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Banking Tycoon John Symond’s Sydney Mega-Mansion Looks to Set a Price Record

The largest waterfront estate in Point Piper is expected to sell above A$100 million

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The Point Piper home of Sydney businessman John Symond is expected to sell at a record price.

Ben Rushton/Getty Images
The Point Piper home of Sydney businessman John Symond is expected to sell at a record price.
Ben Rushton/Getty Images

John Symond, 69, founder and executive chairman of Aussie Home Loans, has put his trophy Point Piper mansion on the market and expects to set a new price record for the country.  

"We expect the price will exceed A$100 million and will set a new benchmark for an Australian residential property," Tim Allerton of City Public Relations, a spokesman for Mr. Symond, told Mansion Global in an email.

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Since it is a pocket sale, A$100 million (equivalent to about U.S.$75 million) is not the official asking price. However, if the mansion sells at or above the price level as expected, it will be the first property in Australia to cross the nine-digit barrier.

The current home price record in Australia was set a year ago, when Australian-Chinese businessman Chau Chak Wing purchased James and Erica Packer’s Vaucluse mansion "La Mer" for A$70 million.

Earlier this year, businessman Leon Kamenev bought four properties covering 4,000 square meters (about 43,056 square feet) in Vaucluse to be rebuilt as one residence. The average cost of the land equates to A$20,000 per square meter. This deal is likely to be factored into valuations of Mr. Symond’s property, according to Domain Group, one of Australia’s leading real estate portals.

More:Australia’s Most Expensive Home Is Being Marketed to Chinese Buyers

Mr. Symond’s 2,700-square-meter block, with almost 90-meter water frontage, is the largest waterfront property on Point Piper. The residence comprises 2,289 square meter of living space, including six bedrooms and 24 bathrooms, with another 1,455-square-meter terrace areas overlooking the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and Sydney skyline, according to Ken Jacobs of Christie’s International.

"The design, execution and finishes along with the way each room addresses the 270-degree vistas of the harbour ensures the homes place as the yardstick by which others are measured," said Mr. Jacobs. He and and Bill Malouf of LJ Hooker Double Bay are handling the sale of the mansion.

The entertaining area on the lower level of the home has space for up to 400 people. The property also features a swimming pool, a gym and a library.

Mr. Symond purchased the property as an empty patch of land in 1999 for A$10.89 million and spent five years and more than A$50 million to build up the property.

In February, he married his second wife Amber McDonald, 44, in this mansion in front of about 160 guests.

"John and wife Amber plan to spend more time overseas after his full-time role as Executive Chairman of Aussie Home Loans is completed in the second half of 2017–the 25th anniversary of the leading mortgage broker," said Mr. Allerton.

Ms. McDonald has two primary school-aged children from her previous marriage to Patrick Keating, son of former prime minister Paul Keating. The Symonds are reportedly planning to move to London.

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Point Piper is a small, affluent harbourside suburb of Sydney, just four miles east of the city’s central business district. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and luxury car importer Neville Crichton are among a slew of high-profile residents in the neighborhood.

(For more information about Point Piper’s real estate market, check Mansion Global’s Neighborhood Note due to be published tomorrow.)

Write to Fang Block at fang.block@dowjones.com