Real-estate mogul Ping Wei puts Longueville on the $12.5 million map

Chinese real-estate mogul Ping Wei certainly made an impression on his new Sydney hometown when Shanghai United and Zobon Real Estate (he is chairman of both) bought the InterContinental Sydney Double Bay for $140 million.

But it is his lower north shore purchases that caught the attention of Longueville locals. First, when he bought the contemporary three-storey house designed by Stanic Harding Architects for a suburb high of $11.88 million two years ago from Kirsty and Simon Bartter, of the poultry Bartter-Steggles family.

And, a year later, when he matched his suburb high buying the nearby waterfront home of Jacaranda Capital founder Sean Mulhearn and his wife, Kirsten.

The question is, will Wei beat that suburb high again, this time selling both properties amid talk he is planning to upgrade to Warrawee on the upper north shore?

On that note, Shanghai United bought a one-hectare property for $8.3 million last year with DA plans lodged for seven high-end residences and an optional single grand residence on the title.

Belle Property’s Bo Zhang is asking $12.5 million for the Bartter family’s former home ahead of a November 27 expressions of interest deadline.

Expect to see his nearby waterfront residence hit the market in the new year.

Hitting the right note in Paddington

Fuzzy music events co-founder John Wall has bought the Paddington townhouse of investment banking veteran and Order of Australia recipient  Arthur Charles and his wife, Prue, for $4.5 million.

The sale through The Agency’s Fraser Turvey coincides with Wall’s decision to sell his nearby Paddington terrace for $4.42 million through Turvey’s colleague Ben Collier, with sources pinning that purchase on art dealer Evan Hughes and his entertainment lawyer wife Kate Hughes.

Cantelo home hits the market

Just in time to catch the 2018 market is the Tamarama home of medicinal cannabis industry boss Matt Cantelo for $8 million.

The chief of Australian Natural Therapeutics Group has owned his striking Neeson Murcutt Architects-designed residence in Tamarama since early 2013, when it was sold for $5.35 million by Michelle O’Brien, director of golf and leisure wear label Birdee Sport.

It hits the market given Cantelo’s recent $19.5 million buy in Vaucluse for the Palm Springs-style home of former Goldman Sachs director Karl Mayer and his wife, Tanya.

Alexander Phillips, of Phillips Pantzer Donnelley, has the exclusive listing.

Youngs off to Mosman

Investment banker and former Fairfax Media non-executive director Peter Young and his wife, Susan, have sold their Walsh Bay pad for $6.65 million to Ming Li, from China.

The two-storey penthouse in Pier 6/7 was purchased new by the Youngs in 2000 for $2.25 million.

Records show Young, a member of the Barangaroo Delivery Authority Board, is off to Mosman, having bought the Balmoral Slopes home of Day-Timers boss Peter Sharpe and his artist wife, Sue, for $4.55 million.

On track for Rose Bay upgrade

You would think things were busy enough this spring racing carnival for bloodstock guru James Harron and his wife, Alison, without adding a house sale.

But despite having only owned their Paddington terrace for two years, the prospect of parenting two kids without a backyard has prompted plans for an upgrade to Rose Bay.

There is a circa-$5.5 million guide for the Victorian home with a north-facing rear garden and tandem parking listed with McGrath’s Brad Hillier.

The Glenview Street property last traded in 2016 for $4.75 million when sold by neighbour Tina Melick, wife of Baker McKenzie partner Roy Melick.

Selling up in the Highlands

Legendary ad man Ted Curl and his wife, former fashion designer Stella, are selling their Southern Highlands property for $5.5 million. Curl, co-founder of 1980s leading agency Magnus, Nankervis & Curl, bought the 27-hectare property at Wildes Meadow in 1992 for $950,000 and architect David Katon was commissioned to design the contemporary residence.

Drew Lindsay and Karl Zabel, of Drew Lindsay Real Estate, are asking $5.5 million, which will set a high for Wildes Meadow and match the sale price of nearby Linden Hall, in Robertson, bought by former restaurateur David Graham in 2007.

Keeping it in the neighbourhood

For such an international couple, Robert Kramer and his wife, Joanna, certainly aren’t moving far from their Riverview home.

Kramer is the Australian head of Washington-based law firm Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner. Joanna runs her own BLiNK Communications firm, and they own the Aluvion Vineyards in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina.

And, as of earlier this year, they are also the owners of a $2.67 million house on waterfront reserve on Tambourine Bay.

The couple have owned on the street since 2012, when they bought their current home for $1.87 million. Renovated since, it returns to the market for $2.85 million through Belle Property’s Simon Harrison.