Looking for somewhere to park your fortune while the stockmarket falls through the floor?
The time is right to buy that country manor you've been yearning for.
The good news is there are plenty of massive rural properties and sprawling, well-appointed homesteads on the market.
How does Larundel, near Ballarat, Vic, sound?
Sitting on 1000 hectares, the homestead and connected buildings boast nine bedrooms, six bathrooms, a polo field and gardens designed by prominent landscape architect Paul Bangay.
And it's just a 20-minute commute from Port Melbourne — using the helipad.
The agent is asking for around $20 million.
Or how about Longerenong Homestead near Horsham, Vic, a heritage-listed, refurbished, two-storey, 60-square Gothic mansion with library, three-room cellar and a domed ceiling in the ballroom?
Does the Murray River country appeal? Nangunia Station, near Berrigan, Vic, offers 2500 hectares and a Victorian homestead with five large bedrooms, a parlour and a butler's room, as well as a heated swimming pool, five-stand shearing shed with undercover capacity for 500 woolly sheep, and a dressage arena. The estimated sale price is $5.7 million to $6 million.
These are on top of the 16 Packer family properties up north (reportedly worth about $425 million) that James Packer has put up for sale.
And the Tipperary Group of five cattle stations — 926,000 hectares, south of Darwin — that Melbourne barrister Allan Myers has put on the market for about $200 million.
"There's a bit of a spurt on for high-end pastoral properties," says Jock Langley, director of Abercromby's Real Estate, which is handling the Larundel sale.
The weaker Australian dollar, which helps our exports, strong demand for beef in Asia, and the credit crunch, which has severely dampened investors' ability to borrow, have all helped focus investors on rural properties.
"With the uncertainty created by the credit crunch, it's shifted to that part of the cycle," says Langley.
"People want a solid, long-term investment.
"They see the rural sector as good superannuation.
"It's a good time to be moving to the country."
John Dalton of Elders, which is handling the Nangunia Station sale, says if you are interested in a farm, buying at this time of year — the beginning of farming's annual cycle — allows you to take the property in a new direction, instead of being locked into the decisions of the previous owner.
"We're getting a lot of city investors, as well as country, looking at the moment," he says.
He says investors do a lot more homework than they did 10 years ago, and properties that don't need money spent on them after purchase — such as Nangunia — are particularly in demand.
South Tahara, near Wagga Wagga, NSW, in the Riverina, is another property with plenty to offer.
It's expected to bring more than $20 million, which will get you a 2600-hectare estate, 10 hectares of gardens and a Georgian-inspired residence.
The nearby historic Bulgary Station — 4400 hectares including 25 kilometres of river frontage on the Murrumbidgee — has recently been snapped up for an estimated $25 million.
And if your tastes are more humble, maybe Pineview, near Malmsbury in central Victoria, is more your speed.
Sitting on about 50 hectares, the 19th century bluestone homestead with historic sheds has seen better days.
The agent suggests taking on the challenge of restoring it or just starting all over again — subject to council approval.
A relative bargain at only $590,000.
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