PHOTO: Shark Tank Australia investor Maxine Horne. GC Bulletin.
A luxury Sunshine Coast beach house sale has delivered one of Australia’s biggest residential wins of 2025, with a Shark Tank Australia investor walking away with a spectacular return just in time for Christmas.
💰 A blockbuster coastal sale
Investor and entrepreneur Maxine Horne has sold her newly completed beachfront mansion on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for a reported $28.5 million, setting a new price benchmark for the area this year.
The sale is understood to be the highest residential result locally in 2025, eclipsing a nearby Noosa Heads transaction earlier in the year that achieved just under $27 million.
Shark Tank Australia investor Maxine Horne
📍 Bought as bare land — then transformed
Horne purchased the Sunrise Beach, Noosa site as a vacant block for $12.5 million in 2023, before commissioning a statement, three-level coastal residence designed to maximise uninterrupted ocean views.
The property was passed in at auction earlier this month but was subsequently sold shortly after construction was completed — a move that ultimately delivered a significant premium.
🏡 Inside the ‘Maravilla’ mansion
The resort-style home, known as Maravilla, offers a high-end lifestyle rarely seen even in Noosa’s prestige market.
Key features include:
🛏️ Six bedrooms and six bathrooms
🌊 Sweeping ocean views across multiple levels
🍷 Lower-level wet bar, wine cellar and entertaining zone
💪 Dedicated wellness area with gym, spa, plunge pool and infrared sauna
🛌 Entire-floor master suite with dressing room and luxury ensuite
🍽️ Top-floor kitchen and dining opening to pool deck and alfresco terrace
An infinity pool with custom built-in daybeds completes the property’s hotel-grade finish.
📈 A record-setting result for the area
While details of the buyer remain confidential, agents involved in the transaction have confirmed the price represents a new local high for 2025, underlining the continued strength of Australia’s prestige coastal market.
Despite broader market moderation in some regions, premium beachfront property — particularly in tightly held locations like Noosa — continues to attract global-level pricing.
👩💼 The business powerhouse behind the sale
Horne is best known as the co-founder of Vita Group, a tech retail business that grew into a major national operator.
Her entrepreneurial journey began with the launch of Fone Zone on the Gold Coast in the mid-1990s, eventually growing Vita Group into a business generating hundreds of millions in annual revenue.
In 2021, Horne sold key IT interests in the company to Telstra in a deal reportedly worth $110 million. The wider business was later acquired by Sonic Healthcare in 2024.
🏘️ A well-timed move in a strong portfolio
The Noosa sale is just one part of a broader property portfolio.
In recent years, Horne has:
Sold a Brisbane New Farm home for $18 million
Retained a Brisbane residence in Newstead valued at over $5 million
The latest transaction highlights how strategic site selection, timing, and high-end execution can still deliver outsized returns at the top end of the market.
🧭 What it says about prestige property in 2025
While much of the housing market remains price-sensitive, this sale reinforces a clear theme:
scarce, blue-chip coastal property continues to operate by different rules.
For high-net-worth buyers, lifestyle assets — particularly beachfront homes with architectural distinction — remain highly sought after, even amid broader economic uncertainty.
SOURCE: THE DAILY MAIL