Inside the dream homes of Sydney’s top real estate agents
Sydney’s top real estate agents know a great home when they see one and they have taken that to the next level with their own pads. Check them out.
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They show people through some of the country’s most beautiful homes for a living, but Sydney’s top real estate agents have also been making recent moves of their own.
And some of their choices of residence, purchased with fortunes attained during successive real estate booms, are sometimes just as impressive as those of their well-heeled clients.
The Sunday Telegraph was recently given a rare glimpse inside the homes of some of the agents behind the city’s biggest deals, who usually keep a low profile when it comes to their own homes.
The exclusive tours revealed a mix of dazzling waterfront properties and stately manors – some featuring wine cellars stocked with vintage drinks, rare artwork or basement garages filled with sports cars.
Other agents opted to live in more modest family homes, often requiring little maintenance.
D’LEANNE LEWIS
Laing and Simmons-Double Bay principal and star of Prime Video show Luxe Listings lives in a home in the vicinity of Sydney’s eastern beaches that she purchased 15 years ago.
The celebrity agent shares the home with baby Lyra and daughters Nava, 6, and Myka, 4. A crayon drawing by the front door reads “Welcome Home Mum and Lyra”. Kid’s shoes are stacked nearby and, upstairs, there’s a pink playpen and toy boxes full of Barbie dolls.
“It’s a family home and we love living here,” the 50-year-old single mum from Blacktown said of the six-bedroom residence that she bought for $3.5m in 2007.
“It’s open-plan to the garden, close to the beach and everyone has their own bedroom.”
In a few years’ time, the house will undergo a Brian Meyerson and Michael Suttor renovation to capitalise on the ocean view.
Asked if there was anything special about the Balinese statue by the entrance, Ms Lewis described what she valued most about the home. “The only special things are the kids, everything else is replaceable,” she said.
ELLIOTT PLACKS
One can feel the love flowing at the Bellevue Hill mansion of Ray White Double Bay principal, Elliott Placks, where the mantelpiece is crammed full of family photos.
“It’s a light, bright, fun home — beautifully appointed, but we’re not precious. It’s not a museum,” Mr Placks said of the four-bedroom, three-bathroom residence with double garage.
The agent shares the home with his philanthropist wife, Lauren, and their three children, Jade, 10; Remy, 8; and Ashton, 4.
What he loves most is that the kitchen, lounge, dining and pool areas are in one space. “We can keep a close eye on the kids,” he said.
Mr Placks said agents’ had an advantage over regular punters when buying their own homes “because we’re always looking at property … we don’t need to do the due diligence, we know what does and doesn’t work.”
And they’re also good negotiators. Sales records showed Mr Placks picked the house up for $4m in 2013 — $425,000 less than it had sold for in 2010. He’s since renovated, calling in Nina Maya for the interiors with landscaping by 360 Degrees.
WARREN GINSBERG
Also stylish and a super-smart purchase was the Bondi Beach bachelor pad of Ray White Double Bay’s Warren Ginsberg, 34. Mr Ginsberg nabbed the two-bedroom sub-penthouse for $4.1m last July.
“I’ve since had offers of more than $5m,” Mr Ginsberg said.
He won’t be moving in a hurry, he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“It was a childhood dream to own a property at Bondi Beach and I love the beach lifestyle,” he said.
The apartment is full of natural light thanks to its northerly aspect and Mr Ginsberg wakes to a view of the ocean before heading down for a workout at Icebergs gym. The Mediterranean-style interiors are the work of designer Chloe Matters.
The eastern suburbs agent is a busy man, currently the No. 1 Ray White salesperson in the eastern suburbs.
He’s sold an $11m Vaucluse home to journalists Peter Overton and Jessica Rowe and a $30m Double Bay home to Real Housewives of Sydney star Krissy Marsh and her property developer husband John Marsh.
Mr Ginsberg’s come a long way since he was flipping burgers at Oporto in North Bondi at the age of 16, entering real estate at 18 with Century 21 Bondi Beach and moving to Ray White Double Bay a year later. He was named a director last year.
CLAUDIA PORTALE
Over in Cremorne, the trappings of success are obvious at the waterfront home of Claudia Portale where there’s a Porsche 718 Cayman in the driveway.
The agent at McGrath Lower North Shore and partner, Chris, are about to embark on a renovation with designer Marco Meneguzzi of their five-bedroom residence on Shellbank Pde, bought two years ago.
“I love everything — the water view from the living areas and the master, and the pool downstairs on the waterfront,” she said.
“I think it’s the best street … this is the only place to have direct access to the waterfront.
“We did look on the east side, including Point Piper … but over here you do get more bang for your buck. When we saw this property we thought this is the one; we just fell in love with it the minute we walked in.”
Born and raised in Mosman, Ms Portale has been selling real estate for 12 years and her recent achievements include the Mosman unit record price of $14.1m — $2m over reserve — for a waterfront residence on Mosman St.
She said her negotiation skills helped her buy well. “I like light, water or a water outlook, also for resale, and the price has to be right,” she said.
BRAD CALDWELL-EYLES AND CARA ATCHISON
A northerly aspect and a cul-de-sac location are attributes of the smart Double Bay townhouse of Ist City Real Estate managing director Brad Caldwell-Eyles and his wife and fellow Ist City director, Cara Atchison, who starred in Survivor last year.
“We’ve got four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a double garage and a pool and we love it,” Mr Caldwell-Eyles said.
The interiors are stylish and practical without being over-the-top. There’s an impressive whisky collection and “Everyday Negotiation” and “The Habits of Highly Effective People” on the bookshelf.
The ground-level living area opens to a wraparound deck on two sides. The lounge, with leather modular chaise from Kings Furniture in front of the big TV, faces north and bifolds open to the deck and solar-heated pool.
The east-facing indoor dining room opens to an outdoor setting, a great spot for breakfast on sunny mornings.
“My favourite spot is the central island bench in the kitchen,” Ms Atchison said. “It’s the centre of the house.”
The couple said they adored their neighbours. “They’re often saying you must come over for some Champagne.”
MONIKA TU
The new Bellevue Hill mansion of agent and Luxe Listings reality TV star Monika Tu — which she claimed is the ultimate Feng Shui house — is almost complete.
“I’m a big believer in Feng Shui,” she said of the luxurious four-level residence. “It’s important that when the money comes in, it doesn’t flow out again.”
The Black Diamondz Conceige founder, 60, who recently featured on our list of NSW’s top 50 female real estate agents, is coy about just how wealthy she is.
She sold $250m of property last year, including the Rose Bay waterfront trophy Villa Florida for $45m.
Her specialty is selling luxury property to local Chinese or Asian buyers. Ms Tu arrived in Australia from Shenzhen, China in 1988, speaking no English. Before selling real estate, she sold computer parts at markets.
The new house, which she shares with husband and Black Diamondz co-director, Jad Khattar, has been a three-year project. Four Feng Shui masters were reported to have given the property the tick of approval, guaranteeing wealth and health.
Among the Feng Shui features are a huge circular overhead light fitting; and, on the wall, a circular art piece by multimedia artist Max Patte.
There are six bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a three-car garage. There’s a gym, pool, cinema/karaoke room; a wine cellar full of Grange and a roof garden overlooking the city and harbour.
In the front room, there’s a black grand piano: Ms Tu doesn’t play but every Friday two professional pianists arrive for a Black Diamondz team-building afternoon.
PETER DIAMANTIDIS
One of Western Sydney’s top agents, Ray White St Marys principal Peter Diamantidis, recently moved into an architecturally designed house in Sydney’s northwest.
The agent, who clocked up more than $200m in sales over the 21/22 financial year, bought the property with water views in 2019 and had the original fibro cottage knocked down.
The agent said it was a shrewd negotiation: he managed to secure the property for close to $300,000 below the original price.
Mr Diamantidis said he consulted an architect to create “a unique home”. It has a home office, gym, lift connecting the three levels, cinema room and a cellar with 740 bottles of wine – mostly vintage Grange.
The six car garage has a train to show off the circa $2m worth of luxury cars, including a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 and Lamborghini Aventador.
“Covid really woke me up,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that if anything like that ever happened again I’d be able to have everything at home. So it’s a commercial grade gym, big home office … we’re looking forward to enjoying our first summer there.”
ALEXANDER PHILLIPS
Gun agent Alexander Phillips has consistently rated as the top seller across the country in a measurement by trade journal Real Estate Business.
The PPD Real Estate founder has a Vaucluse property he plans to knockdown and replace with a modern home. Sales records showed he secured DA approval for a new dwelling at the site in May.
Plans lodged to Woollahra Council were reported to be for a three-storey, $8m mansion with basement parking.
Ms Phillips bought the property, which already boasts an impeccable five bedroom home, for around $11m in 2018 from David Mulham and his wife Clare – the daughter of rich listers Bill and Imelda Roche, who formerly owned make-up giant Nutrimetics.
Mr Phillips earlier this year purchased his third block on Coolong Rd, an investment property opposite where Menulog founder Leon Kamenev is building one of Sydney’s largest homes.
Mr Phillips told The Sunday Telegraph shortly after the purchase: “I’m very happy – you can’t go wrong with Coolong Rd. It’s the best street in Australia”.
BRONWEN LIPSCOMBE
McGrath-Wahroonga agent Bronwen Lipscombe has a two-level Georgian manor on the upper north shore that property records showed she purchased seven years ago.
The 1936 home on one of the north’s shore most exclusive streets has panelled glass doors, towering ceilings and other period details. It’s on a sizeable land allotment with established gardens and a pool.
Ms Lipscombe has set a number of suburb records across the north shore and most of her property sales have been within Wahroonga, Turramurra, Warrawee and Pymble.
CHARLES STEVENS
Real estate agent Charles Stevens, who sells properties across Randwick, Coogee, Kensington and Maroubra through office McGrath Coogee, recently secured a four-bedroom house in the vicinity of Sydney’s eastern beaches.
The architecturally-designed two-level home has a gourmet kitchen and sun-filled open plan living and dining area. There’s an entertainment area that flows to a sun-drenched backyard. It’s a short walk from the beach.
Mr Stevens’ sales included a three-bedroom apartment in Kensington for $1.52m and a two-bedroom unit in Coogee for $1.25m. He has been selling real estate in the area since 2010.
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