Can you guess where the highest rents in Australia are.  Here’s a clue, the suburb has water views to go with its eye-watering sales property prices and most of the rents are way over the area’s median $3300 a week.

In case you’re interested that rent would cover a mortgage big enough to buy a $2.2 million home … which would get you nothing in this suburb.

Worked out where it is yet?  Have a look at our stories from Leftfield Communications below for the answer.

Free Reads

Domain

The $7 million vacant site once owned by Sir Edmund Hillary
Beyond the narrow driveway, little remains of the private retreat built by a family man known to millions across the world. Sir Edmund Hillary purchased the site at 278A Remuera Road in Auckland City in 1957, four years after he and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay conquered Mount Everest.

Samantha Armytage secures double multi-million-dollar property win
Samantha Armytage has made significant changes to her property portfolio, offloading two major holdings in quick succession.

Australia’s most expensive suburb to rent a house
One of Sydney’s crowning residential jewels, the suburb of Vaucluse, now has the highest rents in Australia, with a median weekly asking rent of $3300 for houses. Many live listings far exceed this price for a slice of stunning waterfront views.

No power, no kitchen, no bathroom: Off-grid cabin listed for $440k-$480k
This 43-hectare property is the perfect rural escape – but it needs a few finishing touches needed to make it liveable. The cabin, a 90-minute drive north of Melbourne, doesn’t have a kitchen or bathroom.

Why the Oodie creator spent $5 million to escape winter
Davie Fogarty built a $600 million business helping people stay warm. Now, he’s escaping the cold for good. The Oodie founder has splashed out on a $5 million Mermaid Waters home, trading in shivering winters for the Gold Coast’s sunshine, one of the country’s newest entrepreneurial enclaves.

Banker hit with $377k bill over ‘extraordinary’ dust
A luxury London renovation has ended in a six-figure headache, with a former Goldman Sachs banker facing a hefty legal bill after sparking a neighbourhood feud.

Warriors boss Ken Reinsfield lists $3m retreat, eyes compound move
Warriors chairman Ken Reinsfield and his wife, Danya, are seeking to upsize from their private waterfront retreat. The Sydney-based couple have listed their five-bedroom residence on Queen Street in Northcote Point, Auckland in favour of a future family compound, OneRoof reports.

Commercial Real Estate

1980s sound studio with rock ‘n’ roll past up for grabs
A slice of Melbourne’s 1980s music scene, complete with David Bowie posters still lining the walls, has hit the market in the city’s north, as a long-running sound studio and live venue prepares for its next act.

ABC Online

Surfers Paradise Esplanade closed permanently after tense council vote
The Esplanade in Surfers Paradise will be converted into a permanent pedestrian walkway after an extended trial. A Gold Coast councillor raised concerns during a heated council debate that there had been insufficient modelling done into traffic impacts.

$150 million ‘chocolate experience’ proposal approved by Glenorchy council
Glenorchy City Council has approved plans for a $150 million “chocolate experience” to be built at the Cadbury factory site in Claremont. The developers, who scrapped plans to include the world’s tallest chocolate fountain, describe the proposal as “a reinvention of the chocolate factory”.

Realestate.com.au

Good Green Vitality co-founder lists luxury penthouse
The man behind a green powder drink that “helps you look and feel your best” has listed his Double Bay penthouse for auction with a $14.5m guide. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom with double garage at 501/34 Cross St, Penthouse 501 at Encore, has harbour views and is in the name of Christine Bolland, wife of the co-founder of Nuzest’s Good Green Vitality Trevor Bolland.

Angelina Jolie lists iconic estate for $42m
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has put her legendary Los Angeles estate on the market for $29.9 million (AUD $41.79 million) — nearly two years after confessing that she wanted to leave the US for good and move abroad.

Expert warns popular garden mulch is a ‘breeding ground’ for termites
A seemingly innocent garden staple is being flagged as a major culprit in a surge of devastating termite infestations across Australia, with one expert warning it could cost homeowners tens of thousands in repairs.

‘I was shocked’: Tradie’s $800 bill for 15 mins
An Aussie who was charged $800 by a tradie for just 15 minutes of basic work has expressed their disbelief at the exorbitant cost.

Myf Warhurst dubs Mt Eliza mansion the ultimate 80s’ palace
Australian television and radio personality Myf Warhurst has hilariously labelled a Miami Vice-esque Melbourne party mansion the nation’s premiere 1980s-style pad.

Developers offered ‘holy grail’ as Brisbane church with no restrictions goes to auction
A Brisbane church ripe for a luxury conversion has been billed as a holy grail for developers and renovators. Unlike most heritage-style buildings, the property at 66 Hamilton Road, Moorooka is completely free of restrictive council character overlays.

Mould-infested Gold Coast house sells sight unseen for $1.235 million
Buyers were not even allowed inside this black mould-infested house but that didn’t stop it selling for an eyewatering price. “Please note there are no inspections allowed for general members of the public, this property is being sold sight unseen,” the listing by the Public Trustee of Queensland said.

Property owners turning to goats as eco-friendly weed controllers
Forget a trip to Bunnings, heavy machinery or manual labour – nature’s most enthusiastic groundskeepers will happily accept the role of weed controllers on your property.

MAFS star’s huge $5m move exposed
Channel 9’s Married At First Sight psychologist John Aiken has bought at Middle Cove. It is a six-bedroom, three-bathroom house with study, that cost just over $5m.

Former Hi-5 star Charli Robinson lists Sydney investment property for sale
Former Hi-5 star Charli Robinson is selling her Sydney investment apartment and admits she will miss the stunning views stretching across famous Coogee Beach. The TV presenter and former radio host has owned the one-bedroom Coogee unit in the landmark Coogee Waters building since 2012.

Top model Model Kristina Mendonca buys $1.25 Eastern Suburbs home
Model Kristina Mendonca, who posted videos to her 477,000 social media followers documenting her first home-buying experience, has settled on a $1,246,000 Rose Bay apartment bought at a recent auction.

Disney accused of fuelling housing crisis by hoarding street of pristine homes
There’s a block in Burbank, CA, that looks like the ideal American suburb. There are low-slung homes with neat lawns and towering trees, pristine sidewalks, and circular driveways.

‘Bargain’: This humble brick home hides a huge secret
This unassuming brick home comes with a hidden bonus that many of those viewing the property aren’t even aware of. It may not look like much from the street, but this humble three-bedroom home in the riverside suburb of Tacoma on the NSW Central Coast hides a stunning surprise beyond its vast garden: nine acres — or over 3.5 hectares — of prime bushland.

How to buy your child a property without spending any money
With rents at record highs, median house prices rising and cost of living pressures, there is no doubt it is getting increasingly harder for first homebuyers to get a foothold on the property ladder. Home ownership in Australia has steadily decreased in successive generations, with 1991, 2006 and 2021 Census data showing owning a home, including homes owned outright, or with a mortgage, has declined in each successive generation.

Homeowners to lose thousands as popular solar battery rebate is cut
Australians keen to embrace rooftop solar and battery storage are facing significant changes to federal government incentives, with a popular rebate scheme undergoing a major overhaul from today.

‘Uncomfortable truth’: Sydney and NSW’s worst real estate markets revealed
Sea-changing Sydneysiders have brought the city’s housing crisis to the rest of the state, as new data reveals the shocking extent of unaffordability in the regional markets once believed to offer buyers a more affordable lifestyle.

Inside Fashion Designer Rebecca Vallance’s Vaucluse mansion for sale
Powerhouse Australian Fashion Designer Rebecca Vallance and her financier husband David Gasan’s palatial Mediterranean-style Vaucluse mansion is currently up for grabs in one of Sydney’s most coveted neighbourhoods.

Kangaroo halts Melbourne auction as buyers rush to beat rate rise
A Melbourne auction had to be paused and attendees moved from the street yesterday as a wild kangaroo hopped through the middle of proceedings.

AFL great Michael Tuck lists cherished Berwick sanctuary
Legendary Aussie rules football figure Michael Tuck is selling the Berwick house he’s called home since not long after retiring from the code.

Olympian Kitty Chiller lists ‘house-like’ Brighton apartment
Former Olympian and sports administrator Kitty Chiller has put Brighton apartment on the market with a $2.5m-$2.7m range.

Brisbane’s first-ever ‘puppy open home’ invites buyers and their dogs inside
For buyers looking for a pawfect place to call home, this one might just pass the sniff test. House hunters are being told to bring their pooch along to Brisbane’s first-ever “puppy open home”.

Real Commercial

McDonald’s boss lists lavish $8.5m Abbotsford man cave
A Maccas mogul has listed an inner Melbourne man cave used to showcase his impressive car and motorcycle collection with a whopping $8.5m price tag.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Glenn Piper’s $60m Hook Island Reboot Leads Whitsunday Awakening
On the surface, the Whitsundays look as idyllic as ever—postcard-perfect turquoise water, white-sand crescents and charter yachts sailing through a sublime tropical archipelago.

Anglican’s All-Affordable TOD Tower at Bankstown Approved
Sydney Anglican Property’s state-significant shoptop redevelopment of St Paul’s church at Bankstown has been approved after amendments in response to submissions—including removing the shop.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

John Paul Young sold his Bronte home for $265k. Now, it’s eyeing $17m
A Bronte home once owned by legendary Love is in the Air crooner John Paul Young has hit the market with a price guide of $17 million, in one of the most anticipated auction campaigns of the coveted eastern beaches suburb this year.

The Australian

Hands off the family farm: farmers to Jim Chalmers amid fear of capital gains tax grab
Australian agriculture and regional communities will be jeopardised if the nation’s 80,000 family farms are caught up in Labor’s capital gains tax reforms, farmers have warned. The National Farmers Federation is seeking urgent clarification from Treasurer Jim Chalmers, urging the retention of CGT concessions when farms are transferred from one generation to the next.

Inside Housing Australia: Staff survey exposes chaos at government’s key agency
Is anybody happy with the federal government’s flagship housing program? Housing Australia weighs on the national budget, hasn’t built a lot of houses, and it turns out even its staff don’t much like the joint.

The Sydney Morning Herald

REA chair Hamish McLennan to sell Sydney home for $36 million-plus
Businessman and media heavyweight Hamish McLennan and his wife, Lucinda, have put their Darling Point mansion on the market with a price guide of $36 million-plus, local sources have revealed.

The world-class view Sydney forgot to fix
Beneath the soaring steel arches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where millions gather each year to admire one of the world’s most recognisable views, stands a contested patch of land at the centre of growing community frustration and a prolonged dispute over its management.

‘Just like North Sydney’: The public pool facing a $43 million cost blowout
The price tag to redevelop a public pool in the city’s north-west has soared from $30 million to more than $70 million in four years, drawing comparisons with cost blowouts on the North Sydney Olympic Pool project.

The hour-long Blue Mountains detour causing trouble for beloved Zig Zag Railway
For 75-year-old Mick Marriott-Statham, the longest-serving volunteer at the Lithgow Zig Zag Railway, a love of trains runs in the family.

Mother of billionaire NBL boss to sell $12 million-plus Mosman mansion
Svetlana Kestelman, the mother of Rich Lister and owner of the NBL, Larry Kestelman, has put her Mosman mansion on the market with a price guide of $12.75 million to $14 million.

The Age

End in sight after a dotted line in a Melway led to 37-year turf war over bike path
Back before Google Maps, the 2002 edition of the Melway street directory contained a hopeful dotted red line running through a park in Alphington and tracking towards the Yarra River. In a tiny font beside it were the words “Proposed Footbridge”.

The Brisbane Times

Not lovin’ it: West End pushes back on new McDonald’s
Long-rumoured and long-feared by residents protective of their suburb’s ‘weird’ reputation, work on a new McDonald’s at West End is expected to begin next month.

The Daily Telegraph

Home values drop 30 per cent as Carnarvon Golf Club cemetery plan spooks potential buyers
Homeowners near Carnarvon Golf Club in Lidcombe say a controversial plan to turn the popular course into a 70,000-plot cemetery is gutting property values as they seek legal action to bury the proposal.

Golf clubs blindsided by huge land tax bills from NSW Government owned agency
Three city golf clubs have been hit with a mammoth land tax bill as they negotiate new leases and the campaign against golf in NSW escalates.

The Sell: Model shares ‘draining’ house hunt before buying $1.2m Rose Bay apartment
Model Kristina Mendonca has settled on a $1.2 million Rose Bay apartment after documenting her home-buying journey to her 477,000 social media followers.

Why a new Western Sydney film studio is crucial for Australia’s movie boom
Leading film makers have backed plans for a major new studio in Western Sydney, saying it would transform opportunities for local creatives and compete globally.

Australia’s wealthy aged care bigwigs revealed
Australia’s aged care bigwigs live in multi-million dollar mansions while seniors living in their nursing homes struggle to afford some basic services that have doubled in price.

The Adelaide Advertiser

Roxby Downs revealed as South Australia’s most expensive town as rates set to rise
Petrol isn’t getting cheaper, nor are the grocery bills, and with council rates 44 per cent above the state’s average, why do people love it here so much?Sam Lowe

The West Australian

Dr Craig Challen, hero of 2018 Thai cave rescue, lists breezy Ocean Reef commercial unit for sale
A bright and breezy commercial unit for sale in Ocean Reef is a world away from the Thai cave where the office owner — Craig Challen — helped save 13 lives.

Southern Highlands News

Moss Vale is now home to one of Australia’s most advanced AI data centres
Moss Vale has become home to one of Australia’s most advanced AI-focused data centre developments, with more facilities expected to follow.