“I think it’s the best home in Toorak, and potential buyers appreciated the fact there is very little to do – it’s a turnkey property,” Mr Stubbings said.
He refused to discuss the buyer, but Mr Stubbings confirmed there had been multiple offers and that the property drew interest from a range of locations.
“Interest both locally and offshore was really impressive,” Mr Stubbings said. “Global interest included expats and parties from mainland China.”
The property sits on about 3300 square metres on Toorak’s exclusive Albany Road.
Kay & Burton’s chairman, Mr Delany, said strong competition helped drive up the price. “Our vendors are very pleased with the result … We had multiple buyers for the property, which was no surprise given the quality of the asset, and the competitive traction drove the price to a strong level.”
Unlike other big listings on the Toorak market, the Walker estate did not require a big upgrade, Mr Delany said.
“Architecturally, it was a magnificent home that people did not need to spend a large amount of money on,” he said. “Together with its land content, it’s a trophy property in its present form.”
Roger Poole, a retired chairman of renowned architectural firm Bates Smart and who was involved in the original 1998 build, said the brief was to construct a modern house designed to evoke the elegance of an earlier era.
“We felt the house should be a Melbourne house, evoking that grand, 1880s through 1920s period, but as a modern house,” Mr Poole said.
Located on the corner of Albany Road and Kenley Court, Huntingfield has six bedrooms, marble and limestone interior finishes, two pools – one indoor and one outdoor – a gym, sauna, wine cellar, fountain, waterfall, eight-car basement garage and a tennis court behind wrought-iron gates.
The property includes a tennis court, indoor pool and outdoor pool.
The sale of the Walker estate tops this year’s previous record, when Hawthorn’s Avon Court sold for $41 million to crypto couple Michael and Anna Egorova in March.
The Walker estate is the first of three top-tier listings to exit Melbourne’s prestige market, leaving behind two significant Toorak mansions still awaiting a deep-pocketed buyer.
The estate of the late David Hains is for sale with a $39 million to $42.5 million guide.
They are the nearby Albany Road estate of late hedge fund manager David Hains – guiding between $39 million and $42.5 million – and the 4700 square metre Clendon Road property owned by Arvin Lourdenadin, son of businessman Sir Ninian Mogan Lourdenadin, guiding between $42 million and $46 million.
The property is understood to be the third most expensive home ever sold in Melbourne, following the $80 million paid by Stake.com founder Ed Craven for a St Georges Road property in August last year and last December’s $75 million sale of Blair by MessageMedia founder Grant Rule.