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After years spent firmly rooted in Penrith, NRL superstar Nathan Cleary has reportedly made a rather idyllic move towards the coast, snapping up a $5.5 million property in Curl Curl on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. And while you might expect the four-time premiership winner’s latest purchase to be a sprawling celebrity mansion, Nathan Cleary’s Curl Curl house is surprisingly understated.
The original 1950s cottage has four bedrooms, just one bathroom and sits on a 510-square-metre block. Its biggest luxury, however, is something no renovation can manufacture: the ocean is around 100 metres away, with the property enjoying sweeping water views.
Nathan Cleary’s Curl Curl house is all about location
There’s a reason location is the oldest cliché in real estate. Sitting moments from Curl Curl Beach, the home offers the kind of coastal lifestyle Sydneysiders dream about: morning swims, sandy feet and the ocean practically at the end of the street.
For Cleary, the Northern Beaches also comes with a sense of familiarity. The 28-year-old spent part of his childhood in the area, with his family previously living in Newport before relocating closer to Penrith during his father Ivan Cleary’s coaching career. His parents have since returned to Newport.
The Curl Curl purchase, reportedly made earlier this year, marks a significant change of scenery for the player whose home life and career have become so closely associated with Western Sydney.
A humble beach cottage with plenty of potential
For now, the existing house is refreshingly unflashy.
The original four-bedroom cottage occupies a generous coastal block and, with only one bathroom, certainly doesn’t read like the typical multi-million-dollar celebrity home.
Of course, it’s the land and position that make Nathan Cleary’s Curl Curl house particularly interesting. There has already been speculation that the ageing cottage could one day make way for a new luxury home, although no development application or architectural plans have been lodged for the property.
Until then, there’s something rather charming about one of rugby league’s biggest names owning an old-school beach cottage within strolling distance of the surf.
Nathan Cleary is no stranger to renovating
If Cleary does eventually decide to give his new coastal home an overhaul, it wouldn’t be his first renovation.
The Panthers halfback previously transformed his riverside Penrith home with Alicia Xiberras Interiors, embracing a moodier, contemporary aesthetic across its living spaces and bathroom and even adding a putting green outside.
He has also owned a renovated 1970s home in Penrith, purchased for $1.05 million shortly after his 21st birthday. That four-bedroom property featured an updated kitchen and bathroom, swimming pool and an alfresco entertaining area overlooking the backyard.
His latest acquisition is on an entirely different scale, but it might be the simplest property in his portfolio.
And with Curl Curl Beach almost at the doorstep, we can see the appeal.
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