Six-House Estate Could Be Melbourne’s Most Expensive Home

One of Australia’s richest families is selling off a six-home estate outside of Melbourne for what has the potential to be a record-setting price in the state of Victoria, according to the listing agents.

The Roche family, who made their wealth from mining and property development, own the lavish six-mansion estate in the affluent Melbourne suburb of Toorak. The Roches have spent the past five years rebuilding four of the six houses into contemporary homes and getting plans approved to update two others, including a historic 1920s mansion, according to CBRE Australia and Abercromby’s Real Estate, the two brokerages handling the sale.

The owners are asking between A$45 million and A$50 million (US$36.43 million and US$40.48 million)—a price that could beat out a state record set last year from the same neighborhood. In the record deal in August, a foreign buyer reportedly got special approval to buy a 1.3-acre estate on one of Toorak’s most exclusive streets for A$40 million (US$32.38 million).

Before the Roches, former head of BP James Strafford-Fox and his wife, Moyna, amassed the unusual assortment of homes in Toorak. They first acquired the 1920s mansion known as "Windarring" and gobbled up five neighboring homes over the next 20 years, according to the listing agents.

When the Roches bought the spread for an undisclosed amount in 2013, the Strafford-Foxes donated all of the proceeds from the sale to dementia research.

Jock Langley, director at Abercromby’s, said the buyer will "be securing a piece of Toorak’s history."

Mr. Langley is co-listing the home with CBRE agent Mark Wizel.

The property encompasses three newly built contemporary homes, a fourth that will be completed by the end of the year. There are also approved plans in place to modernize the historic "Windarring" residence and rebuild the sixth freestanding house.

The brokers have launched a marketing campaign internationally despite tightened rules in the country on foreign home ownership.

"Melbourne has become a global city, with the real estate market garnering significant investment from an array of international buyers, predominantly from Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong," Mr. Wizel said.

More:Tasmania Offers An Island Haven for Historic Home Buyers

"Many of these investors are coming with the view to relocate permanently, meaning Melbourne’s luxury housing markets are very much on the map for Asian buyers."