24-07-2025
Pool builder's insane $13m payday
An Aussie pool builder is making a splash in the real estate market after selling four waterfront blocks of land for an eye-popping $13m.
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.
