Australian Casino Tycoon Offloads Colossal Sydney Mansion for $51 Million

Outlandish property prices make daily headlines in Sydney, where home price growth is well into the double digits, fed by record low interest rates, a rapidly rising population, chronic undersupply, a tax system that pampers property investors and a stream of Asian money.

La Mer was bought by Dr Chau Chak Wing, a Chinese-Australian billionaire developer best known in Sydney for donating more than A$20-million to entice internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry to design a building at the University of Technology in Sydney, where Chau’s son studied architecture. The sale of Packer’s mansion won’t be subject to scrutiny under laws regulating the sale of property to overseas buyers as the new owner is Australian.

“We can confirm that the Chau family has decided to move from the family home in Hunters Hill to Vaucluse and has accordingly agreed to purchase the Packers’ house”, a family spokesman said in a statement. “The sale details for the house are confidential”.

The six-bedroom main residence at La Mer includes underground parking for 20 cars, vast entertaining spaces and two self-contained staff quarters under the rooftop lawn and lap pool, according to Fairfax.

The sale far exceeds the previous Sydney record of $52 million for Altona in Point Piper in 2013 and the national record of $57.5 million for a Perth mansion in 2009.