A new state record, and Anglican Diocese of Adelaide’s mansion Bishop’s Court sale price finally revealed

It was all very hush hush, with the Bishop’s Court’s price tag kept a secret when bought by an SA businesswoman. But The Advertiser now has the price - and it’s a residential sale record.

South Australia officially has a new residential state record – and has had for some time – with real estate experts calling for greater public transparency around the availability of settled property prices, as the price fetched for the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide’s prestigious Bishop’s Court is also publicly revealed for the first time.

While kept hidden from public view in the South Australian Integrated Land Information System (SAILIS), The Advertiser can reveal subscriber-accessible-only documents available through Land Services SA show stamp duty was paid on the $13.5m transfer of 70 Pennington Tce, North Adelaide on February 26, 2021, making it officially the highest-value residential property transaction in the state’s history.

The report lists the grand four-bedroom home as having a floorplan of 820sqm, and sitting on a 2373sqm allotment.

Google street view image of 70 Pennington Tce, North Tce. Supplied.

The sale eclipses – by a whopping $3m – the previously reported state record of $10.5m for modern mansion Elysian at 9 Robe Tce, Medindie on March 25, 2021.

Those same subscriber-only accessible documents also reveal the transfer price of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide’s iconic Bishop’s Court mansion on more than 5300sqm of prime land at 45 Palmer Place, North Adelaide, which transacted for $10m on January 8, 2021.

The Advertiser revealed at the time that the grand 167-year-old mansion had sold for an undisclosed sum to local businesswoman Mary Kotses – the seller of 70 Pennington Tce, North Adelaide.

Bishop’s Court at 45 Palmer Place, North Adelaide

The Advertiser also reported at the time that the sale price would be a matter of public record in due time, however that final sale price and the stamp duty paid on the transfer had been excluded from the transfer document in SAILIS.

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Andrea Heading said while there were clear benefits to the market in having these, and other potentially record-breaking, sale prices revealed through the standard process, there were sometimes sensitive reasons why agents and vendors might opt to not publicly disclose them.

9 Robe Tce, Medindie. Supplied by Williams Real Estate.

“We’re all about transparency at REISA and we want that to be the way the industry operates, and I think that for sales at this level – they are in the public interest and should really be on the public record and something people should be aware of,” she said.

“While there are benefits to the market in having these prices publicly available, I acknowledge there are some discretionary negotiations and extenuating circumstances where buyers or sellers might opt to not disclose this.

“I also wouldn’t want these extraordinary prices to give false optimism to the market that the neighbouring houses might get a similar amount, or that these anomalies might make people think their suburb was now significantly more valuable.”

REISA CEO Andrea Heading. Supplied

Booth Real Estate agent Jamie Brown at previous state record holder Ivanhoe. Supplied

Booth Real Estate agent Jamie Brown, who sold previous state record holder Ivanhoe at 9 Edwin Tce, Gilberton for $7m in 2016, and who also sold Bishop’s Court, said it was vital these sale prices were disclosed as they had the potential to recalibrate people’s thinking around what is possible in the prestige market.

“I think it’s healthy for the state and for real estate in general that prices are released – unless there are circumstances where it needs to be private due to legal action or the like, then I think everything should be disclosed,” he said.

“If it’s not disclosed it’s a distortion of the market.

“The disclosure of this price sets a new benchmark for prestige property and only broadens the base that is already firm.”

Mr Brown said he felt, once settled, prices should be made public and not hidden through a subscriber-only service.

“It’s essential otherwise you haven’t got accurate reference points,” he said.

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