Rich Lister Andrew Roberts scores Saturday's top sale with $18 million Bellevue Hill home

Former Multiplex boss Andrew Roberts and his wife Andrea secured Saturday’s highest sale price when a buyer exchanged on their $18 million Bellevue Hill trophy home.

The London-bound couple have owned the 1400-square-metre property, Cranmor, for less than four years, having bought it for $15.6 million, and undertaken a substantial renovation of it since then.

Sydney’s ultra-prestige housing market has slumped this year given a dearth of listings, after last year’s bonanza of record-breaking trophy sales. It puts the sale of Cranmor among only a handful of top-end sales this year.

Mr Roberts bought the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion with tennis court and swimming pool in 2015 from Di Ipkendanz, former wife of financier Andrew Ipkendanz.

Ms Ipkendanz also redesigned the Cranbrook Lane property after buying it in 2005 for $9.25 million from property developer Gabriel Lorentz, and remains in Bellevue Hill after she bought a house up the road late last year for $9.5 million.

At the time the Roberts family purchased Cranmor they were trading over from the Double Bay waterfront where Mr Roberts sold his contemporary mansion for $38 million to Li Hsien Lee, of the wealthy property investor and developer Mulpha International family.

The property was listed in April with an $18 million guide through Michael Pallier, of Sotheby’s International. It was promoted as sold on Saturday, but Mr Pallier declined to reveal the sale price. Sources say it is expected to have sold at close to the asking price.

Mr Roberts and his siblings Denby and Tim pocketed about $1.2 billion in 2007 when they sold their share in Multiplex to Brookfield. Multiplex was founded in 1962 by their late father John Roberts.

Mr Roberts was ranked 106th on this year’s Financial Review Rich List with an estimated worth of $885 million.

Prestige agents are hoping the sale is a fillip to high-end home owners who have been reluctant to test the market this year.

Only three registered sales have been higher than the Roberts home so far this year. The Vaucluse mansion of press scion Alexander Ma advertised with $30 million hopes sold in March for an undisclosed price, the Rose Bay waterfront home of property baron Stephen Burcher sold for $23.56 million to corporate lawyer Amanda Banton in February, and a month later the house next door long owned by the late construction industry boss Rudi Sisic was sold by his estate for $23.5 million.