By Antony Lawes
Julia Gillard looks to be trading in her humble Melbourne brick-and-tile for a renovated bungalow in one of Adelaide's top suburbs.
The former prime minister and her partner Tim Mathieson are believed to have paid about $1.8 million for the four-bedroom, renovated house.
Step up: Julia Gillard and Tim Mathieson have upgraded from Gillard's Altona home.Credit: Justin McManus
The house, on a 1284-square metre block, has a large pool, 12-person spa and a second, outdoor kitchen. The advertised price was between $1.85 million and $2.05 million.
''All you need is a floaty kaftan to fit right into your new lifestyle of private relaxation and seamless entertaining,'' the online advertisement says.
Agent Phil Harris, the head of Harris Real Estate, the agency handling the sale, confirmed the house had sold but refused to say who had bought it or how much they had paid.
Nobody in Ms Gillard's office could be reached for comment, but Adelaide agents said Ms Gillard was definitely the buyer and that she had been looking at other properties in the area.
Peter Emes, from Century 21, said he had been told Ms Gillard was looking for houses in the area and had submitted another property to her office but was told it was ''too exposed''. ''I'm told by a source that she has definitely bought [it],'' he said.
Grant Threadgold, from Toop and Toop, said the vendor had told him personally last week that an unidentified buyer from Melbourne was doing ''due diligence'' on the house but had not inspected it. The price was believed to be $1.8 million, he said.
Another agent, Annette Bradshaw, last sold the house in 2001 for $490,000 before it was extensively renovated, and she described the style as a ''gentleman's residence''.
''It's an exceptionally lovely house,'' she said.
Agents say if the $1.8 million price is accurate it would be the highest price paid for a house in that suburb in the past year.
It's a step up from Ms Gillard's current home in Melbourne's Altona that she bought for $140,000 in 1998.