Gordon Fell scores buyer for $55 million house, third place on top 20 sales list

As Sydney’s trophy home market closes on the biggest recorded year in sales, Rubicon founder Gordon Fell has scored a late third place on the list thanks to the sale of his Point Piper mansion Routala.

The last time the designer residence sold – on the eve of the global financial crisis in 2007 – it briefly set a $28.7 million national house price record, a fraction of the $100 million benchmark set by the Fairwater estate this year.

Fell and his wife Philippa listed their home set at the northernmost end of Point Piper in September for $55 million and, despite no comment from Pillinger’s Brad Pillinger, widespread rumours are that it has sold. Subsequent buyer requests to inspect it have been denied. 

Settlement will confirm the result but suggestions are it is about half what the nearby estate of the late Lady (Mary) Fairfax sold for in September.

The impact of the Fairfax sale has been dubbed the “Fairwater effect” given that eight of the top 10 sales have transacted in the past three months.

It comes as a Knight Frank real estate report earlier this week ranks Sydney sixth in the global ranks for sales worth more than $US25 million ($A34.6 million) and despite a sharp fall in median values across the broader Sydney housing market.

“If we’re number six that is because of our domestic buyers,” said Ken Jacobs, of Christie’s International. “If not for our foreign buyer taxes we’d be at number four.”

It is the first time all top 20 sales in the preliminary list have sold for $20 million or more. This year’s $672,623,400 tops the bullish market of last year when $552 million worth of sales were recorded in the top 20 sales.

One of the most notable developments this year is an end to the long-settlement trend of recent years. At least seven of the most recent sales in the top 10 have already settled.

“That’s a testament to the money in the market and validation of how robust that top end remains,” said high-end valuer Paul Donovan, of Pontons. “These buyers are not waiting for finance.”

Locals say the Cannon-Brookes family have already started moving into Fairwater, although records are yet to be updated.

All but three sales were in the eastern suburbs, with Vaucluse accounting for nine sales and four in Bellevue Hill.

There is often a run of last-minute deals in the closing weeks of the year, and Fell’s Routala residence is not expected to be the last.

Dr Le Tran is rumoured to have sold his Point Piper residence he bought in 2015 for $16.1 million from Seven’s commercial director Bruce McWilliam. Sources say it sold for close to $20 million.

Top 20 sales of 2018

1. *$100 million in September: Fairfax – Cannon-Brookes

Fairwater, New South Head Road Point Piper

Following the death of Lady (Mary) Fairfax a year ago the family’s vast 1.12-hectare beachfront estate was listed in September and sold two weeks later to tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie. The Fairfax family had owned it since 1901 when bought for 5350 pounds by Sir James Oswald Fairfax and is Australia’s first – and only – nine-digit house sale.

2. $58 million in October:  Agnew – Scheinberg

Rona, Ginahgulla Road Bellevue Hill

The 5700-square-metre estate sold for only the third time since it was built in the 1880s to property investor Richard Sheinberg, smashing all previous suburb records in the process. It was previously owned by fellow property tycoon Terry Agnew, who bought it in 2005 for $20.5 million from businessman John Schaeffer.

3. *$50 million in December:  Fell – Unknown

Routala, Wunulla Road Point Piper

Routala was designed by acclaimed architect Michael Dysart in 1999 and bought by Rubicon founder Gordon Fell on the eve of the global financial crisis in 2007 for $28.75 million, briefly setting a national house price record. It was listed in September for $55 million and its latest buyer remains unknown.

4. *$45 million in April:  Blundy – Myers

Bayview Hill Road Rose Bay

Retail billionaire Brett Blundy agreed to buy the contemporary residence when it was recently completed in 2013 for $33 million on a three-year settlement. Within weeks of taking possession of it in 2016 it was listed for $45 million and remained on the market at that level until bought by Sylvia Myers, wife of high net worth advisor Lawrence Myers.

5. *$39 million in November: Huang – Berger

Coolong Road Vaucluse

The architect Luigi Rosselli-designed residence was famously rented by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2011 and more recently was the Sydney home of chinese billionaire Richard Qiangdong Liu. Liu was expected to emerge the buyer when it last traded in 2015 for $36 million, but it was bought by his associate Huang Qiaorong.

6. $31 million in October: Ibrahim – Ma

Carrara Road Vaucluse

Former KPMG Consulting partner Michael Ibrahim bought his beachfront reserve home in 2001 for $7 million from Dean Fleming, son of the late grocery tycoon Jim Fleming. Despite being halfway through a major renovation this year it was bought off-market by press scion Alexander Ma.

7. $30.5 million in September: Haikin – Li

Victoria Road Bellevue Hill

The Michael Suttor-designed mansion was bought by Tom and Lilly Haikin of the Max Brenner chocolate chain in 2010 for $23 million from dental entrepreneur David Penn. Its latest sale preceded by a few weeks the collapse of the chain. Little is known of the buyer Mu Li, 29, except that he recently founded corporate entities Meet China and Smart Punter.

8. * $29.5 million in November: Schwartz – Pekins

Loch Maree, Loch Maree Place Vaucluse

When hotel developer Dr Jerry Schwartz bought a Vaucluse waterfront late last year for $65.25 million that left the nearby waterfront home he’d bought three years earlier for $24 million redundant. The Michael Dysart-designed residence was listed early this year and a last-minute run of buyer interest saw it bought by Mercury Capital chief Clark Perkins

9. $29 million in July: Packer – Medich

Campbell Parade Bondi Beach

James Packer built his ultimate bachelor pad overlooking Bondi Beach after he’d bought an abandoned garage in 1995 for $2.25 million. A few half-hearted attempts to sell it in 2013 and again in 2015 came to nothing after Packer withdrew it from the market. But the bullish off-market offer from father and son investors Roy and Anthony Medich set an oceanfront suburb record for Australia.

10. $28.52 million in September: Lewis – Michalowsky

Deepwater, The Crescent Vaucluse

Deepwater is the Michael Suttor-designed residence long owned by the late property magnate Bernard Lewis, who bought it in 1969 for $167,000. Following the death early this year of his widow Toni Lewis, it was listed by her daughters Marnie Lewis- Miller and Shay Lewis-Thorp, and snapped up by Mark Michalowsky, a director of Tokyo-listed giant Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation.

11. *$28 million in November: Whitten – Levy

Wentworth Road Vaucluse

Lawyer Ray Whitten and his wife Barbara bought the 1400-square-metre waterfront property in 1992 for $3.25 million. After three years on and off the market it sold to hotelier Marcus Levy and his wife Vanessa Sanchez-Levy. Settlement will confirm the result.

12. $27.25 million  in March: Angas Securities – Dept Planning

Fernhill, Mulgoa Road Muloga

The Greek Revival homestead Fernhill at Mulgoa was previously owned by property tycoon Warren Anderson before bankruptcy forced him out and the keys handed to financier Angas Securities in 2011. The 384-hectare property was set to be a cemetery after it exchanged for close to $30 million last year to Rookwood General Cemetries Reserve Trust but the deal fell over after fierce objections by locals and it was bought by the state government instead.

13. $25 million in July: Lo – Pridham

Hopetoun, Hopetoun Avenue Mosman

Swans chairman and investment banker Andrew Pridham ended a four-year campaign to sell the trophy home Hopetoun when he bought it for a suburb high. The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom residence on waterfront reserve with tennis court, pool and boatshed was built by property developer Bob Rose, who sold it to the previous owner, businessman Wai Kong Lo in 1994 for $4.9 million.

14. *$25 million in October:  Comino – Ma

Carrara Road Vaucluse

When Alexander Ma, son of Hong Kong press baron Ching-kwan Ma, bought the Vaucluse home of Michael Ibrahim – the sixth highest sale this year – he also bought the house next door of construction boss Peter Comino. Settlement is yet to confirm how close to $25 million the off-market deal was secured, but records show it last traded in 1987 for $2.6 million when sold by Margaret Jarrett, widow of former John Fairfax chief executive Rupert “Rags” Henderson.

15. $23,733,800 in Feb: Freudenstein – Xue

Burran Avenue Mosman

Former Foxtel chief Richard Freudenstein and his wife Jane almost doubled the $12.75 million they paid for the seven-bedroom mansion in 2007 when they sold it early this year after only three weeks on the market. It was bought by the self-proclaimed “shoe king” of China Wilson Hui Xiong Xue, chairman of Pilot Energy.

16. *$21 million in June: Hordern – Baillieu

Ginahgulla Road Bellevue Hill

Architect Leslie Wilkinson was commissioned to design the Hordern family home  in 1934 by prominent merchant Sir Samuel Hordern and Melbourne’s Clive Baillieu, of the political and sharebroking family, to  celebrate the union between the two blue-blood families. The matrimonial home of Samuel Hordern and June Baillieu looked set to be lost to the family when it was listed in 2016, but was instead bought by  their relative Marshall Baillieu, chief of Rothschild Australia.

17. $21 million in November: Teplitsky – Moshav

Hillside Avenue Vaucluse

Angela Teplitsky bought his five-bedroom mansion in 2016 for $17 million from dentist and property investor Le Tran.  A year later it was returned to the market with bullish $20 million hopes and a deal to sell it was finalised in November at more than that amount to financier Moshav Capital, headed by Tal Silberman.

18. *$20.8 million in November: Levy – Wang

Wentworth Road Vaucluse

Hotelier Marcus Levy and his wife Vanessa Sanchez-Levy bought the property in 2015 for $6.36 million and commissioned the architect Andrew Tzannes-designed residence with all the mod-cons of high-end Vaucluse real estate. Think home cinema, gym, rooftop terrace and swimming pool. Settlement is yet to confirm the rumoured sale price, but a caveat reveals it was bought by Jing Wang, from China.

19. $20.32 million in September: Schaeffer – Droga

Bonnington, Victoria Road Bellevue Hill

Bonnington is the grand 1935-built residence designed by architect F. Glynn Gilling and long owned by the late businessman Neville Christie. After he died it was sold for $20.5 million to art and trophy home collector John Schaeffer. A long settlement followed and six months after Schaeffer took possession he put it up for auction. It was bought by fund manager Ari Droga and his architect wife Lisa.

20. *$20 million+ in November: Inglis – Zhang

Vaucluse Road Vaucluse

Hong Kong-based couple Rosemary and Desmond Inglis bought the 1960s-style mansion in 1973 for $330,000. Forty five years later was listed for between $20 million and $22 million and sold in that range. Sources say it was bought by the family behind Chinese-backed developer giant JQZ, headed up by Jianqiu Zhang. Expect to see a knock-down-rebuild underway in the new year.

* Yet to settle