Former rugby boss pays $85,000 for weekender, lists it for $2.5m

Rugby Australia’s former chief executive Bill Pulver and his landscape architect wife Belinda Gibson are selling their Central Coast weekender with a price guide of $2.5 million.

The couple bought the Avoca Beach land for $85,000 in 1988 and rebuilt the property in the 2000s, turning it into a contemporary coastal retreat.

The Avoca Beach home is moments from the sand.Credit:

Billed as a lucrative holiday rental, idyllic weekender or permanent coastal home, the five-bedroom, two-bathroom house set on 885 square metres features floor-to-ceiling glass, bi-fold doors and Blackbutt timber flooring.

Pulver was the Union’s chief executive over a tumultuous period between 2013 and 2018, overseeing the prolonged decision to axe the Western Force from the Super Rugby competition.

The 65-year-old went on to become a director at language data services company Appen, where he made a fortune to the tune of $9.6 million in a June 2018 share sale, and another $8.4 million in a 2020 share sale, before the company’s shares tanked, according to The Australian Financial Review.

Their home is being sold by Dougal Miller-Sneddon of LJ Hooker Terrigal.

Chinese developer sells within a week

Founder of property developer JQZ Jianqiu Zhang has sold his trophy home in Vaucluse for around its $22 million price guide in less than a week, local sources say.

The six-bedroom, four-bathroom house was designed by celebrated architect Bruce Stafford and rebuilt in 2017, netting Zhang at least $16.72 million increase in value over his 11-year ownership.

He purchased it from Sydney barrister Rashelle Seiden, SC, who was sworn into the District Court of NSW, as well as a deputy president and head of the Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division and the Occupational Division of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of NSW (NCAT) last year.

The Vaucluse trophy home of Zhang.Credit:

Zhang, who is said to be downsizing to a recently custom-built luxury penthouse in the CBD, has done well for himself since he founded his company in 2010.

In the time his development company capitalised on Sydney’s push for density, building thousands of apartments across Sydney, he has also been busy developing his family’s property portfolio.

In 2018, his family bought another property: the 1960s-style mansion of Hong Kong-based couple Rosemary and Desmond Inglis in Vaucluse for $20 million, and it has since been rebuilt into a contemporary trophy home that is said to be worth at least $80 million now. The Inglis family paid $330,000 in 1973 for the home.

It sold through Michael Pallier of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty, who declined to comment when contacted.

Miner sells Vaucluse trophy home

Staying in Vaucluse, Dover Castle Metals’ Ben Mayo and his wife Catherine have sold their stunning home with harbour to city views for around $23 million, local sources say.

The family manor, known as Claremont, which is under Catherine’s name, is set on 1032 square metres in a dress circle address that is not far from the yachting playground of Rose Bay and its surrounding prestigious schools.

The Mayos’ redesigned the family manor known as Claremont.Credit:

Despite the home being withdrawn from auction, it sold via private treaty above its initial $20.25 million price guide when it first hit the market.

The five-bedroom, three-bathroom property had a transformation since the Mayos purchased the home in 2014 for $5 million. The YG & Partners redesign was in collaboration with Georgie Walker Interiors, who is known for her mixed Hamptons-style and New York sophistication.

It sold through Alex Phillips of PPD Real Estate who declined to comment when contacted.

Historic Rosedale Farm listed

Renowned interior designer Steve Cordony and landscaper Mike Booth have listed their iconic Rosedale Farm in Orange.

Perhaps one of the most Instagrammed homes in recent years, the meticulously restored 1877 homestead on almost 120 acres has no price guide, as there are no comparables in the area.

Renowned interior designer Steve Cordony.Credit:

The property has two residences; the main homestead hosting six bedrooms, three bathrooms, while the second guest house hosts two bedrooms, two bathrooms. It last traded for $1.8 million in 2017.

It is being sold through Scott Petersen and Adam Ross of McGrath Orange in an interest of expressions campaign that closes on May 15.

Burradoo acreage sells

In the Southern Highlands, former supercar driver Paul Weel and his wife Emma have sold their luxury acreage for $7.35 million after it was on the market since last year.

The buyers are a Sydney family with showjumping connections, who were drawn to the property’s equestrian facilities, including barns with stables, a tack room and an Olympic-sized dressage arena.

It sold through Mark Heaton of The Agency Southern Highlands.

The home seemed to be surplus to the Weels’ needs after they purchased an even larger property in Bowral for $14.5 million last year.