Best in Show: Bronte home in beachside suburb that keeps on getting hotter

When the COVID-19-related lockdowns of earlier this year prompted hordes of Sydneysiders to rush to the beach, forcing the state government to erect barricades around our most popular surf breaks, it revealed how much we collectively value the wide open spaces of our Pacific Ocean.

For those with the deep pockets to afford it, it also coincides with a surge in value for luxury real estate on our coastal beaches from Bondi to South Coogee.

A recent spate of record highs that have recalibrated the local prestige market tell the story. In March, settlement on the sale of a South Coogee clifftop residence set a new suburb high of $9.8 million when bought by fund manager Duncan Saville and his wife Julie.

The Clovelly high was reset in June when YouTube gamer Lannan Eacott (aka LazarBeam) bought for $9.9 million.

And Bronte smashed all those records – and it’s own $16.8 million high of just last year – when green energy entrepreneur Carl Prins and his wife Kate bought a contemporary residence on Gardyne Street for $17.9 million.

All three records come just months after Tamarama’s record settled at $15.75 million thanks to the beachside purchase of Karen Michael, daughter of the late property mogul David Burger.

The trend in favour of the beachfront suburbs has been building in recent years but was spurred on by a seismic shift in favour of the wide open spaces and ocean views on the back of the pandemic, according to Alexander Phillips, of PPD.

SOLD - Price Withheld

14 Mirimar Avenue, Bronte NSW 2024

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“Everyone’s working from home and since they’re not commuting to the city, the coastal suburbs offer that more relaxed lifestyle at home while they are still connected to city,” says Phillips.

Phillips’s latest listing on Mirimar Avenue is no exception. The five-bedroom residence is set above basement garaging with uninterrupted views of the Pacific Ocean, and an impressive four-level floor plan connected by an internal glass lift and a rooftop swimming pool.

Purchased in 2016 for $14.5 million, it has been beautifully upgraded by healthcare tycoon Dan Collins and his wife Cassandra since, with interiors by Amy Sharma of The Design Spot.

Phillips and his PPD colleague David Tyrrell are yet to set a guide but are hoping to recalibrate Bronte’s record high again when it goes under the hammer on September 12.

“Because housing here is so pricey – 20 per cent higher than Vaucluse on a per square metre basis – it tends to be that it is the local people who are faster to outbid the outsiders who are trying to break into the market because they already get it.”

Get what? “The fact that there is a really strong sense of community and village atmosphere in these beachfront suburbs like Bronte and Tamarama.”