Wategos
There is Byron Bay…. then there is Wategos. Marine Parade is the premium strip in the premium town in the premium part of the world. 23 Marine Parade is a two-bedroom renovated cottage on 796 M2. Its for sale with Byron Property Sales and looking for $10M. Yes, sounds like a lot for a two-bedroom house but this strip along the Wategos beachfront has been achieving eight digit prices for a while now.
Lighthouse Road
On the way to Wategos is Lighthouse Road. Janis Perkins of Real Estate of Distinction has listed “Enzo” at 178 Lighthouse Road with hopes of $6.5M. The property is owned by artist Susie Brockhoff, of the Brockhoff Biscuits family dynasty, the Salada crackers producer swallowed up by Arnotts. It is a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with national park on three sides, and panoramic views across the ocean to the hinterlands.
144 Lighthouse Road is also on the market. Currently listed for $8M it was built by “spa king” Eddie Phillips who must be driving his agents crazy. Its been listed for a number of years and the price keeps going up as the market rises to meet it.
64 Carlyle Street Byron Bay
This house is in the old, extremely sought after, part of Byron Bay. Built in 1915 it has been tastefully maintained in its original splendour. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms on 561 M2 and an easy walk to town and beach. Listed by Su Reynolds and Luke Elwin of First National Byron Bay and is in the range of high twos to $3M.
Xavier Rudd House, New Brighton
Popular singer songwriter Xavier Rudd is selling his house in New Brighton. The timber high-set home is on a small acreage and comes already fitted out with a state of the art recording studio. Its listed with Raine and Horne Ocean Shores/Brunswick Heads and looking for somewhere between $2.45M and $2.7M. Rudd, originally from Torquay, Victoria heads off for a European tour this month starting in Denmark and finishing in Spain.
Bangalow
4 Cedar Court Bangalow looks good in high-demand Bangalow. Listed Todd Buckland of Byron Shire Real Estate for offers between $895,000 – $955,000.
Keith Street Bangalow is a street I know well as I used to live there. 3 Keith Street Bangalow is a beautiful house on the corner with good views and looking for $1.2M. It is for sale by the owner who is the agent Trent Stana for GNF Bangalow (pictured below)
Mullumbimby
Surprised to see this little bohemian charmer at 54 New City Road did not get the asking price at auction last weekend. Please see my accompanying article about the strong state of the Mullum market. $629,000 asking price is still too high in a place which should be entry level but recent sales in this area, unfortunately for local first home buyers, have been getting 7 and 8s. Picture of 54 New City Road below)
Butler Street Bypass
Byron Shire has a very vocal and opinionated population. Often we get together to defend our shire against bad development and other things that do not suit the local vibe. Thats great but occasionally this activism gets out of hand and we all suffer. The recent court case against the Butler Street bypass mounted by a few Butler Street residents is a typical NIMBY counter offensive. It has delayed the introduction of the Byron Masterplan (to de-traffic the town centre) as well as costing BSC $450,000 in unnecessary legal bills. It is similar to the brouhaha over the Byron community centre by a few blow hards who were attached to the old building that was, unfortunately, falling apart. We need to pick our battles, know which ones are with fighting for and which ones are winnable.
Selling Tip
In a strong market like we are having now, many home owners suffer from what is known in the industry as “vendor expectation”. When I do the rounds I see properties listed for a while are probably overpriced. It can be a mistake to go to market with a listing price that is not in the range. There are many good agents out there and they can offer an accurate listing range but many people choose to ignore them and get greedy. The properties can then end up with a bad agent and spend 6 months in the market getting into all sorts of bother and trouble. If you are thinking of selling and need help navigating this process you may benefit from the services of a Vendors Advocate prior to engaging a listing agent. See my vendor’s advocacy page on my website for more information.