Richmond Lowlands estate home to Sydney Polo Club hits the market

A stunning 115ha commercial farm in Richmond Lowlands, home to the Sydney Polo Club and used to film shows like Farmer Wants a Wife is on the market.

The farm has a picturesque homestead, three polo fields, stables for 38 horses, two undercover riding arenas, a clubhouse, water allocation for 507ML, plus three workers cottages and a lake. The estate is made up of 14 separate land titles.

The Sydney Polo Club sits on part of the property and in 2017 it hosted the XI FIP World Polo Championships.

The property is owned by the co-founder of Mortgage Choice, Peter Higgins.  In July Mortgage Choice was acquired by REA Group, the publisher of this website.

The tranquility of the property and watching the birdlife the lake attracts are key selling points, according to Mr Higgins.

“I love watching the birds set themselves up for the night as the sun sets over the Blue Mountains – I find it totally poetic and fascinating every time. And of course the parties in the clubhouses have been really special to me,” he said.

“There are four houses on the property that people can live in. First and foremost it’s a home and lifestyle property.”

The property has 38 stables. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

Mr Higgins has owned the property for about 15 to 20 years and has decided to sell following triple bypass surgery two years ago.

“Everyone who comes to the property – you see their jaw drop and there’s no doubt about it,  I’ll miss it.

“But you know, I’m getting on in life and my kids are all grown up and it’s time to move on,” he said.

While the property is set up for equine related industries such as show jumping, polo and horse racing, it has other sources of income most notably its Wagyu and Angus beef cattle, lucerne hay and the breeding program it runs for polo horses some of whom have been exported overseas.

The property hosted the XI FIP World Polo Championships in 2017. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

The property has also appeared as a location for a range of reality television shows including The Bachelor, the Bachelorette, Married At First Sight, Farmers Wants A Wife and Big Brother plus films such as The Great Gatsby and Peter Rabbit 2 have also been filmed there.

The sale of the Sydney Polo Club comes at a time when interest from buyers in commercial farming is on the rise, views per listing for farms on realcommercial.com.au jumped by 10% in August compared to July. The biggest uplift in views per listing for commercial farms, month-on-month came from NSW which saw a 28% rise in August.

The estate would appeal to buyers interested in the equine facilities as well as those looking for a tranquil getaway located just over 40 kilometres from the Blue Mountains Mr Higgins said.

“An astute investor would be interested in this property, looking to gain significant lifestyle benefits and massive enjoyment from the estate while having peace of mind that they own a piece of highly appreciating land that’s less than an hour from Sydney CBD,” he said.

Films and reality television shows have used the property as a location for filming. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy

The property has already received a mix of enquiries and has a broad base of appeal, according to agent Ken Jacobs with Forbes Global Properties. The property is listed with both Ray White Rural NSW and Forbes Global Properties.

“It’s a famed polo field – there’s an increasing interest internationally in equestrian facilities as well as polo, and the fact that it’s 115 hectares within 60 minutes of the CBD is fantastic for the land banking opportunity for the future,” Mr Jacobs said.

“Interested buyers have mainly been Australian so far, but we’re also getting some overseas, especially US at the moment.”

“Sydney is being pushed out towards the mountains and the Hawkesbury region is benefitting from that and the second airport will also be another thing that will push up that whole western region,” he said.

While Mr Higgins wouldn’t be drawn on the price of the property, it was briefly listed for sale for $75 million in 2019 and is being sold via a tendering process which closes 29 October.

“We don’t have a price guide as we are planning to accept the highest price offered. We are committed to selling,” he said.