SYDNEY (AFP) - A Sydney harbour-front mansion has sold to a Chinese-born businessman for A$53 million dollars (S$67 million), setting a new property record for the city, reports said Thursday.

The eight-bedroom, seven-bathroom house "Altona" in prestigious Point Piper had been on the market for several years, having been bought in 2002 for A$28 million by a former publishing executive.

The Australian Financial Review and other media said it was purchased for the record price by Mr Xiuzhen Ding, a Chinese-born businessman who lives in Melbourne.

The home boasts a series of terraces overlooking lawns and the harbour, with a heated pool, private jetty and sauna. The price beats the former Sydney record of A$45 million, set in nearby Vaucluse.

But it was short of the national residential property record of A$57.5 million paid by Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison for his waterfront pile in Perth in 2009.