Cottage Point waterfront carved up into 12 portions with expatriate buyer expectations

Cottage Point waterfront carved up into 12 portions with expatriate buyer expectations
Jonathan ChancellorOctober 22, 2012

Sydney entrepreneur Drew Muirhead is now seeking to sell his unsold five-bedroom Cottage Point waterfront on Sydney's Pittwater in 12 shares, each costing more than the average Sydney home.

It has been given a nominal $7.8 million value, with each portion listed in $650,000 part ownership shares, while he would retain two himself.

The house was briefly listed for sale in late 2006 and then almost ever since April 2010 with $10 million plus hopes through four different estate agencies.

It's possibly the biggest house within one of Sydney's smallest suburbs, Cottage Point, complete with infinity-edge pool, spa, jetty and pontoon.

Last traded for $1.7 million in 2005, the vendor has previously rejected the suggestion the almost $3.5 million he spent building his dream home was an overcapitalisation.

He says when he had hopes of selling for more than $10 million, he had interest at $8 million.

Designed by architect Richard Cole, it has water views from every room with its pitched ceiling expanding the view to include the bushland behind.

Fractional ownership is a model used in the US and Europe.

"It is not time share," Drew Muirhead says.

“I have chosen this method because the market is at an all-time low and the top end is getting hammered, so I have been researching for the last 12 months to see what else I can do.

"There are few people who have $6 million to $8 million to buy a holiday house these days, and the strength of the Australian dollar is killing the greenback, so we have no expats investing – which is probably where I would expect the buyer to originate,” Muirhead says.

The five-bedroom home was featured on Grand Designs Australia in 2010.

It has been rented out for $20,000 a week in the peak season, with Australian actress Kim Wilson once calling it her "perfect piece of Sydney paradise".

Muirhead is offering the property under a co-ownership agreement drawn up by PodProperty chief executive Jeremy Levitt, who says the method has become more popular especially for holiday homes.

"The owners will have a deeded share of the title of the bricks and mortar and can use their share for their own holiday stay, or rent out your time for a great return," Levitt says.

Trent Brewer of Ray White Terrey Hills says there is usually only one sale a year in Cottage Point, the highest being $6.45 million in 2008.

Have you had experience with part ownership in a holiday property? Tell us your thoughts.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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