The least surprising story of this week is that plans for a $1.5bn Trump Tower on the Gold Coast have been scrapped.

It was going to be the biggest in Australia (of course it was) and the best we’d ever seen (ditto) but according to ABC News and other sources, plans have been scrapped less than three months after the deal was made.

According to ABC coverage, the 91-storey, tower was announced in late February by Eric Trump, the US President’s second son.

However Altus Property Group chief executive and founder David Young says the Trump Organization had pulled out.

“Let’s just say that with the Iran war and everything else, the Trump brand was increasingly toxic in Australia,” he told ABC. “Some time ago, we knew it was time to part company.”

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization said the company had been excited to bring the project to the Gold Coast, but that Altus failed to meet certain obligations.

Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, there’s another swathe of quirkiness from our friends at Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain

Inside the $7 million estate owned by the Arnott’s biscuit dynasty
The sprawling Sydney estate owned by the Arnott’s biscuits dynasty is seeking a new owner for the first time in almost 60 years. The Hunters Hill residence is being offered for sale for the first time since the 1960s, when Alice Arnott Oppen OAM and her late husband, Conrad, bought the home.

Why Britt and Taz chose a ‘quirky’ estate as their ultimate prize
Britt Etto smiles broadly as the camera captures a family photo she won’t soon forget.

Melbourne listing goes viral over massive toilet paper stockpile
A seemingly ordinary Melbourne home has gone viral for one detail in its property listing.

Inside the $12 million Aussie trophy home designed for a ‘health nut’
Recruitment heavyweight Jason Johnson and his psychotherapist wife, Portia, are seeking a buyer with deep pockets for their Sydney trophy home.

Buy an entire Irish village for the price of a Sydney mansion
An entire village has hit the market for the price of a Sydney trophy home. The Village at Lyons is a sprawling 8.09 hectare estate in Ireland’s County Kildare, complete with a luxury hotel, a pub and nearly 50 bedrooms.

Realestate.com.au

Shock warning as Aussies pay fortunes for homes that fall apart
Australians are spending record amounts buying homes – but some are discovering shocking defects before they’ve even finished unpacking. Building authorities warn hundreds of defect complaints are emerging across new builds and renovations, as homeowner raise concerns about workmanship during the housing boom.

Three-time Olympian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor’s Dee Why home for sale
Olympic athlete Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and her husband Mark are selling their Dee Why investment property. There is $2.6m guidance from Upstate Residential agents Peter Mosedale and Rowan Dent, who point to a $1200+ a week rental potential.

Rare change to live on viral ‘TikTok Drive’ in small seaside town
Long before the crowds arrived, Aspect House had already been designed to turn away from the street and open itself to the sea. That privacy now shields it from the crowds of hundreds that regularly gather on what’s been dubbed ‘Australia’s most beautiful street’.

Ex-Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns selling Newcastle lot for around $3m
Has rocker Daniel Johns given up on his dream Newcastle home? After years of touring the world as a successful muso, it looked like Johns would settle down in his steel city hometown.

Locals make a play for ‘bargain’ hidden tennis complex in top suburb, but there’s a catch
A tennis court tucked away in one of Melbourne’s most prestigious suburbs has been served up to the market, with neighbours teaming up for a shared shot at the prize.

AFL star Patrick Dangerfield unveils colourful Surf Coast home refresh
AFL star Patrick Dangerfield has unveiled a fresh colourful look at his family’s Surf Coast home after an on-trend interior refresh. The Geelong Cats captain worked with interior stylist and My Reno Rules judge Julia Green to inject more personality into his oceanside Moggs Creek abode.

Hotelier Scott Flynn lists Brisbane architectural masterpiece with Palm Springs-inspired pool
The force behind Australia’s largest Accor Hotels franchise has put his architectural masterpiece on the market, complete with a rooftop terrace and Palm Springs-inspired pool.

NSW homes listed for just $5,000 with major catch
A number of NSW homes have attracted interest thanks to their dirt cheap price tag of just $5,000 – though, there’s a catch. There is a ticking clock on the three timber homes listed in the Northern Rivers region, which must be removed or demolished due to upcoming developments to the area.

The retro beach home crowned Australia’s most iconic property listing
A mid-century modern house by the sea that changed the course of a man’s life has been voted Australia’s most iconic property listing on

Sandringham home where AFL’s Brayshaw brothers grew up listed
Former North Melbourne player and board member Mark Brayshaw and wife Debra are set to punt the bayside house where their AFL star sons grew up. The couple’s four boys, William, Angus, Hamish and Andrew, love the Sandringham home’s resort-style back yard featuring a pool and outdoor kitchen that’s hosted many family and footy-related celebrations.

Ash Pollard’s renovated Malvern East home sells $2.9m
Former My Kitchen Rules star Ash Pollard has sold the fully renovated Melbourne home she bought at auction days before giving birth.

Former Collingwood player Murray Browne sells in Kew
Former Collingwood star  Murray Browne and wife Lisa’s Kew villa has sold for $1.175m.

Famed cartoonist Michael Leunig’s Fitzroy North house for sale
Iconic Australian cartoonist and artist Michael Leunig’s house in Fitzroy North is for sale with a $2.3m-$2.5m range.

‘Zone banking’ parents paying monster premiums for top public school catchments
Brisbane parents are paying staggering premiums of up to $430,000 to buy their way into the city’s top public school zones, turning elite catchments into a real estate battleground.

Parents swap luxury home for rundown house to enter top school catchment
David Yang and Debbie Qin are set to swap their luxury inner-east Queenslander for a rundown three-bedder, just to guarantee their daughters a spot at one of the state’s best public schools.

The jaw-dropping acreage estate sparking a prize home frenzy
Three of Australia’s biggest prize home charities came knocking within 24 hours of this stunning Gold Coast Hinterland estate hitting the market.

Adelaide’s largest salvage yard closes doors after 32 years
The shock closure of Adelaide’s largest salvage yard will have wide-reaching ramifications for SA builders and renovators that will be felt for years.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

More nut farms put up for sale to catch the rising market
RRG Capital Management is offloading one of the nation’s largest almond orchards as well as a macadamia farm as the California-based fund manager looks to capitalise on the industry’s growing global demand.

The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Shafted’: The Baby Boomers who won’t help their kids buy a home
There’s a great scene in the new Australian film Birthright where Corey, a 30-something man with a pregnant wife, no home or job, asks his father for a home loan.

Young couple pay $2m for Carlton home – and a yard for the dachshund
A young couple from Allawah outbid five other parties, paying $2,012,000 to win the keys to a renovated Federation home in Carlton on Saturday.

Sydney’s iconic wedding cake home sells for around $9 million
Sydney’s famous wedding cake home in Seaforth that is instantly recognisable when driving along the Spit Bridge or cruising along Middle Harbour has sold for a figure around the $9 million guide, local sources have revealed.

Sydney silk sells Newtown’s Courthouse pub to a beer baron in a frothy $24m deal
Barrister Brian Dooley, who called last drinks at Newtown’s Courthouse pub just over a month ago, putting the popular watering hole up for sale, is handing the hotel’s keys to his thirsty tenant, pub baron Bruce Solomon, who has paid a frothy $24 million.

The Age

‘A complete disconnect’: Council set to back down on inner-city bike plan
A controversial plan to block most car and truck traffic on a large stretch of a main road in Melbourne’s inner north looks set to be shelved after public backlash, sparking accusations of weakness from cycling advocates and cautious optimism from residents opposed to the so-called bicycle street.

Brisbane Times

A heartfelt letter and a final bid helped a young couple secure their dream home
A heartfelt letter and a final $10,000 bid helped a young Brisbane couple outmuscle a big organisation in a David versus Goliath showdown for one of Mount Crosby’s last privately held parcels within a council-controlled pocket.

The Daily Telegraph

The Sell: Pat Cummins snaps up neighbouring home in Bronte expansion
Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has paid $4.8 million for a semi-detached home behind his $16 million Bronte mansion in a strategic property expansion.

The Newcastle Herald

Former Domino’s director acquires paddock-to-plate venue The Artisan Farmer
Six months after hitting the market with a price guide of up to $15 million, one of the Mid North Coast’s top hospitality attractions has sold to a Newcastle-based buyer. The Artisan Farmer in Nabiac, outside Forster, is under new ownership after being acquired by former Domino’s director, Grant Bourke.

Top-ranked golf course with a ‘superb climax’ hits the market
One of Australia’s top-ranked golf courses, known for its strategic layout, is for sale in Port Stephens. The Pacific Dunes Championship Golf Club, at Huntingdale Place, Medowie, is being sold by expressions of interest.