Closer to home, entertainer Rove McManus has just sold his house on Sydney’s northern beaches for close to $3m.

Australian agents say a property with a celebrity owner — whether a popular entertainer, high-profile chief executive officer or sports star — sells faster than a normal property and often commands a higher price.

“When you are selling a property at that level the media want to know about it,” says Ray White Double Bay director Craig Pontey.

“With media attention that definitely helps a sale, it certainly helps as far as inquiry is concerned.”

But Raine & Horne Palm Beach agent Robert Baker, who has just sold McManus’s house at 36 Watkins Road, Avalon, does not believe the entertainer’s celebrity status has an impact on the sale price of the house.

“I am sure it’s a novelty that they are buying a celebrity’s home but I don’t think that had an impact on the final price.

“I think the house is an amazing property. We had five decent buyers bidding for it; two wanted it as a holiday home the other three wanted it for a main family home. It was really the competition around the property and its uniqueness in Avalon which helped sell it. For entertaining it was superb.”

Ray White Double Bay director Michael Finger, who just sold a beachfront home owned by Kate Dupree, daughter of the late arts patron Annette Dupree, for $14.875m, says a well-known vendor definitely helps garner attention.

“In a nutshell, yes, it has an impact,” Finger says. “It might have a positive impact on the price, it might be a notoriety if they can say Russell Crowe or a chief executive officer of a major company or a sports person owned it — it definitely has an impact.”

Ken Jacobs of Christie’s International Real Estate says there’s a certain mystique with celebrity ownership and it attracts media coverage, which helps with marketing.

“And I think there are cases where there is a celebrity property it will sell more quickly and there will be a premium, which you can’t quantify. But that mystique can evaporate if the property does not sell, once that happens there is no value add.”

“It’s more a case of the value of the property ... the fact that the property is owned by celebrities or a high profile businessman is a reflection of the inherent desirability of the property, whether it be location or historical significance or architectural merit is regardless of who owns it.’’

The 6.5ha gated Beverly Hills estate previously owned by Cher and Murphy includes a four-bedroom Moroccan-themed guesthouse, an equestrian barn, two riding rings, a swimming pool and a tennis court. The roughly 1860sq m main home on the property is partially renovated, and a new owner would need to complete it before moving in.

According to public records, the house was owned in the 1980s by Cher, who sold it in 1988 to Murphy. The comedian sold the estate in 1995.

Meanwhile, Cruise sold his estate for $US39m after first asking $US50m. The buyer of the property, which includes a swimming pool, basketball court, lawns and formal landscaping, is a billionaire financier.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL