The Block Star's landscaping behind $4.85m Aberfeldie sale
The five-bedroom residence at 38 Aberdeen St combines bold architectural form and resort-style landscaping by The Block's long-serving garden guru Dave Franklin.
Mr Franklin, who has worked across more than a dozen seasons of the renovation series, is known for creating high-impact outdoor spaces that blend dramatic structure with lush plantings.
He has also co-hosted the lifestyle series The Garden Hustle, helping everyday Aussies transform their gardens.
For 38 Aberdeen St, Franklin Landscape & Design delivered a backyard oasis featuring a fully tiled lap pool, architectural trees and a Goalrilla basketball half court, framed by manicured hedging and mature greenery for privacy.
The home's interior was crafted by design firm Studiomint and showcases luxury across three lift-connected levels.
Each of the five oversized bedrooms includes a deluxe ensuite, while the main suite boasts a walk-in robe, gas fireplace, freestanding bath and private balcony.
Matthews Moonee Valley director John Matthews said the home had previously been listed with another agency before he was engaged to reposition it with a high-impact digital campaign.
'It was definitely one of the more memorable sales I've done recently,' Mr Matthews said.
'The seller had purchased it in 2022 for $4.7m and, despite the tougher market conditions, we were able to secure a result above that.'
Mr Matthews said the relaunch included cinematic video, twilight photography, a 3D tour that leaned into the property's glamorous style.
'It felt like a rockstar's pad,' he said.
'It was bold, indulgent, think moody designer finishes, full smart automation, a dumbwaiter, and a home cinema that wouldn't look out of place in Beverly Hills.'
The chef's kitchen is fitted with Gaggenau cooking appliances, Liebherr fridge and freezer, and a butler's pantry with dual Bosch dishwashers.
An alfresco terrace with built-in barbecue flows seamlessly from the main living space, while a glass-walled wine cellar, custom study, and four-car garage add to the home's functional luxury.
The Matthews Moonee Valley director estimated it would cost about $6m to replicate the home today, factoring in around $4m in construction and $2m in land value.
'You simply couldn't rebuild this for what it sold for,' Mr Matthews said.
'There was no compromise anywhere in the design.'
It is the fourth Aberfeldie property to sell for more than $4m this past year, and the highest so far in 2025, following other results around $4m-$5m.
Mr Matthews said the sale reflected renewed confidence in the inner northwestern prestige market as buyers increasingly looked beyond the traditional eastern suburbs for quality family homes.
'This area offers value that's hard to beat, proximity to the CBD, airport, schools, and more space for your money,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
- Daily Telegraph
Best time to buy and sell homes: each Aussie suburb revealed
Don't miss out on the headlines from Property. Followed categories will be added to My News. Forget what your mate in real estate told you — new research has blown the lid off the housing market's best-kept secret: seasonal timing. The analysis of 10 years' worth of Aussie property sales by Ray White Economics has revealed the real estate calendar is far more explosive than anyone thought — and one season's bargain is another suburb's blowout. The data showed homebuyers generally landed the best deals right before and after Christmas, while sellers raked in more cash in autumn, when listings were lower and competition among buyers was higher. But don't start circling March or December on your calendar just yet — experts warned the perfect time to buy or sell varies wildly across the country, with some suburbs breaking all the rules. Search the interactive graphic below to see the best time to buy and sell houses in your suburb. . Property Cost of living pressures have failed to dampen unit sales, with a pair of developers clearing more than $200m in six months across two tower projects. FULL STORY Property The future of a luxury eco resort in the Gold Coast Hinterland will be decided within days. FIND OUT MORE
The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
Brisbane-based Swyftx will buy Melbourne-based Caleb & Brown
Australian cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx has sealed a mega deal to acquire a US-focused crypto brokerage targeting millionaires in Donald Trump's self-declared 'crypto capital of the planet'. The acquisition is believed to be worth between $100m and $200m. Brisbane-based Swyftx will buy Melbourne-based Caleb & Brown, which has built a business focused on rich US private investors who are increasingly piling into crypto assets after President Trump declared he wanted to make the country the world's crypto capital. Such investors have at least $1m in liquid assets. The acquisition, the largest crypto deal ever in Australasia, comes three months after Swyftx signed a deal to buy Easy Crypto, New Zealand's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Swyftx has successfully emerged from challenges in recent years, chiefly a failed merger in 2022 with rival Superhero to create a wealth management platform administering $1.5bn in cryptocurrency, direct equities and superannuation assets. The same year it sacked 90 staff, equivalent to more than one-third of its employees, amid the brutal downturn in trading volumes following the collapse of US-based crypto exchange FTX. Swyftx chief executive Jason Titman said the deal was 'laser-focused on supporting high rolling crypto investors in the US'. The US accounts for about a quarter of all global trade volumes in cryptocurrency. 'We're entering a golden age for digital assets,' said Mr Titman, who declined to value the deal except to say it was in the 'tens of millions'. 'There are a lot of the new breed of wealthy investors who want a service that is ultra client-centric, with around-the-clock access to broker expertise.' Mr Titman said the election of Mr Trump has sparked surging interest in crypto. 'There has been a 180-degree shift in the US since the Trump administration came in last November in terms of crypto,' he said. Trump's pick of Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to end a crypto crackdown introduced under President Biden. 'High net worth individuals are always sensitive to the regulatory environment and they don't want to be investing money in an asset class that has got some level of government risk,' he said. 'A lot of that political risk was taken out when the Trump administration was elected.' Caleb & Brown, which has more than $2bn of digital assets under custody, was founded by Rupert Hackett and Dr Prash Puspanathan in 2016. It is led by partner Jackson Zeng and employs 64 team members across Australia and the US. Mr Titman said a typical US client had generally made their fortune in traditional industries, such as property or medicine, but wanted exposure to crypto. 'They are understanding that Bitcoin that's gone up 1200 per cent over the last five years and is the fastest growing and a highest asset growth of all time and it is something that they want to participate in,' he said. 'Previously they might have invested in an office building, in equities, maybe some bonds, maybe some Forex currency trading. They have millions of dollars of free investable cash and that's the customer base that we now have access to.' Swyftx, founded in a Brisbane bedroom in 2017 by young entrepreneurs Angus Goldman and Alex Harper, will employ just under 300 team members on completion of the deal. It is now one of the region's largest digital asset brokerages with more than 1.2 million customers. Mr Titman's career, which has spanned accountancy, hotel development and e-commerce, said Swyftx was moving beyond its start-up roots into the corporate big league or what he termed from 'hoodies to suits'. Mr Titman said he expected to see a collection of cryptocurrencies, known as stable coins, eventually replacing traditional cash for investment and trading. He said Swyftx was looking at several other acquisitions. 'There is a larger plan coming together here for Swyftx. Part of it's organic, part of it's partnerships and part of it's mergers and acquisitions,' he said. 'This is our second transaction after Easy Crypto and it is about getting a different customer base. It also fast tracks our move into the US, which I've been interested in doing for some time.' Read related topics: Donald Trump Glen Norris Senior Business Reporter Glen Norris has worked in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo with stints on The Asian Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and South China Morning Post. Economics The message from business to Anthony Albanese's challenge is not to overcomplicate the process, but there has to be a real appetite for change. Business Business leaders have demanded Anthony Albanese delivers a broad reform package at August's roundtable. 'Of course the PM should be worried … Why would we want to be the 15th or the 16th or the 17th of anything?' asked Paul Schroder.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Australia property: Sea-change towns where home sellers made the most money
Lawless said the pandemic, lockdowns and the shift to working from home drove the rapid change in these markets because office workers in cities chose to move to lifestyle locations once they were no longer required to go into work to do their jobs. The shift delivered a huge windfall for long-time owners, but created a new affordability crisis for locals yet to buy a home, he said. Loading 'Without a doubt, there's been a huge amount of wealth creation for home owners who have been fortunate enough to own a house in these markets,' he said. 'But if you're looking to get into these markets, affordability has become a real challenge.' Watts Property Group principal Adam Watts said Noosa's market was no longer booming, but had stabilised post-lockdowns because the area's high prices attracted well-off buyers who had more flexibility to work from home. 'It's better than a normal market. For myself, we're still getting strong inquiry and turning over properties,' he said. 'People are a little bit more frugal with their money, and they want to know they're paying the right price.' Watts said sought-after pockets in popular suburbs had enjoyed the biggest growth in profits. Byron Bay Real Estate agent Peter Yopp said his area had taken a hit in the return-to-work slowdown. 'We're seeing a mixture at the moment. There were a lot of high prices paid during COVID, and people have left to go back where they've come from. The market's just not there any more,' he said. 'That feels like a decade ago now. We've gone to the moon and come back. We've been through the ringer and a lot of people are still very transient.' Efforts to reduce the number of holiday rentals in central Byron had also cut back demand, Yopp said, which had made it harder for some vendors to sell. 'There's definitely not too many making profits at the moment. The only ones who made the really good [profits] are the ones who held for a while or bought in early COVID,' he said. 'The top end is doing really well; you can pretty much name your price. But the mum and dad stuff … anything below $2 million is doing well, but anything above $2 million or needs some work is not doing well.' Loading In the Victorian alpine region, the market was buoyed by the rigid stock levels in skiing locations but had seen a fall-off in demand after COVID-era restrictions ended, Zirky Real Estate director Christina Smit said. Bright, a town at the foot of the region's mountains, had been developed further following the pandemic tree-change trend, she said. 'There's limited stock numbers in alpine resorts … it's not like it was in Bright.' Smit said greater flexibility to work from home won during lockdowns had permanently boosted demand in the mountain region, as well as a growing reputation as a summer holiday destination. Long-time residents profited the most from the tree-change boom. 'If they've held for a long time, then yes. They would have seen large growth with the COVID pricing. That growth has held pretty stable now, but we're not seeing that influx in pricing at the moment,' Smit said.
