Jamie Durie slashes price of Avalon mansion by $15m

Celebrity gardener and eco build pioneer Jamie Durie is not immune to Sydney’s current market woes, and as a result has given his sustainable dream house a severe price cutback this spring.

The horticulturist turned TV presenter has now slashed $15m off his original price hopes for the extraordinary Avalon waterfront mansion he built from the ground up.

Belah House, was the premiere subject of Durie’s lifestyle show, Growing Home, which showcased the intricacies of building a mammoth off-grid mansion in the coveted Northern Beaches enclave.

Just months prior to first listing the property for sale in October last year, Durie told News Corp that buyers had been circling.

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Jamie Durie at the AACTA Awards Industry Gala earlier this year on the Gold Coast. Picture, Portia Large.

The remarkable home was first listed last October.

The home is designed by Silvester Fuller Architects.

“We’ve had a couple of random offers. I think they can see that we’ve created something quite future-proof and forward-thinking. But we want to enjoy the house for a while. We’ve worked a long time and are not ready to give it up yet,” he said.

Belah House, which hit the market late last year with expectations of fetching about $33m, has undergone a series of price reductions after Durie and his singer-songwriter partner, Ameka Jane, decided to permanently relocate to the family’s property in northern NSW with their two children Beau and Nash.

The price guide reportedly then dropped to $30m, then to $28m ahead of a planned March auction this year. By August it was asking about $25m.

Belah House will now go under the hammer with a guide of $18m at a yet-to-be-announced private auction marketed through Ray White Double Bay’s Adam Reichman and Ashley Bierman, Sotheby’s Michael Pallier and McGrath’s James Baker.

MORE: Durie claims pool water is “drinkable’

An infinity-edge pool looks out over Pittwater.

The original home on the 1017 sqm site was mid-century weekender.

Durie bought the 1017sq m Riverview Rd property in 2015 for $2.275m – which at the time housed an original mid-century weekender – before engaging Silvester Fuller Architects to create the ambitious new build.

Completed just last year after a five-year design and construction process, Belah House was conceived by Durie as a showcase for sustainable architecture and biophilic design.

The now five-level, five-bedroom, six-bathroom residence features an internal lift, guest accommodation, home cinema and a wellness retreat with sauna, steam room and ice bath.

There is a double-height living area, a statement spotted gum staircase and a full-width deck overlooking an infinity-edge pool and Pittwater.

External spaces include 14 different gardens with entertaining levels including a private beach and a 200sq m rooftop lawn.

Durie described the home as an environmental experiment.

Every decision about the home had to respect the landscape.

Durie designed the property’s native gardens to cascade down the 37-degree sloping site towards the water, while a 160sq m rooftop garden provides sweeping views across the harbour.

When speaking about the project last year, Durie described it as an environmental experiment, incorporating solar power, geothermal heating and cooling, sustainable concrete and extensive energy-efficiency measures.

“We’re the only house in Sydney with this technology; a combination of solar panels plus geothermal and sustainable concrete,” he said, adding the process of building on such a site meant every decision had to respect the landscape.

“It’s not just about fitting the house onto the land, but making sure the land feels part of the home,” he said.

“Luxury comes in all different forms, but true luxury is to reconnect with nature, and that’s why I built this house.”

Durie has claimed thata the swimming pool in the incredible home is so pristine, it is ‘drinkable’.

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