Sydney vs Melbourne rivalry finds new ground on the north coast property market

In the age-old rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, it seems the contest over Byron Bay is being won by Sydney’s southern neighbours, if a slew of recent high-end sales is anything to go by.

The glamorous north coast holiday spot is best known as Australia’s version of Hollywood Down Under given the many high-profile actors and musicians who own locally, but when it comes to the priciest beachside real estate it’s Melbourne’s corporate heavyweights doing the buying.

“Traditionally Sydney was always our main buyer market but that’s changed in the last three years as Melbourne buyers have really stepped up to the plate and outbid their Sydney competition,” says Liam Annesley, of LJ Hooker Byron Bay.

“And it’s only ramped up further in the last 12 months in terms of the number of old Melbourne money buying up here.”

Parkinson’s Frank Mlikota puts the appeal down to the fact it provides great value on the back of Melbourne’s boom market.

“It’s also an easy commute to two airports – Ballina and Coolangatta,” Mlikota says.

None of which is likely to surprise Melbourne-based Anthony Eisen, chairman of buy-now-pay-later phone app Afterpay Touch, and his wife Samantha.

Records show the Brighton couple have bought the The White House at Wategos Beach in a company name for about $7.6 million from Boorowa farmer Charlie Arnott, of the Arnotts Biscuit family.

It coincides with this year’s highest Byron Bay sale to date, the $8.525 million sale of the house next door to The White House to Melbourne’s Stephen Ring, who in late 2015 pocketed a speculated $1 billion selling the Swisse vitamins business his father started in the 1970s.

Ring bought the Marine Parade property from another Melburnian, art collector and former chief of labour hire firm Skilled Group Greg Hargrave.

At nearby Belongil Beach the third highest sale for this year is the $5.325 million sale of a beachfront house by Gold Coast property identity Robert Badalotti to a company owned by South Yarra-based diamond merchant Paul Ivany and his wife Sue.

And while the all-time Byron Bay record of $15.68 million was set by Sydney-based developer Danny Goldberg, in recent years the highest annual house sale has been to Melburnians.

Last year fashion retailer Naomi Milgrom, widely regarded as one of Melbourne’s richest women, bought a $7 million house next door to the Byron Bay beach house she purchased in 2011 for $6.2 million.

The highest sales price of 2016 was the $8 million Wategos Beach house sold by Melbourne businessman Mark Rowsthorn to fellow Melburnian and Burra Foods boss Grant Crothers.

But there is no shortage of high-end holiday homes owned by Sydneysiders.

The $10 million house price high of 2015 was the beachfront property of Delvene Delaney and John “Strop” Cornell to Sydney’s  Glen Norman, the only son of the late BRW rich list regular Ian Norman.

The mantle of this year’s highest sale could be up for grabs again before Christmas as two buyers circle the $15 million Wategos Beach trophy home Whalewatchers, owned by Sydney’s Salmat co-founder Peter Mattick and his wife Pam.

“One of the buyers is from Sydney and the other’s from Melbourne so hopefully it’ll be a bit of heated competition to get the deal done,” says Annesley.