Why Wolseley Road in Point Piper is home to the ‘absolute pinnacle’ of Australia’s elite
From the pavement it looks like a normal Australian street – but beyond the facade are the reclusive mansions of the uber-elite.
A stroll down Wolseley Road in Point Piper offers not much more than any other typical Sydney street.
For the most part, walls, gates and garages line the street, revealing little, but beyond the facade are the reclusive mansions and multimillion-dollar apartments of some of the nation’s most wealthy and powerful.
Private, secure and unsuspecting – just how the uber-elite class who call it home like it.
This week, featuring Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House views, large plots, direct waterfront access, and a median house price of $23,755,000, Wolseley Rd in Point Piper was again crowned “Australia’s most expensive street”.
It’s an accolade realty insiders selling on the road say won’t go anywhere in the foreseeable future – labelling it the “end goal” of Australian real estate.
“Nothing compares to Point Piper, especially Wolseley Road,” Riki Tawhara, managing director at Ray White Bondi Junction, who is currently selling part of an expansive duplex on the road at a guide of $17 million, declared while speaking to news.com.au.
“In terms of these particular owners in high finance or a business or a tech – it’s the end goal.”
Michael Pallier from Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty is leading the sale of what’s potentially Australia’s most expensive apartment – a two-floor luxury penthouse for $28 million on Wolseley Road.
He told news.com.au that after almost 30 years of selling on the road and owning a rental there himself, it would be “hard to lose the position of being the most expensive in Sydney”.
And the biggest threat, if any, would be adjoining or adjacent Point Piper streets.
“There’s Wingadal Place – that’s where John Symon (Australian entrepreneur and former financial executive) has his house, and that’s probably the most expensive house in Australia,” he said.
The elite lives of Wolseley Rd
According to the realtors, don’t expect a block party or a neighbourly chat over the fence on Wolseley Road.
Mr Pallier said the road is “not about community”.
“People keep to themselves. They’ve got high walls, lots of cameras and sometimes they have private security guards.
“I think privacy is something that people put value on there. And no, I would say there’s not a lot of community spirit there. It’s more business from what I can see.”
Wolseley Road is home to a number of stately residences owned by prominent individuals such as Frank Lowy, the chairman of Westfield; Jack Cowin, the owner of Hungry Jacks; Zac Fletcher, a high-profile banker at Goldman Sachs, and Paul Lederer, the owner of Primo Smallgoods.
The road also boasts notable former residents, including recruitment kingpin Julia Ross, media boss Lachlan Murdoch, and former NSW premier Nick Greiner.
Neighbouring streets and roads in the tiny Point Piper locality are home to nine of the AFR’s rich listers, other prominent Australians, and international players.
The elite suburb in Sydney’s east, spanning over just 38 hectares, is home to an array of other notable figures, including former Prime Minister and investment banker, Malcolm Turnbull, tech billionaire Scott Farquhar (ranked 18th on the rich list) and his investment banker wife Kim Jackson, Mary Fairfax – the widow of Sir Warwick Fairfax (ranked 113th on the rich list), Huang Bingwen – the patriarch behind China’s paper packaging, and real estate tycoon Robert Magid.
When asked to profile the typical Wolseley Rd resident, Mr Tawhara detailed “people that held very influential positions in this country for a long period of time.”
“The typical resident is an older demographic, where there’s a very good likelihood they have very influential positions, if not in finance, in government,” he said.
“Most people that live there were once, or still are, at the absolute pinnacle of what they do.”
Buying and selling on Australia’s poshest road
Mr Pallier and Mr Tawhara are currently tasked with selling highly elusive and eye-wateringly expensive properties on Wolseley Rd.
Mr Pallier told news.com.au he is close to closing on what’s expected to be Australia’s priciest apartment, inviting us along for a tour.
The luxury two-storey penthouse at 23 Wolseley Road is chasing a whopping $28 million.
It features four spacious bedrooms, each equipped with ensuites and private balconies offering breathtaking harbour views.
The main bedroom is generously sized, featuring a walk-in-robe and a luxurious ensuite with a bath.
Additionally, a sizeable entertaining terrace extends from the main bedroom, providing uninterrupted views of the city skyline, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the Opera House, while the rooms on the east side of the penthouse overlook Rose Bay.
Mr Pallier, who is also asking $15 million for a sub-penthouse in the same building, has stated that a sale could be near after approximately two months on the market.
“A buyer from overseas is putting an offer on the property,” he revealed.
Astonishingly, if the penthouse fetches the asking price, it will still be far from Mr Pallier’s Wolseley Rd sales record of $95 million.
“$28 million in Point Piper is not that expensive, you know,” he said.
Mr Tawhara is leading the sale of a west-facing duplex semi-detached home at 60a Wolseley Road.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home boasts open plan living and Dining, a grand west-facing balcony offering breathtaking panoramic views of the harbour, bridge and opera house, a lift and a double garage.
He said the owners of 20 years have decided to sell it, opening up a rare opportunity.
What’s more, Mr Tawhara said, a potential upside for a prospective buyer upside would have a foot in the door should the other owner on the block sell – a prospect he says is in demand.
“Then you would own over 800sq m in the heart of Wolseley Road, which is near impossible,” he said.
Both Mr Tawhara and Mr Pallier said international interest in the road had grown solidly with highly competitive buying power.
Mr Tawhara said that should other Wolseley Road properties come onto the market, expect national records to be broken.
“If particular houses or that are thinking of coming to market come do, then I think there’s going to be a new record,” he said. “I think there could be nine-figure sales.”
Mr Pallier said some of the uber-rich, long-time owners stand to make tens of millions when they decide to sell.
“The one that I sold for 95 million was bought about 35 years earlier for 5 million,” he said.
“The wealthy are getting wealthier, and particularly when you’ve got the overseas buyers coming in buying, that’s what’s driving the prices up.”
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