A $500million mansion breaks world record, MAFS “expert” sells second home, another Tassie property with its own jail goes on sale, more Aussies trusting AI for financial advice

You must have heard about real estate ‘cowboys’. Well, the real estate sales pitch for a property that comes with its own Wild West town has a dark Wolf Creek murder theme too. Of course it does.

All that and more in this week’s selection of the quirkiest stories in property.

Free Reads

Domain

When old is new again: Unloved heritage buildings are finding a second life as luxury hotels
Old, historic buildings make for brilliant new luxury hotels – if recent history is anything to go by. You need only look at the spate of recently opened hotels giving heritage landmarks a new lease of life in central Melbourne.

London mansion shatters global record with $518 million mega-sale
A London mansion has broken the record for the most expensive house sale in history. Owned by British developer Nick Candy – the former husband of Aussie star Holly Valance – the home has been sold to billionaire SuneilSetiya for a whopping $518 million (£275 million), according to the Financial Times.

Luxury car collector lists Vaucluse trophy home with $28 million price hopes
Nico Tjen, a Sydney-based luxury car enthusiast and property developer, is selling his harbourside home with hopes of achieving an eye-watering price. The managing director of Icon Oceania – and son of a prominent Indonesian-born investor –  has listed his Vaucluse home for $28 million, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Heritage house with heroic Ned Kelly link hits the market
A house with a fascinating history involving Ned Kelly is ready for its next chapter. The rustic and romantic former pub has many thrilling tales associated with it, including one in which young Ned Kelly jumped into a creek to save the publican’s son.

Queensland’s iconic ‘Castle Rumble’ sells for $8 million
The owners of a one-of-a-kind ‘fortress’ in Queensland have become multi-millionaires after selling their unique estate, following decades of rejecting offers.

John Aiken offloads second million-dollar property ahead of UK move
Married at First Sight expert John Aiken and his wife, interior designer Kelly Swanson-Roe, have adjusted the price on their Hunter Valley weekender as they continue to search for a buyer.

Billionaire Sam Arnaout lists Manly waterfront home
Billionaire Sam Arnaout has listed his Little Manly waterfront property, years after combining the two multi-million-dollar homes. The Iris Capital chief purchased the Sydney home in two transactions, first paying $7.5 million for the lower residence before securing the upper level weeks later for about $5.25 million.

How protecting native bush can generate an income and a sense of purpose
When father-of-three Sam Cooke bought a densely forested 40-hectareparcel in Victoria’s scenic Otways region, he planned to ride motorbikes on the site with friends and take his children camping.

Commercial Real Estate

Tasmanian caravan park with jail cell and $223k income listed for $1.35m
A compact seaside caravan park anchored by an 1893-built homestead – a former police house complete with an intact jail cell – has been listed for sale in the historic Tasmanian fishing village of Triabunna, positioned to capture steady overnight demand from visitors travelling to and from Maria Island.

Realestate.com.au

Erin Holland and Darren Palmer launch podcast to help Aussies tackle property market
Queensland model and presenter Erin Holland and interior designer and The Block judge Darren Palmer are launching a video podcast helping Aussies navigate the property market. Century 21 Australia is launching Home of the Century on May 7, a series designed around buying, selling, investing and renovating.

Miranda Kerr opens up on the homes that shaped her life’s highs and lows
She’s graced countless magazine covers, launched a global beauty empire, and married a tech billionaire, but behind the dazzling facade, Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr has a surprisingly down-to-earth obsession: property.

Gargaro family’s 1970s Yanko Ave Bronte treasure hits the market
After more than 50 years in the same family hands, a classic 1970s Bronte home has hit the market with $10.5m price expectations.

Radiator billionaire Kees Weel’s $5.7m Northern Rivers home for sale
“Radiator man” KeesWeel, a Dutch immigrant in the 1950s who’s gone on to create a $1bn business providing cooling solutions, and partner Sharon Mason, are selling their Northern Rivers retreat.

Revealed: My Reno Rules 2026 contestants
Adrian Portelli is used to dropping millions on property, but some Aussie battlers on his new renovation show are battling the cost of living crisis with just $65 left after bills are paid.

$1.15m Victorian shipping container fortress earns $110k
A shipping container fortress that is one of the biggest homes of its kind in the southern hemisphere is ready for a new owner to take charge. The 605 Bunjils Cave Rd, Black Range, home is made of 14 shipping containers and features 200 tonnes of steel, glass and concrete.

Fuel-saver suburbs: 17 well-connected neighbourhoods where you won’t need a car
Rising fuel prices won’t dent the budget in these convenient suburbs where public transport is abundant and everything is within reach. While Aussies are now paying much higher prices for petrol and diesel as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, many residents in some of Australia’s best-connected suburbs have been relatively insulated from the impact of the fuel crisis.

More Australians are turning to AI for financial advice – but they don’t trust it
Artificial Intelligence is rising in popularity for significant financial and property research, but most Aussies refuse to trust it with their biggest money decisions, new data reveals. More than one in five (21 per cent) Aussies say they have received financial advice from ChatGPT or similar AI tools in the past 12 months, spotlighting how AI is becoming a mainstream source of information.

‘Illegal’: Landlord suggest renter eviction for sad reason
A feud that erupted between a landlord and his tenants over their pregnancy announcement has sparked heated debate online after the property owner made a shock suggestion.

Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray chases $4.3m sale for South Sydney home
South Sydney Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray and his fiancee Miranda Cross have put a $4.3m asking price on their recently completed resort-style duplex investment offering in Matraville.

Justin Hemmes buys $18m Belongil Beach home in latest Byron Bay splash
The mooted $18m Belongil Beach purchase by hospitality tycoon Justin Hemmes settled last week. It was a four-bedroom beach shack on two titles totalling 1580sq m with 20m beachfront that last traded in 1998 for $875,000.

Four-storey ‘treehouse’ in Byron Bay’s Golden Grid hits market for $3.25m
Set in the heart of Byron’s Golden Grid, this once-rundown cottage is now an electric Bohemian dream den. Melbourne-based interior designer Manola Laidlaw sees her projects as challenges: to create magical realms that make people feel like they’ve entered another world.

Gold Coast cliff side property crowned Australia’s Home of the Year
An Aussie property with a basement cinema carved into rock and rooftop helipad has defied engineering odds to win Australia’s most prestigious building award. Queensland home Cloudbreak, constructed by Gold Coast builder Mactech Constructions, was named the 2026 HIA Australian home of the year – the highest residential building award bestowed each year by the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

Single Australians face a ‘singles tax’ costing them thousands, new report reveals
Single Aussies are being priced out of the market, with new research revealing they can afford to buy in just one-third of suburbs around the country. The Finder’s Singles Tax Report 2026 exposed the higher costs for housing, utilities, groceries and travel that single people face while it also shows singles are less ‘happy’ than those with a partner.

Iran war sparks shift in the countries buying Aussie homes
War in Iran has caused a seismic shift in foreign demand for Australian real estate after years of countries such as China and Singapore frequently buying up our newly-built apartments. The biggest change: demand from China has been falling, while demand from the Middle East, including Iran, has risen.

$10k-20k a month: Fisherman’s cottage netting tidy income set for auction
A character-filled fisherman’s cottage that earns between $10,000 and $20,000 a month is heading to auction, offering buyers the chance to secure a rare slice of Sydney waterfront with a private jetty, sandy beach and a ready-made income stream.

Wolf Creek stand-in sells Victorian property with its own private wild west town
Wolf Creek has come to Victoria in the form of a Quentin Tarantino-esque video filmed to promote a property listing featuring a private wild west village. The home’s owner Chris Olver, a stand-in for Wolf Creek actor John Jarratt at fan conventions and charity events, plays the film’s serial killer character Mick Taylor in the listing clip – and even murders one of the real estate agents off-screen.

AFL legend Robert DiPierdomenico stars in video to sell Aspendale Gardens house
Hawthorn great Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico has turned property spruiker to help sell a good mate’s Aspendale Gardens family home.

Sam Newman’s former Brighton home hits market for $9.6m
Ex-Footy Show star Sam Newman’s former beachfront Brighton house has hit the market with a $8.8m-$9.6m price tag.

F1 star Oscar Piastri’s childhood Brighton home listed for $6.5m
The home where Formula One racing champ Oscar Piastri grew up is set to rev up Brighton’s property market.

Inside the Geelong house of Skyhooks legend Bongo Starkie now for sale
The Geelong home of former Skyhooks guitarist Bob “Bongo” Starkie is set to become a hit with potential buyers after it was listed for sale.

Full steam ahead: Station master’s house for sale on historic train line
A former station master’s house on one of Australia’s last remaining steam train lines has pulled into the market, and it’s already proving a hit with trainspotters.

Thousands of Perth homes forced into quarantine amid fruit fly outbreak
Thousands of Perth homes have been swept into an immediate quarantine as authorities race to stamp out Queensland fruit fly, with more than 7000 properties in a 1.5km “red” zone ordered to strip fruit trees and stop produce moving between suburbs.

Real Commercial

Adrian Portelli unveils plan to sell petrol for just $1 a litre
Adrian Portelli has unveiled a plan to sell petrol for just $1 a litre, taking aim at Australia’s fuel giants in a bold cost-of-living play.

Nostalgia with the lot: What happened to the humble Aussie burger shop?
In a takeaway landscape dominated by American fast-food giants and a new wave of brand-led gourmet operators, the old-school burger shop keeping the suburban corner store tradition alive has become increasingly rare.

Inside KIC Studios: Laura Henshaw and Steph Claire Smith’s app comes to life
If there are two words to describe KIC Studio’s foray into its first physical location, it’s ‘community’ and ‘intent’. Having launched to much fanfare on Saturday, KIC Studios’ home in Cremorne, Melbourne has hit the ground running, with many of the first day’s run of classes booked out well in advance.

Inside the abandoned WA youth prison once home to Bon Scott
For over a decade, it has stood as a silent, decaying monument to a forgotten era, its walls echoing with untold stories and the ghosts of its past. Now, Western Australia’s notorious Riverbank Detention Centre in Caversham, a site indelibly linked to the rebellious youth of AC/DC legend Bon Scott, is finally up for sale.

ABC Online

Despite the promise of NBN, thousands of Australians still have no access and ‘patchy’ internet
More than 17 years after it was first announced, not all Australians — even in metropolitan areas — receive access to the NBN.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Private equity boss lists Toorak home for $11m
Investment firm River Capital boss Amanda Coombs is selling her Toorak abode with a $10 million to $11 million price guide at a time when property sales in Melbourne’s most expensive suburb have fallen.

Neighbourhood barney over iconic lifesaver is night versus day
In the neighbourhood fight over the proposed $20 million redevelopment of the Manly lifesaver, which side you are on may come down to which end of the day you visit the Sydney beach. For club volunteers, professional lifeguards and members of the local swimming club Bold and the Beautiful, who hit the water at 7am every day, a knockdown rebuild of the council-owned building is long overdue.

The Australian

Cotality case a wake up call on corporate hacking
When property data company BCI discovered in 2020 that bitter rival CoreLogic – part of the global Cotality stable – was accessing its LeadManager product via a network of front companies and bots, it was quick to cry foul. What followed were five years of legal skirmishes before a dramatic hearing last week revealed the lengths that the Cotality side went to in hacking its rival over four years, and its extensive efforts to cover its conduct up.

Powder rooms are making their fated comeback
It may be compact but the humble powder room is getting a surprisingly outsized, even opulent, makeover.

Pottsville poised for new $800m masterplanned village with 550 homes
The burgeoning northern NSW township of Pottsville is poised for a major housing development by the same backers behind the sprawling $1.5bn Casuarina Beach project that transformed much of the Tweed Coast a quarter of a century ago. Brisbane-based developer Consolidated Properties Group will on Saturday unveil plans for an $800m sister project 10km south of Casuarina, at Cudgera Creek near the coastal township of Pottsville, famed for its award-winning Pipit Restaurant.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Former Woolies boss lists $2.75 million North Bondi investment pad
Brad Banducci, chief executive of Ticketek operator TEG and a former boss of Woolworths, has put his North Bondi investment property on the market with a price guide of $2.75 million.

The Age

How a 2km stretch of Chapel Street became the golden mile of council fees
Chapel Street traders have launched a legal fight against Stonnington Council over more than $1 million of annual levy fees they pay on top of rates, as concerns grow over the future of the iconic Melbourne precinct.

‘Like cubs being born’: How the zoo’s ‘treekeeper’ saved a 100-year-old tree
Zoos Victoria welcomes a lot of babies each year – from elephant calves to meerkat litters and hordes of butterflies. Two months ago, two lion cubs born at Werribee Open Range Zoo also joined the list.

The Brisbane Times

Peter Dutton offloads ‘resort-style’ farm north of Brisbane
Former federal opposition leader Peter Dutton is $6.15 million richer after offloading the sprawling farm north-west of Brisbane that he and his family called home.

Two in five drivers who park in Brisbane’s CBD don’t pay a cent
That’s despite Brisbane retaining its position as Australia’s most expensive capital for parking, with daily casual rates averaging $80.84, according to Ray White.

The Daily Telegraph

Shop owner will ‘chain himself to the door’ to fight council demolition
A jeweller whose family has operated from the same Sydney premises for three decades vows to “chain himself to the door” rather than surrender to council bulldozers.

‘The War Vets’, Narrabeen: Bid for modernisation of Anzac Village retirement, aged care complex
One of Sydney’s most iconic and beloved retirement and aged care villages – which starred in a hit TV show – has launched a bid for a massive $772m modernisation.