Point Piper clears its prestige property listing cobwebs in 2014: He Said/She Said
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This year’s list of the top 20 Sydney house sales show price consolidation and a clearing of the cobwebs, particularly at Point Piper where the six highest priced properties on the list had languished on the market for years.
Again, Sydney's eastern suburbs proved dominant with 15 of the top 20 sales in 2014, and Mosman made a resurgence with five properties, a significant increase on its 2013 single appearance.
As always, this Top 20 list is not quite the final version given the secrecy surrounding many of the prices of prestige sales, and no doubt there will be an addition (of about $20 million or higher) next week when much awaited tenders close on the matrimonial Darling Point home of the Rothners. Were this lavish new harbourside residence sell for more than $20.5 million, it will claim eighth spot on the list.
There is also speculation, first raised by Property Observer last month, that one of the sales was unlikely to proceed to settlement given share market misfortune.
Our commentators, Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok, offer their analysis of the Title Tattle annual list highlighting the 10 emerging trends.
- A non-waterfront property topped the list for the second time in the past three years. Villa Del Mare (pictured above), a lavish residence set on the elevated high side of Wolseley Road, looks unchallengable in holding this year’s poll position at $39 million.
The lavish home was sold by recruitment queen Julia Ross who bought the residence for $21.5 million in 2005 – at the time, it was a record price for a non-waterfront property, and also the second highest price paid for a house in Australia.
The last time a non-waterfront property topped the Sydney list was 2012 when a hillside Rose Bay estate sold for $21.5 million. - For the second year running, a buyer from China purchased the top-priced Sydney property. In October, Villa Del Mare was snapped up for $39 million by Golden Fast Foods Pty Ltd through Ken Jacobs of Christies and Bill Malouf of LJ Hooker Double Bay.
Last month Property Observer shed light on the China connection of Golden Fast Foods Pty Ltd by following a paper trail seemingly leading to the Chinese billionaire, Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande, an integrated corporation specialised in residential building, cultural tourism, FMCG, agriculture, dairy, livestock farming and sport industry with 460 billion yuan worth of total assets and 80,000 employees.
Last year’s top priced property was Altona, the Point Piper waterfront bought for $52 million through Alison Coopes. Jonathan, who claims he doesn't have a secret drone, successfully pinpointed the identity of the Villa Del Mare buyer last month. - Piper Piper retains its poll position of Sydney’s most expensive real estate with the prestigious harbourside suburb claiming the six top-priced properties for 2014 - however, each of these properties had been for sale for years. For sale for the longest period was the Simon family’s Wolseley Road waterfront residence which traded eight years after its initial listing.
Taking out fifth place on the list, the modernist house was bought by Global Renewables CEO, David Singh, and wife Belinda, for $30 million. It once had price hopes of $60 million, reduced to $42 million by 2011, and then $38 million by mid-2013.
All eyes will be watching to see how long it takes to secure a buyer for Point Piper’s freshest 2014 prestige listing, the Zamel family’s Wolsely Road waterfront residence for sale through Bart Doff at Laing & Simmons Double Bay. - Just three of the top 20 priced properties were purchased by buyers from China, although sometimes it's a little tricky to ascertain the purchaser origins.
Two are waterfront or waterfront reserve residences: 1 Loch Maree Place, Vaucluse at $13 million; and 12 Dumaresq Road, Rose Bay sold for a reported $26 million. Of course, the non-waterfront property bought by a buyer from China is top-priced Villa Del Mare in Point Piper. - Vaucluse held steady. For the second year running, it was the second busiest suburb.
This year six Vaucluse properties sold - and just off the list (in 22nd) at $12.75 million was a house bought by incoming Westpac boss Brian Hartzer. There was a reported $16 million for a yet-to-be-finished waterfront residence in Loch Maree Place and Brett Blundy secured almost $18 million.
Rag trader Nic Jacenko and his former wife, Doreen, sold to computer company millionaires, Ken and Maree Lowe, who already live in the suburb at a Fitzwilliam Road home bought for $2.1 million in 1995 from the Adler family. - Mosman bounced back this year with five properties making the list. The suburb’s top 2014 price is $16.3 million for a four-storey trophy home on the harbourfront at Curraghbeena Road.
Hong Kong-based expat Kate Spanton, wife of Brand Loyalty managing director Philip Spanton, bought the property from Nick Bain, former head of infrastructure at Allco Finance and now chief executive of Graphite Energy, and his wife Katherine. A neighbouring Curraghbeena Road home owned by former Cockatoo Coal executive chairman Mark Lochtenberg remains for sale with $18.5 million-plus hopes.
At 18th place on the list is Mosman’s most recent waterfront sale, a Balmoral beachfront property in Wyarine Street reportedly bought by bookmaker Tom Waterhouse for about $12.8 million last month. There's been no paperwork yet, though plenty of other media have chased up the scoop. - Bellevue Hill, Sydney’s most prestigious inland suburb, inched forward this year with three properties on the list compared with two homes last year.
Rovello, a trophy estate in Ginaghulla Road, sold for $20.5 million in March to Sarah Henry, wife of engineering company boss Rupert Henry, whose company seemingly has ridden the China wave. The Henry's also recently sold their $7.8 million redundant Bellevue Hill home to Chinese buyers who are seeking $2000 a week rental. - The list’s only significant heritage residence is Rovello in Bellevue Hill.
Designed by Wilson, Neave and Berry, the leading architectural firm of the 1920s and 1930s era, the gracious two-storey residence stands on more than 2,800 square metres of grounds with a tennis court, swimming pool, sweeping lawns and sun-drenched terraces.
Set on the highest point of Bellevue Hill, it panoramic northerly views to Manly and The Heads, as well as westerly views to the Harbour Bridge. Centred around a courtyard modelled on the colonnaded Roman atriums, the house has a double-height entrance hall and 675 square metres of living space including stately living, dining and entertaining areas opening onto the north-facing terrace.
The superbly proportioned circa 1937 two-storey residence is described by the Australian Heritage Commission as "probably Wilson, Neave and Berry’s finest extant piece of architecture". We discussed its merits up against nearby Barford earlier this year. - Watsons Bay missed out in 21st place on this year’s Top 20 list with the sale of the Winning family’s long held waterfront property possibly for $12.75 million to a mining magnate. Its delayed settlement has yet to occur. It last sold for $1.55 million in 1992.
- The cut off for the top 20 ranking jumped to $12.8 million, up from $11.4 million last year.
The list of the year's top 20 sales is on the next page. Please click below.
Top 20 sales of the year (all prices in millions)
- $39 - Point Piper, 63 Wolseley Road
- $37 - Point Piper, 112 Wolseley Road
- $31* - Point Piper, 106 Wolseley Road
- $30.5* - Point Piper, Wentworth Street
- $30 - Point Piper, 130 Wolseley Road
- $30* - Point Piper, 60 Wunulla Road
- $26* - Rose Bay, 12 Dumaresq Road
- $20.5 - Bellevue Hill, 12 Ginahgulla Road
- $19 - Bellevue Hill, 17 Carrington Avenue
- 19* - Vaucluse, 29 Coolong Road
- 18* - Vaucluse, 8 Wharf Road
- $16.3 - Mosman, 9 Curraghbeena Road
- $16 - Bellevue Hill, 8A Ginahgulla Road
- $16* - Vaucluse, 2 Loch Maree Place
- $16* - Mosman, 8 Burran Avenue
- $15.6 - Mosman, 21 Carrington Avenue
- $15.45 - Vaucluse, 2a Vaucluse Road
- $14 - Vaucluse, 9 Hillside Avenue
- $13 - Vaucluse, 1 Loch Maree Place
- $12.8* - Mosman, 4 Wyargine Street
* Sale reported, but not settled