Lydia Kellner

Updated 14 Aug 2023, 10:17am

First published 14 Aug 2023, 10:01am

News Corp Australia Network

14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Pic: realestate.com.au

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Ever wondered what $7m will buy you in the Adelaide Hills?

Wonder no more, with a lavish estate in Aldgate, akin to a five-star resort, having officially been crowned the most expensive residential sale in the region.

The sprawling 18.25ha property at 14 St Margaret Drive sold for $7m to a private buyer last month, after being listed for sale by hoteliers Peter and Jenny Hurley, who had owned the property for the past 17 years, two of which they spent renovating the estate.

A heated pool and spa, a floodlit tennis court, an irrigated orchid and vegie gardens, a picturesque dam with jetty, horse stables and eight paddocks now count among its highlights – and that’s even before stepping inside the renovated five-bedroom house with numerous indoor and outdoor entertainment spaces.

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Pic: realestate.com.au

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Supplied.

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Supplied.

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Supplied.

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Mr Hurley said he and his wife enjoyed the privacy the property had offered their family.

“I really like not being able to see my neighbours, I really loved the gardens and I also have a bit of a thing for cars, so we created it so there’s garaging for nine cars at the house, and then there’s a shed where you can easily fit another six.

“Plus, there are just four light sequences between here and the parklands in the city.

Arabella Hooper, of Harris Real Estate, said the sale had offered buyers an opportunity to acquire an estate rarely seen on the market.

“A property of that size in that location is really rare to come by but also, to find something with that amount of usable land so close to the city, that’s something that’s almost impossible to find,” Ms Hooper said.

“As a result, we had a lot of interest from interstate and South Australia but in the end, it sold to a local buyer for a really good price.”

14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Supplied.

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Supplied.

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Pic: realestate.com.au

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14 St Margaret Drive, Aldgate. Supplied.

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According to market data, at least five other Hills towns – besides Aldgate – have recorded new residential price records this year.

This includes Mylor, where 2 Whitehead Rd sold for $4.2m, and Macclesfield, where 94 Penna Rd sold for $3.5m.

A new record was also set in Paechtown, where 146 Haines Fire Track sold for $2.3m, while in Cudlee Creek 163 Cudlee Creek Rd sold for $2.015m.

Scott Creek also has a new residential sales record, following the $1.5m sale of 475 Scott Creek Rd.

With house prices in the eastern suburbs continuing to break sales records – Adelaide is tipped to see its first $3m suburb by the end of the year – Ms Hooper said it had only been a matter of time for the Hills to see new benchmarks set for the region.

“In North Adelaide and other areas, there have been new records set in the $10m … and (in the Adelaide Hills) we are heading in that trajectory,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s going to be too long before that happens as people prefer to spend their money in the Adelaide Hills, as opposed to the Planes, so it will be only a matter of time until we hit that $10m mark up here.”