It seems grass is all the rage when it comes to buying and selling property this week.

Swimming legend Grant Hackett has sold the chunk of land where he had planned to build a dream home for his family, a Geelong Gen-Zedder has paid $1m for a tennis court and a slice of a neighbour’s backyard, and a 650sqm vacant lot in Hobart – currently used as a car park – is attracting plenty of attention.

That’s just a few of the quirkier stories from Leftfield Communications this week.

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Sharon Osbourne drops price on $24m LA estate she shared with Ozzy
Sharon Osbourne has cut the asking price on the Los Angeles estate she shared with her late husband Ozzy.

Double Bay: The tightly held harbourside suburb with a taste for the finer things
Tucked between Darling Point and Point Piper, Double Bay has long shared their blue-chip sheen and a taste for the finer things.

Even in death it’s ‘location, location, location’
Even in death it is location, location, location.

She bought her first home on one income. Her daughter couldn’t do it on two
When Angela Skrinos bought her first home in 1992, a $160,000 house on 900 square metres, a $50,000 deposit came together without too much sacrifice.

Nathan Cleary lists $5.5 million Sydney beach house for rent
NRL star Nathan Cleary has listed his Northern Beaches mansion for rent just months after buying it.

Olympic legend sells patch of grass after $850k price cut
Olympic swimming great Grant Hackett has sold the patch of grass where he once planned to build his family’s dream home, after cutting $850,000 from the asking price.

Linda Evangelista offloads NYC penthouse after major price cut
Supermodel Linda Evangelista has sold her New York City penthouse after more than two decades of ownership.

Gen Z buyer pays over $1 million for slice of couple’s backyard
A Gen Z buyer has paid more than $1 million for a tennis court and patch of grass after a Geelong couple sold off part of their backyard.

Freddy ‘lost his mind’ when an auction blunder cost him his dream home, then came a twist
When Freddy Grant stumbled on a listing for an old shop-turned-home in Carlton, he and husband Burton Reynolds fell head over heels.

Havaianas queen eyes $30 million for five-level Double Bay mansion
Amelia Aspden, who introduced Australia to Havaianas in the late 1990s, is seeking about $30 million for her five-level Double Bay mansion.

LA’s most famous ‘graffiti mansion’ hits the market for $6.3 million
An abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion, once so overrun by squatters that its owner apologised to the city, is up for sale at $6.3 million.

Backyard pool sparks neighbour battle on tiny Sydney island
Plans for a backyard pool have split neighbours on Dangar Island, a tiny car-free community on the Hawkesbury River.

ABC Online – Free

Sydney Water confirms new $1.2 billion recycling plant could supply data centres
Questions are being raised about a $1.2 billion Sydney water recycling facility, built to bolster drought resistance, being directed to serve data centres.

Western Downs residents fear being steamrolled as council assesses $32b data centre
Residents near the Western Downs town of Dalby fear being steamrolled as the local council assesses a massive $32 billion data centre proposal.

How Australians see future home life: More space to WFH and affordable access to energy
Asked to imagine future home life, Australians put more space to work from home and affordable access to energy near the top of the wish list.

Realestate.com.au

Australian renters twice as likely as homeowners to report worsening mental health
Renters are bearing a heavy mental-health toll from the housing crisis, with new figures showing they are more than twice as likely as homeowners to say their living situation is harming their wellbeing.

Buyers of $75m Point Piper Trophy home Radford revealed
Steven and Carol Moss are tipped to be the $75 million buyers of the Point Piper harbourfront trophy home Radford.

Brisbane couple snap up $1.2m home at a $290,000 discount on family walk
A Brisbane couple who set out for a Saturday morning family walk came home owning another property, after stumbling on an auction and buying the home for $290,000 below its valuation.

Shoppers unleash on nation’s worst Woolworths
Frustrated shoppers have crowned a Fortitude Valley store the nation’s lowest-rated Woolworths.

Architectural gem hides historic $50k-a-year backyard earner
A Gold Coast estate designed by a renowned architect hides a century-old money spinner in its backyard.

Aussie driver’s offer over suburban parking blunder
An Adelaide photographer has publicly apologised after unwittingly blocking in another car while shooting a wedding, in a light look at a suburban parking blunder many drivers will recognise.

Reality TV inspired renovators abandon half-finished Sydney homes amid soaring building costs
Ambitious renovators who bought Sydney homes after being inspired by reality TV are abandoning projects mid-build as building costs soar.

The homelessness crisis this property developer can’t look away from
Frasers Property development executive Emily Wood and her team will sleep overnight on their Sydney and Melbourne office floors this month for A Night Without Home on October 8, part of an effort to help end homelessness.

Australia’s Strongman and Tetris champ help tackle moving day
Australia’s Strongest Man and the country’s Tetris champion are teaming up to offer Sydneysiders free household moves, pairing brute strength with packing strategy.

‘Too good to be true’: Woman nets $33k mortgage refund
A home loan Debra Gray took out more than a decade ago has ended with an unexpected $32,760 payout, after the aged-care worker uncovered an old insurance policy attached to her mortgage.

Andy Lee reveals huge progress on $5m Hawthorn mansion reno
Comedian Andy Lee and fiancee Rebecca Harding have shared fresh progress on the $5 million renovation of their Hawthorn mansion.

‘A serious property’: what’s behind Lavish underground mansions
A basement boom is taking hold among Melbourne’s elite homeowners, an unexpected result of Albanese government changes to property investment.

Former Demon Henry Ritterman lists self-designed Caulfield home
Former Melbourne footballer Henry Ritterman is selling the $2.5 million to $2.75 million Caulfield home he designed for himself in his 60s.

Buyers circle flood-prone Brisbane suburb for sub-$1m homes
Once shunned for its flood-prone reputation, the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea is getting a second look as high inner-city prices push buyers further out.

Real Commercial

Is this Hobart City’s last block of land?
More than just a car park, a 650-square-metre Hobart city lot could be the last of its kind in the CBD.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Fiducia Reveals Data-Driven Biohacking Property Play
Sydney developer Fiducia Property Group has leaned hard into the wellness trend, revealing a franchise deal to bring US “biohacker” Gary Brecka’s Ultimate Longevity Centres to Australia.

Pay-walled

The Australian

Michael Rothner and David Waterhouse criticised by judge over Villa Biscaya tree squabble
Two wealthy Sydney figures have been criticised by a judge over a bitter and costly dispute sparked by a cluster of felled palm trees.

The Sydney Morning Herald

NSW’s next big thing? A giant pink slug
The northern NSW town of Narrabri reckons it has found the next contender for the nation’s collection of quirky roadside attractions: a spectacular fluorescent-pink slug found nowhere else on Earth.

Former rugby league star once banned by corporate regulator lists $12m estate
Former rugby league star Lou Zivanovic and wife Olivia have listed their grand Dural estate with a guide of $12 million to $12.5 million, local sources say.

The mission to quadruple the number of people living in Sydney Olympic Park
Sydney Olympic Park, a precinct millions have visited but only 5000 call home, is the target of a plan to quadruple its resident population.

The Daily Telegraph

The 8 property tips that could save Gen Z thousands and fast-track their first home purchase
Eight simple moves could be the difference between Gen Z renting forever and owning years sooner, with some potentially saving tens of thousands of dollars, sharing a young first-home buyer’s hard-won tips for cracking the property market.

NSW Opposition backs Minns government push to block Clover Moore’s Town Hall Square
Both sides of NSW politics have united against the City of Sydney’s $94 million Town Hall Square, with the Opposition backing the Minns government’s push to block what critics call a pretty paved patio in a CBD already struggling with shuttered shopfronts.

The Courier Mail

Gina Rinehart buys $8m Brisbane office building to house One Nation headquarters
Billionaire Gina Rinehart has added an $8 million Brisbane office block to her property empire.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

New strategy targets Gold Coast health pressure as retiree numbers surge towards 200,000
The Gold Coast’s peak health body has unveiled a three-year strategy to manage the city’s surge in older residents, with the region’s over-65 population set to almost double by 2041 and retiree numbers heading towards 200,000.

Springbrook survey reveals up to 80 per cent oppose cableway in World Heritage area
A Gold Coast council survey has found up to 80 per cent of Springbrook residents oppose a proposed cableway, citing threats to the World Heritage Area.

Southport bomb site once owned by Michael Hutchence set for twin-tower development
Nearly 40 years of neglect could finally end for Southport’s most notorious vacant block, once secretly owned by rock icon Michael Hutchence, with its new owners revealing plans for a twin-tower development.

‘The next Main Beach’: Fury as Council refuses to upgrade Chevron Island bridge
The Gold Coast City Council will keep Chevron Island’s ageing bridge at three lanes despite fury from locals, even as surging tower development pushes the traffic chokepoint toward breaking point.

Brisbane Times

How Denis the dog helped retirees scoop up bayside home
A dog called Denis the Menace helped a run-down Clontarf home fetch $675,000 under the hammer after a retired couple wandered past the auction and decided on the spot to bid.

The Herald Sun

Collapsed developer APH Holding sues Suburban Rail Loop Authority over Box Hill site price tag
A collapsed Melbourne developer, APH Holding, has launched Supreme Court action against the Suburban Rail Loop Authority, demanding millions more for a prime Box Hill site on Whitehorse Rd.