The power couple banking on a $25 million Christmas gift

There are about two months left of the 2024 property market, which makes it a now-or-next year crunch point for would-be sellers. The looming deadline isn’t lost on prominent business leader Dr Helen Nugent and Kolling Institute of Medical Research chairman Michael Nugent, who are all systems go to sell their Darling Point home for $25 million.

Airam is an 1890s-built residence that was run as a block of five one-bedroom apartments for decades before Dennis Rabinowitz, of JPR Architects, bought it and converted it back into a family home.

The power couple bought the home from Rabinowitz for $10.85 million in 2016 when they were downsizing from their Bellevue Hill mansion, pocketing $14.3 million at the time.

The five-bedroom residence remains a single home, although with a self-contained apartment, as well as luxury must-haves such as a library, internal lift, glass-edged pool and basement garaging for up to four cars.

Nugent, the former Bond University chancellor and Cranbrook School president, has an exhausting roll call of executive duties to keep her busy when she’s not prepping the family home for sale. Her current gigs include chair of Ausgrid and the Order of Australia Association Foundation, and directorships of TPG Telecom and IAG. Little wonder she has a Companion of the Order of Australia to her name.

The Nugents’ home, which has recently become a somewhat emptier nest than it was, is listed with Pillinger’s Brad Pillinger.

Also hitting the market is the long-held family home in Mosman of late journalists Geraldine and Max Walsh ahead of a November 16 auction.

The couple bought the 1920s bungalow in 1974 from late Supreme Court judge Leycester Meares, paying $90,000 just as Max returned from Canberra where he was political editor to take up the role of editor of The Australian Financial Review.

The four-bedroom house with views to the Heads is being sold by the couple’s daughters Flicc and Sophie, following the death last year of their mother Geraldine, a long-time letters editor at The Sydney Morning Herald.

Max Walsh died in 2022, aged 84.

Pello’s David Smeallie has a $6 million to $6.5 million guide.

Down the hill, Philippe Xavier and Valda Nazarewicz, of Philippe Xavier Hairdressers, are also hoping to sell by Christmas, although after they lowered their price expectations from the start of the year.

In February, the couple listed their Balmoral home with a $20 million guide, but have revised that to $19.5 million through Ray White’s Geoff Smith.

The Alex Popov-designed residence was bought in 1996 for $1.25 million, and redesigned in 2000.

Still on the lower north shore, the Federation house known as Ailsa that was designed by architect B.J. Waterhouse in Kurraba Point is listed with an $11 million guide by Vanda and Rob Jarrett, a senior executive at AMP.

Atlas’ Michael Coombs has an $11 million guide.

Balmain’s Byrne home

The historic Balmain house owned by sports administrator Jo Setright is for sale for the first time since it was sold by the parents of Hollywood’s star Rose Byrne.

The 1850s former farmhouse was a childhood home to Byrne and her siblings Lucy, Alice and George, a celebrated photographer, after their parents Jane and Robin bought the house in 1984 for $165,000.

Byrne, whose breakout role was the 1999 film Two Hands with the late Heath Ledger, has long since moved on (to New York), and her parents sold the family home in 2002 for $1.29 million.

Cobden Hayson’s Matt Hayson has a $4 million guide ahead of the November 16 auction.

Family estates

The De Angelis publican family might have hit their limit of requisite housing on the Hunters Hill peninsula, listing one of the seven homes they own on the local waterfront.

On offer is the 1900s-era residence on the Woolwich waterfront called Burstock owned by Marc De Angelis that was transferred to him in 2020 from his sister and next door neighbour Nicole and her husband Brendan Hood and redesigned by Iain Halliday of Burley Katon Halliday.

De Angelis, whose pub empire includes the Ingleburn Hotel, Picton Hotel and Glebe’s Ancient Briton Hotel, has listed the four-level home with private jetty with McGrath’s Tracey Dixon with a $17 million guide.

The listing follows the purchase early this year by Dad Arch De Angelis of the nearby Federation home of the late fishing industry pioneer Bob Mostyn for $13 million.

The clan also own a row of three houses on nearby Tambourine Bay, and a block of four apartments owned by Marc’s brother Phillip De Angelis.

Cousin and former Liberal MP Craig Laundy, son of billionaire Arthur Laundy, owns on the other side of the peninsula.