Gavin and Raylee McLeod when they won an award at Tuggerah McDonalds several years ago.
A lot’s changed on the Central Coast since Gavin and Raylee McLeod started out as casuals on the counter at McDonalds when they were 15.
The opening of Northconnex in 2020 cut travel times between Sydney and Terrigal to an hour, on a good day.
And big money started moving in, including celebrities like former supermodel Jennifer Hawkins and her husband Jake Wall, who bought a ‘knockdown’ for $6m in 2022 at Terrigal.
The same year, the Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and his wife Kim Jackson snapped up a beachfront at North Avoca for close to $11m.
And now the McLeods are selling their pride an joy, an incredible beachfront residence called ‘Ocean House’ that took four years to build at Wamberal.
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Grand estate set to smash price records
57 Ocean View Drive, Wamberal is on a 1014 sq m beachfront block.
Spectacular views.
Listed with McGrath Terrigal’s Mat Steinwede, the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence with a four-car garage has a $25m price guide that’s set to obliterate the Central Coast record.
“We both enjoyed working at McDonalds in various capacities, from working on the front desk into upper management,” Gavin said.
“Over the years, we bought and sold 10 restaurants from the Central Coast to Newcastle.”
They sold a lot over Big Macs over that time, and in 2019 were able to rustle up $3.95m to purchase a little beachside cottage with a DA for new home on a 1014sqm block at 57 Ocean View Drive.
“We lived there for a couple of years and modified the plans a bit,” Gavin said.
“I love this house.
“It’s private and quiet … you can sit in the spa and sunken lounge and no-one can see you when they’re walking past on the beach.
“And you’ve got these spectacular views of the moonlight, sunrise, and the lights of Terrigal.”
The four-level home took four years to build. A lift glides between each level.
Even the geothermal-heated pool is smart: it cleans itself and has Olympic-grade swim jets.
But now that their three kids have moved out, they’re looking to downsize, and Steinwede is confident the property will set a new benchmark, smashing the current Central Coast record of $16.2m for a home at Wagstaffe in 2022.
“The construction for the Wamberal house was in the vicinity of $22m and I’ve just sold a knockdown nearby for $11.5m,” Steinwede said.
“It’s probably the best home I’ve ever been in, with amazing workmanship and construction.
“It’s like a piece of art on the beach.”
A collaboration between architects White + Dickson and high-end builder Tecorp, the home, on a 1014sqm block, has state-of-the-art technology throughout and every luxury you can imagine, including a high-speed commercial lift that glides between all four levels.
Even the geothermal-heated pool is smart: it cleans itself and has Olympic-grade swim jets.
Steinwede says the opening of Northconnex was a game-changer for the Central Coast.
“We’ve got beautiful beaches, just an hour from Sydney,” he said.
McGrath agent Mat Steinwede: “We’ve got beautiful beaches, just an hour from Sydney.”
The home is a collaboration between architects White + Dickson and high-end builder Tecorp.
There are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
“Northconnex changed our access, you don’t have to travel for hours to get to Byron or down south to Hyams Beach.
“It just makes sense for a family — you can’t have kids sitting in the back for more than an hour or two, forget it!”
PropTrack data shows that house prices in Wamberal have jumped 44 per cent to a $1.55m median over the five years since Northconnex opened and 56 per cent to a median of $1.44m in Terrigal.
And the growth has been even higher in Copacabana, rising 75 per cent to more than $1.63m and 66 per cent to $1.69 to Avoca Beach.
This compares with 45 per cent growth at Kiama and 33 per cent growth at Hyams Beach on the south coast.
PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore says Northconnex has to have been a contributing factor to the Central Coast’s price growth.
“Connectivity is something that many buyers will value,” he said.
“The changes post-Covid that mean people are less tied to commuting and living close to the inner city have favoured more-outlying areas of our cities, like the Central Coast, that offer typically more affordable homes while still being commutable.
“With prices up more than 50 per cent since the start of the pandemic, we will see more multimillion-dollar sales on the Central Coast than was once the case.”
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