Alan Jones sells Southern Highlands farm, discounted from $17.5m high hopes

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has sold his Southern Highlands farm after a seven-month sales campaign to a buyer who negotiated the deal on a walk-in, walk-out basis.

The sale price remains undisclosed by Inglis Rural Property’s Liam Griffiths, but it is understood to have sold for less than the initial hopes of $16 million to $17.5 million when it first hit the market in April this year. Inglis’s Liam Griffiths took over the listing in October with a $15 million to $16 million range.

The 27.5 hectare farm in Fitzroy Falls known as Elizabeth Farm and Charlieville has sold.Credit:

The walk-in, walk-out nature of the deal, whereby extras such as furniture are included in the sale, is expected to take the ultimate sale price to closer to $15 million, but with settlement for the property component at less than that.

The 27-hectare property is known as Elizabeth Farm and Charlieville in honour of Jones' parents, although it was known as Sanford Orcas when the former 2GB presenter bought it for $2.6 million in 2003.

Jones commissioned a major redesign of the property that linked the two main residences by a central courtyard to create a 10-bedroom homestead he long shared with his niece Tonia Taylor and family.

Alan Jones is retaining his Circular Quay apartment.Credit: Janie Barrett

The 25-room homestead includes Jones’ own two-bedroom wing with formal and informal living and dining room, central living room and a home office. The Taylor family wing has eight bedrooms, a rumpus room and central living and dining room.

Jones is expected to maintain his Circular Quay apartment in “The Toaster” that he bought for $10.5 million in 2017, and last year bought a riverfront house in Southport on the Gold Coast for $12.25 million.

The Fitzroy Falls farm was most recently marketed on the back of its top equestrian facilities, but also came with a tennis court and pavilion that was built with Taylor and her tennis coach husband Justin in mind.

The grounds also come with a separate two-bedroom caretaker’s cottage, a “hootenanny” shed, landscaped gardens by landscape architect Catherine Lewis, a private natural forest called Wombat Woods, life-size sculptures of an elephant and giraffe, and an ornamental lake with blue-dyed water and an island.

Earlier this month, Jones underwent another round of back surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital. It followed 28 hours of surgery over four procedures at the start of the year for what he described as “unconscionable” nerve pain.

The 10-bedroom homestead has formal lounge and dining rooms adorned with mementoes of Alan Jones’s public career.

The 81-year-old was released from hospital on Monday and was said to be recovering well - even ditching the walking stick he had brandished while moving around his new Chippendale recording studio for much of this year.

Jones is expected to return to his weeknight digital TV program early next year.

The sale comes amid a bullish market for luxury hobby farms and weekenders in the Southern Highlands.

The property has been developed considerably since it last traded in 2003 for $2.6 million.Credit:

Prominent father-and-son property investors Roy and Anthony Medich set a high of almost $50 million for the historic Mereworth farm in Berrima, developer Fred Fouad Deiri’s Deicorp Asset Holding bought the Fonthill property in Mittagong in February for $20 million, and tech veteran Daniel Petre bought a $12 million weekender in Robertson.

With Michael Koziol