Toorak mansion becomes Melbourne’s most expensive home with $24 million-plus sale

A LAVISH Toorak mansion has become the most expensive house ever sold in Melbourne, fetching a huge sum just weeks after hitting the market.

4 Robertson St, Toorak has beaten Melbourne’s house price record of $24 million.

A LAVISH Toorak mansion has become the most expensive house ever sold in Melbourne, fetching an eight-figure sum just three weeks after hitting the market.

Selling agency Marshall White Stonnington told the Herald Sun it believed the seven-bedroom 4 Robertson St had eclipsed the metropolitan Melbourne price record.

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The $24 million benchmark was achieved by the nearby 39 St Georges Rd, Toorak, which formerly belonged to the Bailieu family before being bought by property magnate Harry Stamoulis, who knocked it down to build an imposing private palace.

The exact price fetched by Robertson St, which was sold with its specially designed furnishings by Tony and Jennifer Smorgon of the prominent business family, has not been disclosed.

Selling agent, Marshall White director Marcus Chiminello, was unavailable for comment.

The Herald Sun has been told three local buyers from across Melbourne — one from the Sanctuary Lakes estate southwest of the CBD — made offers on the trophy home, with a local family winning the keys.

The property had been expected to challenge the Victorian house price record of $26 million, set by clifftop mansion Ilyuka at 16 Point King Rd, Portsea in 2010, and even reach the heights of $30 million.

A 25m pool is among the lavish home’s features.

The home’s exact sale price has not been disclosed.

Three local buyers placed offers on the house.

It’s understood one prospective buyer offered as much as $26 million, but never formally documented the bid.

Buyer’s advocate David Morrell said the French Provincial-style home’s “ready to move in” status had appealed to buyers.

He said he understood the sale price was “north of $23 million”.

Mr Chiminello inked the sale in just 22 days — a speedy result for the top-end of the market.

He told the Herald Sun before the property hit the market on May 15 that he’d already had 12 parties flag interest in it.

Most of them had been local, but there had also been interest from the US and Asia.

Inside Melbourne’s new priciest home.

The home was finished with quality fittings from around the world.

Pieces of furniture were designed and custom-built for the mansion.

Prospective buyers were invited to privately inspect the property from May 21.

Toorak resident Eddie Young said he’d seen “a fairly large contingent” of people, many of them of Asian background, at the house during about four inspections over recent weeks.

“Each time we’ve driven past the private showings, there’s always been a fairly large contingent going in,” Mr Young said.

“We’ve noticed there’s been considerable interest.”

CoreLogic RP Data shows Mr Smorgon purchased 4 Robertson St for $4.52 million in 2005.

A new house has been built on the block since.

The home was built over six years and completed in 2012.

It has 18 rooms, including seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

It was designed and built over six years, with construction finishing in 2012.

The home’s 18 rooms include seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three kitchens, a dining room that seats 20 people, a den for business meetings, a separate office and formal sitting rooms.

Its vast gardens, designed by landscaper Paul Bangay, feature a 25m self-cleaning lap pool and spa.

Mr Chiminello said before the sale that the remarkable house was “one of the most expensive buildings I’ve ever come across”.

“It was never built to be sold — it was built to be enjoyed for generations,” he said.

@SamLandy