Yahoo Finance The 5 most expensive houses you could have bought in 2020
Predictions of a coronavirus pandemic-induced double-digit property pricing fall in 2020 had little impact on sentiment in the market for prestige buyers and sellers.
According to CoreLogic analysis released earlier in August, expensive homes generally lead both falls and increases in home values, with their behaviour in Covid-19 no different.
The most expensive 25 per cent of homes have fallen 2.9 per cent since the end of March. That’s compared to the cheapest quarter of the market which has seen values fall only 0.5 per cent.
In Sydney, the most expensive homes tumbled 2.5 per cent in the last quarter, while in Melbourne that fall was 5.2 per cent.
But despite the dent in confidence, Australia’s high flyers have continued buying trophy homes right across the country.
If you’d had the good fortune of coming across a huge sum of money in the past 12 months, here are five of the most insanely expensive properties you could have bought.
1. Edgewater, Point Piper
Sold price: $95 million
A mystery buyer bought the most spectacularly expensive home in Australia, for $95 million.
The spectacular five-storey Point Piper property called Edgewater features a private jetty, tennis court, and huge terraces on each level overlooking Sydney Harbour.
While details on the buyer have not been disclosed, according to Domain, a deal was quietly reached in September this year after lengthy negotiations.
The deal was reportedly brokered by the managing director of Sotheby's Sydney with terms expected to be finalised in 2022.
When finalised the deal is set to be the second highest residential sale in the country - only topped by the sale of nearby residence Fairwater in 2018.
That property was bought by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes for $100million with the software mogul also buying the neighbouring house for $12 million in 2019.
2. Coolong Road, Vaucluse
Sold price: Estimated around the ‘high $30 million mark’
The Vaucluse home on Coolong Road sold in the “high $30 million range” in August this year, making it the most expensive home bought and finalised in 2020, Domain reported.
The seven bedroom home, represented by Christie’s International Real Estate, was sold by the Vass Electrical Industries founder Nicholas Vass and his wife Marion.
The home had a guide of $42 million and was last sold for $3.7 million 34 years ago.
Described as possessing a “Great Gatsby style”, the home has seven bathrooms and six car spots, a pool and tennis court.
“Hidden and gated from the street, it rests in a dress-circle address that promotes peace and privacy. Sweeping harbour panoramas are captured from nearly all of its exceptional living and its entertainer's terraces,” the listing read.
“Boating enthusiasts will relish the boathouse, slipway, jetty and unique four post berthing facility. Elegant interiors are adorned with marble and timber floors, wrapped in glass and resting under high ceilings.”
The property also features a self-contained studio, described as a perfect addition for in-laws “or the au pair”.
3. Berthong, Billyard Avenue, Elizabeth Bay
Sold price: Estimated around $33.5-35 million
Retired car dealer Laurie Sutton sold his Darling Point mansion and instead bought the Elizabeth Bay waterfront trophy home Berthong just up the road, according to realestate.com.au.
Historic Berthong — an 1880s villa in Billyard Avenue once owned by the Murdoch family and later Russell Crowe — has beautiful gardens leading down to the harbour.
Details emerged in May of Berthong selling earlier in the year. The sale price was initially believed to be close to the asking price of $35m but it’s now understood to be more like $33.5 million, realestate.com.au reports.
4. Lindsay Avenue, Darling Point
Sold price: $32 million
Sutton sold his former home - Lindsay Avenue, Darling Point - for $32 million on March 4, just days after Australia’s first Covid-10 fatality.
The property is a grand architectural masterpiece of five bedrooms and six glamorous bathrooms and is one of just four homes in exclusive Lindsay Avenue, and he sold it to Pamela Lee, the wife of Borg Constructions co-founder John Borg, for $32 million, according to realestate.com.au.
The luxurious property was built in 2006 under the ownership of nightclub doyen Barry Wain, with many of its features nodding to Tokyo’s Imperial Palace, The New Daily reports.
Michael Dysart was tasked with designing the property, which includes his-and-hers dressing rooms and a fully functional gymnasium.
5. 89 Watkins Road, Dalkeith, Perth
Sold price: $27.5 million
One of Perth’s most iconic homes, built by high-profile businessman Alan Bond and his wife Eileen, has sold for $27.5 million, realestate.com.au reports.
The spectacular riverfront mansion was reportedly purchased by former bodybuilder Danny Pavlovich and his wife Suzie.
Pavlovich is the chief executive of Nutrition Systems, a distributor of supplements and nutritional products.
While the property’s $27.5 million price tag is impressively large, it’s well shy of the original 2017 listing price of $50 million, and even the lower reduced guide price of $35 million in 2019.
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