger generations were delaying buying their first home, they were rapidly catching up to those older than them?
Caitlin Fitzsimmons
 
Looters are raiding Laura’s crumbling home. She’s powerless to stop them
Laura Jackel took pride in making her 104-year-old home a sanctuary for her children, a place full of memories. Now her house is a danger zone – and the ground beneath it is probably worthless.
Jessica McSweeney
 
The Sydney suburbs where developers are killing the most wildlife
Developers delivering Sydney’s housing construction boom are cutting costs by killing native animals as a first resort or relying on volunteer organisations to work free, a NSW parliamentary inquiry heard.
Caitlin Fitzsimmons
  
McDonald’s goes for seconds in Newtown trading bid
McDonald’s has relaunched a bid to open a restaurant in the heart of Newtown, scaling back trading hours and tightening operational controls after the City of Sydney rejected an earlier proposal in the face of widespread community opposition.
David Barwell

No bulldozers and towers: Defence sites dominate talk of Sydney’s housing future
The NSW government is prepared to pounce on historic defence sites being sold by the federal government, including Victoria Barracks in Sydney’s east, the planning minister has said.
Megan Gorrey and David Barwell
 
Veterans furious as defence bases and historic golf courses put on the market in government fire sale
RSL Australia is urging the federal government to “pump the brakes” on the “devastating” sale of defence land that includes several popular golf courses amid fears our heritage is at risk.
Stuart Kavanagh and Lucy Callander

My suburb is an overlooked island. People keep pushing for us to ‘sex up’ its name
When I introduce myself as the president of the Airport West History Group, quizzical looks hint at the obvious question, “What history?” My suburb is wedged between Keilor and Essendon, both with rich histories involving villages, heritage buildings, grand old churches, historic bridges, windy hills, and pilgrimages to the goldfields.
John Tait
 
New York’s doing this to help its housing crisis. Why not here?
Walk through any big city on a Friday and you can feel it. Some office streets are quieter than they used to be. At the same time, finding a home has become painfully hard. Rents are high.
Dr Ehsan Noroozinejad
 
The Brisbane Times

The most popular routes in Brisbane revealed as public transport surges
More than 190 million public transport trips have been recorded over the past year in south-east Queensland, with new data revealing the most popular bus routes. William Davis
 
Derek Merdith ordered to pay $36k after building illegal Airbnb at Tylagum, NSW
A Gold Coast man is calling for clearer messaging around development applications after he was ordered to pay up to $36,000 for his “illegally built” home.
Crystal Fox
 
Ultimate trophy property: The Sydney Harbour island up for sale
The Defence Department is selling Spectacle Island in Sydney Harbour as part of its $1.8 billion divestment of 67 sites across Australia, with the potential for a private buyer to help the small, unfamiliar parcel of land live up to its name.
Lucy Slade, Michael Read and Paul Karp
 
Former AFL player Brad Moran pushes boundaries with Gold Coast hinterland estate revamp
It takes a certain personality type to take on a project like The Estate. Those are the words of former AFL footballer turned fin-tech mogul Brad Moran, as he reflected on the extensive transformation of his home at 160 Tallai Road, Tallai, in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Michelle Singer
 
Breeanna and Justin Harrison take council to court over rejected Teneriffe ‘mega trophy home’
A high-flying couple are taking council to court over its ruling on their plans for a mega trophy home in Brisbane’s richest suburb that would be seven times the size of the average Qld home.
Vanda Carson

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These are just some of the quirkier property stories from this week this week’s LeftField feed. You can get links to all the latest property stories – houses as well as apartments – for free by registering on the LeftField website.