Priscilla producer Rebel Penfold-Russell expands Palm Beach patch with $10m buy

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert executive producer Rebel Penfold-Russell has expanded her hilltop Palm Beach compound.

Rebel Penfold-Russell was the low-key $10 million buyer of Windyridge, the heritage-listed sandstone home that sold at its onsite Sunrise Hill auction.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert executive producer-turne-Bondi Beach property developer Rebel Penfold-Russell has expanded her hilltop Palm Beach compound.

She was the low-key $10 million buyer of Windyridge, the heritage-listed sandstone home that sold at its onsite Sunrise Hill auction in the drizzling rain.

It was sold by David Eden at McGrath, whose initial price guidance was $6.8 million, then $8 million.

With 280-degree views across the Barrenjoey Headland, the quintessential 1919 holiday home, with 1950s kitchen update, sits on 1500sq m. It was built after the 1912 subdivision by the pioneering Verrills family to a Wilshire and Day-Architecture design.

It was being traded for the first time since traded in 1954 when it was sold by Annie Harwood, widow of Dr Horace Harwood, for £4750 to surveyor Charles Gillham, whose daughter Mary and husband David McLaren then held its title for many decades.

Painter Roy de Maistre painted Woman with Parasol at Palm Beach on the balcony in 1927. A few decades later the filmmaker Peter Clifton, who had a lease, entertained the Rolling Stones.

It will add a third home for Penfold-Russell, whose most recent expansion was spending $3.6 million in 2006 to secure the adjoining 1500sq m, also from the McLaren family.

Penfold-Russell, who regularly accommodates a gaggle of close friends at the compound, has been hillside since the mid-1980s, when veteran agent David Edwards sold her a fibro shack covered in lantana. Her 4500sq m compound adjoins the consolidation by the filmmaker Peter Weir, which totals around 3850sq m.

Paddington pad

Sydney’s next priciest revealed sale price was $5.65 million when a Paddington terrace fetched $550,000 above its reserve. The five-bedroom Moore Park Road offering attracted a $4.2 million opening bid, which was $200,000 above the revised price guide. Four of the 19 registered bidders competed after the opening bid for the property last traded for $2.4 million in 2010.

It was the home between 1991 and 2008 of V. J. (Vic) Carroll, one of the greats of journalism, who led the then dominant Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald, and his wife, Valerie Lawson. Carroll bought it for $786,000 and sold it for $1.86 million, through the then junior estate agent Alexander Phillips.

This time it was sold by Maclay Longhurst at BresicWhitney who had kicked off the marketing with an initial guide of $3.8 million.

Hill hopes dashed

All the hype surrounding the Bellevue Hill auction of a five-bedroom offering on Bulkara Road failed to yield a buyer.

The five registered parties saw the auction commence with an odd $14.8 million opening bid.

It was then passed in at $18m, with buyers advised there was a $19.5 million reserve. It was listed with a $16 million price guide by its conjunctional listing agencies, Ray White and Sotheby’s International.

It was listed by William Wu, the 28-year-old son of property developer Jing Wang, who heads up Chinese-backed Mayrin Group.

There had been a makeover since its $11.08 million purchase in February last year from the property developer Barrie Nesbitt and his wife Emma.

The road’s top price came last November when the executive co-chairman at Luminis Partners, Ron Malek secured $16.08 million.

Sydney saw an 80 per cent weekend success rate. Of the 2845 homes taken to auction across the capital cities last week, there was a 78 per cent preliminary national clearance rate.

CoreLogic calculate the final clearance rate has held at or above 77 per cent for all but one of the past 15 weeks.

Out of the Box

Melbourne’s top advised sale was a Box Hill development site which fetched $4,062,000. There was a $3 million to $3.3 million price guide for the two/three bedroom 1950s knockdowns set on a 1632sq m block. There was also a $3,995,000 sale in Brighton.

Competing Bids gleans there was a $7.5 million sale of a Christopher Doyle-designed house at 5 Glyndebourne Avenue, Toorak.

Another listing at 11 Montalto Avenue, Toorak was passed in at $7.5m, having been listed with a $7.8 million to $8.5 million guide, and now an $8.15 million asking price.

44 Perth Street, Prahran.

A lid on bids

There were no bids when dynamo Channel 7 sports news journalist Tom Browne put his renovated Prahran terrace to weekend auction. Its RT Edgar listing agent Sarah Case placed a $2.5 million vendor bid just before the auctioneer, Andrew Grimwade took his half-time break to update Browne who was inside with wife Tara and young son Henry.

The break allowed conjunctional agent Will Hocking time to speak to one potential bidder in the crowd, but without success.

The auction was attended by his father, former Nine managing director Jeff Browne, decked out in Valentino VLTN. The lambo doors of his Holden Special Vehicles Chevrolet Camaro attracted the attention of attendees, who included a 400-game AFL umpire.

The Perth Street property had initial $2.6 million-$2.8 million price hopes, but in the week prior it was adjusted to $2.5 million to $2.7 million. The adjustment came ahead of an unhelpful result when a Victoria Street offering was passed in on a $2 million vendor bid, having had $2.85 million expectations.

Browne bought the three-bedroom Victorian terrace on 192sq m for $1,352,500 in 2015 and then added a second storey with hotel-like master bedroom with Stonnington Council records suggesting the 435sq m works cost $370,000.

There was a nearby pre-Christmas sale when a freestanding four-bedroom cottage on 238sq m with pool was sold for a bullish $3 million following 385sq m building works which were costed at $325,000 in 2018. They had paid $1.2 million in 2015.

Browne and Case know what it’s like to await the willing buyer as Browne’s prior $2.2 million Toorak residence was on the market in 2014 for 53 days, having been passed in at $2.06 million with a $2.3 million reserve. Browne had bought it in 2007 for $1.2 million.

Karinya in the Jamberoo Valley.

Mum’s the word

The NSW Illawarra coast has seen a record $7.65 million sale of the Tuscan estate Karinya in the Jamberoo Valley to a local couple who have 14 grandchildren.

Set 120km south of Sydney, it sold after 18 inspections through Di Jones agent Michael Cawthorn.

The 1000sq m home, built 20 years ago on its 24ha estate, came with a $6.9 million price guide. The seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom home overlooks 10 paddocks carrying 40 cattle.

The land cost $144,000 in 1983 when bought by Angela and Joe Pellegrino, the parents of Domain property website boss Jason Pellegrino.

The four-week marketing campaign took advertising on the realestate.com.au website plus Domain with a pricey ad package which got them an editorial and then silence on pertinent details, including its ownership and quick sales triumph.

Last week’s bullish sale was however reported by the Illawarra Mercury, part of the Australian Community Media group headed by media baron Antony Catalano.

Antony Catalano’s St Kilda West home.

Catalano, the former boss of Domain who has made a raid to secure Domain’s top editor, is selling his St Kilda West home ahead of his move into the nearby $30.5 million penthouse in the Saint Moritz complex.

To date his agent Jock Langley at Abercromby’s has been running a whisper quiet marketing campaign with $15.5 million-plus price expectations.