Packer heiress sells Horizon apartment for close to $28m, after a hefty discount

Heiress Francesca Packer Barham has sold her apartment in the landmark Horizon tower, making her just the latest high-profile seller to show that Sydney is fast turning into a discounters’ market.

The 29-year-old daughter of billionaire Gretel Packer originally had hopes of $35 million when it was being shown off market, but that was revised to a guide of $32 million almost a year ago when it was officially launched. It has languished on the market since, and had a revised guide of $30 million more recently.

An independent source said the sale result was close to $28 million, and settlement will reveal the exact figure.

Packer Barham has owned the whole-floor spread on level 40 of the architect Harry Seidler-designed building since 2019, paying $15.8 million after a dramatic redesign by the previous owner Julie Graham, wife of Melbourne eye specialist Dr Glen Fernando.

Previous owners include car dealer Neil Sutton, who had bought it for $6.7m in 2009 from billionaire property developer Bob Ell.

Discounting has preceded a slew of high-end sales in recent weeks. Commercial property developer Andrew Podgornik and his wife Chloe abandoned their $30 million hopes of last year on their Bronte designer home before it sold recently for about $25 million to interior designer-turned-property developer Nadia Jacob.

In Dural the luxury estate owned by Gareth Hales, of the leading family behind the fundamentalist Exclusive Brethren sect, sold for more than a $1 million loss. The weekender was purchased for $9.5 million at the peak of the boom in 2022, and sold recently for $8.45 million.

Prestige agents have responded to the softer conditions by revising their asking prices of just a few weeks ago, or withdrawing their property from the market.

Isla Fisher’s Woollahra art deco was listed last month with a $1 million guide ahead of this Saturday’s scheduled auction, but now carries a $900,000 guide.

Medical entrepreneur Dr Glenn Haifer launched his designer Woollahra home to buyers last month with $17 million hopes, and Ray White’s Riki Tawhara has revised that to $15 million.

In Byron Bay, billionaire Harvey Norman boss Katie Page has dropped her guide of $4.85 million to $5.2 million for her Suffolk Park holiday home down to a $4.5 million asking price.

Preliminary auction clearance rates fell to a lacklustre 62 per cent last long weekend, according to Domain data, roughly a balanced market between buyers and sellers.