Manly Beach trophy for sale: Inside Australia’s rarest 717sqm beachfront penthouse with 30-metre frontage

Former investment banker Peter Hunt is selling his extraordinary penthouse in Sydney’s Manly Beach. Spanning an entire floor of uninterrupted ocean views, this luxury residence is set to break a new price record.

What is it like to wake up suspended between the sky and the golden sands of an iconic Manly beach?

Peter Hunt, a former investment banker turned philanthropist, is quick to answer as he and his wife, the soprano and social entrepreneur Tania de Jong, prepare to sell their beloved Manly penthouse with a price guide of $40 million. 

“It’s magical,” says Hunt. “It feels like the beach, the sea and the space within the apartment all come together as one beautiful whole.”  

His penthouse, just steps away from the water’s edge, has an enormous 30-metre frontage facing the Pacific. Apartments with a beachfront of that length are rare. And this one stands out further, with an almost cinematic experience of breathtaking, uninterrupted ocean views. 

“The long side faces the beach with all the views and openness and even with the short sides there are no adjoining buildings infringing the view lines,” says Hunt.  

On summer days, he often opens the glass sliding doors along the entire front to have a morning coffee while listening to the sound of the surf. Or he would slide all doors shut and watch the penthouse transform into a haven of peace and quiet, he says.  

Two apartments became one single-level penthouse 

Hunt bought the residence off the plan in 2008 with a bold vision: to create a grand luxury estate in the sky. Sitting atop boutique complex Waillea on North Steyne, the space was originally laid out as two separate top-floor apartments across 717 square metres on title. Hunt bought both and combined them to become one seamless, house-sized penthouse spanning an entire floor of 606 square metres of indoor and outdoor living space.

The price he paid at the time, $12.2 million, marked a record for apartment living in the area. It remained Manly’s top price for years until a flurry of activity from luxury buyers began to heat up the market. A newly-built cliffside house on nearby Bower St sold for more than $34 million in 2024, Manly’s current record.  

Apartment sales are thriving with local and international buyers after some of the best developers in Australia have invested here. James Packer and Tim Price have sold $80 million of stock off the plan at their development Two Tides. A penthouse atop the Oceania complex by property developer and Iris Capital founder Sam Arnout, sold off the plan for circa $22 million.  

It helps that Manly Beach was just voted Australia’s best beach, ahead of famous Bondi and the ninth best in the world, by Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards for the Best of the Best Beaches.  

Manly has become synonymous for cosmopolitan beachside living close to the city. Sydney’s Opera House is just a short ferry ride away. It’s home to epic surf breaks, wild snorkelling spots and popular hangouts, including wharf bar Felons and restaurant Cibaria by celebrated Italian chef Alesandro Pavoni. 

“It’s a statement like no other” 

Compared to other luxury apartments, Peter Hunt’s penthouse remains unrivalled with its commanding views and expansive whole-floor layout.  

The residence comes with five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a showpiece chef’s kitchen, jacuzzi, fireplace, outdoor shower and a large entertainer’s terrace, complete with two electric vergolas. Entry to the penthouse is via a lift. There’s also an oversized lock up garage in the basement to fit five cars. 

“I don’t think there is a beachfront penthouse like it in Sydney, maybe even Australia,” says Belle Property’s Anthony Calacoci, the agent handling the sale.  

“It’s a statement like no other and you will never get this again on the Manly beachfront.” 

Calacoci is confident that the price tag of $40 million meets the current market appetite for trophy homes in the area. He says recent sales confirm that luxury buyers are willing to pay for “bigger, better” prestige homes of that calibre. If achieved, the price would break the current record. 

The Waillea residence is priced at circa $100,000 per square metre. In comparison, anyone interested in a penthouse in Manly’s new beachfront complex Aurora – currently under construction by Multiplex – will need to pay well over $100,000 per square metre. Oceania units, next to The Steyne hotel, are achieving $85,000 per square metre.  

Hunt says he will “very much” miss the feeling of spaciousness as well as the incredible views of the beach and the sea.  

Hunt and his wife will permanently move to Byron Bay. Both lead a charity, Mind Medicine Australia, to facilitate further research into psychedelic-assisted therapies to treat depression, trauma and other mental ill-health.  

In 2018, he retired after a 37-year career in finance. He had co-founded boutique investment bank Caliburn Partners, which was later acquired by US-based investment bank Greenhill. Hunt stayed on as chairman. 

What he’ll miss most about Manly, says Hunt, is the ease of taking an ocean dip from the penthouse: “I can be in the water in minutes with all the energy of the surf enveloping me. What a way to wake up.” 

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For further details call Anthony Calacoci on 0406 314 188 

View the official property listing here.