Luxury homes and mansions across Sydney’s most prestigious suburbs continue to sell for sky-high prices, even though the city’s housing market continues to stabilise.
Sydney’s home values increased throughout early 2024, as the increase in properties hitting the market for sale was met with strong buyer demand.
However, a greater volume of stock for sale, affordability constraints, and the sustained high interest rate environment through 2024 contributed to a sharp slowing of price growth in the latter months.
But for Sydney’s richest, the market tells a different story.
Luxury property sales for 2024 show that the nation’s wealthiest spent more than ever on Sydney’s property market throughout the year.
Sure, there are fewer transactions occurring at the top end of the market, but some properties have fetched new-record highs.
Sydney’s top 20 residential luxury property sales total around $1 billion, making it one of the biggest years on record.
The combined total of the top 10 most expensive Sydney properties comes close to $650 million alone.
And it wasn’t just houses either, two multi-million apartment sales made the top 10 list for the 12-month period.
Most of the top sales are located in the usual eastern suburbs areas such as Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse and Point Piper, but properties in Sydney’s CBD and Mosman on the North Shore also made the list for 2024.
The record price for luxury properties in 2024 was a Point Piper mansion, which sold off-market for $130 million.
The 7,000 sqm waterfront property at 550 New South Head Road – known as ‘Elaine’ – was sold by Atlassian billionaire Scott Farquar in October.
He previously bought the property in 2017 for $71 million.
The 2024 sale matches the previous national house price record for another Point Piper home that sold in November 2022 for $130 million.
In second place for Sydney’s top 10 residential sales for 2024, is Rockleigh.
The pale pink classic cottage on a 1,284 sqm block on 120-122 Wolseley Road in Point Piper, sold for around $85 million in June 2024.
In third place is a Spanish Mission-style property at 27 Victoria Road in Bellevue Hill, also known as Alcooringa.
After a significant renovation, the property sold for $80 million in August 2024, which was $50 million more than its previous sale price just 3 years ago.
Two sub-penthouses at One Circular Quay were bought off-the-plan for $61.75 million and $60 million, rounding out the top five highest sales for the year.
The 58-level, $3 billion building by Lendlease, with Mitsubishi Estate Asia, is expected to be completed in late 2026.
The property will have a panoramic view of the entirety of Sydney’s harbourfront, including the Sydney Opera House and Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.
The sub-penthouses are located on levels 50-55, with more than 500 sqm of internal living space.
The building is expected to be completed in late 2026.
Top 10 most expensive Sydney properties sold in 2024
| Sale price | 2024 sale date | Address | Suburb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | $130 million | October | Elaine, 550 New South Head Road | Point Piper |
| 2. | $85 million | June | Rockleigh, 120-122 Wolseley Road | Point Piper |
| 3. | $80 million | August | Alcooringa, 27 Victoria Road | Bellevue Hill |
| 4. | $61.75 million | October | Subpenthouse, One Circular Quay | Sydney CBD |
| 5. | $60 million | October | Subpenthouse, One Circular Quay | Sydney CBD |
| 6. | $52 million | November | 69 Fitzwilliam Road | Vaucluse |
| 7. | $51.5 million | March | Notrella, 142 Wolseley Road | Vaucluse |
| 9. | $43.5 million | August | Monkton, 53-55 Cranbrook Road | Bellevue Hill |
| 9. | $42 million | November | 96 Victoria Road | Bellevue Hill |
| 10. | $40 million | August | Kia Lama, Bradleys Head Road | Mosman |
What is driving record prices in Sydney’s high-end property market?
A mix of wealthy buyers, limited supply, strong foreign interest, and economic resilience fueled Sydney’s luxury property market throughout 2024.
Sydney’s high-end property market benefited from strong demand during the year, making it a bumper year for sales and giving rise to some of the highest sale prices recorded.
And while demand has certainly decreased from the heady days of the pandemic-induced property boom, A-grade properties will always be sought after by buyers, particularly in Sydney.
There’s a scarcity of high-quality, move-in-ready prestige properties, particularly in waterfront and blue-chip suburbs like Point Piper, Bellevue Hill, and Mosman which helps to drive prices higher in this segment of the market.
And many selling agents have reported that their buyers were still content to pay premiums for these types of properties which are in sought-after locations.
Those buyers come from far and wide too – overseas buyers, particularly from China, Hong Kong, and the US, see Sydney as a stable and desirable location.
What’s interesting is that because many buyers purchase their luxury properties in cash, unlike mid-range property markets, luxury real estate is less affected by interest rate fluctuations and broader economic downturns.
After all, the wealthy rarely need to sell so the market is thinly traded.
According to Ray White senior economist Nerida Conisbee, the outlook for luxury property continues to be positive.
Ray White data notes that there are now a number of new luxury home markets around Australia, not just Sydney and Melbourne.
Both Brisbane and Perth have now surpassed the $2 million mark for houses in the top 5%, driven by impressive 5-year growth rates of 55% and 53% respectively, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast also have developed their own luxury markets.
Looking ahead, the market appears to be trending toward a new baseline, with all major cities except Darwin expected to reach or exceed the $2 million mark for luxury properties.
An important note
While these top 10 highest residential property sales for 2024 make for interesting reading, they aren’t the suburbs I would recommend investing in.
At Metropole, we always advise on the importance of investment-grade properties and locations, rather than chasing a hotspot or growth area.
That’s areas and properties which hold their value over the long term, rather than benefit from an uptick in demand.
But even before looking for the right location, make sure you have a Strategic Property Plan to steer you through the upcoming challenging times our property markets will encounter.
Because aside from remembering that you should focus your efforts on investment-grade properties and locations, you also need to remember that property investing is a process, not an event.
That means that things have to be done in the right order – and selecting the location and the right property in that location comes right at the end of the process.
And that’s because what makes a great investment property for me, is not likely to be the same as what would suit your investment needs.
