Ponga's unforgettable purchase
Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga drew controversy in August following his $2.4 million purchase of a run-down house at Merewether.
It wasn't the sale that raised eyebrows though.
That same night the 24-year-old NRL player was infamously escorted out of a toilet cubicle with teammate Kurt Mann at the Delany Hotel in Cooks Hill.
Ponga's father released a statement that cited the new house purchase as the reason his son was enjoying a celebratory drink.
The 1930s weatherboard and tile home is a classic knockdown rebuild contender and is located within walking distance to Dixon Park Beach, Bar Beach and Merewether Beach.
The property previously sold for $795,000 in September 2008.
The sale added to Ponga's growing property portfolio, which includes a three-bedroom house in Charlestown purchased in November 2021 for $950,000.
Newcastle's "cheapest house" sells way over reserve
A ramshackle Hexham property with a guide of $90,000 to $99,000 attracted 28 registered bidders at auction in June before selling under the hammer for $200,000.
Last sold in 1981 for $13,000, the property (which is positioned on a busy main road and next to the rail line) had been abandoned for a long time.
The listing agent Ryan O'Connor, of Ray White MRT, said solicitors handling the sale had considered accepting an offer of $80,000 before proceeding with the auction.
"It was always going to be popular, we were probably just taken aback by the price that was out there," he said.
"It's pretty hard to find something that cheap that's 20 minutes from Newcastle."
Speers Point mansion sells for $10 million
A monstrous house with an equally monstrous price tag at Speers Point was arguably the most talked about property story of the year in the region.
The sale attracted interest from across Australia and overseas but in the end, it was snapped up by a local buyer from Merewether.
Set across two levels on a 2078 square metre block with a wide frontage and lake views, the house boasted an indoor pool with a spa, a slide and a sunken lounge area with in-ground fire pit.
Selling agent Anthony Di Nardo from Belle Property described the house as a "once-in-a-lifetime property.
The residence drew much curiosity during the two-year construction phase given the size of the home.
Inside spans a whopping 1132 square metres of internal floor space.
East Maitland pub's massive $51m sale
How much is a pub worth?
If it's the Windsor Castle Hotel in East Maitland, it's worth an eye-watering $51 million.
The sale set an inland regional record when it sold off-market in August, pulling in the huge sum after being purchased by Sydney-based Harvest Hotels, who run seven other venues across Albury, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, the Central Coast and Tamworth.
Windsor Castle had been owned by Sean O'Hara and Nick Quinn, who paid an undisclosed sum for it in 2015.
The venue generates more than $4 million in earnings (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) annually and has 30 gaming machine entitlements.
The sale price topped the $33 million paid in April for Mount Hutton's Lake Macquarie Tavern, which also has 30 gaming machine entitlements, and the $30 million-plus paid for the Merewether Beach Hotel.
Iconic Maitland residence sells for huge sum
Retired couples typically opt to downsize when they reach retirement.
But not prominent business and property owners Catherine and Kevin Blach.
In May, the couple splashed $3.2 million on Maitland's 1879-built mansion 'Cintra' at 34 Regent Street with plans to retire in the home.
The couple purchased the 30-plus-room mansion as their main home and told Real Estate View they would return the grand residence to its former glory.
Eventually, they plan to open the property for public visiting days.
Boasting a mammoth 965 square metre floor plan, Cintra was built for the Levy and Cohen families, and was owned by four generations of the Long family between 1917 and 2022.
It retains its original stables, several outdoor buildings, and attained heritage listing in 2012.
Knights star buys ex-teammate's house
NRL star Paul Harragon's premiership teammate Adam MacDougall couldn't pass up the opportunity when the former Knights captain listed his Whitebridge home for sale.
MacDougall and his wife Belinda purchased the Burwood Road property that sold for $7,375,00 in March.
It's small change for the couple who together created the hugely successful business brand, The Man Shake.
Earlier this year it was reported that a major investor paid more than $400 million to buy into the Man Shake business.
The five-bedroom estate sold after just 10 days on the market.
In that time 30 groups inspected the 2.15 acre property, including buyers from Sydney, the Hunter Valley, and overseas-based Australian buyers.
Harragon and wife Pam, who have three children, lived at the property for 27 years before putting it on the market.
Merewether record smashed with $10.25m sale
A beachfront house on the corner of John Parade and Berner Street sold off-market for a staggering $10.25 million in May.
The sale not only broke the suburb record for Merewether but also smashed the record for the Newcastle region, adding more than $1.5 million to the $8.7 million benchmark set in September 2021 by Merewether's heritage-listed 44 Kilgour Avenue.
Before that, Newcastle's sale record was held by 38 John Parade, a four-bedroom home that sold for $7.25 million in September 2020.
The two-level property on John Parade last sold for $2.6 million in 2011 with Robinson Property's Ben Robinson.
