Rove McManus and Tasma Walton have sold their luxurious clifftop home in Bronte for $14m and bought a $3.76m deceased estate in Coogee.
The celebrity couple had only just completed a two-year $4m renovation of the Bronte bungalow they’d purchased for $6.4m in 2016 before they sold it in an off-market deal for the $14m bumper price some months ago, though it’s not yet been reported.
And now the Logie Award-winning presenter and his actor wife are set to do it all again: they’ve bought the rundown semi of Spanish-born Pedro Capilla, who died at the age of 101 in 2019, at a hot auction last Saturday.
Mary Howell, of The Agency Eastern Suburbs, refused to comment about the identity of the purchasers when contacted by the Wentworth Courier.
Howell had a price guide of $2.4m to $2.5m, so the home looks to have sold for at least $1m above its reserve.
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The couple, who have a young daughter, Ruby, are understood to have had another agent acting for them at the auction, but other sources have confirmed it was McManus and Walton who have won the keys.
McManus and Walton are planning to spend more time in their hometown of Perth, having last November bought a $2m five-bedroom home with pool on 1000 sqm — previously owned by businessman Tony Sage, the owner of A-League side Perth Glory — in beachside City Beach.
But they’ve been scouring the Sydney’s eastern beachside suburbs looking for a smaller Sydney base.
Last Saturday’s auction for the single-level three-bedroom Coogee semi in original condition on a 289 sqm block — less than 300 metres from Coogee Beach — attracted a huge crowd, with five bidders fighting for it.
McManus and Walton have quite a job ahead of them, with pictures revealing dated interiors including threadbare carpet and ugly wallpaper. Steps lead down to a small courtyard and there’s an old laundry and workshop at the rear of the yard.
But the couple, both 47, have shown they’re up for significant renos in the past, with noise from demolition works at their Bronte home last year upsetting some of the neighbours.
The ad for the Coogee property describes the property as “a unique opportunity to acquire your very own beachside sanctuary in an elevated position”.
The semi, which is freestanding to the northern side and has plenty of natural light, is a solid double-brick build and has high ceilings.
As the ad says: “Make it your own with bespoke cosmetic enhancements.”