Flatmates.com.au founder lists $9m home in ‘most desirable street’

The Centennial Park childhood home of entrepreneur Andrew Maloney is on the market with a price guide of $9 million.

Over the course of his career, Maloney has built online services including Flatmates.com.au, which sold to REA Group in 2017, the university website StudentVIP.com.au, and the Lost On Campus app.

He is also the founder and chief executive of Student Super, a superannuation fund for young Australians.

Andrew’s father Peter Maloney, who passed away last year, had lived at the property for his entire life.

The block of land was bought in 1927 by Aileen Thomson, Andrew Maloney’s grandmother. Maloney told this masthead Aileen and her husband, George Maloney then built a single-storey house.

The entrepreneur added that the home was renovated by his parents, Peter and Mary Maloney, who added a second storey in the early 1970s. The result is a six-bedroom, two-bathroom house on 664 square metres.

“My earliest memory is sitting on the floor, watching a very fuzzy black and white TV in the original living room of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. I was four,” Maloney said.

Listing photos of the deceased estate reveal light-filled rooms with patterned wallpaper and pops of colour.

“It was a bold renovation,” Maloney said of his parents’ changes to the home. “A bright yellow hallway and a tropical green sunroom with cane chairs. Things toned down over the years.

“It was a great area to grow up in. Martin Road and Robertson Road are a little island surrounded by parkland. The local kids played in Centennial Park until sunset,” he said.

Ben Collier of The Agency holds the listing and told this masthead it’s very rare for a property on Martin Road to be offered with a guide of below $10 million.

“It’s the most desirable street in Centennial Park with its serene aspect, position directly opposite Centennial Park, and the fact there’s not one neighbouring apartment building,” he said.

Coffee queen hopes to brew a deal

Clelia Cantarella, a former part-owner of Vittoria Coffee, has put her Mosman home on the market with a price guide of $14 million to $14.5 million.

Records show Clelia bought the four-bedroom, three-bathroom Federation house for $13 million in 2022 from former Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns and his wife Jane.

The couple bought the house for $4,750,000 in 2010 and approved development plans lodged with council in 2012 reveal alterations and additions to the dwelling, including a replacement and extension of the rear living and bedroom areas, with cost of works around $1.9 million.

Behind a sandstone entry, contemporary interiors include timber floors, statement lighting, an entertainer’s kitchen and classic period detailing. There is a terrace for entertaining and a private harbour-view deck off the main bedroom.

Claudia Portale of Atlas Lower North Shore would only divulge the price guide when contacted, declining to comment on the vendor’s identity or decision to sell.

Oceanfront address to go under the hammer

Ross Grant, the co-founder of independent corporate advisory firm Grant Samuel and once an executive director at Macquarie Bank, has listed his Whale Beach residence with an auction guide of $14.9 million.

Grant, who was also a director of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and Waratahs Rugby, bought the property for $455,000 in 1993, records show. In the years since, he knocked down the original dwelling and constructed a new home with a pool, at a cost of around $1.2 million, based on approved development plans lodged with council.

The result is a coastal sanctuary with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a wine cellar, lift access, various entertainment zones and direct beach access.

BJ Edwards and David Edwards of LJ Hooker Palm Beach hold the listing but declined to comment on any aspect when contacted.

Banking exec could cash in

Andrew Palmer, an international banking executive and portfolio manager at Merkle Tree Capital and his wife Susan, have listed their Bronte home with a buyer’s guide of $19.25 million.

Records show the couple bought the property for $4.75 million in 2004, and lodged plans with council the following year for its demolition and construction of a new two-storey home with a double garage and pool.

Corben Architects were enlisted for the new build, a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a Caesarstone kitchen, lower-level rumpus and entertainment area, wraparound terrace, infinity-edge pool, alfresco pavilion, outdoor bar and kitchen.

Bronte’s current house price record was set in 2023 when a six-bedroom, four-bathroom house sold for $29.25 million. AirTree Ventures co-founder Craig Blair and his wife Melanie Caffrey, paid the sum to Darien Jagger, co-founder of boutique investment firm Cygnet Capital, and his wife Katie.

The Palmer residence is being sold by James Ball, Maclay Longhurst and Clint Ballard of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty, alongside Alexander Phillips and Thomas Fuller of Ray White Phillips & Co.

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