Mansion in Victoria to sell for more than US$25 million

A 1930s Spanish mission-style home located in the Portsea cliff-top in Victoria is set to break records when it is sold for more than US$25 million.

The Ilyuka home was formerly owned by Computershare director Michele O'Halloran and originally built for American oil tycoon Harry Cornforth during the 1930s. The sale is expected to be finalized soon although the real estate agency handling the property, Kay & Burton, is keeping the details of the sale confidential.

''I anticipate there will be some announcement of a sale over the next day or so but at the moment I'm not at liberty to say,'' Kay & Burton managing director, Gerald Delany, told The Age. ''It's been up for sale. It's been promoted in the $20 million-plus bracket. It's going to achieve that.”

He added: ''It is a part and parcel of the negotiation that they [the purchaser] not be disclosed.”

The top dollar sale came with a five-minute US$200,000 movie to allow the property to garner overseas interest. The movie showcases the beauty of the home and shows a day in the life of a clean cut fictional family, the Crawfords, starring television presenter Brodie Harper and her husband.

Properties in the Portsea cliff-top area are considered the priciest in Victoria state. The last record for the most expensive residential property in the state was for the Stonington mansion in Glenferrie Road sold for US$18 million to art dealer Rod Menzies.

The new Ilyuka owner will be in good company with neighbors including trucking magnate Lindsay Fox and investment banker John McIntosh.