Peter Lowy buys harbour-side Sydney house

Peter Lowy, the Los Angeles-based co-chief executive of the Westfield Group and son of the veteran shopping centre tycoon Frank Lowy, has spent $10.35 million on Sydney harbour-front residence.

The Double Bay purchase signals the likelihood that Peter Lowy and his wife, Janine, will be spending more time in Sydney. The couple have resided in the United States for the past 21 years, where he helped oversee the expansion of the Westfield Group into one of the world’s largest publicly traded real-estate companies, with investment interests in 119 shopping centres in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The property was recently sold by McLean family through LJ Hooker Double Bay agent Bill Malouf.

The four-bedroom house that sits on a 570-square-metre block was previously traded in 1998 for $3.25 million when sold by the late former chairman of the Maritime Services Board, John Barraclough, and his wife, Lois.

The house is set on a cul-de-sac close to the ailing heart of the cosmopolitan Double Bay village.

It comes with northerly harbour views, a sprawling grassed garden to the water's edge and a nearby berth for a small boat or dinghy.

The Los Angeles Times has reported that Peter Lowy took American citizenship. The couple own a seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom Beverly Hills house, which was built in 2004 with 1,200 square metres of living space. The 4,460-square-metre block cost $US6.6 million in 2000. It currently has an estimated value of US$10.3 million, according to Zillow, the United States price estimate website. Its value at the peak of the property market in America was put at $US14 million.

Peter Lowy's two brothers have owned Sydney harbour-front homes for many years. Stephen is at Watsons Bay and the eldest, David, who recently stepped down from Westfield board after 34 years, is at Vaucluse. Their parents, Frank and Shirley, live on the harbour front at Point Piper.

In May Peter and Steven Lowy took over day-to-day control of Westfield Group as Frank stepped back from the company he founded in 1959.

Frank Lowy, 80, assumed the role of non-executive chairman.

Peter and Steven Lowy have served the company for 28 and 24 years respectively.

Both held operational management roles with the company early in their careers, with Peter starting as assistant treasurer in 1983 and Steven as manager of Garden State Plaza shopping centre in New Jersey in 1987. Both then spent time in leadership positions in operations, development and finance before progressing to more senior country head roles and then joint group managing directors.