Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch secure pre-auction Bronte trophy house sale
News Limited's Lachlan Murdoch and wife Sarah sold their Bronte trophy property yesterday afternoon, ahead of today's 12.30pm scheduled auction.
The contemporary Bronte Road house was initially listed in 2009 with hopes of $13.5 million.
But Fairfax Media report it sold for a little over $10 million.
There has been no official sale price indication on Lachlan Murdoch's website, realestate.com.au. Title Tattle recalls it was an unsolicited bid in April 2005 that secured the $7.75 million house above Bronte Beach as the Murdochs’ base for their return to Australia from New York.
It was bought from Graham Ford, the Bronte Surf Club president, who built it in 2001.
Lachlan Murdoch, the co-chair of News Corp and 21st Century Fox, and his wife Sarah first listed it in 2009 and then 2011.
Agents Ken Jacobs and Darren Curtis of Christie's International had the prestige listing for June 28 auction.
Le Manoir, Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch's $23 million Georgian estate in Bellevue Hill, will soon become the couple's permanent base.
In the meantime the Murdoch couple continue their lease on Coolong, the Vaucluse beachfront residence of expats Ivan and Marina Ritossa.
The last big Bronte property play was in 2012 when Seumas Dawes, the London-based Australian merchant banker, who sits on the latest Sunday Times Richest 1000 list, and is the chairman of the investment committee at Pepper Investment Management, bought the neighbouring Bronte property.
Title Tattle reported at the time that Dawes had poured some of his then £90 net worth into a serious Bronte acquisition. He now sits in equal 739th place with a £124 million net worth on the recent Sunday Times Richest 1000 list.
The funds manager and his wife Rosemary had initially spent $12.3 million for a large, modern three-storey residence in 2006. It was a modern five-bedroom residence on the ocean side of Bronte Road overlooking the beach and ocean.
Then in 2012, the Dawes couple splashed out with the $16.5 million purchase of the neighbouring house, which they've bulldozed to expand their garden and garaging in grounds prepared by Formed Gardens.
The new works, which include gym and cabana, improve the neighbouring contemporary houses's north eastern aspect in unquestionably one of the most expensive coastal suburbs on the exclusive strip known as The Cutting.
Rosemary Seaton, the wife of merchant banker Seumas Dawes, recently sold her Luigi Rosselli-designed Waverley house for $3.8 million which settled earlier this month.
Seaton had paid $3.9 million in 2009 for the five-bedroom residence which was bought by Fiona Ford, who recently sold her nearby semi.
Luigi Rosselli had designed the property for the Yong family who sold it to Seaton in 2009.