Dural
Top: The house sold by Dr James Ellingford Centre: Ray Hadley’s acreage, asking $8 million Bottom: Belvedere, listed for offers over $13.8 million
J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR
Room to move
City buyers are on the hunt for luxury acreages
Demand is soaring at Dural in Sydney’s Hills District, according to REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee, with would-be buyers flocking to the area in search of prized acreages within easy reach of the city. Sydney agent Alison Coopes says she’s getting interest from local, interstate and international buyers for the two-hectare Hemers Road estate Belvedere, which is on track to set a suburb record. “A lot of inquiry has come from owners of city properties who want their own resort-style retreat on weekends,” Coopes says. “We are receiving a lot of inquiry from buyers who in fact will maintain apartments and/or smaller homes in the city but who aspire to have their country retreat for weekends and holidays.” The six-bedroom mansion has $13.8 million hopes. Coopes says there has been interest from upsizers seeking out the Hills, including from Parramatta. If it reaches its price guide, Belvedere will exceed the current Dural record, set in 2018 when Moncur Estate, the 2012-built, two-storey French provincial-inspired home on two hectares went for $10.85 million. It was sold to interests associated with Chinese billionaire couple Zhou Qunfei, founder of optical manufacturer Lens Technology, and her husband Junlong Zheng. Belvedere has been over-engineered to last for generations, with more than 360 cubic metres of concrete and more than 100,000 schooner bricks used. Coopes says a rebuild would cost close to $10 million. The level of luxury is immediately apparent in the main entry foyer. A vintage European 72-light Swarovski crystal chandelier hangs from the six-metre-high ceiling. There’s also custom-laid Italian marble flooring and a sweeping, full 20
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concrete floating spiral staircase with wrought iron and custom curved timber balustrades. There are more crystal chandeliers in the formal living and dining rooms, and an open wood fireplace with hand-carved white marble mantle. The three-level mansion has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. In the two hectares of landscaped grounds is a heated pool and a championship tennis court. “A perfect block with elevation, a view, and no easement or power lines, located in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Dural, simply doesn’t exist,” Coopes says. Just 2km away, Lumby Hampson agents Kate Lumby and Will Hampson have sold the Dural home of video game developer Dr James Ellingford. Ellingford, former managing director of Take-Two Interactive and was one of the main executives behind the popular video game Grand Theft Auto, paid $3.9 million for the house in 2019. It sold last month for $4.310 million. The latest prestige offering comes from radio veteran Ray Hadley, who is looking to sell his acreage in Dural to downsize locally. The price guide has been given as $7.7 million to $8 million, given that other Dural acreages have been fetching in the mid $8 million range. Peter Colusso at LJ Hooker Dural describes the home as a picturesque semi-rural escape only 10 minutes from the Castle Towers shopping centre and the Sydney Metro. The two-home, 2.2 hectare listing comes at a time of heightened interest for big homes on big blocks in the aftermath of the pandemic. THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| APRIL 10-11, 2021
