Portsea buy by Future Fund's Michael Wachtel

The Credit Suisse advisor Michael Wachtel has bought the Portsea weekender, Blair Ridge for $1.95 million.

The Toorak based Future Fund board member and photographer wife, Linda secured the three bedroom home at its Australia Day long weekend auction.

There's a large entertaining deck that overlooks the Fiona Brockhoff designed gardens where the RT Edgar agents Warwick Anderson and Ilze Morgan held the auction.

It came on the market at $1,925,000 with underbidding from a woman with a State of Escape handbag.

Wachtel, a past president of the International Fiscal Association, went and got his ANZ chequebook from his black BMW after the auction which had three bidders.

The Armadale barrister James Mighell and wife Alison had owned the home since 1997 when they paid $247,500. 

The famous Bell stockbroking family members were among the crowd as Colin senior and widow Rachel, had the home as a weekender from their Malvern base in the 1950s.

Brothers Andrew and Lewis were there, however Colin junior was sailing on Pittwater.

The late Sun newspaper columnist Jack Cannon and wife Judith sold it in 1997, some 17 years after paying $45,000 in 1980.

Just along Blair Road, Toorak-based entertainment lawyer Andrew Abercrombie and wife Shadda are selling Provenance having spent nearly $10 million on the Wayne Gillespie-designed Mandurah in 2015.

They're asking for over $5 million for the 2000 built, seven bedroom home on its 3,758 square metre holding. 

The couple paid $666,000 in 1998. 

Wachtel is currently selling his five-bedroom Toorak home with a price guide of $6.8 million-plus having paid $3.2 million for a 410 square metre site elsewhere in Toorak where they will build a new house.

This article first appeared in The Weekend Australian.