Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch have been the winning bidders of the French government's exclusive sale of Sydney's prestigious eastern suburbs estate, Le Manoir, paying $23 million for the prime piece of property.

Situated close to the Packer compound in Bellevue Hill it is rumored that the young media lion Murdoch was able to fight off the Gladiator, Russel Crowe, who had been photographed inspecting the property.  A $50,000 refundable fee was required to be paid by all bidders for the privilege to submit a bid at auction.

The Murdochs have been inspecting family friendly homes now that Sarah has announced the impending arrival of their third child. 

The couple currently live on the beachfront at Bronte in a house they purchased in 2005 for $7.7 million with a little garden, but stunning beach views and large decks.

Le Manoir is obviously a step up for the Murdoch's set on an acre of land, with six bedrooms, a pool, tennis court and ballroom and has not been traded since 1955 when the French Government bought it as an embassy home.

The only sale in the area this year that has come close to the Murdoch purchase sale was 'Carrara', a beautiful home at 5 Rose Bay Avenue lived in by the late Rene Rivkin which sold in March this year for $17 million.

Bellevue Hill is a tightly held suburb with only 154 sales this year.  30% of the sales for the last six months show that 22 properties traded for between $1 million and $8.8 million.  Onthehouse.com.au's REX lists Bellevue Hill with a median sale price of $705,000 as at June 2009.

REX Median Values for surrounding areas as at June 2009:

Suburb	Nr Sales	Median Price
Bellevue Hill	28	$705,000	5.22%
Bondi	31	$610,000	3.17%
Double Bay	13	$680,000	1.49%
Bondi Beach	36	$597,500	3.93%
Bondi Junction	29	$595,000	3.93%
Waverley	14	$725,000	31.82%

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