The Coonac mansion when it was purchased by Paul Little.
Billionaire pharmaceuticals company owner Dennis Bastas is firming as the likely buyer behind Melbourne’s priciest ever home sale.
But it might not have long as the city’s most expensive residence, with suggestions crypto casino billionaire Ed Craven’s efforts to revive a St Georges Rd home dubbed the suburb’s ‘ghost mansion’ could have it worth as much as $160m.
Former Essendon president Paul Little made headlines earlier in the year selling his home, named Coonac, in a $100m+ deal that industry insiders have pegged as worth anywhere from $115m-$120m, though was initially reported by the Australian Financial Review as $150m.
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It is Melbourne’s priciest ever sale, but likely short of the $130m Sydney-based house price record for Australia. A nine-bedroom Sydney penthouse set the nation’s overall home price record at $140m in 2019.
Kay & Burton’s Ross Savas and Gerald Delaney are understood to have helped ink the deal, but have yet to comment on it.
With the sale understood to be subject to an exceptionally long settlement in acknowledgment of Mr Little and his wife Jane Hansen, the University of Melbourne chancellor, still overseeing the renovation of their future home in South Yarra, title documents are yet to change hands and confirm the new owner.
Reportedly worth a hefty $1.8bn, Mr Bastas chairs Arrotex Pharmaceuticals, myDNA and DBG Health — with his companies recently collecting MCoBeauty for about $500m.
Coonac is on one of Toorak’s largest plots of land.
The Toorak mansion is currently Melbourne’s priciest pile, but might not be for much longer. Picture: Andrew Henshaw
In February, when initially contacted about rumours he had purchased the home, the billionaire said he was unsure why other parties were naming him and said “we already have a nice Toorak house” — referencing another mansion in the suburb dubbed the Wayne Residence for its Batman-like basement garage.
But he didn’t specifically say he had not purchased the home.
Those in the know around Toorak have continued to link him to the sale, with industry sources today indicating they still believed him to be the purchaser.
But he might not be the owner of the city’s priciest pile for long, with ongoing work to build a new mansion on nearby St Georges Rd by crypto casino billionaire Ed Craven already starting to emerge from the ground.
Locals are pegging that home’s future value as worth anywhere from $100m-$160m.
RT Edgar Toorak boss Jeremy Fox said it was hard to imagine Mr Craven’s build cost would come in for much less than the $80.88m he spent acquiring the site in 2022.
Renders of the ‘Ghost Mansion’ Ed Craven is having built in nearby St Georges Rd.
The planned mansion is expected to cover an expansive amount of the allotment.
Between the St Georges Rd upgrade and Mr Little’s sale, Mr Fox said it was clear Melbourne’s richlisters were stepping up.
“It shows how successful a lot of people in Melbourne are, and how they love living in Melbourne,” Mr Fox said.
“And that’s a positive for everyone.”
Paul Conrad, the architect designing the property, is on the public record citing a $150m end-value figure for the home.
Morrell and Koren buyer’s advocate Matthew Cleverdon said the city’s elite were “still looking for a consistent supply of high-end homes”.
“With the interrupted year so far, some vendors will choose to wait until spring when there’s less public holiday interruptions and less turmoil, with plenty of high-end buyers eagerly awaiting more choice,” Mr Cleverdon said.
The Myer Family’s Cranlana mansion remains for sale in Toorak, with hopes of topping $100m.
53-57 Park St, South Yarra, has just been listed with hopes of a more than $31m sale.
However, there is still at least one home listed for sale with hopes of a $100m+ sale.
The Myer family have Toorak mansion Cranlana listed for sale at 62 Clendon Rd, Toorak, with a $96m-$105m price guide.
The 1.14ha property is possibly the only other address in the suburb that could rival the record-setting Coonac for size, but has been awaiting a buyer since September last year.
It is being represented by Marshall White’s Marcus Chiminello, who is also working to sell a luxury penthouse at the top of Tim Gurner’s Saint Moritz development on behalf of real estate and media guru Antony Catalano.
Mr Chiminello has also this week listed a six-bedroom South Yarra mansion with a $31m-$33m asking price at 53-57 Park St as “coming soon”.
Records show the 900sq m address is owned by Vincent Sofo, a nightclub and venue operator who previously owned St Kilda’s popular Espy hotel.
Prominent Toorak agent Mike Gibson from Forbes Global Properties said Toorak’s top end was travelling “exceptionally well” for the start of 2025.
He noted that one of the biggest hold ups for it had been a mix of the Australian election, share market pain off the back of Donald Trump’s tarrif moves and back-to-back long weekends in April — which had combined to limit the appetite of many potential sellers to test the market.
However, later this year he said it was possible there could be even more activity.
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