Newsreader Mark Ferguson and wife Jayne snap up rural and inner-city properties: Jonathan Chancellor

CHANNEL 7 newsreader Mark Ferguson and his wife Jayne, the Bauer women’s magazine publisher, have been busy on the property front, writes real estate columnist Jonathan Chancellor.

CHANNEL 7 newsreader Mark Ferguson and his wife Jayne, the Bauer women’s magazine publisher, have certainly been busy on the property front.

They have bought their Crookwell farm, but also a Paddington townhouse.

Their Southern Tablelands country retreat is located in Limerick and cost the couple $1.95 million earlier this year. It covers some 750ha, with a brick homestead built in the late 1800s comprising four bedrooms, living room with open fireplace and polished timber floorboards, as well as a brand new gas and hot water system for those chilly days and nights.

The property, featured last night on Better Homes & Gardens with a visit from vet Dr Harry Cooper, was sold by the Laverty family, who had been there five generations.

The working farm, with a six-stand woolshed, sheep and cattle yards, and machinery sheds, is 35km from Crookwell and Goulburn is less than an hour’s drive. Canberra is not quite two hours away and Sydney is a three-hour drive.

Parkes-born Ferguson, the family man from central casting, has become quite a pillar of the local community, getting the local rugby team, the Crookwell Dogs, sponsorship from Channel 7 News during its recent season.

The couple, who have been renting a $4.7 million Sydney CBD fringe apartment for $2950 a week since selling their property in Mosman last year, have also recently bought a $3.2 million Paddington townhouse through Joe Abboud at McGrath Edgecliff.

The townhouse, with interior touches from architect Tony Masters, has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, all on one level. There are two private entrances plus another entrance from a garage.

The couple had sold their Mosman home for $4.7 million. Backing on to Bradley Bushland Reserve, the then building block cost the couple $2.23 million in 2007, when Ferguson was working at Channel 9.

They had previously been living in a $2.75 million Northbridge home and before that were at Wollstonecraft.

They have three children, Jack, 12, Ted, 9, and Paddy, 5.

SIBELLA SELLING PADDINGTON DIGS

CELEBRITY stylist Sibella Court has listed her redundant Paddington corner terrace.

The host of the ABC’s Restoration Australia bought the former two-bedroom home in early 2008 for $900,000 from publican Peter Wadsworth, after she had returned from a decade in New York.

The Victorian-era shopfront helped launch Court’s The Society Inc, which is now based in a vast warehouse at St Peters.

The Society Inc at 27 Alexander Street Paddington

Sibella Court

She resides in Bondi in a shared mansion with her partner Ben Harper and their daughter Silver.

The home-cum-shopfront is listed through BresicWhitney agents Shannan Whitney and Darren Pearce with a $1.65 million asking price. The 18 Stewart St — or 27 Alexander St — offering is still filled with vintage finds, fresh flowers, oddities and collectibles found by the interior stylist, author, product designer, historian and creative director.

Court fronts Restoration Australia, the ABC series that follows several families as they attempt to give new life to heritage abodes — and in many cases, save the relics from certain destruction.

Harper works with Court at The Society Inc — a haberdashery-meets-hardware store — helping on interior design, hardware and home decor duties.

Another style setter who has ome and gone from Paddington is foodie Donna Hay.

She sold the Windsor St corner retail terrace for $2.3 million in 2012 having paid $1.4 million in 2003.

BONDI SHEDS GRITTY IMAGE

ARCHITECT Nick Tobias and his author wife Miranda Darling featured in last weekend’s Financial Times property splash on Bondi Beach.

The feature was headlined “Why Australia’s Bondi Beach looks buff for wealthy buyers”, noting the area around the famous stretch of sand had ditched its gritty image and gone upmarket.

Indeed the glamorous couple recently spent $7.05 million when they bought on Ben Buckler headland, having secured $9 million for their 1920s Bellevue Hill bungalow.

“Bondi used to be quite gritty, dominated by British backpackers,” Tobias noted.

Agent Ric Serrao chimed in that with actor Hugh Jackman and media mogul James Packer often spotted, Bondi had become the hip place.

Rebel Penfold-Russell recalled when she bought her first apartment for less than $100,000 three decades ago there were only three restaurants and no services. She is the developer behind apartment complex Coast. The only thing the FT missed was publicist Roxy Jacenko quietly moving into a $2500- a-week rental in Coast, the SJB no-expense spared designer block.

LUCKED IN

CUFFELINKS investment adviser Chris Cuffe has bought a 2.2-hectare acreage in Terrey Hills for $4.75 million.

Cuffe has more than 25 years’ experience in building successful wealth management practices, most notably at Colonial First State during his
14-year tenure from the late 1980s.

His purchase is a four-bedroom modern Australian mansion that is well hidden up a winding driveway surrounded by natural bushland and built around an impressive outdoor entertaining quadrangle. It last sold in 2004 for $3.7 million.

LOOSE LIPS

PROMINENT economic bear Gerard Minack has been one investment forecaster warning of a recession as Australia ends its once-in-a-century boom.

However, he has quietly upgraded Mosman homes, with hushed commentary coming from his former colleagues at Stanley Morgan.

He’s recently purchased a Mosman property for $4.2 million through agent Ben Svenson at Century 21 Mosman. The completely rebuilt three-storey house is nestled away with views of Middle Harbour.

Locals say he bought well as the block cost $2.725 million some 10 years ago.

LEGEND

SUPERANNUATION guru Daryl Dixon has made a pricey purchase in North Sydney.

The executive chairman of Dixon Advisory spent $9.25 million on the 2011-built harbourfront home, whose special feature is the basement cellar with some 80 wine bottle holes drilled into the sandstone wall.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom, four-storey purchase through Michael Coombs at McGrath Mosman was funded when Dixon offloaded an apartment in Kirribilli for $1.8 million.

He had bought for $850,000 in 1996, reflecting 3.88 per cent annual price appreciation.