Real housewives of Sydney star Nicole O’Neil has been spending more time in New York City, but that’s not the reason she revealed she’d happily give up her $17m Vaucluse mansion.
Ms O’Neil’s Eastern Suburbs mansion is her “dream home”. After purchasing the home almost 10 years ago, she renovated and redesigned the home to her exact specifications.
“People talk about how stressful a renovation is, but I loved the project so much and the experience of renovating,” she said.
In New York with her two daughters.
The mum of two has been spending more time in New York since her daughters moved to the USA for college, yet she’s not giving up her Eastern Suburbs lifestyle to switch it out for life in the Big Apple.
“Sydney is a beautiful city, living in the eastern suburbs we are completely blessed, I don’t think you realise that until you live away,” she said.
Her love for renovating and design was however a reason she’d give up the Vaucluse home, explaining how she’d love to find a house to renovate and do it all again.
“I’ve gone and looked at four, five, six houses since,” she said. “It helps that we had an amazing builder … he knows exactly what I want.”
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Nicole O’Neil revealed she would give up her dream Vaucluse home if she could renovate again.
Their home has been listed on the market more than once since, with price guides around $16m-$17m, however it appears Ms O’Neil still hasn’t found the perfect new property to renovate to warrant giving up the home.
Ms O’Neil and husband Adam purchased the home in 2016, which she said was “difficult” at the time as there wasn’t a lot on the market. Reports show they purchased for around $7m.
“By then we had lived in so many houses we knew exactly what we wanted.”
From living in Sydney, Dubai and London, Ms O’Neil said she’d learnt a lot of real estate lessons along the way.
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Nicole O’Neil’s Vaucluse home.
“I can see how investing in property is so crucial, because markets shift so quickly, to be able to invest in a property in Sydney… I cannot believe how expensive the market has become and what stock is around, there’s very little turnover, people are really holding onto there properties and that’s what is driving the cost up,” she said.
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“My advice to the girls (her daughters) when they start working, start investing even if they buy an investment property, just get in somewhere along the way, a lot of people wait because it’s not their dream house.”
Ms O’Neil designed the kitchen exactly to her specifications.
Ms O’Neil had also locked in a short term rental on the Upper East Side.
“We have an apartment there, it’s been an incredible experience, it’s a very vibrant colourful cit,” she said.
“The beauty about renting, you don’t have to have this long term commitment,” she said.
She said securing the right property in New York was harder than she anticipated.
“It’s not easy, they all use brokers there,” she said.
“I always dreamt of going and spending time there, I would never get enough time to do what I wanted to do, I could never go to all the galleries and Broadway shows I wanted to and that’s what I’ve been doing.
“I’ve learnt to take the subway, I don’t have the patience to sit in the car,” she said.
Nicole O’Neil has returned for the third season of Real Housewives of Sydney.
Enjoying New York with husband Adam and her two daughters.
Ms O’Neil has returned for the third season of The Real Housewives of Sydney, now available to stream on BINGE which she called “an interesting season.”
“But a great season, it’s full of colour, of life, laughter, everything,” she said.
Not wanting to reveal too much of the drama, she said “lets just say it’s a real exploration of female friendship.”
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