Rabbitoh Sam Burgess sells at Bondi pre-auction
He might have been sidelined, but South Sydney Rabbitohs star Sam Burgess has had a windfall result on the sale of his Bondi Beach investment.
The apartment in the Bondi Pacific complex on the beachfront Campbell Parade fetched $3 million after negotiations through his former Souths team mate turned NG Farah estate agent Beau Champion.
Champion said there was strong competitive interest.
"We didn't need to wait till Monday night's auction to accept what was a great offer from an overseas investor."
He had issued a guide of $2.7 million.
It's normally Swans and Roosters heartland, but Burgess's savvy acquisition saw him snap up the apartment off the plan in 2012 during his first stint in red and green. He paid $2,065,000, so reflecting annual price growth of seven percent.
He didn't settle until 2015 when he was back playing rugby union in his native England, shortly after he won the NRL Premiership with the Bunnies.
Burgess and wife Phoebe Hooke were all set to move permanently in to the apartment upon Sam's return to the Redfern club, however a change of heart took them down the coast to Maroubra.
They spent $3.8 million on a four bedroom family home with swimming pool, with their daughter Poppy following soon after.
The two bedroom Bondi apartment then became a rental, offered at $2,500 a week furnished or $1,950 a week unfurnished.
The chic apartment features a prized large outdoor entertaining area with its own lawn.
Gina Rinehart's daughter Ginia is among the celebrity owners in the Bondi Pacific, along with Fitness First founder Tony de Leede and former Foxtel chief Peter Tonagh.
The sale represents good news for Burgess, who has served his two game ban for dangerous contact in the Good Friday win over the Bulldogs on Good Friday.
He watched on on Thursday night as his side beat the Roosters in the first leg of the 2018 Ron Coote Cup.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
