Photograph by Dennis West of Direct Photographics
Home All-Stars: Great Distances
January 1, 2006
Ever since the wide world downsized to a global village, it has been common for investors to look beyond national boundaries for second homes. And few can resist the enticements of some of the world’s most popular foreign locales: historic properties in France, dramatic ocean-view villas in Mexico and pristine vistas in places such as New Zealand and Patagonia.
Beyond aesthetic advantages, factors contributing to the popularity of buying offshore include the relative strength of national currencies, the feeling of having genuinely escaped your daily life and even the cachet of having celebrity neighbors. As the famous real estate mantra goes, “It’s all about location, location, location,” but in a market the size of the world, that allows for plenty of choices.
Australia
Think of australia, and sydney’s magnificent harbor may come to mind. It is
no surprise that a national love of the water impacts the luxury real estate
market here. For foreign homebuyers, says James Dack of McGrath Estate Agents, “the hottest areas are in prime locations along the eastern seaboard of New South
Wales and Queensland.” With major cities like Sydney and Cairns close by, investors
can savor the seascapes as well as what Dack calls a “relaxed yet cosmopolitan lifestyle.”
In his list of highly desirable areas among foreign buyers, Dack includes Sydney’s Bondi and Tamarama beaches, East Circular Quay, Point Piper, Darling Point, the redeveloped dockyards at Woolloomooloo Bay (Russell Crowe recently paid more than $14 million for a luxury apartment there) and Palm Beach, an hour north of Sydney on a Malibu-like peninsula.
Outside Cairns–which boasts an international airport and the spectacular Great Barrier Reef–are the rapidly growing towns of Noosa, Port Douglas and Airlie Beach.
Most buyers are interested in gated luxury apartments with concierge service (“the term condominium is not used here,” says Dack) that require little maintenance. Waterfront units range from A$1.5 million to A$20 million ($1.155 million to $15.4 million). And even though the Australian dollar has gained strength against many currencies, the exchange rate still favors the United States, England and Singapore, the home countries of most foreign buyers.
Dack pinpoints Manly Beach, just 12 minutes from Sydney by Jetcat, as the next trendy market: “With an eclectic mix of harbor and ocean beaches and a vibrant restaurant, bar and café scene, it’s the gateway to the picturesque and secluded northern beaches.”
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