Who bought the house next door to the family of retail billionaire Solomon Lew, and how such a savvy wealthy homeowner let the land go is a mystery.
According to David Morrell, an advocate for prestige buyers, Lew wasn’t the buyer for the 1970s brick home because his equity in the property was backed. No doubt the family hopes to see some friendly new faces, if not familiar ones, across the fence.
The house next door to Lu’s was put up for auction.
The 795-square-metre block facing popular Albany Road is advertised as a refurbishment or redevelopment opportunity with a price guide of $9.75 million to $10.5 million.
Adjacent to grand residences, the supersized 6000sq m block is owned by company vehicles and its directors include Solomon Lew, who lives apart from Rose Lew. Since their separation, Mr Lo has been linked to a luxury apartment on St Kilda Road.
Marshall White director Justin Long confirmed there were three bidders at last weekend’s auction, but the home passed with a bid of $10.6 million and subsequently sold. He declined to disclose the price or buyer, but said the home was being offered as a land game.
“It’s probably the best street in Toorak, which means the best street in Melbourne,” he said. “To get land in that location, it’s just investing in gold for the long term.”
This brick house was offered as an opportunity to renovate or rebuild.Credit:marshall white
Several Toorak agents not involved in the sale expressed surprise that the Lew family did not know the buyer given the opportunity to merge the two neighbourhoods, which Lew is said to have been interested in doing for four decades. A person, who cannot be named, is asking as much as $11.5 million.
Morrell and Koren’s buyer’s agent, David Morrell, who raised the alarm about the title, confirmed the property passed to him at auction and he bought it, but declined to reveal the new owner or the price.
