Auto repair garage owners sell Vaucluse mansion for $23 million

Mechanic Steve Davidson and his wife Carmen, owners of the Bondi Junction Auto Services garage, have sold their Vaucluse mansion for $23 million, local sources have revealed.

After a sale sticker went up on the listing, local sources with knowledge of the deal but not authorised to comment publicly said the property sold to a local family for $23 million.

D’Leanne Lewis of Laing+Simmons Double Bay, who held the listing, declined to comment on any aspect of the sale when approached by this masthead. The sale price and buyer’s identity will be revealed at settlement.

The Davidsons purchased the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom abode for $20.5 million without a mortgage in 2023 from former General Pants boss Phil Staub and Jackie Vidor, the granddaughter of the late billionaire Victor Smorgon. Lewis was behind the sale.

The four-level residence with direct access to Parsley Bay beach is set on 1130 square metres and features gable ceilings, oak floors and internal walls of glass.

There are five bedrooms with their own en suite, a self-contained studio apartment with kitchenette and private entrance, and a marble chef’s kitchen with a Sub-Zero fridge.

A raised stone walkway above the pool makes a statement alongside the Mediterranean-inspired gardens. There are also a steam room and wet bar.

The Davidsons, who also own a string of other businesses on and around Oxford Street in Bondi Junction, are rumoured to be downsizing.

They have done well in the eastern suburbs market since 2016, when they sold the Macquarie Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage in Vaucluse for $7.5 million to a wealthy Chinese aviation executive.

Their next purchase, a $17 million Vaucluse mansion, was sold for $37.5 million in 2021 to former Labor MP Ros Kellyand her husband, former Westpac chief executive David Morgan.

That same year the Davidsons bought a property in Bellevue Hill for $28.5 million from film producer Antoinette “Popsy” Albert and later sold it for $34.75 million in 2023.

Marketing bigwig to offload estate

Sports marketing consultant Sean Nicholls and his interior designer wife Dita have listed their 30-acre estate in the Hornsby Shire with a price guide of $9 million to $9.9 million.

After six years at the property, and Sean now retiring, the couple recently purchased a home in France and plan to split their time between Sydney and Bordeaux. They intend to downsize their Sydney house and will look for something on a smaller landholding.

The Nicholls purchased the property in Arcadia, less than a 45km drive from Sydney’s CBD, for $3.15 million in 2019.

Sean has spent more than 30 years in sports entertainment and event marketing in Australia and abroad. He is the chief executive of Link Marketing and Management International, whose clients include Warner Bros and the Chinese Volleyball League, and he has consulted to national and international federations including the Pacific Games.

Called The Palladio, the property is often used for filming, photoshoots and weddings, with a daily rate from $4000, according to the Pure Locations website.

The estate consists of an Italianate-style main three-bedroom residence with parquetry floors, expansive glass walls, imported Venetian light fittings and chandeliers.

There are also a two-bedroom guesthouse, a two-bedroom pool house, a cinema, championship-sized tennis court, 18-metre pool, twin lily ponds, a three-hole golf course, courtyards, a fire pit and even a helicopter pad.

Taylor Snell, of Sydney Country Living, and Darren Curtis and Daniel Wilkins, of Forbes Global Properties, are accepting expressions of interest.

TV star’s new home

The Block judge Darren Palmer and his husband Olivier Duvillard, a cosmetic industry expert and strategic consultant, have emerged on settlement documents as the buyers of a $4.2 million cottage in Belongil Creek in Byron Bay.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on 410 square metres has timber floors, a white palette, high ceilings and louvre windows. Vistas over Belongil Creek provide a serene backdrop.

Nick Dunn and Tezu Harrison of McGrath Byron Bay held the listing.

The purchase comes a year after the couple sold their holiday home in the nearby suburb of Suffolk Park for $2.6 million.

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom property is a two-storey beach house with floorboards, a white palette, plantation shutters and sheer curtains.

There is a media room, covered deck and pool to entertain.

Jane Johnston of First National Byron Bay held the listing.