Around the markets in 80 days

Sydney luxury properties spent 86 days on market
696 properties between $3M and $10M were sold in Q1 2021
Sales for houses over $10M fell 16% from the December quarter

“Well, may I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House perhaps?” screeched Basil Fawlty many years ago.

If one could indeed see the Sydney Opera House from a Torquay hotel bedroom window, it would be quite the bargain – the average house price in Torquay, UK, floats around £300,000 (A$558,000) give or take.

Nautilus, the Sydney home considered the ‘finest in Australia’, is expected to sell for $50 million, and won multiple awards including Australian Home of the Year. Image – AustraliasFinestHome.com.

Living there wouldn’t afford you many opportunities to hobnob as compared to Sydney. Knight Frank’s latest Prime Property report found the number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI*) in Australia rose 10.9% to 3,124; more of them (33% or 1,024) were in Sydney than anywhere else.

pitt st hotel sydney new building rendering — City Tattersalls redevelopment project to include a 49 story high hotel and apartment building. Source: Supplied – IHG.

You’ll be in good company, including AstraZeneca’s chief executive who recently purchased an $8 million Mosman home, and mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who purchased The Quay Grande penthouse for almost $6 million, according to Domain.

If you’re looking for Australia’s finest home, it is unsurprisingly located in Sydney, the property likely to sell for $50 million, and is located in Burraneer Bay.

Across the country, The Property Tribune reported average days on market for a home in the top 5% by value (also referred to as prime property) was 119 days.

Sydney came out on top for lowest number of days on market, the Knight Frank prime residential report reporting that such a listing in Sydney would usually spend 86 days on market.

knight-frank-prime-residential-australia-table-q1-2021 — Source – Knight Frank Research.

The report found that across the first quarter of 2021, 696 prime properties ($3 million to $10 million) were sold, the highest on record.

Those pieces of property eye candy featuring on a new real estate television show LuxeListings Sydney tend to fall into the next category: super-prime (+$10 million). Knight Frank found sales for those properties dropped by 16% from the previous quarter but was up 52% year on year.

*UHNWI is defined by Knight Frank as someone worth more than US$30 million, including primary residence.