Sydney waterfront mansion sells for record $73m

A Sydney mansion which just sold for a mammoth A$67 million ($73.3m) has set a new Australian record.

The house at 38B The Crescent in Sydney's Vaucluse has just been sold to an unnamed Australian family, and its jaw-dropping price tag means it is now officially the country's highest-ever waterfront sale.

It is also the third most expensive property ever sold in Australia, following the April sale of Point Piper residence "Elaine" for more than A$71m ($77.7m), and the 2015 sale of James and Erica Packer's Vaucluse property La Mer, which fetched A$70m ($76.6m).

The property, known as "Phoenix Acres", boasts six huge bedrooms and bathrooms, a tennis court, conservatory, a 28m pool with "his and hers" change rooms, a library and gym and even an English-style pub.

It attracted interest from potential international buyers from as far afield as Beijing, Shanghai and New York.

The 3731sq m residence also boasts 81m of water frontage with a private boathouse and jetty facilities and views of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney's skyline.

The trophy home, which has been described as "Australia's Versailles", was sold by Ray White Double Bay director Craig Pontey, who said the sale topped off a huge year for Sydney's luxury property market.

He said while both Phoenix Acres and Elaine were positioned on the water, the latter was classified as "beachfront", meaning 38B The Crescent was Australia's priciest waterfront property.

"Waterfront" is defined as land on the edge of a body of water while beachfront is specifically referring to a beach with a shoreline — which means a waterfront property may have a beach, a cliff or a pier or jetty, as Phoenix Acres does.

"It is definitely being sold to a local family. It was only on the market for eight weeks, so it was pretty amazing," he said.

"Elaine sold for A$71m but that was actually beachfront, and Packer's house which sold for A$70m is on top of a hill, so this is the highest ever waterfront sale, which is pretty cool.

"There have been quite a number of trophy sales this year in Sydney — around A$550m worth, which is quite strong — and this sale demonstrates that the top end has had a pretty big year."

Phoenix Acres was purchased by Singaporean hotel and property mogul Chio Kiat Ow in 1995 for just A$7,001,000 ($7.6m).

Ow decided to sell his sprawling property as his hectic travel schedule meant he didn't have the time to enjoy it properly.