Deakin home sets new ACT residential record with $9 million sale

A five-bedroom home in Canberra’s prestigious Inner South has set a new benchmark after selling for $9 million — the highest residential sale in the ACT.

The house at 82 Empire Circuit sits on more than 2800 square metres of land and has manicured gardens, a 16-metre pool, a tennis court, and interiors that match the grandeur outside. 

A basement garage for six cars, marble and timber features throughout the home and expansive rooms also add to its splendour. 

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Selling agent Bill Lyristakis of Berkely Residential was confident the property would set a new record, and likened the house to “a palatial residence reminiscent of the grand spaces of the Hyatt Hotel”.

“Ultimately, it was the home’s position and superior quality of construction, its elevated block with northerly views and plenty of natural light,” he said.

Lyristakis sold the block to the vendors more than 20 years ago after “years of searching for the right block for them”.

Lyristakis sold the property with co-agents Michael Lyristakis and Simon Richards.

Allhomes records reveal the parcel of land was purchased for $900,000. The house took about a year to complete and eventually took out the ACT House of the Year award in 2000. 

The sellers are empty nesters and the new buyers are a local family.

Bill Lyristakis is no stranger to record-breaking sales, having set the capital’s previous record at $8 million with the property at 25 Mugga Way, Red Hill, in 2020. And if you hadn’t yet done the maths, this latest sale surpassed that by exactly $1 million.

“There are a lot of buyers in the premium end of the market. There always is, but some tend to sit back and not show themselves for years waiting for something a bit special that suits them to come to market,” he said.

“We have a roll call of premium buyers waiting for that special home that meets all their requirements.”

The home was first listed on Allhomes in October 2020 and has since clocked close to 73,000 views online with an engagement rate of more than 515,000*, according to internal Allhomes data.

The ACT residential record before 25 Mugga Way, Red Hill, was set in 2010.

“With the 10-year gap from the previous record and the one prior to that, there just weren’t many homes of that calibre that challenged the price,” Lyristakis said.

“[And] there are a lot of homes that would qualify for a new residential record, but these homes are tightly held, sometimes through multiple generations, so it’s really difficult to know when another record will come. They will come, but it’s always difficult to know just how certain.”

*Engagement levels are calculated by the number of clicks on a property’s floor plan, photos, video, 3D tours, property history and utilising the map functions such as clicking on the aerial view of the property and land details.