The beloved Great Ocean Road is known far and wide for its incredible views, top-notch surf beaches and quaint seaside towns – and now it has another claim to fame. The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has crowned its Home of the Year for 2024, and the title has been bestowed upon a luxury property that's right here in Victoria. We love to see it.
The award-winning home resides in Separation Creek, a tiny locale just over halfway between Torquay and Apollo Bay. It took out the top prize for its groundbreaking design and impressive construction feats, which included pouring more than 1,000 tonnes of concrete into the very steep site with limited access, as the home is on the side of a hill. According to the HIA, the judges were stunned at the meticulous detail and execution of this project, from large-scale technical and logistical elements to the smallest details. The house also claimed the Australian People’s Choice Home and the Australian Custom Built Home awards, making it the clear favourite.
Suspended over the water's edge, the modern architectural home has panoramic views of the coastline, complemented by floor-to-ceiling windows, of course. Other features include hydronic in-slab heating, premium appliances, extensive integrated technology and a 600-bottle wine cellar – phew. How the other half lives, right?
The team behind the build is BCM Homes, and they have a stack of awards to their name. They're a company from Ballarat in regional Victoria, and took on this very special project in the wake of the 2015 bushfires, which devastated the local area.
The exact value of the home is a mystery (to the public at least), but we'll assume it is wayyyyyy beyond our tax bracket.
To read more about the Australian Home of the Year, check out the HIA website.
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