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Byron Bay has transformed from a laid-back coastal town to a Hollywood mecca as successful businessmen and celebrities flood the region.
While the northern NSW town is now an internationally acclaimed destination, locals are being priced out as the popularity drives real estate prices up.
Little shacks from the 1960s have been bulldozed in to build mansions that span three blocks, and rental availability has plunged to an all-time low.
Locals say there is no way for them to compete with city-sized budgets from people moving from Sydney or Melbourne, and celebrities appear to be snapping up land in every direction.
Hollywood heartthrob Zac Efron settled into Byron at the height of the Covid pandemic, while the Hemsworth clan are mainstays and Matt Damon recently arrived in town.
Businessman Geoff Morgan sold his $22milion Wategos Beach holiday home to Melbourne-based Rip Curl founder Brian Singer after just five days on the market.
Byron Bay has transformed from a laid-back coastal town to a Hollywood-style mecca as successful businessmen and celebrities flood the region. Pictured: The original Byron Bay surf club
Matt Damon poses alongside good mate Chris Hemsworth – both men call Byron Bay home
Matt Damon previously stayed in this Byron Bay mansion while visiting the region on a vacation with his family
Meanwhile in the same corner of Byron, nestled among one of Australia’s only north facing beaches, JB Hi-Fi former chief executive Richard Uechtritz is demolishing two blocks to create his dream mega-mansion, The Australian reported.
Adam Gilchrist, who co-founded F45 Training, splashed out on a new pad in 2020 in the area. He already owns at $18.85million property in the region, and reportedly has rejected offers to rent the home at $100,000 a week.
The exorbitant displays of wealth area stark contrast to what locals believe Byron Bay stands for.
Some say that as they continue to move further inland, or further south, the enclave will lose the charm that drew so many to the region in the first place.
Local comedian and long-term resident, Mandy Nolan, told Daily Mail Australia the heart and soul of Byron Bay – the ‘artists, musicians, crystal healers and dope dealers’ – deserve to keep the ‘s**tty little shacks’ they call home.
‘If you want in on what we’ve spent decades creating… take care of the many who are being squeezed out,’ she said.
‘It would be a sad day if our artists and musicians, our crystal healers and dope dealers can no longer afford a s**tty shack somewhere.’
The exorbitant displays of wealth area stark contrast to what locals believe Byron Bay stands for. Pictured: The local railway cottage in 1970
Zac Efron hunkered down during the global coronavirus crisis in Byron. The Hollywood star started dating a local waitress, who he has reportedly since separated from
Television presenter and radio host Carrie Bickmore owns a $3million holiday home in Byron Bay
Families who have called northern New South Wales home for generations have found themselves sleeping in cars or caravans and eventually moving away from the eclectic community they helped to build.
At $450 a week, traffic controller Steph Rouillon and her two children have been living in a one-bedroom ‘bush shack’, which is well-and-truly falling to bits.
The dirt road leading to the room has destroyed her small car, the water pump is ‘temperamental’ at best and she often finds herself unable to shower or cook at ‘the most inconvenient of times’.
Her 14-year-old and 11-year-old boys have converted the lounge room into their bedroom, and they eat dinner as a family standing up each night.
While the quality of life is ‘questionable’, she says, at least she has a roof over their heads.
Just weeks out from Christmas she was told to find somewhere else to live.
The Byron Bay post office was built in 1896. Locals say this is the Byron Bay they know and love, but it has been entirely changed due to an influx of celebrities and businessmen
Mother-of-two Steph Rouillon said she and her children have been struggling to find a new home within her budget as a result of the influx of new people
Adam Gilchrist, who co-founded F45 Training, splashed out on a new pad in 2020 in the area. He already owns at $18.85million property in the region, and reportedly has rejected offers to rent the home at $100,000 per week
Pictured: Byron Bay in 1947, long before it became a hotspot for tourists and beloved by celebrities
‘This is the modern poverty line,’ she said. ‘Living week-to-week on a single mother’s income. I wake up, stand on a hot road, pay my rent, sleep, repeat.’
Steph, like many others within the community, blames the crisis on ‘newbie cashed-up city folk Byron wannabes buying up properties’ only to turn them into AirBnB businesses.
She said what people from Melbourne and Sydney don’t realise is that their bigger budgets are pricing out locals – the very people who ‘inspired them to move here in the first place’.
‘We’re full,’ the traffic controller said. ‘This is our home. We’ve been here for 10 years.’
Based on the current market, Steph said she’s looking at having to spend upwards of $850 per week on a home – and will be competing with hundreds of other tenants in the exact same position as her.
‘Women like me, who don’t mind leading a simple life, surf and wear bare feet don’t want to live in another whitewashed version of Bondi. We left for a reason,’ she said.
Homes are now bigger than entire buildings were when the region was considered a ‘hidden gem’ among surfers and locals. Pictured: The original Byron Bay surf club on the left, and F45 co-founder Adam Gilchrist’s home on the right
Rouillon pays $450 a week for a one-bedroom ‘bush shack’ which is well and truly falling to bits
Byron Bay now has several luxury resorts often frequented by celebrities and millionaires
As Byron’s reputation as the place to be grows, real estate agents report properties being snapped up sight unseen or via Zoom inspection, forcing locals from the town they helped to build
As Byron’s reputation as the place to be grows, real estate agents report properties being snapped up sight unseen or via Zoom inspection.
According to Byron Bay Shire mayor, the level of demand is unprecedented.
‘Real estate agents have seen nothing like this before, what we are seeing is social tension as people are being squeezed out. It can be negative — the community is getting overwhelmed.’
‘It’s going gangbusters, prices are moving quickly, we are seeing five to 10 years of price growth in five to 10 months. It’s going nuts.’
Meanwhile local real estate agents are seeing homes sell for in excess of $400,000 more than asking prices, as potential tenants offer to pay for 12 months’ rent in advance just to secure a home.
Ray White real estate agent Matthew McCormack admitted the market is the strongest and most competitive it has been in five years.
Elsa Pataky and husband Chris Hemsworth helped to transform Byron Bay into ‘Hollywood 2.0’ and attract other stars
Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky are Byron Bay locals, and recently finished building their dream home
Mandy Nolan (pictured) is a writer and comedian for The Byron Echo
‘It’s cut-throat at the moment, you’ve got to have your cash ready to go,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
Realestate.com’s chief economist Nerida Conisbee said interest from the US market has also increased.
‘Everyone knew about Byron before but now big influxes of celebrities and a lot of high-profile driven activity has lifted the popularity of the area,’ Ms Conisbee said.
While data isn’t yet available to show cost increases in the Byron market, realestate.com revealed views per rental listing jumped by 42 per cent year-on-year between April and November 2020.
For buyers, there was an increase of 94 per cent for houses and 119 per cent for units.
The median house price in Byron Bay is now $1.44 million and has soared 22.8 per cent over the last year.
Ms Consibee said a true reflection of the meteoric price increase will become clear in the coming months.
While data isn’t yet available to show cost increases in the Byron market, realestate.com revealed views per rental listing jumped by 42 per cent year-on-year between April and November 2020
Local comedian and long-term resident, Mandy Nolan, told Daily Mail Australia the heart and soul of Byron Bay – the ‘artists, musicians, crystal healers and dope dealers’ – deserve to keep the ‘sh*tty little shacks’ they call home
Pictured: Mega mansion home owned by Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky in Byron Bay
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