The Sell: New business and new home for former 2GB radio host
Former 2GB Drive show host Chris O’Keefe and his wife, Fox Sports presenter Yvonne Sampson, have sold in Lilyfield and bought in Balgowlah Heights.
NSW
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Former 2GB Drive show host Chris O’Keefe and his wife, Fox Sports presenter Yvonne Sampson, have sold in Lilyfield and bought in Balgowlah Heights.
They pocketed $2.53m for their three-bedroom, two-bathroom inner-west property last month and bought a $3.5m three-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow on the northern beaches.
The couple have a two-year-old son, Henry.
O’Keefe created his own news story on Friday afternoon when he resigned from 2GB, having decided to open a political consultancy business, Emerald House Advocacy.
Highlighting his vast connections, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the unsolicited talkback callers wishing O’Keefe all the best.
The company was registered by Maddison Accounting Services earlier this month, with O’Keefe as its foundation director.
He began his career in 2008 with an internship at the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader before joining Channel 9 in 2012 as a reporter on the Gold Coast.
He then moved into politics, reporting from both Macquarie Street and Canberra and covering four state and federal elections.
O’Keefe only took on the 2GB Drive show in early 2023, replacing Jim Wilson. His GfK ratings grew from a 7 per cent share of Sydney’s audience to 7.4 per cent.
“I’m a young father, and I’m looking at what the next 10 years looks like for me and my family,” O’Keefe told listeners.
“And, as we all do from time to time, I have had to answer that question. I’m going to open my own political and media advocacy business to help clients navigate their projects or issues through the maelstrom of government and public opinion.
“This is entirely my decision. I have decided to finish up not only in radio but in the media.
“As much as I have enjoyed my time here at 2GB, and my 13 years at Nine, the time is right for me to make the call to move on.”
Sold by BresicWhitney, the couple’s renovated single-level 1920s character home in a parkside Lilyfield position has an open-plan design opening out to the rear gardens.
They had initially sought $2.6m to $2.7m for property. It had been bought in 2021 for $2.4m.
RCG OFFLOADS HIS SYDNEY PROPERTY
Reagan Campbell-Gillard is offloading his remaining Sydney property, given his move to Queensland following his recent signing to the Gold Coast Titans.
The prop forward, whose nickname is RCG, listed his Harrington Park home last month.
Andrew Valciukas at First National Real Estate Collective is seeking $1,999,950 to $2,099,950.
There have been 3332 page views since its early November listing on realestate.com.au.
RCG paid $1,955,000 with fiancee Alira Hoskin for the four-bedroom, two-bathroom residence with study in 2022, three years after it was built by local specialists EST Building.
Set on 702sq m, the home was constructed with polished concrete floors, recycled brick feature walls, recycled hardwood timber elements, elevated ceilings, attic and a two-car garage.
PropTrack calculates the suburb’s four-bedroom median price at $1.32m, down on its $1.405m peak in March this year. There have been more than 100 sales during the past year with the median time on market being 26 days.
As he confirmed his interstate move in early October, Campbell-Gillard sold his investment property at Claremont Meadows in Western Sydney. The four-bedroom, two-bathroom residence fetched $1.176m through Paul Dukes and Lachlan Kowalewski of Dukes Estate Agents.
Buyers were advised the property had been leased until March 2025.
It was initially listed at $720 per week in 2023, when the home was converted from his primary residence to an investment property. It was bought for $400,088 in 2015.
The couple, who got engaged in 2021, have two children.
At 31, Campbell-Gillard brings 221 games of NRL experience to the Titans, already boasting three Queensland State of Origin forwards.
MYSTERY DEVELOPER TO CARVE UP HISTORIC FAIRFAX FAMILY ESTATE
The $130m Elaine estate at Double Bay might be ranked by some as the priciest home sale of the year, but it is set to be carved up by its mystery buyer.
It was sold by billionaire Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and his wife, investment banker Kim Jackson, with approval for four houses.
The New South Head Rd building blocks have been priced between $30m and $65m, with the cumulative target of $200m-plus.
Not much has emerged so far about the yet-to-settle purchaser – apparently a syndicate headed by a “nobody known as Joe”.
It was its former owner, John B. Fairfax – who pocketed $71m in 2017, ending 125 years of family ownership – who secured the four-house subdivision approvals.
But Fairfax then sold to the Farquhar family at a discount – given his desire for Elaine to be retained as a family home rather than let it fall into the hands of developers.
The Farquhar family never got to build their dream seven-bedroom family home, after proposing a $37m three-storey home with a translucent curved facade.
Their short-lived controversial Lazzarini Pickering Architetti plans involved a rooftop tennis court, which prompted immediate concerns from the neighbours.
The Farquhar family now resides at Uig Lodge in nearby hillside Point Piper, which was purchased for $130m in 2022.
Farquhar paid cash for both purchases.
Meanwhile, the once-proud Elaine residence has been reduced to a gutted shell during the past seven years.
The Rockleigh, Point Piper trophy home, where there was a recent tree dispute in the NSW Land and Environment Court, likely ranks as the nation’s top house sale for 2024 at a yet to settle $85m.
Dr Philippa Harvey-Sutton sold her inherited 1284sq m Wolseley Rd harbourfront to Frank Qiang Geng, the recycled shopping bags tycoon, and his wife Juanjuan Zhao, who are reputedly set to rebuild.
THIS PIGGY WENT TO MARKET AND SOLD HOME
Radio 2GB Continuous Call Team member Mark “Piggy” Riddell and wife Karli have sold their Shellharbour home for $2.2m.
It took them 290 days to sell the property through local agent Amanda Bonnici, of Ray White.
After the four-bedroom home passed in at its April auction with a $2.35m vendor’s bid, the couple issued a $2.25m to $2.35m price guidance.
They are looking to buy back in Shellharbour Village or perhaps Shell Cove, near the new marina.
Since the couple purchased the four-bedroom home for $1.078m in 2018, it has undergone a significant renovation including a new kitchen and bathrooms, as well as a fresh coat of paint inside and out.
The lounge comes with a built-in fireplace.
When the couple first listed the property, the median house price for the Illawarra region suburb was $1.2m. It is now $1.3m, according to PropTrack data.
The property is about 400m from the pristine beach and bustling harbour.
Riddell, 44, played 250 NRL and Super League games with the Dragons, Eels, Wigan Warriors and Roosters in a career that spanned 12 years until 2011.
The loveable larrikin developed a cult following due to his “raised arm” motion while kicking for goal and for his post-try celebrations.
The couple, who have three children, took the sea-change option in 2018 after selling at Silverdale, in far western Sydney, for $1.7m.
Their then-newly constructed GJ Gardner five-bedroom home on 4000sq m featured its own football field paddock.
ALBO FINDS TENANT FOR COPACABANA
The rental listing of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and fiancee Jodie Haydon – at Copacabana, on the Central Coast – has come down after being leased through McGrath Estate Agents.
The asking rental had been dropped from $1900 a week to $1500 after being posted to a tenancy app in early November by leasing agent Benjamin Adams.
The couple purchased the four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on its 790sq m clifftop block for $4.3m in September.
The two-storey mansion had sold in 2021 for $4.65m.
At $1500 a week, the property’s yield was 1.82 per cent.
“The Central Coast is a beautiful area with beautiful lakes and beaches, and it’s 60 minutes from Sydney,” noted veteran agent John McGrath, whose agency negotiated the sale with Mr Albanese.
After the purchase was revealed, Mr McGrath estimated that the couple would pocket between $2000 and $2500 a week, given there were lot of professionals moving to the Central Coast because it was an easy commute to Sydney.
The property – boasting scenic views – features timber-lined cathedral ceilings and a centralised entertaining area along with open-plan living and dining space.
Ms Haydon’s family is from the region.
BEST IN ‘FIELD’ OF BIG DREAMS
There’s a new record price for Strathfield, set by McGrath agent Tarun Sethi at $16.88 million on South St.
The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom 2022-built house comes with a 12-car garage plus a basketball court and infinity pool on its 1208sq m holding.
The 26-year-old Sethi and his team have moved 12 of the 16 highest sales this year.
And there have been rumours of a $16 million sale yet to settle on Firth Ave.
CONCEPT GEM UP FOR GRABS
Ellen House in Turramurra, Australia’s first lift-slab house, has been listed following the death of Ngaire Ellen, whose late husband Peter was a structural engineer.
The 1962 Cornwall Ave home has $2.8 million to $2.95 million guidance through Modern House.
Set on a 923sq m bushland parcel, the four-bedroom, three-bathroom U-shaped modernist home is set around a Japanese-inspired courtyard.
BUYER LANDS ON WATERFRONT
Keba, the 1878 Birchgrove home that came with a $25 million to $27.5 million hopes, has disappeared from listing websites.
It’s believed to have been sold to an expat in Singapore at the lower end of its guidance.
The 1300sq m Louisa Rd waterfront abode as been the home of legal practitioner Peter Cashman and his wife Polly Pickles since its 2001 sale for $5.36 million.
Got a property news tip? Email jonathan.chancellor@news.com.au
Originally published as The Sell: New business and new home for former 2GB radio host
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