After 19 years of marriage, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban built a multimillion dollar property portfolio before their relationship ultimately soured.

The writing appeared to be on the wall, after speculation surfaced over their separate living arrangements including a $132,000 per month UK rental Kidman had signed while Urban was on tour. TMZ confirmed the couple had been living apart for months.

Kidman and Urban, who wed in 2006, spent more than $25 million on property.

The pair, who are worth a staggering $282 million, have acquired an extensive global property portfolio in both Australia and around the world.

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Page Six reported: “Keith has acquired his own residence in Nashville and has moved out of their family home,” which is also in Nashville.

The news comes after Kidman’s new living arrangement was raising eyebrows over reports she was spending a fortune to live in a UK home without Urban.

The 58-year-old Aussie actress has been residing in a luxurious Hampstead mansion once owned by pop star Boy George while filming Practical Magic 2.

The Paddington star is apparently “getting comfortable” at the stately manor, which reportedly costs her £65,000 ($A132,000) a month to stay at while her country singer husband is on tour.

Urban hasn’t been seen at her rented UK mansion as he is travelling across the US and Canada until mid-October for his High and Alive tour.

Here are the properties that we know about:

Australian Properties

Milsons Point

Despite being based in the United States country music capital Nashville, Kidman and her husband Keith Urban now claim half a dozen apartments in Harbourside Milsons Point, taking her tally in the one building to more than $27.5 million.

In 2023, the superstar couple purchased a three-bedroom spread on level 15 of the landmark Latitude building in Sydney’s north side for $7.725 million.

The Kurbans first bought into Latitude in 2009 picking up a penthouse for $6m.

They then continued their spree paying $2.68m for a unit lower down the block. Three more apartments followed, for $7m, $2.78m and last year they paid $1.35m for a one-bedder on level four, believed to be used as a private gym.

The block started life as a commercial building in the 1970s but was repurposed in 2005 by Mirvac to accommodate 120 residential apartments. The block also has a swimming pool, spa, sauna, and gym for residents to use. Clark Park and Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden is next door.

There are no other units to buy in Latitude currently, but you can rent a one-bedroom unit on the fourth floor for $750 a week through Di Jones Lower North Shore.

Southern Highlands

The A-list pair picked up a massive farm called Bunya Hill in Sutton Forest, New South Wales, paying $6.5 million.

The place includes a rustic Georgian mansion built in 1878 with a pool room, library, and guest cottage.

In a video with Vogue that showcased the home, fenced fields with cattle can be spotted.

When the couple aren’t working, they’re able to enjoy their serene surroundings. In a 2018 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Undoing star revealed, “Obviously I work hard, but when I’m off, I’m off.

“Keith and I are very good at immediately clicking off because we have a really good life in Nashville that’s very simple, quiet, and nourishing because we’ve made it like that.”

Shortly after acquiring the sprawling estate, Kidman and Urban put in an 18m swimming pool, new gym, full sized tennis court and 250m grass mounds around the perimeter to block out the pesky paparazzi.

With views of green rolling hills, manicured lawns and gardens it’s not hard to see why the grand mansion made the NSW top homes of 2023 list.

Darling Point

During her marriage to Tom Cruise, Kidman owned a three-storey, eight-bedroom Darling Point home on a sizeable 1068sq m Harbourside plot.

She sold the Yarranabba Rd home in 2009 for “about” $13.2 million after listing originally in 2008 for $20 million.

Cruise and Kidman had paid $4.2 million in 1995 for one half of the villa, then three years later they spent another $4.75 million to own the whole property.

Rosedale

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but Kidman’s dream beach house on the NSW South Coast never materialised.

She had envisaged building a $2.5 million compound on a coastal pile, but was turned off by the lack of privacy.

In 2009 she reportedly called the local police requesting an escort after claiming harassment from the paparazzi while driving to the Rosedale property.

Land measuring more than 1000sq m with 21m of waterfront south of Batemans Bay had been acquired for a total of $4 million in 2004.

She sold for a loss after offloading two lots for $3 million in 2011 and the last was parcel settled in 2013 for just $665,000 despite originally being listed in 2008 for $1.2 million.

US properties

Tennessee compound

In 2018, the Australian and American couple sold their longtime country estate in Franklin, Tennessee, for $US3.8 million ($A 5.36 million).

The two looked to have picked up the parcel 10 years before, reportedly making two transactions in 2007 that totalled $US2.45 million ($A3.45 million) for the home, guest cottage, and 36 acres of surrounding land.

Nashville mansion

In 2008, the pair reportedly picked up a mansion in Nashville for $US3.47 million ($A4.89 million), which they dubbed the “Queen of Northumberland.”

The sprawling property comes with seven bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, a home theatre, and a hobby room. Out back, there’s a tennis court and a huge swimming pool.

Beverly Hills estate

That same year, the duo picked up a sweet set up in Beverly Hills, California, reportedly dropping $US4.7 million ($A6.77 million) for a home with five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

The Los Angeles Times noted that the 1965-era build is located in a “gated community that’s home to other celebrities.”

New York

Kidman and Urban bought a designer duplex in the cool hood of Chelsea in 2010 for more than $US9.6 million ($A13.53 million).

Purchased off the plan, the townhouse is in the highly talked about stainless steel tower at 200 Eleventh Ave building, famous for its “ensuite sky garage” and celebrity residents such as Robert J Hurst the former chief of Goldman Sachs who paid $US14 million ($A19.74 million) on the penthouse.

As well as a car elevator to allow for ultimate privacy, the couple’s Manhattan home has Hudson River views, three bedrooms, two terraces and a double height great room.

Parts of this story first appeared in Page Six and was republished with permission.

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The post Inside Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s $25m property portfolio appeared first on realestate.com.au.

A Carindale home was snapped up in seconds at a lightning-fast auction highlighting fierce demand which has pushed up house prices in the family-friendly suburb.

Place Auctioneer Sam Kelso had barely called the opening bid of $1.2m when an eager young couple jumped in at $1.4m — $100,000 over the vendor’s reserve sale price.

The property was announced on the market within moments and sold under the hammer after just two bids, leaving four other hopeful buyers in its dust.

The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home at 58 Milanion Crescent recorded the highest price ever achieved for a home of its kind in the suburb.

The median price across all house types in Carindale was up 9 per cent over the past 12 months to $1.7m, according to PropTrack data.

Place Camp Hill selling agent Joanna Gianniotis, who managed five registered bidders on the day, said she was stunned by the speed and decisiveness of the result.

“It was one of the quickest auctions I’ve ever seen. From $1.2m to $1.4m

in seconds, and suddenly it was all over.

“It really caught us all by surprise and we are so excited for the new owners who clearly fell in love with the home,” Ms Gianniotis said.

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The vendors were a couple in their 30s with a baby who also plan on flipping their next property, while the buyers were moving from Cairns.

The renovated home had drawn interest for its reasonably affordable price point, as more buyers sought move-in ready properties over fixer-uppers.

It featured an attractive character façade, with a floorplan blending style and functionality.

Floating timber floors, a bright and airy colour palette, and custom joinery set the tone, while an open-plan living and dining area flowed to a covered rear deck overlooking the large backyard.

“Families and professional couples love this pocket of Carindale, close to the recreation reserve, Westfield Carindale and great schools,” Ms Gianniotis said.

“When homes like this come up, buyers are prepared to move quickly and compete hard.”

Auctioneer Sam Kelso said buyer activity across Brisbane was strengthening, reflected in both registrations and results.

“We’re seeing registrations climb again and momentum build following the recent interest rate drop. This result is a great example of buyers acting with confidence and decisiveness,” he said.

Ms Gianniotis said the result was a “real vote of confidence” in the local market.

“To achieve the highest-ever price for a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Carindale shows how much the suburb has grown.”

The post Home gone in seconds, $100k over reserve appeared first on realestate.com.au.

The street side – bienvenue chez nous, welcome to our home – doormat remained out the front of Villa Madelon, the Beaulieu-sur-Mer retreat of Bellevue Hill cookery blogger Stephanie Conley-Buhre and her ­entrepreneurial husband Oskar Buhre.

The villa was the recent setting for several Instagram recipe presentations including ​​Tian de legumes, “a rustic Provencale dish that celebrates the simplicity of cooking vegetables”.

But as the sun officially set on the 2025 European summer, the property flipper extraordinaire was not in residence in the south of France village.

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Perhaps the heiress had been drawn back to Sydney by a battle over a stymied $15m Darling Point property project.

The Land & Environment Court considered the family’s application last week for their expansive hillside holding comprising three Art Deco apartment complexes and vacant land on which they wish to add a six-storey apartment block.

The S34 conciliation hearing was terminated after no agreement could be reached, with a directions hearing scheduled for October.

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The 2385sq m holding, that runs between Mona Rd and Loftus St, is held by Broken Hill Investments, with the beneficial shareholding split between sisters Stephanie and Annie.

The site consolidation was started in 1987 by their late father, philanthropist John Conley.

The sisters briefly sought Double Bay agents Ashley Bierman and Craig Pontey to find a buyer in 2022 at $45m.

“The Hill is an outstanding and rare opportunity to secure a development opportunity in one of the most tightly-held real estate locations in the world,” Bierman said at the time.

The blocks, known as The Hill, offered 12 existing apartments which had been zoned for medium density apartments.

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Of course, Stephanie secured her own $80m sale windfall atop Bellevue Hill in mid-2024, in what ranks as the most out-of-line bullish sale of the post pandemic era after she restored the four-level 1930s Spanish mission mansion, Alcooringa, which she’d bought for $28.5m in 2021.

Ray White Double Bay’s Ashley Bierman has confirmed he sold the “extraordinary” Victoria Rd Spanish Mission-style residence, Alcooringa, in a hush-hush off-market deal in June.

It was reported more than $20m was spent on the lavish reno, which includes an internal swimming pool and three kitchens in the 2000sqm home on a 1560sqm block, but even if that’s the case, she’s still made a handsome $30m profit.

+ Additional reporting: James MacSmith

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Australia’s love affair with buying investment properties has been waning as younger investors increasingly turn to cheaper exchange traded funds, or ETFs.

Talking property investments used to be a common conversation around the Sunday barbecue but recent figures show it has been falling out of favour as home prices get increasingly out of reach.

ETFs have filled that void. They track indexes like the ASX 200 and can be bought for just a few hundred dollars.

The funds are fast becoming the low-cost, low-risk alternative to property, offering broad exposure without the burden of million-dollar loans, tenants or maintenance.

And that broad exposure has made them appealing for a cohort of Aussies who in the past would have shuddered at buying traditional shares – and the volatility that can come with them.

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Alex Vynokur, the CEO of ETF trader Betashares, said more than 2 million Australians were now using ETFs to build wealth outside of property – and about 500,000 of those investing were under 35.

“The hurdles to property ownership are growing for most Australians. Unlike property ownership, building wealth through ETFs is becoming more accessible,” he said.

“Younger people have recognised that ETFs are a convenient and cost effective way to build wealth.”

Betashares data showed the ETF industry hit a new record high of just under $300 billion in August, a rise of $10.2 billion or 3.52 per cent on the previous month.

Growth over the year to August was $79.2 billion – about 36 per cent.

These figures are a stark contrast to where the national industry was at pre-pandemic in 2019, when ETFs had about $50 billion in assets under management.

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ETF growth dwarfed rises in property investor activity. The volume of loans issued to investors increased 0.8 per cent over the year to June, with the value of investor loans increasing 6.9 per cent.

Property investor activity had been declining in the years preceding 2024 due to rising interest rates and historically low rental yields in markets such as Sydney and Melbourne.

Finder.com.au investment expert Kylie Purcell said ETFs have surged in popularity as home prices have got out of reach and they’re often viewed as requiring less research to buy than shares.

“Australia has always had a love affair with property, but for younger generations it’s increasingly out of reach,” she said.

“ETFs have become the next best thing because they’re accessible, low cost and don’t tie you to a single asset. For a lot of Gen Z investors, ETFs are now the first step on the investing ladder, where property was for their parents’ generation.”

The ease of buying and selling ETFs through various apps gave them an advantage, she added.

“Gen Z and younger millennials are digital natives. They’re used to accessing financial products on their phone and ETFs fit that perfectly as you can trade them through an app in minutes.

“With one trade, you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket like you are with a single investment property.”

Kuang Sheng, 35, has become a prolific ETF investor over recent years and said he preferred the ease of buying.

“The ease of use is the most important thing,” he said.

“In property trading, there is a lot of overhead. You need to pay a real estate agency, the broker, the banker, the lawyer. It’s usually one huge transaction.

“With an ETF it can be small pockets of money each time. And if you regret buying one, you can fix it because the ASX trades every day.”

Mr Sheng said he believed there was more money to be made investing in more liquid assets than in property.

“You might do well over the next year or so because prices are going up with all the interest rate cuts, but if you look to five-year horizon, a good portfolio with ETFs can outperform the housing market and have less overheads.”

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