Aussie John withdraws $100m mansion from sale but says trophy values will double

Australia’s chances of securing a house sale of more than $100 million has suffered a setback after “Aussie” John Symond withdrew his Point Piper mansion from sale.

But in an exclusive interview with Domain the founder and executive chairman of Aussie Home Loans said there were still trophy homes in Sydney that would crack into the nine-digit range in coming years as values at the top end “move to a whole new level”.

Sydney’s increasingly prominent place on the international property market would see trophy home values more than double in the next 10 years, according to Mr Symond.

Mr Symond’s bullish outlook included the whole Sydney market inside a 10 kilometre radius from the CBD.

As the state and federal government weighed into the issue of housing affordability, Mr Symond said continued strong buyer interest from overseas and a lack of a decent transport system to rival international cities such as New York, London and Tokyo meant Sydneysiders would continue to pay a premium to live near where they work.

“People want to live near where they work and … that brings with it a density and need for housing close to the city that is disproportionate to the supply,” he said.

“All property within that 10 kilometre radius of Sydney will continue to appreciate. They won’t see more growth of 15 per cent, but they will appreciate in value.”

Mr Symond’s decision not to sell comes despite agents Bill Malouf and Ken Jacobs receiving an offer for the property of more than $100 million from the second person who inspected the property.

“Our agents were very selective about who they let in to see it, and everyone who saw it was a billionaire, all but one were from China.”

Mr Symond said he was prompted to rethink his decision over Christmas due to his continued involvement as chairman at Aussie Home Loans and the fact he and his wife Amber McDonald will be spending more time in Australia than they previously expected.

“That means Amber and I can continue our philanthropic work with select charities from the house even if I am spending half my time overseas,” he said.

“In some ways I probably rushed into the decision to put it on the market. My family and friends were shocked that I did so at the time, but I thought I’d give it a go.”

When pushed to name other properties that could sell for more than $100 million Mr Symond said the Fairfax family estate Elaine in Point Piper would be worth more than that amount once it has been developed, as will the four properties in Vaucluse purchased by Menulog co-founder Leon Kamenev last year for $79.7 million once the estate is consolidated.

“In Australia we say how expensive this real estate is, but it’s not expensive when you compare it with other cities like London,” he said.

“We’ll never be a global city like London, but that top-end market is two to three times more expensive than the best properties here, and New York is not far behind that.

“What makes our property look even cheaper is the Aussie dollar is trading at .75¢. That’s a 30 to 35 per cent discount for overseas buyers.

“The other thing foreign buyers appreciate is that when you buy real estate in Australia it’s yours for infinity.”

In cities like London and Hong Kong the vast majority of property is sold on a leasehold title.

“Sydney will never be London or even New York but there are more and more interested parties from around the world looking at Australia as a destination, and that includes buyers from Russia,” he said.