From a Gold Coast mansion with its own panic room, to the Hewitts’ former home and a $17m stepping-stone house, there’s no end of choice (if you have no end of cash to splash.)

On a more mundane level, it could cost cat lovers $2000 or more to lock up their pets in areas of Victoria that come under strict cat containment laws.

All that and more in this week’s feed from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain – Free

Why investors are flocking to Mount Isa’s $300k property market
Better known for blowflies and the southern hemisphere’s biggest rodeo, Mount Isa is now drawing investors to its $300,000 market, chasing a hot new set of yields.

Tennis royalty’s $14 million Sydney estate is back on the market
Lleyton and Bec Hewitt have relisted their $14 million Hills District estate just weeks after pulling it from the market.

‘Every penny I made’: Why Sandra Bullock built a $69m property empire
How Sandra Bullock built a $69 million property empire, pouring her Hollywood earnings into real estate from early in her career.

Retail boss lists $17m ‘interim’ home after $40m mansion buy
A Mosman mansion bought for almost $13 million just last year has returned to the market at a $17 million guide after a luxury renovation, as Kidstuff boss Mark Mezrani moves into a $40 million home.

One room in this house is responsible for Captain America
Chris Evans has sold his Hollywood Hills home at a US$1.6 million discount, one room of which helped land him the Captain America role.

Man buys abandoned mining town and becomes its only resident
Brent Underwood bought an abandoned Californian mining town and became its only resident.

Party queen’s $29m home faces $10m price blow
Di Maloney’s Tamarama oceanfront, bought for a record $29.2 million in 2022, is back on the market four years on facing an eight-figure price blow.

Couple nearly demolish dream home after horror find
A Queensland couple who paid almost $1 million for their North Brisbane dream home nearly demolished it after a horrifying discovery.

Tammy Hembrow makes major backflip in mansion sale
Influencer Tammy Hembrow has reversed her decision to bar the public from her Gold Coast mansion, after it failed to sell.

ABC Online – Free

Sydney inner-west residents call for high-density rethink to protect endangered parrot
Inner-west Sydney residents are pushing back on a high-density rezoning near bird habitat, warning it threatens the endangered swift parrot.

Concerns proposed Deer Park housing too close to pubs with pokies
Locals fear a proposed Deer Park housing development sits too close to pubs with heavy poker-machine losses.

Realestate.com.au – Free

TV host Nicky Buckley shares the ‘secret weapon’ for a perfect lawn
TV host Nicky Buckley has shared her lawn “secret weapon,” as Australians spend nearly $1,000 a year keeping their yards in shape.

Popular payment system DEFT to ban all debit and credit card rent payments
Payment system DEFT, which handles 1.2 million rent payments a month, will ban debit and credit card rent and strata payments.

Chemist Warehouse boss eyes off $90m mansion
Sigma Healthcare’s Tony Bassaly is among the first to inspect Point Piper’s $90 million Deauville harbourfront.

Gold Coast mansion with secret panic room sells for $11.5 million
A Gold Coast mansion with a secret panic room, rooftop pool and full-floor party deck on Isle of Capri has sold for $11.5 million.

Lleyton and Bec Hewitt’s $14m home for sale
Lleyton and Bec Hewitt have relisted their luxury Glenhaven home with $14 million hopes.

Victoria cat curfews: Council rules changing what pet owners need from their homes
Victoria’s cat curfews are reshaping what containment-area owners need from their homes, with compliant setups costing more than $2,000.

Aussies admit to ‘silent protests’ as household clutter causes tension and rows
Household clutter is fuelling tension as Australians move into denser homes with less storage, citing new Ikea polling.

Leichhardt home described as a ‘dump’ sells for over $1.8m
An uninhabitable Leichhardt terrace described as a “dump” has sold for over $1.8 million, a rare hotly contested Sydney auction.

Andrew Leoncelli reveals $22m East Melbourne MCG connection
Former Demon Andrew Leoncelli is behind a $22 million East Melbourne penthouse a short walk from the MCG.

Scott Selwood reveals grand final tips and new career
Former AFL star Scott Selwood has shared his grand final tips in a Melbourne campaign linking the city’s love of footy and real estate.

Geelong Cats star Tom Hawkins lists idyllic Barrabool farm for $4.985m
Retired Geelong champion Tom Hawkins has listed his idyllic 60ha Barrabool farm for $4.985 million.

Brisbane home with ‘upside down’ backyard crowned Australia’s House of the Year
A Brisbane home with an “upside down” backyard, Half Light House in Clayfield, has been crowned Australia’s House of the Year.

SA named Australia’s least affordable state in shock new data
South Australia has become Australia’s least affordable state, reports, on the new Housing Affordability Index.

Real Commercial – Free

Portelli’s huge update on SA petrol station plan
Adrian Portelli has delivered a blunt jobseeker message while launching his latest venture, telling “deadbeats” not to apply as he updates his SA petrol-station plan.

New Anaconda superstore features a subzero snow cave and live barramundi tank
Anaconda’s record-breaking new flagship features a subzero snow cave and a live barramundi tank.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Sites Are Scarce, Backlash Is Growing
With the best data-centre sites snapped up and community backlash growing, Australia’s data-centre boom may be nearing an inflection point.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Builders deny they are the problem when it comes to expensive homes
Major builders reject Housing Minister Clare O’Neil’s claim that soaring construction costs are behind expensive, slow-to-build homes, denying they are the cause of the problem.

Buyer pays $8m, then gives vendors extra $175,000 to help them buy
A Tamarama semi has sold for $8.175 million by private treaty, with the buyer handing the vendors an extra $175,000 to help them buy on.

Energy overtakes land as biggest data centre bottleneck
Securing power has overtaken land as the biggest hurdle to building data centres, as tens of billions in projects compete for renewable energy.

How COVID-19 and extreme bushfire threat forged an architectural gem
The AFR profiles an architectural gem built on a cliff-edge escarpment in one of Australia’s most extreme bushfire zones, a design forged by COVID and fire threat.

Carroll banks on fixing roads, potholes in pre-election blitz
The Victorian government has promised $550 million to upgrade the Western Freeway linking Melbourne and Adelaide, part of a pre-election roads and potholes blitz.

Living in ‘half a house’: How Bathla turned cheap housing into a nightmare
Bathla’s downfall has left families stranded in half-built homes and rattled the private credit market, in a close look at how cheap housing turned into a nightmare.

The Australian

Are books the new home decor trend?
The Australian asks whether books are the new home-decor trend, as collections move from storage to centre stage.

Rip Curl founder and partners in bitter legal fight for Bali venture
Rip Curl’s founder and partners are locked in a bitter legal fight over a $5 million Bali surf venture at Uluwatu.

Are wine cellars making a comeback?
Wine rooms are becoming a must-have for high-end buyers, moving out of the basement to become a defining home feature.

The Sydney Morning Herald

As debt mounts for collapsed company, work continues on Bathla’s $5.5m family mansion
Work continues on the Bathla family’s palatial $5.5 million Dural mansion even as the collapsed company’s debts mount.

How Donna Seidler finished her late husband’s dream of restoring an Australian icon
Donna Seidler has completed her late husband’s dream of restoring an Australian architectural icon, turning to the garden through her grief.

Garage doors to front doors: The unexpected spaces where Sydney could squeeze new homes
Architect Peter McGregor says the laneways and garages behind inner Sydney’s terraces could be turned into thousands of new homes.

‘Affordable for Coogee’: Local couple pays $2.5m for two-bedroom semi
An upsizing local couple has paid $2.5 million for a two-bedroom Coogee semi, a price the selling agent called “affordable for Coogee.

‘Eyesore’: Marina expansion blocked in battle over harbour views
The owner of Rose Bay Marina has vowed to take Woollahra Council to court, after planners rejected a berth expansion over fears it would block harbour views.

Ex-casino boss John Alexander relists $26 million home, first offered north of $40m
Former Crown chairman John Alexander has relisted his Southern Highlands home at a $26 million guide, after first seeking north of $40 million.

Why Lebanese farmers chose a small NSW town to grow cherries
The SMH profiles three generations of the Ali family, who left Sydney to grow cherries in the NSW town of Young.

The Age

‘Blows the pavement up’: How freezing water and car tyres create a pothole in just days
How freezing water and car tyres can blow a pothole open in days, and how a bitumen-and-cement mix could make Victorian roads more resilient.

‘A real kick in the teeth’: Dozens of tram stops have been upgraded, but wheelchair users still can’t board
Dozens of upgraded Melbourne tram stops still fail to provide wheelchair access, despite being built for the city’s new G-class trams.

The Brisbane Times

The seven suburbs where pubs will be allowed to build 12-storey hotels
Pubs in seven Brisbane suburbs could build 12-storey hotels under temporary exemptions to lift short-term accommodation before the 2032 Olympics,.

WA Today

The little barrier that couldn’t: This $1.3 million project has taken longer than the Fremantle bridge
A $1.3 million Perth traffic-barrier upgrade on Malcolm Street has taken longer to build than the Fremantle bridge.

Commercial Real Estate

Negative gearing changes drive mum-and-dad investors towards industrial property
Negative-gearing changes are pushing mum-and-dad investors towards industrial property, as residential returns tighten under the budget changes.

Why retailers are becoming the new third spaces for teens
Retailers are becoming the new “third spaces” for teenagers, with venues like Yo-Chi drawing after-school crowds.

The Daily Telegraph

Camden councillor Eva Campbell seeks to fight 95-unit social housing project in court
A Camden councillor plans to fight a 95-unit social housing project in court, over a proposal for an old south-west Sydney site.

New Sydney tower offers rent-free lifeline to women escaping violence
A Sydney developer has opened a rent-free apartment for women aged 45 to 55 escaping domestic violence within a new 169-unit Macquarie Park tower.

Sydney City Council order Vision Land to secure controversial Bidura, Glebe, site after shocking brick attack
Sydney City Council has ordered Vision Land to secure its historic Bidura site in Glebe, the after footage of a brick hurled through a neighbour’s window.

The Courier Mail

Endeavour CEO Jayne Hrdlicka’s mansion plan sparks furious legal row over landslide fears
An architect’s landslide warning over Endeavour chief Jayne Hrdlicka’s proposed Noosa mansion has sparked a furious legal row ahead of a September trial.

Neighbours fight millionaire’s plan for ‘oversize’ boat store on Brisbane River
Neighbours are fighting a millionaire’s plan for an oversized seven-metre boat store on an exclusive Brisbane River street, fearing lost views and sunlight.

The West Australian

House That! Christina Morrissy’s stunning Floreat home hits the market as presenter seeks to downsize
Perth presenter Christina Morrissy has listed her Floreat family home as she looks to downsize.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

How development is shrinking urban tree canopy across the shire
Development is shrinking the Sutherland Shire’s tree canopy, with Caringbah South down nearly a quarter in six years.

The Illawarra Mercury

Luxe listing on Gerringong’s TikTok famous street sets new price record
A luxury home on Gerringong’s TikTok-famous street has sold for a new suburb record.