A mysterious crypto king has splurged a stunning $80 million on an unfinished Toorak mansion, setting a state record in the process.
The property, at 29-31 St Georges Rd, now holds the title of Victoria’s most expensive home after selling for the auspicious figure of $80,000,088, according to The Age.
It’s the second time in a week Victoria’s house price record has been smashed, with Blair House, at 17 St Georges Rd, Toorak, also selling for almost $75 million.
The selling agent for both of the Toorak properties was Marshall White’s Marcus Chiminello.
Buyer’s agent Kim Easterbrook told The Age her buyer, Ed Craven, 27, bought the more expensive of the two homes in an off-market deal, despite it being in derelict condition.
Mr Craven, who has made his fortune as the founder of a crypto gambling platform, plans to build a new home on the 7200sq m block.
The two deals smash the record for the state’s biggest sale, previously held by Malvern’s Stonington Mansion, which sold for $52.5 million in 2018.
The home at 29-31 St Georges Rd, one of Toorak’s ritziest streets, last sold for $5 million in 1991 to property developer David Yu.
Mr Yu bought the half-built French Renaissance-style mansion and has left it untouched since, according to the Daily Mail.
Council rejected plans to subdivide the block into nine lots in 1992.
This sale means Blair House only held the title of the state’s most expensive home for a few days.
It is under offer after an Expression of Interest campaign that had a price guide of $65 to $70 million.
But Mr Chiminello confirmed to The Age that the property had sold for more, but he would not be drawn on the exact figure.
Another source close to the deal told the age the price was just shy of $75 million.
The Nanut family has owned Blair House since the 1970s.
In 2018 Maggie Nanut told The Australian when she first saw Blair House she was captivated by the Jacaranda blooms that lined the driveway.
Over the years the garden has included vegetable gardens, citrus trees and a lavender patch.
“The garden is a passion above all else – apart from my grandchildren,” Mrs Nanut said at the time.
But neither sale comes close to the Australian record for the most expensive home, with Fairwater, on Sydney’s harbour, selling for $100 million in 2019.
A year later Edgewater, in Point Piper, sold for $95 million.
