Pool builder's insane $13m payday
The mega deal in south east Queensland is the highest price ever paid for a block of land on the Gold Coast's Sovereign Islands, making the owner more than $7m over 18 years.
Vendor David Pain, who built his wealth manufacturing fibreglass swimming pools, bought each block separately, paying $5.874m all up.
MORE: Empty city land block sells just short of $1.8m
Inside billionaire Annie Cannon-Brookes' revamp of trashed island
He bought three blocks between 2007 and 2009, paying between $1.3m and $1.575m each, and added the fourth block to the mix in 2020, paying $1.699m.
Coastal agent Edin Kara handled the latest sale — he said the entire block sold to a local buyer and offered a once in a lifetime chance to secure a huge land holding with 112.6m of water frontage.
'The owner wanted to sell the four blocks together to someone to build a house and I managed to find a buyer,' Mr Kara said.
'It was a pretty clean contract.
'The buyer appreciates the land, the position and the views towards Surfers Paradise.'
MORE NEWS: Reality TV bombshell: Portelli joins Block rival
The best new architecture in Queensland
Following a permanent move offshore, seller Mr Pain listed the 3026sq m Sovereign Islands property with a $14.75m price tag.
It is not the first time he's tried to sell the property on Knightsbridge Pde East, with three of the blocks going to auction in 2020.
Property records show all four blocks were owned by Knightsbridge Holdings Pty Ltd, which is linked to David Pain, listed as Explore Industries global CEO.
MORE: Qld home earns six times the average salary
Million-dollar savings: Brisbane's bargain suburbs exposed
It's understood he moved offshore to expand his company's operations in the US.
'The seller had a family house designed for him but they aren't building it because they are remaining in America,' Mr Kara said.
Sovereign Islands has recorded a string of mega sales in recent months including 18 Knightsbridge Parade East, which settled for $9.5m, and 44 Knightsbridge Parade West, which sold for $8.5m earlier this year.
Another property known as the castle, at 55 Knightsbridge Parade West sold in a $14.5m deal last month.
The highest recorded sale on the Sovereign Islands is $20m, paid by Clive Palmer in 2021 for 7-13 King Arthurs Court.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
10 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Tech Council of Australia want copyright laws "overhauled" so AI models can mine Aussie data
Tech Council of Australia want copyright laws "overhauled" so AI models can mine Aussie data Published 6 August 2025, 10:02 am The federal Government has been advised against "over-regulating" AI. A new report is talking up significant economic benefit, but also admitting human jobs will be lost. The opposition says there needs to be stronger guardrails for its use, accusing tech companies of stealing Australian content.
7NEWS
15 hours ago
- 7NEWS
What would it take for house prices to drop in Australia?
Homeowners and property investors may rub their hands together at Australia's ever-increasing house prices. However, for the growing number of Australians who have yet to secure a foothold in the property market, the great Aussie dream can feel increasingly out of reach. A parliamentary report released in May found rising house prices in Australia have seen home ownership decline from 70 per cent in 1981 to 67 per cent in 2021. The decline is particularly apparent among young people. For those aged 25-34, home ownership has decreased from 61 per cent to 43 per cent. In comparison, for those aged 55-64 home ownership has decreased from 81 per cent to 76 per cent. More than one type of home Ben Phillips, an associate professor from the ANU's Centre for Social Policy Research, says home purchase affordability is a substantial issue in Australia. He says that with more interest rate cuts expected this year and housing supply not keeping up with demand, it could be an issue for some time to come. Loading content... "The problem is clearly not unique to Australia, but house prices relative to income are very high in Australia and higher than most other developed nations," he says. However, he argues there are some policy reforms that could put the brakes on runaway house prices. "The main policies that would potentially improve affordability would be, firstly, supply-side reforms, particularly around zoning. "These reforms would increase the supply of new dwellings in well-located areas, particularly inner and middle-ring regions of major cities and towns," Mr Phillips says. He argues they would improve the efficiency of Australia's housing market with better located and less expensive housing styles, such as more townhouses and units and splitting large blocks into multiple dwellings. Help or hindrance Mr Phillips also argues that removing first home buyer grants and stamp duty discounts could ease house price growth. "While first home buyer grants do help some new buyers, it is also true that they likely lead to increases in house prices and may largely help those who were going to purchase anyway," he says. "Perhaps they purchase earlier than otherwise or buy a larger or better dwelling. "Stamp duty discounts also work in a similar way when directed toward first home buyers," Mr Phillips says. Independent property researcher and View economic expert Cameron Kusher agrees. "One of the reasons we've continued to see housing prices rise over recent decades is due to the type of support that governments, both state and federal, offer to first home buyers," Mr Kusher says. He argues the easiest way in which government could assist first home buyers to enter the housing market is to have cheaper housing. "But pretty much all of the incentives that are offered to assist first home buyers enter into the housing market... lead to further increases in property prices," he argues. "The assistance provided to first home buyers keeps getting larger and more creative and is more about helping first home buyers to enter the market at high prices and stimulate further price growth rather than to genuinely improve housing affordability," he says. Is regional housing the answer? Greater inter-connectivity between cities and to regional areas and increasing the supply of housing would also slow house price growth according to Mr Kusher. "What if we built faster rail from each of our larger capital cities to surrounding areas where housing is cheaper?" he proposes. "What if in Sydney you could commute within an hour and a half to Cessnock, Lithgow or Bathurst or within two hours to places like Goulburn and Canberra? What if in Melbourne you could commute much more quickly to Shepparton, Morwell, Bendigo or Ballarat? "I have no doubt that the much lower cost of housing in these areas and the fact that housing is available on larger lot sizes than new housing in the capital cities would see many choose to move to these areas," Mr Kusher argues, noting the approach would also require greater investment in new housing and infrastructure in regional areas. He says that an increase in the supply of housing could bring house prices down and could be facilitated in several ways. "This would include relaxing zoning restrictions and upzoning more sites for development, limiting heritage listing of properties, making the development application process more streamlined, speeding up the development approval process and investing in key infrastructure to enable more housing development," he says. Despite home ownership rates continuing to trend lower due to rising house prices, Mr Kusher argues that the issue of housing affordability is problematic for governments and policy makers.
AU Financial Review
18 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Trump's Fed pick puts the Aussie dollar in the spotlight
The Australian dollar could be one of the biggest beneficiaries from US President Donald Trump's continued attack on the independence of the Federal Reserve that has already unnerved financial markets and significantly weakened the greenback. Bank of America said of the world's 10 most traded currencies, buying the Aussie was the best way to trade the weakening US dollar, which it said could climb to as much as US69¢ from US64.61¢, currently.
