True crime fans, if you are looking for home that’s linked to one of Australia’s most notorious unsolved mysteries and is guaranteed never to be knocked down for a high-rise development, the two-storey Victorian bald-face terrace at 202 Victoria Street, Potts Point may be just your cup of tea.

The little terraced cottage was activist socialite Juanita Nielsen’s home and newspaper office while she was campaigning against the rampant over-development of the Kings Cross – Potts Point area in the 1970s.

Many of the developers back then were little more than gangsters and standover men.  So it’s probably no surprise that she went missing one night and was never seen again.

The house is now for sale and in 2014 it was granted a NSW state heritage preservation status, meaning it can never be demolished.  So today’s developers can back off – even the company building a 40-storey apartment block and railway station extravaganza on the site of the Holiday Inn hotel right across the road.

This is just one of the quirky property stories in this week’s feed from Leftfield Communications.

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Domain  

Property king Emil Juresic selling $25m mega mansion amid AI fears
An Australian property mogul says he intends to sell off his entire real estate portfolio, including his own mega mansion, over artificial intelligence fears.

Dissh boss adds $9.2m Byron Bay farm to growing property empire
Lucy Henry-Hicks, the chief executive of cult fashion label Dissh, has paid an eye-watering sum for a sprawling hilltop estate near Byron Bay. Henry-Hicks purchased the farm in the hinterland area of Newrybar with her husband Mitchell Lau for $9.2 million, The Australian Financial Review reports.

One-bedder for $1.1 million: Sydney skinny house with a bath in the backyard
The vendors of a 3.4-metre-wide Sydney house did not let a lack of bathroom space get in the way of their love of a good bath; instead, they installed a fully functional bath in their backyard.

‘We’re not moving’: High fuel costs leave Australia’s vanlifers stranded
For Cyndi Lee Johnson, life on the road was meant to be about freedom. But as petrol prices have surged over recent weeks and supply concerns have risen, the 56-year-old has stopped moving altogether, parking up on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula with her teenage children for the foreseeable future.

The dark history behind this ‘unassuming’ Sydney terrace
It’s an inner-Sydney terrace that would go unnoticed by many today, its off-white and green painted exterior falling in line with its neighbours. Yet, 202 Victoria Street, Potts Point has a history inextricably linked to one of Australia’s most notorious unsolved mysteries.

Commercial Real Estate  

Original Ford site reborn as $30m industrial precinct in Melbourne’s north
The industrial sector continues to expand across Melbourne’s outer suburbs, with construction officially underway at ASSEMBLY, which will transform a 60-hectare master-planned precinct in Campbellfield.

ABC Online  

Lightning Ridge’s $37m Opal Centre runs out of money before construction is complete
An auditor has cast doubt on the future of the new Australian Opal Centre, a nationally-significant museum being built in north-western New South Wales. Construction has halted, with the $37 million project about 85 per cent complete.

Realestate.com.au  

‘Scary’: Aussies reveal biggest homebuying fear
It’s the huge buying fear that is getting in the way of millions of Aussies owning their own home. And around one in three of one cohort of Australians don’t even want to know about it.

How new housing developments are fuelling Australia’s EV boom
Australia’s electric vehicle adoption isn’t just happening on our roads – it’s being designed into our newest suburbs. Once largely the domain of early adopters and inner-city drivers, electric vehicle (EV) ownership is now taking hold in the outer suburbs, where new housing developments are making the switch easier, cheaper and more practical – often before buyers even move in.

Why people are turning their backyards into private dog parks for cash
As the relentless pressure of Australia’s cost of living crisis continues to reshape household budgets, a novel and sometimes unconventional income stream is emerging: leasing out private backyards to dogs.

Stars who left Hollywood and spent big in Australian real estate
The ultimate Hollywood dream is turning into a burnout nightmare for Australia’s biggest exports, with stars ditching Tinseltown for multimillion-dollar compounds on home soil.

Judith Lucy reveals rental horror story amid housing crisis
Australian comedian Judith Lucy has taken to Facebook to share an insight on her rental situation. Ms Lucy, 57, who lives in a suburb of Melbourne, highlighted some of the downsides of her living arrangement.

Australian parents consider leaving inheritance to charity instead of their children
One in three Aussie parents are considering leaving part or all of their estate to charity instead of their children, new research reveals. National research commissioned by online will platform Safewill showed parents feel their kids act like it’s a given they will receive an inheritance, and said the money would be wasted by the younger generation, while others say young people should build their own wealth.

Mark Holden’s property moves since Australian Idol exit
Former Australian Idol judge Mark Holden has come a long way since living in a rundown home in Los Angeles. These days, the singer resides in Melbourne. In recent years, he contemplated downsizing from his large family home.

NRL star Valentine Holmes buys new $2.7m home in Sutherland
Having returned to Sydney after spending five years playing for the North Queensland Cowboys, NRL champion Valentine Holmes and his wife Natalia have now bought a home at Caringbah South, his former team’s heartland. The former Cronulla Shark and now St George Illawarra Dragons star has spent $2.7m on a 1970s home in the Sutherland Shire.

Victorian man’s unkempt yard crowned world’s ugliest lawn in global competition
In a nation where a pristine, emerald-green lawn has long been the hallmark of a well-maintained property, one Victorian homeowner is challenging everything we thought we knew about kerb appeal.

Truth behind the viral Australian lawnmower ban hoax that fooled thousands
Could you imagine an Australia where the familiar drone of a lawnmower, that quintessential sound of a weekend well spent, was suddenly silenced by government decree? For weeks, this bizarre scenario wasn’t a hypothetical, but a widely believed reality, as a completely fabricated rumour swept the nation.

Home reno reality star Christina Haack reveals future
Christina Haack has slammed “bad reporting” claiming she is engaged for a fourth time after being spotted with a diamond ring on her wedding finger.

Neale Whitaker and David Novak-Piper nab a Berry bargain
TV presenter Neale Whitaker and his partner David Novak-Piper have nabbed a Berry bargain after doubling their money on a much larger rural property at nearby Bundewallah.

All aboard: Huge model railway on track for $1.2 million sale
A purposebuilt property with one of the world’s largest permanent model railways has come up for sale. Occupying a 24-metre long, 9-metre wide shed on a 1603sqm block at 6 Goulburn Street, Tarago, the permanent 1:160 scale railway known as the Union Pacific Model Railroad has taken two decades to build.

Why homes in this Aussie town are selling for just $100
Homes are selling for as little as $100 in the picturesque New South Wales town of Murwillumbah — but there’s a catch. In the second auction of its kind this year, around 50 people watched on as 19 bidders registered to vie for 10 flood-damaged properties, which all sold for a total of $185,000.

Auction wrap: Inside Nadia Bartel’s secret multimillion home sale
Nadia Bartel has quietly offloaded her Windsor home in a mystery deal, with the final sale price kept under wraps. The former AFL WAG sold the luxury property behind closed doors on Saturday, with the result withheld at the vendor’s request despite price hopes of $3m-$3.2m.

Athletics Australia chief Megan Dwyer lists $15m South Yarra pad
Athletics Australia vice president Megan Dwyer has listed her impressive South Yarra house with a $14m-$15m sales goal.

Richmond legend Ian Wilson’s Portsea retreat for AFL elite hits market
Richmond legend Ian “Octa” Wilson’s secluded Portsea retreat has hit the market with a $6.8m price tag. The four-bedroom house at 11 Sahara Court, offered with a $6.2m-$6.8m guide, was a long-time base for the former Richmond Football Club president, and a gathering place for the AFL’s elite.

Inside one woman’s ‘low-tox’ overhaul that began with natural deodorant
Cindy Mead’s low-tox home journey began with a visit to a naturopath. The Brisbane mum and entrepreneur said she and her husband sought the advice of the alternative medicine specialist when they decided to become parents.

View.com.au  

Inside RBA governor Michele Bullock’s new $2 million plus coastal property
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock settled the purchase of a four-bedroom house in the NSW north coast town of Yamba, on the same day the central bank raised rates this month.

From driveways to runways: Aussies swapping cars for planes in lifestyle shift
A new residential concept emerging in regional Australia is turning the traditional idea of “location, location, location” on its head, as buyers prioritise lifestyle over proximity to the CBD.

Inside the property near Kiama that’s been featured on Married at First Sight
A luxury property near Kiama was recently featured on the hit TV program Married At First Sight. Located in Jerrara on the NSW South Coast, Greyleigh estate is set on 200 acres.

Owner of fashion label Dissh drops $9.3 million on regional hilltop estate
The CEO and creative director of Australian fashion label Dissh has forked out more than $9 million to secure a hilltop farm with panoramic ocean views near Byron Bay.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Reece pushes 36pc price rise on plastic pipes in building cost shock
Reece, one of the country’s largest suppliers of bathroom and plumbing goods, is increasing the price of plastic pipes by more than a third from next month citing an enormous jump in costs due to the conflict in Iran.

Labor’s data centre rules spur fears billions could flow elsewhere
Data centre operators say the Albanese government’s new expectations, which are meant to help the development of critical infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, are so vague that they may have the opposite effect, sending billions of dollars to other countries.

Iran fuel crisis points to higher construction, home building costs
Suppliers of steel products used in construction lifted their prices by up to 15 per cent over the past three weeks and have warned of more increases as energy costs soar, an ominous sign that real estate and infrastructure developers will face considerably higher building expenses.

Fashion queen pays $9.2m to join Liam Hemsworth on Byron hillside
The creative force behind women’s label Dissh has added to her prestige property portfolio with a lush acreage in the Byron hinterland. Fashion entrepreneur Lucy Henry-Hicks, chief executive and creative director of women’s label Dissh, and her husband Mitchell Lau have paid $9.2 million for a hilltop farm in the Byron Bay hinterland.

The Australian

Antony Catalano, in rehab, cedes control of Raes Hotel on ‘six month break’
Beleaguered businessman Antony Catalano has surrendered control of several of his companies, including his prized Raes hotel in the tourist hotspot of Byron Bay. After checking himself into rehab, and charged with assaulting his wife Stefanie Catalano, Antony Catalano has ceded his trophy asset to one of his nine children.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Why the battle for NSW bowlos and surf clubs just got bigger
The Minns government is facing a major battle with Aboriginal councils as it overhauls the management of land claims after a series of high-profile disputes, including a High Court ruling on an abandoned bowling club which was handed to an eastern suburbs Indigenous group.

Sydney is plagued by confusing speed humps. These are some of the worst
Last month, the Herald asked readers whether they thought a speed hump in Riverwood, sandwiched between two bus stops, was the worst in Sydney. They replied with dozens more.

The Age

‘We all whinge about the buses’: Tourist woes continue at Brighton bathing boxes
Residents living near one of Melbourne’s most iconic tourist attractions have been told trial and error is the only way forward in finding a long-term solution to illegal and dangerous tour bus parking.

The Melbourne suburbs that will cop the biggest Uber price rises
Uber passengers in well-off Melbourne suburbs and inner-city areas will be disproportionately slugged by higher fares from the ride-sharing giant after it upped prices in response to surging petrol costs for its drivers.

Rooftop tennis courts and Olympic pools: private schools’ multimillion-dollar arms race
Melbourne’s upmarket private schools are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on building projects as they race to outdo their rivals with new sports centres, galleries and beachside campuses.

The Brisbane Times

Trump picked up bill for mayor’s Mar-a-Lago visit
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has declared the Trump Organisation paid for his accommodation at Mar-a-Lago where he met with the US president in February. In an updated version of his register of interests, available on the council website, Tate said the business paid for his accommodation, meals and transport to and from Miami airport on his trip to the resort, which is also the president’s home.

A researcher asked 10 people to go car-free for 20 days. None wanted to continue
Almost a dozen regular Brisbane people took on a challenge to give up their car for 20 days, but by the end of the experiment, they decided it was unrealistic for them to go totally car-free. Urban planners from The University of Queensland recruited 10 car-owning Brisbane residents – five men and five women.

The Daily Telegraph

‘Hot-button’: Report to Waverley Council proposes $300 driveway tax in new parking plan
A draft parking strategy is calling on a council to charge residents for parking permits, and for their own driveways in an attempt to manage high demand in the area.

The West Australian

House That! Ex-Docker Rory Lobb cashes out of Perth after selling $1.38m Hamilton Hill home
The football villain Docker fans love to hate – Rory Lobb – has sold his Hamilton Hill house, walking away with nearly $800,000 in profit after only a few years. The Bulldogs player is the target of booing from Dockers fans when he plays his former side, after he requested a trade out at the end of the 2022 season.

WA Today

WA first-home buyers are relying on the bank of mum and dad. Are there expectations in return?
Rapidly rising house prices across Western Australia, and a lack of wage growth to match, means first-home buyers are increasingly relying on the bank of mum and dad to overcome those barriers.