Seemingly every suburb in Sydney has experienced the Justin Hemmes Effect (JHE) by now.
Slowly but surely, since taking over the reins at Merivale over twenty years ago, Justin has been building one of Australia’s most successful hospitality empires—with close to 80 pubs, hotels, restaurants and other venues now part of its ever-growing portfolio.
In 2015, Hemmes splurged a cool $50 Million on the iconic Northern Beaches watering hole, The Newport Arms. Rebranding it simply as ‘The Newport’, the pub was given the full Merivale treatment—a modern menu, acclaimed chefs, chic décor, wood, stone and marble finishes, and of course, brass pendant lights. The locals were sceptical, but the praise was swift, and before long, visitors from across the state were descending on the shores of Pittwater for the weekend. The JHE had put Newport on the map. And now it’s Narooma’s turn.
Sorry, where? If you haven’t heard of Narooma until now, it’s still not too late to snag a house for under $1M, but that won’t be the case for long. The sleepy south coast town is a five-hour drive from Sydney, or about a one-hour flight on Justin’s seaplane after take-off from The Hermitage, his heritage-listed waterfront mansion in Sydney’s Vaucluse. With a population of under 3,500, Narooma has long enjoyed its status as a hidden holiday gem until an estimated $40M investment put its name in the headlines.
For that price tag, Merivale last year acquired a trio of Narooma’s best assets—local fish and chip shop The Inlet, tiki cocktail bar The Quarterdeck, and 17-room boutique hotel, Whale Inn. Around the same time, Hemmes also dropped $13M for Byron Bay’s infamous Cheeky Monkey bar and $38M for the Lorne Hotel. But the Whale Inn was the first venue Merivale acquired outside of Sydney, and the JHE seems to have made impact already.
Just last week, Merivale added a fourth venue, paying $6 million for the Lynch’s Hotel, an old fashioned “Aussie pub” in a heritage building dating back to 1903.
In the past year, house prices have risen over 30% in Narooma, with the median house price now sitting at $725K and it near impossible to find a decent waterfront property for under $4 million. In 2021, Narooma recorded the largest increase in apartment rents during the year, up 33% to $553 per week.
Hemmes’ love-affair with Narooma started back in 2015, when he dropped $7.5M on what he dubs “his old weatherboard cottage” set on 60 hectares of stunning beachfront overlooking the Glasshouse Rocks. “Narooma has become my second home and the backdrop to so many of my happiest memories with my family. I think it is one of the most beautiful spots in the world”, he has said. Prices began to climb after Justin moved into the neighbourhood, and with his latest acquisitions, prices have jumped again.
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According to Hemmes, he first discovered Narooma by zooming in on it on Google maps and proclaiming, “it’s so beautiful, I’m buying a house there”, as you do. While the Eastern Suburbs elite are more than used to Hemmes nonchalantly landing his seaplane on Rose Bay beach at the busiest times of the day (surely a coincidence), it will be interesting to see how the Narooma locals take to his habits. To his credit, he hopes the scene he’s creating in Narooma will inspire locals to start up their own businesses and inject tourist dollars into the small town with pristine beaches, breathtaking views, and now, four great places to eat.
