As we reach the year’s mid-point, the luxury property market in Australia shows no sign of slowing as domestic and international buyers continue to create record prices in a tightly contested market.

A lack of quality prestige product has limited purchase opportunities. The wider housing market has also benefited from limited listings (excluding Melbourne) with May seeing growth now at the strongest level since October 2023.

The strong pricing in the prestige market are underpinned by the combination of a continued lack of upper-end supply and the return of wealthy purchasers from Asia, and appeal of Australia as a desirable destination in which to invest and live.

The prestige buying cohort remains largely unaffected when compared to the broader market as buyers within this segment of the market are generally less sensitive to interest rate movements or a slowing domestic economy.

In the broader property market, all national capitals have recorded positive year-to-date price growth, except Melbourne. This growth continues to be primarily led by the Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide markets.

Sydney – demand strong

Sydney again featured strongly in the nation’s top luxury property sales for the first half of 2024, with the prestige market displaying signs of strength on the back of continued demand for quality prestige property and limited stock.

Since the start of the year, the most expensive sale was in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay, where a 25-room, Spanish mission-style mansion on 4,233sqm of waterfront land with harbour views, known as ‘Boomerang’ and located at 42 Billyard Avenue was purchased by a buyer originally from Asia for $80 million in February.

A second $80 million sale occurred in Point Piper in May, equalling the highest sale price achieved this year so far with the sale of a 1926-built home known as ‘Rockleigh’ at 120-122 Wolseley Road. Rockleigh, a property distinguished by its pale pink façade, occupies a prime 1,284sqm site and is considered highly likely to be redeveloped by the new owners.

Also in Point Piper, an eight-bedroom, six-bathroom Federation-style trophy home built in 1904 on 958sqm with harbour views known as ‘Notrella’ at 142 Wolseley Road sold in March for $50 million.

The most expensive apartment to sell so far in 2024 was an off-the-plan amalgamated two-level penthouse unit in the under-construction ‘Hall and Campbell’ building at 124 Campbell Parade Bondi Beach, which sold in May for $23 million.

Other top sales included a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home with harbour views on a 1,271sqm land parcel at 83 Fitzwilliam Road Vaucluse. which sold in January for $40.5 million. In Rose Bay, an eight-bedroom, six-bathroom home with four-car garage on a 2,037sqm elevated parcel with harbour views at 10-12 Ian Street sold in March for $40 million. In Manly, a tri-level modern-style five-bedroom, four-bathroom home with ocean views at 44 Bower Street sold in May for a suburb record-breaking price of $35 million.

The suburbs of Point Piper, Bondi, Mosman, Bellevue Hill, Darling Point, Woollahra, Double Bay, Palm Beach, Centennial Park, Maroubra, Coogee, Manly, Vaucluse and Rose Bay also continued to feature several other luxury property sales since the start of the year.

Melbourne – notable sales

The most expensive property to change hands since the start of the year was in Toorak with the sale in February of a 1929-built five-bedroom, six-bathroom Georgian-revival style mansion known as ‘Karum’ at 14 St Georges Road, which sold off-market to an unidentified buyer understood to be a local Melbourne family for $40 million.

The second-highest sale so far this year also occurred in Toorak, where a fully renovated ten-bedroom, circa-1941 Georgian Revival mansion at 35 – 39 Albany Road on a large 3,611sqm parcel with pool and tennis court has sold in March for $38 million. The next highest sale was an eight-bedroom mansion with pool and tennis court on a 2,639sqm land parcel at Clendon Road, known as ‘Dunraven’ which sold in February off-market for $36 million. It was closely followed by a 1916-built five-bedroom, five-bathroom European-style mansion on a large 3,286sqm parcel known as ‘Halstead’ at 12 Lansell Road Toorak which sold in June for $30 million.

Other notable sales included a fully renovated five-bedroom clifftop mansion known as ‘Rovina’ in Point Nepean Road Portsea which sold in an off-market transaction in May for $25 million, a mansion in Hopetoun Road Toorak sold in June for $21 million, a two-storey, six-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion at 16 Harcourt Street Hawthorn East on a large 3,340sqm parcel sold in March for $20 million, a five-bedroom period home at 57 Mary Street Hawthorn sold at auction for $18 million in March, well above the $14-$15 million reserve price guide.

Melbourne’s Toorak remained the key luxury suburb in 2024 to date, with other luxury suburbs such as East Melbourne, South Yarra, Armadale, Kew, Hawthorn East, Brighton and Portsea in the Mornington Peninsula also having recorded strong activity to date.

Brisbane and south east Queensland

Queensland’s highest sale result of the year so far was on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast where a new record was set with the purchase in May of a four-bedroom multi-level waterfront home at 43 Witta Circle Noosa for $30 million.

On the Gold Coast, Clive Palmer set a Gold Coast residential record in February with the purchase of a four-bedroom beachfront home on 1,214 sqm at 41-45 Hedges Avenue Mermaid Beach for $28 million and also on the Gold Coast a 5-bedroom, 11-bathroom waterfront home at 7354-7356 Marine Drive East at Sanctuary Cove sold in May for $19.7 million.

In Brisbane the top sales of 2024 to date include a fully renovated three-level riverfront home in Welsby Street sold to a local buyer in April for $18 million, and a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 42 Hillside Crescent Hamilton on a large elevated 1,194sqm parcel with river views sold in March for $8.3 million.

Other notable sales to date in 2024 include a two-storey, six-bedroom, five-bathroom riverfront home at 87 Monaco Street Broadbeach Waters sold in March for $18 million, two 600sqm four-bedroom waterfront sub-penthouses in the yet-to-be constructed Mantaray Marina and Residences on the Spit at Surfers Paradise sold off-the-plan to Sydney buyers in March for $17.5 million each and an absolute beachfront four-bedroom, four-bathroom home in Albatross Avenue Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast sold in February off-market for $16.95 million.

On the Sunshine Coast, a five-bedroom, two-bathroom waterfront property at 24 Noosa Parade Noosa Heads sold privately in February for $16.5 million, and in Sunshine Beach, a contemporary-style five-bedroom holiday home known as “Azure” at 26 Macanally Drive has sold for $13.5 million.

Although not technically Queensland, the Byron Bay region (including Lennox Heads) is considered part of the south-east Queensland catchment where demand for quality prestige stock remains strong. In Lennox Head on the far northern NSW coast, a luxury four-bedroom residence on a 3.48-hectare parcel with ocean views in Blue Seas Parade sold in January for $17.5 million. The record price includes DA-approved plans to sub-divide the large holding into a further eight home sites.

Perth

In Western Australia, the most expensive property to sell since the start of the year was a five-bedroom, four-bathroom home at 73 Viking Street Dalkeith in Perth’s south-western suburbs which sold in March for $6.1 million.

Adelaide

In Adelaide, the most expensive house to change hands so far this year was a four-bedroom, two-bathroom fully renovated sandstone cottage at 39 Kyre Avenue Kingswood which sold in February for $3.39 million. Other notable sales include a four-bedroom, five-bathroom home at 75 Frederick Street Unley which sold in March for $3.3 million and a modern-style two-level three-bedroom home at 12 Park Road Kensington Park which sold in June for $3.2 million.

Summary

The well-documented shortage of housing stock, particularly prestige properties which are traditionally tightly held continues to underpin values in the luxury property asset class. Anecdotally, prestige agents are reporting an increase in enquiry levels for quality sought-after prestige stock on the back of growing buyer confidence.

The surge in migration and recent return of wealthy Chinese buyers may also be providing tailwinds for the market with these factors boding well for an increase in activity for the remainder of 2024. The luxury segment enters the second half of 2024 with renewed momentum, and it is anticipated to remain outperforming the broader housing market in the medium term.

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