PHOTO: Nathan Cleary‘s girlfriend is Australian soccer star and Matildas forward Mary Fowler
Nathan Cleary has already achieved more on the rugby league field than most players could hope to accomplish across an entire career.
Now the Penrith Panthers superstar is quietly building an impressive record away from the game as well.
The 28-year-old halfback has reportedly purchased a $5.5 million beachside property at Curl Curl on Sydney’s northern beaches, adding another valuable asset to his growing property portfolio.
The purchase represents Cleary’s biggest known residential property move and takes him beyond the Penrith heartland that has defined much of his professional career.
A $5.5 million position near the beach
The Curl Curl property occupies a 510sqm site approximately 100 metres from the beach and enjoys expansive ocean views.
An original 1950s cottage currently sits on the land, offering four bedrooms but only one bathroom.
Its age and relatively modest improvements have already prompted speculation that Cleary may eventually replace it with a significantly more luxurious residence.
However, no development application or architectural plans have been lodged, so any redevelopment remains speculation.
For now, the value is in the fundamentals:
- A tightly held northern beaches location
- Approximately 100 metres from Curl Curl Beach
- A 510sqm parcel of land
- Ocean views
- Long-term redevelopment potential
Cleary has not simply purchased another house.
He has secured a substantial piece of coastal Sydney land in a location where scarcity will always matter.
A return to familiar territory
Although Cleary has become inseparable from Penrith, the northern beaches are not entirely new territory for him.
He spent part of his childhood in Newport with his parents, Ivan and Rebecca Cleary, before the family relocated closer to Penrith during Ivan’s coaching career.
His parents later returned to Newport, purchasing a $2.3 million property previously owned by professional surfer Ozzie Wright. They demolished the existing dwelling and constructed a new home with a swimming pool.
Nathan’s Curl Curl acquisition therefore represents more than a move away from western Sydney.
It is also a return to an area connected to his childhood and family history.
Building wealth from an early age
Cleary began investing in property well before reaching the peak of his playing career.
In 2018, just days after turning 21, he paid $1.05 million for a renovated 1970s home in Penrith, approximately five kilometres from the Panthers’ home ground.
The four-bedroom residence included a swimming pool, updated kitchen and bathroom, formal lounge and a family room opening onto an outdoor entertaining area.
It was a practical first major purchase for a young player establishing himself in first grade—close to work, comfortable and positioned in a market Cleary understood.
Rather than immediately chasing a celebrity mansion, he bought locally and within familiar territory.
There is no indication girlfriend Mary Fowler is listed on the title of the property
Keeping another important home in the family
Cleary later added his family’s riverside Penrith home to his holdings.
The four-bedroom residence transferred from his father and coach, Ivan Cleary, in a family transaction reportedly valued at $1.7 million.
Ivan had originally purchased the property for $1.175 million in 2013, when Nathan was still a teenager.
Nathan subsequently undertook an extensive renovation with Alicia Xiberras Interiors, introducing a darker and more contemporary style throughout the home.
The project included updated living areas and a renovated bathroom, along with a putting green outside.
The property suffered an unexpected setback earlier in 2026 when part of the kitchen ceiling collapsed, causing significant damage and requiring further repairs.
Even successful property ownership comes with unpleasant surprises.
Nathan Cleary has quietly made a major move away from Panthers heartland, splashing $5.5million on a beachside property on Sydney’s northern beaches
The Penrith superstar is understood to have secured the Curl Curl home earlier this year, adding another multimillion-dollar property to his growing real estate portfolio
An early apartment investment
Cleary’s property experience also includes apartment investment.
He reportedly purchased a two-bedroom unit off the plan in Penrith’s Thornton Central development in 2016—the same year he made his NRL debut.
The apartment featured two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a study nook near Penrith Station. It was subsequently used as a rental property.
Cleary sold the apartment for $660,000 in March 2025.
That early purchase demonstrated a willingness to enter the property market before rugby league’s biggest rewards had arrived.
It also gave him experience as an investor and landlord while still in the early stages of his professional career.
The original 1950s cottage sits on a 510sqm block just 100 metres from the beach and boasts sweeping ocean views
The biggest move yet
The $5.5 million Curl Curl purchase is on a very different scale from Cleary’s earlier investments.
It is more than five times the price paid for his first Penrith house and positions him in one of Sydney’s most desirable coastal markets.
The property was previously owned by children’s charity Stewart House, which reportedly acquired it for $455,000 in 1996.
Three decades later, its reported sale to Cleary for $5.5 million illustrates the extraordinary value growth recorded across Sydney’s northern beaches.
The existing cottage may be modest compared with the purchase price, but buyers in locations such as Curl Curl are often purchasing the land, position and future possibilities.
Buildings can be altered or replaced.
A site 100 metres from the beach cannot be recreated.
Success built on the field
Cleary’s ability to make multimillion-dollar property investments has been created by an extraordinary sporting career.
He made his first-grade debut for Penrith in 2016 and has since become the central figure in one of the greatest sustained runs in modern rugby league.
Cleary helped guide the Panthers to four consecutive NRL premierships between 2021 and 2024.
He has also moved past Ryan Girdler to become Penrith’s all-time leading points scorer.
His control under pressure, game management and ability to produce decisive moments have made him one of rugby league’s most valuable and recognisable players.
That success has produced substantial playing contracts, sponsorship opportunities and long-term financial security.
But high earnings alone do not guarantee lasting wealth.
Professional sport is filled with examples of athletes who earned enormous incomes but failed to convert them into enduring assets.
Cleary appears to be taking a more considered path.
Converting sporting income into long-term assets
A professional athlete’s earning window is relatively short.
Injury, form, selection and contract decisions can quickly change a career. Even the greatest players eventually have to leave the field.
Property provides Cleary with something rugby league cannot:
Assets capable of remaining valuable long after his final game.
His known purchases also reveal a reasonably consistent strategy.
He began with an apartment investment.
He bought a quality home close to his club.
He retained an important family property and improved it.
Now he has moved into scarce coastal land with significant long-term potential.
The purchases have become larger as his career and earning power have grown, but they have remained connected to locations he knows.
What comes next?
Cleary remains contracted to Penrith until the end of the 2027 season.
His future beyond that agreement has generated considerable speculation, including suggestions he might eventually consider playing in England, where his partner Mary Fowler plays football for Manchester City.
There is no indication Fowler is listed on the title of the Curl Curl property.
Whether the new purchase becomes Cleary’s permanent home, a future redevelopment project or simply a long-term investment remains to be seen.
What is clear is that he is continuing to establish a substantial life outside rugby league.
The Property Noise view
Nathan Cleary’s success has never appeared accidental.
On the field, it has been built through preparation, patience, intelligent decision-making and the ability to perform under extreme pressure.
His property journey appears to reflect many of the same qualities.
He entered the market young.
He bought within areas he understood.
He improved existing properties.
He gained experience with a rental apartment.
And now, at 28, he has secured a $5.5 million position close to one of Sydney’s most desirable beaches.
The Curl Curl cottage may not look like a superstar’s mansion today.
That is almost beside the point.
Cleary has purchased the location, the land and the long-term opportunity.
Four consecutive premierships and a growing multimillion-dollar property portfolio tell the same story:
Nathan Cleary is enjoying remarkable success—both on and off the field.
SOURCE: THE DAILY MAIL