By Erle Levey
At a time when the world is resetting due to the Covid-19 pandemic a Sunshine Beach house has sold for $17m.
The sale to former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his wife Therese Rein is a sign of confidence in the Noosa property market.
The spectacular seven-bedroom beachfront house was originally built by tennis great Pat Rafter.
Dowling Neylan’s Karen Harman negotiated the sale to the former PM and his wife, a successful business owner.
The negotiations took place over a short space of time in May, when Australia was in the middle of the pandemic lockdown.
Ms Harman has built a reputation for her knowledge and discretion in Noosa property in her 30 years in the industry.
“The sale comes at a time when the world is re-evaluating priorities … people want to be in a feel-good place
“Like Capri or St Moritz, there is only one Noosa,’’ she said.
Specialising on Noosa’s eastern beaches, Ms Harman said it was a matter of understanding what the real values were at a time such as this.
“What we are really delighted about is that Therese has made a decision to make a considerable investment here when she could have invested abroad. This has helped put confidence back into the local property values.’’
Another agent had the property listed for $20m for a number of months before Ms Harman was introduced to the owner of the property by a mutual acquaintance.
“Not knowing coronavirus would happen, he was asking if I had potential buyers,’’ she said. “And I did.
“Therese and Kevin Rudd have had a beach house at Noosa for about 10 years.
“I enjoy working with Therese and am very grateful for her business.
“I very much respect her privacy.’’
The negotiations suited the sellers, Noosa business people David and Louise Hales, who will move to a waterfront home to cater for their young family.
The Sunshine Beach house is in a prime position. The views are spectacular.
“It’s so hard to get land where you can build that size and there are now stricter set-backs from the beach,’’ Ms Harman said.
“Pat Rafter did a great job on the design of the house and the quality of the build.’’
David and Louise Hales bought the property in May 2018 for a reported $15.2million. Walls, floors, painting and electronics have since been upgraded.
The H-shaped home provides two wings, with spectacular entry, swimming pool and beautiful oak timber floors upstairs.
“It offers privacy and security,’’ Ms Harman said. “You can walk everywhere in Sunshine Beach, and it’s so close to the national park.
“The elevation and proximity to the sand is hard to beat.’’
The sold within a week of the agent meeting with the sellers and 24 hours of it being listed.
Ms Harman said that it seemed like a trend where people were wanting to make a move during the worst of the pandemic lockdown.
“When others were looking negatively at the economy, Noosa was saying look at us.
“We are seeing a continuing trend of expats and southerners who may have had holiday places here but the coronavirus is expediting their plans to secure a base.
“Noosa is a market you can trust. It is environmentally attractive.’’
A lot of off-market sales are going through in all sections of the market, Ms Harman said.
“Stock levels are low but that could change with the borders being lifted.’’
For Kevin Rudd, he is pleased to be back on the Sunshine Coast.
Having grown up on the family farm at Eumundi, he went on to attend Nambour High School before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981 and entering Federal Parliament in 1998.
