Lawyer and Paul Keating confidante sells ‘interim home’ for $11.5m

Lawyer and former business associate of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, Chris Coudounaris and his wife Antonia, have sold their Potts Point apartment for $11.5 million.

Coudounaris was the former chairman of electronics retailer Strathfield and a key legal and financial advisor to Keating.

A sold sticker on the listing indicated an off-market sale by private treaty on December 5 for $11.5 million. Maclay Longhurst and Emily Davidson of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty were the selling agents and both declined to comment on any aspect of the sale. The buyer’s identity will be revealed at settlement.

The Coudounaris’ purchased the unit off-market for $8.3 million in 2024 from property investors Lionel and Narelle Brown through TRG’s Gavin Rubinstein. The whole-floor apartment has a terrace with city skyline views and interiors are neutral with expansive glass, mirrored accents and pendant lights.

Local sources with knowledge of the deal but not authorised to comment publicly said the Coudounaris’ considered the three-bedroom, three-bathroom pad to be their ‘interim house’ before moving into their sub-penthouse in Elizabeth Bay. They splashed $22 million in 2023 for the brand-new build through Richardson & Wrench’s Jason Boon.

That same year, they sold their four-bedroom residence in Bellevue Hill for $15.5 million to David Little, co-founder of video slot gaming company Lightning Box Games, in a lengthy campaign through various agents.

Months later, they offloaded their Potts Point terrace for $10.6 million to Susan Lane, wife of David Lane, who was the former Americas chief executive at asset manager Perpetual, through Boon and co-agent Geoff Cox.

Bellevue Hill downsizers

Former Mirvac head of finance Stephen Thomson and his wife, Celeste, have sold their mid-century modern home in Bellevue Hill for $15 million.

Local sources with knowledge of the deal, but not authorised to comment publicly, said they are downsizing to a warehouse in Surry Hills.

Before Steve’s time at development giant Mirvac, he held directorship roles at Microsoft and infrastructure company Broadspectrum, which was formerly known as Transfield Services and is now part of Ventia, as well as drilling and engineering business, Easternwell Group. His LinkedIn profile suggests a new career path with his time at Mirvac ending this month.

A sold sticker on the Bellevue Hill listing indicated a sale by private treaty on December 5 for $15 million.

Selling agents, Maclay Longhurst and Brad Plos of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty, both declined to comment on any aspect of the sale. The buyer’s identity will be revealed at settlement.

The couple purchased the five-bedroom, three-bathroom house with a pool for $4,385,000 in 2013 from Dr David Sonnabend, AM, professor emeritus of orthopaedics and traumatic surgery at the University of Sydney, and his wife Pamela.

The Thomsons enlisted architect Henry Rossler to renovate the mansion, adding a rooftop entertainment terrace with panoramic views from Point Piper to Bondi, Calacatta marble kitchen, 600-bottle wine cellar and gym. Expansive glass and oak floors feature throughout.

Bellevue Hill has the highest median house price in the nation, now at an eye-watering $10 million on Domain data. That figure has more than tripled since March 2015.

Elizabeth Bay record

Allan Livingstone, who cashed in from Sydney’s M4 motorway, and his wife Daryl, have sold their Elizabeth Bay waterfront apartment for $28 million, making it a suburb record for a unit.

Livingstone was the managing director of Statewide Roads. In 2000, Macquarie Infrastructure Group paid $153.3 million for a 50.6 per cent stake in the company. Since Livingstone’s windfall he has invested in property.

This property was sold by private treaty on November 28, with the $28 million figure disclosed, but selling agents Geoff Cox and Jason Boon of Richardson & Wrench declined to comment further. The buyer will be revealed at settlement.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom garden apartment over two levels is one of six strata homes. The architecture is by Burley Katon Halliday and the home features limestone floors, private balconies and ensuites for the bedrooms and a kitchen featuring Gaggenau and Miele appliances.

Records show the Livingstones purchased the unit – which comes with a communal 20-metre pool, private jetty, level garden and direct access to the harbour – for $6.5 million in 1998.