Wealthy buyers snagged a total of 858 trophy Sydney homes worth at least $2.57 billion during the second quarter – the highest turnover on record as business conditions strengthened and the number of ultra-high net worth individuals grew around the country.
Across Sydney’s prime regions, which include the CBD, eastern suburbs, inner west and the lower north shore, sales volume for homes worth between $3 million and $10 million climbed by 23 per cent from the previous quarter, according to Knight Frank.
During the same period, the sales turnover for super prime properties – homes that are worth more than $10 million – jumped by 92 per cent in the second quarter, recording 73 sales.
“Four consecutive quarters has delivered record sales volume for Sydney’s prime luxury market with very little new supply in the pipeline,” said Knight Frank Australia head of research Michelle Ciesielski.
“As prices continue to climb, Sydney is expected this year to hold the title for the strongest growth across major global cities.”
In Melbourne, 222 premium homes worth around $666 million have changed hands during the same period – a 24 per cent quarterly rise.
The number of homes sold for more than $10 million also climbed in the past three months, rising by 42 per cent to 17.
Sales for Brisbane’s premium homes worth between $2million and $7 million rose by 42 per cent to 198 in the second quarter, and it grew by 11 per cent to 205 in Perth.
Across the country, a total of 1753 luxury homes were sold during the same period – an increase of 23 per cent from the previous quarter.
“Australia’s major cities experienced their third consecutive quarter of ‘highest growth on record’ prime residential sales volume,” Ms Ciesielski said.
“The razor thin number of property listings had significantly pushed up prestige prices.”
In the past 12 months, Sydney premium home prices had risen by 6.5 per cent. It rose by 3.6 per cent in Melbourne, it was up by 5.8 per cent in Brisbane, and lifted by 8.9 per cent in Perth and by 7.5 per cent on the Gold Coast.
The low level of listings had turned buyers towards luxury apartments such the No.1 Carlisle development in Rose Bay, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, said Charles Mellick, director of the developer Fortis.
“Demand for luxury apartments is very strong,” he said.
“Houses are getting increasingly expensive to purchase, which will have a knock-on effect on the luxury apartment sector – especially for apartments that offer house-size proportions.
Fortis’ No.1 Carlisle development was sold out seven months before completion, with the average sale price of the eight luxury apartments sitting at around $5 million.
“We completed another project, ‘The Benson’ in Rose Bay last year and the demand we witnessed for it was unprecedented,” Mr Mellick said.
“When we launched No.1 Carlisle, we were confident that the response to this project would be equally strong, and we expected that it might sell out quickly as it is in a prime location in Rose Bay.
“It’s a short distance from Rose Bay village and also close to a range of other amenities. The development itself offers a high level of finish and a beautiful design. Each apartment is spacious and offers house-size proportions.”
