Good-bye Matt Damon, hello Byron Bay buyers: Hollywood star's rental returns to market

Byron Bay locals look set to lose one of their most welcomed recent celebrity arrivals as Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso pack up their nearby holiday home to return to the United States.

The glamorous holiday spot already had a reputation as a mecca for Hollywood stars thanks in part to the many Australian actors who have moved there in recent years.

But that reputation scored an international boost this year when the Damon family took out a four-month lease on the Broken Head property to holiday in Australia.

The Broken Head property, known as Blackwood House, was already known to Damon before he signed up for it in February having visited it over the summer when it was leased by his mate and fellow actor Liam Hemsworth and his partner Miley Cyrus.

There is no indication of the rental price, but a source said the US-based family were paying about $5500 a week.

The house next door is currently leased by Damon’s bestie and fellow Thor: Ragnarok star Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky while their nearby $7 million property, Titijaru, is being renovated.

The two families have kept the paparazzi busy this year, with reports of Damon playing golf with Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning, going to the Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, and attending an AFL match on the Sunshine Coast last week.

The Owenia Way property almost sold in February but that buyer has since pulled out. It returned to the market with a $4 million guide on Friday and the selling agent Frank Mlikota, of Parkinson Real Estate, said it was “now being sold tenant-free”.

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The contemporary five-bedroom residence comes with an infinity pool cabana, separate two-level studio, equestrian facilities and 58 hectares of natural bushland.

Among the big names in entertainment who in recent years have moved to the Byron Bay area are singer Natalie Imbruglia, Simon Baker and his wife Rebecca Rigg, Isabel Lucas, singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd, and INXS rock star Jon Farriss.