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When superstar singers Adele and Justin Bieber visited Sydney recently to perform, they rejected suites at the city's finest hotels and opted instead to rent. And they're not the only ones.
A clutch of homes in Sydney's finest suburbs have become the dwellings of choice for the global A-List, creating a hidden rental market where weekly prices of $20,000 or more are not unusual.
The mansions offer space for the stars' entourages and a sense of normalcy for any children who might be in tow. Crucially, they are easier to make secure than a large hotel.
These properties are not officially listed for rent and, in many cases, already have high-profile owners. Pairing a visiting celebrity with one of these homes can be a challenge.
"The entertainment industry hope that something will be available off-market, and they will approach an agent on that basis," says Alison Coopes, whose eponymous agency deals almost exclusively with the cream of the Sydney sales and rental markets.
"The listings don't actually exist in the marketplace, so you're going out to source a property on their behalf.
"You'd only get one of those calls maybe once every three months, and you're scratching your head thinking, 'Does this rental property even exist?'"
If an agent is involved in the search, he or she will ascertain the celebrity's priorities before approaching trusted contacts in Sydney's upper echelons in an attempt to source a residence.
For example, when pop star Ricky Martin was searching for a Sydney crash-pad, he asked for ocean views, a kid-friendly swimming pool and easy access to Fox Studios, where he was filming The Voice.
Lucinda Waugh, business development manager at The Agency, says most A-Listers value privacy above all else. "It's more important than where the property actually is," she says.
"They'll want a garage with direct access to the house, for example, so they don't have to get out of the car when they arrive home. They want to be able to use all the facilities on the property as well, like swimming pools.
"If you can see into the property from any position, that will kill the rental prospects. If, for example, the property is on the beach, clients will worry that the paparazzi are going to be able to see in."
Both Bieber and Adele stayed in the same mansion in Mosman during their recent visits, and managed to avoid being snapped at home.
"If you look at Mosman and harbourside areas like that, a lot of the properties just drop away to the water," says Waugh. "If there's no way for the paparazzi to get internal shots from the rear of a house, that's the house the high-profile client is going to take, rather than one that has a huge backyard."
The Mosman mansion has been for sale for several months with a $20 million asking price. But the selling agent, Brendan Walker of Raine & Horne Mosman, says he did not help broker the Adele and Bieber rentals.
"I had nothing to do with the renting of that property," he says. "The owner organised it somehow." Walker says he received a phone call last month and was simply told to remove the house from the market for a short period of time.
Channel Nine did a similar deal with former Seven Media chief David Leckie when looking for a temporary residence for singer-turned-TV-host Boy George.
"Boy George is currently residing in the Leckies' former residence at Centennial Park which they've also had on the market," says Andrew Hornery, Private Sydney columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald. "Channel Nine has hired that while Boy George is out here shooting The Voice."
Hornery says a significant number of celebrity stays are organised this way, with no involvement from an agent. "And not everyone has to pay for it," he says.
"James Packer has often loaned his Bondi Beach pad to various people who needed roofs over their heads, not in the least Karl Stefanovic following his bust-up from his wife of 21 years."
Others are happy to pay as long as they are able to modify the homes to suit their requirements. "Neville Crichton, the millionaire car dealer, ended up getting an amazing rental from Bill Gates when he came to Sydney a couple of years ago," says Hornery.
"The Gates team required a month to bump in and install all this high-tech security and communications equipment so that Bill, even though he was here on his downtime, could continue to rule over his dominion from far-off Sydney.
"Neville would have made well over a couple of hundred thousand dollars for that," Hornery adds. "Much better than your average Airbnb rate."
Often, the cost of preparing and residing in a private residence for a short period of time can exceed the cost of renting an entire hotel wing. "These people are paying $20,000 to $40,000 a week," says Hornery.
"But if you can afford it, why wouldn't you?"
