Title deeds
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday July 25, 2009
The art of a winter salePerhaps the warm winter weather of the past few weeks has prompted a late July spate of prestige listings before the customary spring selling season. Among these is the Woolwich waterfront estate of art gallery proprietor Richard Martin and his retailer wife Mary Anne. In View Street, a small cul-de-sac on the tip of the peninsula, the refurbished 1885 sandstone residence has a due-north aspect and idyllic water views.Listed for sale by expressions of interest at about $10 million with Bill Bridges of Ballard Real Estate and Ryan Watsford of LJ Hooker Double Bay, the 1200 square metre property has first-class waterfront facilities including a boatshed and a jetty for boats up to 18 metres.The historic sandstone home has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, formal and informal living and dining areas and a modern kitchen with limestone benchtops. In the grounds there is an indoor heated swimming pool.The property is almost next door to the landmark waterfront estate of Michael Siddle, deputy chairman of Ramsay Health Care Ltd and Prime Media Group Ltd.Family on the moveAnother top-notch Woolwich waterfront listing is the matrimonial home of Anthony Medich, the son of multimillionaire property developer Roy Medich and his wife, Patricia, who splashed out $7 million for a Rose Bay harbourfront apartment in March. Since Medich jnr bought The Point Road property for $6.05 million in February 2007, the four-bedroom residence has been extensively renovated. Listed for sale at more than $8 million with McGrath Hunters Hill agents Tracey Dixon and Narelle Scott, the 1031 sq m waterfront holding has a boatshed, jetty and private sandy beach.They're selling the lotOne of the most interesting new listings in the eastern suburbs is the Allen family's Douglas Snelling-designed residence on 2567 sq m in Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill. Listed for August 29 auction with hopes of more than $12 million with Ray White agent Michael Finger, the property is next door to Leura, the circa 1891 eight-bedroom eight-bathroom residence on more than 4280 sq m of land with a tennis court, swimming pool and never-to-be-built-out panorama of the city skyline and Harbour Bridge to Mosman, Watsons Bay and North Head. Since June, Finger has been seeking offers of more than $45 million for Leura, which until recently was leased to Citibank.These two houses are redundant to the family's needs given that patriarch Ken Allen and his wife, Christine, have homes in London and New Zealand. In 1986 the Allens bought Leura from property developer Bill Shipton for $7.3 million; they bought the adjacent, circa 1950s house from lawyer Bill Blackshaw for about $6 million in 1991.A rush on CascadeTwo top-notch Paddington properties are listed with McGrath agents Ben Collier and James Dack. Businessman Barry Brownjohn and his wife, Catherine, are selling their Cascade Street residence, which is an amalgamation of two adjoining properties.More than $4 million is expected at August 22 auction for the 318 square metre property with a swimming pool.Up the hill in Cascade Street, the agents are selling three properties in one line for car dealer Ian Pagent and his wife Mary Anne. More than $7.5 million is expected at August 18 auction for the three properties, totalling 733 square metres of land.Guess who's sellingAt Point Piper, the Wunulla Road residence of Warwick Miller is set for August 19 auction with Richardson & Wrench Double Bay agent James McCowan. Miller, who made his fortune from the Guess fashion brand, bought the 460 sq m property for $6.55 million in August 2007, after he sold Routala, in Wunulla Road, for $28.75 million to Gordon Fell's wife, Pip.Travel agent hits the roadOne of the best eastern suburbs apartments to hit the market this week is the Rose Bay abode of popular Double Bay travel agent Fay Cohen. With BKH-designed interiors, the three-bedroom townhouse is expected to sell for more than $2 million at August 11 auction with Richardson & Wrench Double Bay agent James McCowan. One of three large strata-title residences, Cohen's townhouse has 280 sq m of internal living space and views of the city skyline, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Last month, Cohen opened Costa Plenti, a boutique one-bedroom hotel in Transvaal Avenue, Double Bay.You Know Who You Are...Who snapped up "Rocky Mount" at Bronte last week? The four-bedroom weatherboard house in Bronte Road, which had been tipped to fetch more than $4 million at a coming auction, now appears in the sold section of Goodyer Donnelley Real Estate's website.Who bought a Double Bay penthouse for $3.7 million last week through agent Alison Coopes?A tense week for Sotheby€™sSotheby€™s Sydney chairman Justin Miller has defied the lacklustre market at Avalon by selling his Chisholm Avenue weekender for a bullish $1,542,000 €” he purchased the 1910 sq m property for $1,525,000 in 2007. On the peninsula€™s highestpoint, the Larry Eastwood-designed house with 270-degree Pittwater views was bought by British - born businessman Richard Tenser. It€™s been a winning week for Miller, whose auction rooms sold a William Barak (aka King Billy) drawing, Corroboree, at Sotheby€™s Melbourne Aboriginal art auction on Monday for $504,000 €” a record price for the artist.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald