If all the celebrity news sites are anything to go by, spending money on houses is currently kind of the thing to do. However, when news broke over the weekend that comedian Dave Hughes, and his winning purchase on The Block, is also a part-time house hoarder it got us thinking… who else is dabbling in property investment on the side?
Sure, celebrities buying expensive houses isn’t a new concept. Taylor Swift has an estimated property portfolio of $70 million, Courtney Cox has been reportedly flipping houses for decades, and Arnold Schwarzenegger buys up by the block, but what about those names that live closer to home?
We did a bit of digging and found some closet property moguls we weren’t expecting.
Dave Hughes
We would hazard a guess that most fans of the down-to earth radio star were at least a little surprised to learn of his recent $3.067 southeast Melbourne property.
Winning Josh and Elyse the top spot on The Block, and the prize money of $100,000 , the five-bedroom house adds to the comedian’s St Kilda home that he and wife Holly acquired in 2010, along with a block of investment units in Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs.
Maybe he’ll drop a hint to Holly before his next ‘investment’, but I guess sometimes things slip through the crack, like new handbags and real estate.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Colette Dinnigan
Maker of lush gowns, and lush properties alike, the veteran fashion designer traded crafting clothes for interiors, and clearly, she’s onto something.
Having experience redecorating and selling multiple properties in Sydney’s much-desired Eastern Suburbs, Dinnigan and her husband Bradley Cocks recently flipped their Watson’s Bay property for a cool $2.5 million.
Together they also own a small portfolio of luxury, holiday properties available to rent, like this Milton, five-bedroom two-bathroom, bohemian, rustic dream-boat which you can stay in for $650 a night.
Neil Perry
The restaurant magnate, and creator of some of the best burgers in Sydney, reinvested the sale of his Rockpool fame by picking up a casual $9 million worth of property.
Upgrading from their current abode, and buying something else for the side, their spoils include a $7 million, six bedroom, family mansion – complete with a swimming pool, plant room, Harbour views, and enough garage space for six cars, and a $2.01 million Paddington cottage which is already on the rental property listed at $1150 a week.
Jen Hawkins
It’s no new surprise that the former Miss Universe, and all-round Lady Boss, kills it in the property game. Along with her husband, and property developer Jake Wall, they made an estimated $3.34 million on a North Curl Curl property in 2013 alone, which was their second property in the area, their first selling for $4.1 million in 2012.
Bec Judd
Style maven and football star Bec and Chris Judd – when they’re not working on their demanding careers – are making moves in the property market.
Together, their portfolio features a beachside home on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula (currently fixer-upper, watch this space), their current multi-million family home in, and in 2016 sold their four-story Hinton Lane townhouse for $2 million. They even donated a share of the sale price to the drug and alcohol charity Windana. We can’t fault them.
Gee, all this talk of real estate has really given us a hankering to buy a property. Oh… wait.
LISTEN: Jessie Stephens argues that millennials have no hope of ever owning a house. Monique Bowley thinks she's soft. They argue it out, on Mamamia Out Loud.