Cryptocurrency king, Finder.com.au founder Fred Schebesta’s penthouse sale is ‘a tragedy’
Cryptocurrency spruiker Fred Schebesta’s glamour beachside pad has taken a massive hit as a result of the plummeting property market.
Australia’s most colourful cryptocurrency spruiker Fred Schebesta has certainly missed the property market boom, with his Tamarama penthouse relisted for November 12 auction with hugely discounted price guidance.
It seems not even listing with PPD agent Alexander Phillips, pictured, who was recently lauded by a besotted Nine Entertainment financial scribe as “may be the greatest real estate agent” in Sydney, won’t save Schebesta from the ravages of the downturn.
Phillips, who was crowned the top selling agent in NSW for FY22, is giving $4.5m buyers guidance, down $1m on its estimate of just two months ago.
The Finder.com.au founder had actually thought that his investment was worth more than $7m.
“Selling it is a tragedy, but Bitcoin is just calling me too much,” he said precipitately back in June.
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By July, the tech tycoon had appointed Raine & Horne to market the Wonderland Ave apartment with $6.5m expectations, with the guidance on the 155sq m space dropping to $5.8m and then $5.5m by late August.
Schebesta is still in positive territory as the three-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse with pool cost $3.9m in December 2017.
Schebesta retains his South Coogee abode, which cost a record $16.85m last year.
The 2003 house designed by Renato D’Ettorre Architects is now nicknamed “The Crypto Castle”. The oceanfront home periodically fetches around $25,000 a night through Airbnb. And this week he announced its availability as a Christmas party venue.
The global crypto educator and enabler initially invested in bitcoin in 2017 when it was just $US4000. Bitcoin now hovers at around $US19,000, well below its peak of $US67,500 last November.
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It seems bitcoin and prestige property is a potent mix, in markets heading up and down – 2022 has just seen the costliest known price drop realisation when the bitcoin entrepreneur James Manning and his wife Louise sold their Woollahra house on Friday.
No price reveal but it’s reported to have been $15.5m, down $500,000 on its $16m boom time purchase in July last year.
Of course, there was the $1m in stamp duty too.
The Packer family had sold the Rosemont Ave home in 2018 for $8.37m to Henley Homes boss Rob Bowen and his partner Skye Holden, who enjoyed the near doubling in value.
Highlighting the market volatility, when Manning settled on the house last September, his Nasdaq-listed bitcoin miner Mawson Infrastructure’s share price had been as high as $US16.49.
But it ended this week at 41 cents, down 15 per cent just in Friday’s trade.
The couple retain another house in Woollahra plus a Palm Beach property. The buyer is set to emerge as property developer Nabil Gazal Jr and his wife Tahlija.
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Originally published as Cryptocurrency king, Finder.com.au founder Fred Schebesta’s penthouse sale is ‘a tragedy’
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