Cricketer Steve Smith pays $6.6m for family home in Vaucluse
Former Australian cricket captain Steve Smith and wife Dani Willis have paid $6.6 million for a Vaucluse home with in-ground pool, gym and steam room — and a 400-bottle wine cellar.
NSW
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Former Australian cricket captain Steve Smith has quietly bought a new family home in Vaucluse, paying $6.6 million for the four-bedroom, six-bathroom property.
Smith and wife Dani Willis, who were seen conducting a private inspection of the Kings Rd home at the height of coronavirus restrictions in late May, can finally let go of the home they were leasing nearby and focus on putting their own stamp on the property which was initially marketed with $6.8 million expectations through Danny Doff of Laing and Simmons Double Bay.
Eastern suburbs agents commented at the time that Smith and Willis were looking to find a property they could do up — either to renovate extensively or rebuild.
Property Confidential believes they plan to do just that with this home.
The house, which has an in-ground pool, gym, steam room, four-car garage, 400-bottle wine cellar and travertine-tiled outdoor entertaining terrace with a built-in barbecue and wine fridge, last traded in 2005 for $3.22 million.
It also has views out towards Sydney Harbour.
Prior to buying the home, the couple had been renting in the area, having sold the Coogee apartment they had owned since 2011.
Smith had other reasons to celebrate this week, marking his return to training with a cheeky Instagram post.
Fully padded and wearing a helmet, he told his 2 million followers: “First hit in the nets in 3 months. Good news … I remembered how to hold the bat.”
Smith and the Aussie team have not played a competitive game since their one-day international win over New Zealand in mid-March. The series was cancelled shortly after due to the pandemic.
The couple add the Vaucluse house to an already-crowded property portfolio, which also includes homes in Balmain, Birchgrove, Marrickville and Sans Souci.
MOULIN ROUGE SCREENWRITER CRAIG PEARCE BUYS BONDI BEACH PAD
Screenwriter and actor Craig Pearce has moved a little closer to the coast, trading an address in Woollahra for a new Bondi Beach apartment.
The man who co-wrote Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby with Baz Luhrmann paid $2.45 million for a three-bedroom beachside unit, which he will make his new Sydney base.
Agent Mark Yeats of Raine and Horne Double Bay said the property was a popular one thanks to its “absolutely jaw-dropping view of the beach”, and it sold prior to its scheduled auction.
“It attracted a lot of people because of its location and that view,” Yeats told Property Confidential.
“Craig came to inspect it and fell in love with it; the fact that it’s beachside and will attract an excellent rental return if he chooses to go down that road in the future was the main attraction.”
But for now, the Campbell Pde unit will be home to the screenwriter who is again working with Luhrmann on his next project — a yet-untitled biopic about Elvis Presley and his manager “Colonel” Tom Parker, who is to be played by Tom Hanks.
Progress of the film, starring young Nickelodeon and Disney star Austin Butler as Elvis, was halted indefinitely after Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson tested positive to coronavirus during pre-production work on the Gold Coast in March.
It means Pearce has more time to enjoy the views from his new home, which stretch from Bondi Icebergs to Ben Buckler Point.
The north-facing apartment has high ceilings, whitewashed floorboards and is located in a secure boutique building.
And he still retains his Woollahra property.
LUXURY LAKE MACQUARIE ESTATE LOOKS TO SET RECORD
A private property in Lake Macquarie that includes a 14-car showroom garage, a helicopter pad and sits on a 2.7ha peninsula, has attracted more attention than any other home in NSW this week, according to realestate.com.au.
The six-bedroom Eraring estate named Mandalay has even garnered serious interest from a former Australian test cricketer who liked it as a holiday home.
The unique property, which agent Chris Smith of McGrath Toukley said has no rival in the area, is expected to exceed the lakeside record of $4.25 million when it goes under the hammer on August 8.
“We already have two bids that show we will exceed that current record,” Smith said.
“It is, hands down, the most unique property in the area.
“You can buy a waterfront, but not often a whole peninsula.”
And a unique property like this — that also features a self-contained two-bedroom guest suite, formal and informal living spaces, and a grand master suite — needs a carefully considered marketing campaign to find the right buyer.
Smith said it was originally set to go on the market before COVID hit, and then the decision was made to wait for a number of other high-end properties to sell in the area.
“We wanted it to sell in isolation, so we waited for a few other high end properties to sell first, and they really set the bar for a property recovery,” Smith said.
“We launched off the back of that moment.”
The owner is a Newcastle businessman and property developer who bought the home around six years ago and set about renovating the old 1970s double brick house from the ground up over several years.
He commuted to Sydney from the estate via helicopter.
Originally published as Cricketer Steve Smith pays $6.6m for family home in Vaucluse
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