It's a perfect example of how Australian property prices, especially in Sydney are sky-rocketing. With just an average suburban house, inner city terrace or a Redfern apartment now costing up to $1M, Iona , the gorgeous residence of Academy Award winning film duo Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin has gone on the market for a whopping $16M US with the pair moving permanently to New York.
Whispers has been to the property twice, once before Baz bought Iona and it was fairly run down and once for a garden party given by the pair. We managed to peek inside and the decor is truly wonderful and an example of Catherine's exquisite taste.But consider what their movie contemporaries pay in Hollywood or New York. Julia Roberts put her sensational NY penthouse on the market for $4.5M while fitness guru Russell Simmons picked up a stunning LA house for $5.8M. Meanwhile writer and actor Larry David purchased a huge mansion with 7 bedrooms & 9 bathrooms in the snooty Pacific Palisades with stunning water views for $15M (Iona may be in Darlinghurst but it has absolutely no views at all) and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell has listed her New Jersey mega mansion for sale at just $7M while mega star George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin paid an affordable $16M for a 300 year old Grade II listed Georgian mansion in a five-acre islet in the River Thames west of central London.
