Dave Sharma makes his tilt for Wentworth official with $2.6 million terrace in Paddington

Former ambassador Dave Sharma has made his clearest signal yet that he plans to contest the former blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth next year by buying a $2.6 million terrace in Paddington.

The three-level Victorian terrace was scheduled to go to auction next weekend but was snapped up on Thursday after a strong offer from Sharma.

Ballard’s Mark Lowe was asking $2.5 million but declined to reveal the sale figure, leaving it to a source to reveal it sold for $2.6 million. 

Sharma’s purchase ends two months of house hunting in the Paddington area where he’s been looking at properties with a budget of $3 million.

Despite the public backing of senior Liberal Party figures, Sharma is yet to confirm his intention to run in the up-coming federal election against independent Kerryn Phelps.

Dr Phelps is expected to be sworn in as the MP for Wentworth next week after she won the seat with 51.2 per cent  on a two-party preferred basis last month.

Sharma won preselection for the October byelection after an intervention by former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard.

The 42-year-old  former ambassador to Israel reportedly moved out of his Turramurra home into a rental property in the Wentworth electorate with his lawyer wife Rachel Lord and their three daughters last month.

The couple’s new residence has formal living rooms off the entry with marble fireplaces, an open-plan living and kitchen space at the rear, four bedrooms and two bathrooms, but no car space.

Records show it has been extensively renovated in recent years by architect Klaus Carson with a new kitchen and attic. 

The property last traded in 1995 for $500,000.