The new landed wealth

There’s a place, just outside of Ballarat, on a remote country road far from Toorak or Brighton, where, according to many reports, the richest man in the world once lived. It’s an enormous spread of a house; a great castle-like structure set in grand grounds, with a lake, outbuildings and a magnificent walled garden more than an acre in size. Dame Nellie Melba lived here for a time (it’s said she loved throwing lavish parties) and it’s also been owned by other esteemed residents – Lord and Lady Currie among them. At the height of its glory it had 125 people on staff, including 13 gardeners. Today, there are just three.

Still, despite the changes to the staff roster, Ercildoune is still an imposing sight, rising majestically out of the rural Victorian landscape like a galleon at full sail out of the sea, especially since it’s been carefully restored by its current owners, John and Christine Dever. It may not host the parties it once did, or have the servants, but it’s still an amazing property. And the Devers are doing everything they can to improve its worth.

Ercildouane is just one country estate that’s found owners willing to invest in it. Larundel, south of Ballarat, is another. The equally magnificent 1600-hectare property set around a beautiful homestead and enormous garden, was purchased by Paul and Gabrielle Preat several years ago, who upped sticks from their life in Toorak to settle on the land. They set about improving the already-impressive garden, with its 10 outdoor ‘rooms’, and even installed a helipad, polo field and croquet lawn. Several years on, they’re putting it back on the market again.

Asking price? A cool $20 million.

Over in Woodend, the same scenario is taking place. The former Woodend school, a tiny structure set on a few acres beside a railway line, was bought by a well-known landscape designer, completely redesigned, and then eventually sold for several million dollars more – to another Melbourne investor who wanted the same dream. The designer took his profit and moved up the road to Kyneton – to create another rural idyll up there.

Country properties, it seems, are the cream of the crop at the moment, so to speak. Anyone with a few hundred thousand (or more) to spare is driving out to places such as Daylesford and Ballarat, Woodend and the Western Districts, and the Highlands in New South Wales, in search of a kind of rural utopia – and one that will prove highly profitable if they should ever sell down the track.

“People are spending big money,” says Philippe Batters, a Melbourne-based real estate agent who sells a lot of pastoral properties to city investors each year. “But
$20 million is not a great deal for these properties, especially when you can improve them with fencing, water supplies and stock or crops.”

Or racehorses. Thoroughbreds are becoming big business in the country, as is wagyu (beef) and organic farming. And of course fine wool is still going well. And then there are the smaller crops, such as olives. Even improving country gardens is enough to fix a property to the point where it can be sold for a profit – a little box hedging and some white gravel paths go a long way to improve a place now.

The key for these buyers, says Batters, is ‘The Dream’. They want to buy something that whispers of quiet idyll – of peace and the proverbial ‘serenity’ that we all seek – but at the back of their mind is the idea that they might be able to make some money out of it by on-selling it to someone else with the same dream – at a profit – at some stage in the future.

“These business professionals have gone through the hunter-gatherer stage of business and they’ve started yearning for something more; something idyllic but still tangible. They see country properties as a lyrical enterprise,” he says. “They imagine themselves in their old Land Cruisers, driving around the fenceline to survey their domain!”

And counting their money by the fire at the end of the day. Although country properties can be costly – fences don’t come cheap for a start; nor does firewood – they can make money if you know what to do.

“There is certainly a shift taking place from the city to the country, particularly at the top end of the market,” says Garry Gilkeson, of Inglis property agents in the Southern Highlands.

“The properties we’re talking about are generally $2 million to $4 million. And while these investors don’t buy to make money; they rarely lose money either.”

So what are these canny investors looking for in their rural searches? Well, land for a start. Lots of it.

“Land is the thing,” says Batters. “If you have lots of land, you’re doing well.”  Especially if that land is close to water sources, or is fertile. Views are also good. And a place close to a growing area is bound to do well.

Then architecture is key. If the property is a grand old homestead with good bones and great style, that all adds to the value. Failing that, anything that says ‘charming’ or ‘cute’ is going to add dollars to the resale, especially if you can enhance that cuteness in some way.

Look for things such as fireplaces and wraparound verandahs, for example, or cute gardens with potential to do more. Lots of bedrooms are also good (for all the guests who are bound to drop by).

Lastly, look for proximity to the city. Because while the country is lovely, a lot of urbanites start to miss the buzz and bustle of town after a while and long to return ‘home’ to it, even during the week. If you can find a country property that’s only two hours from a major city, and thus has the potential to appeal to both camps – city and country people – you’re well on your way to a profitable investment.