Not even Rich Listers are immune to competition in residential markets starved of stock – they are having to fork out huge sums to secure the relatively few properties on sale, even in cities where activity seems to be slowing.

The family of retail property investor John Gandel, the country’s 14th-richest person, paid $5.625 million on Thursday evening for a three-bedroom house that had been advertised with a price guide of $4.1 million to $4.5 million.