Revealed: Sydney and NSW’s top 20 home sales of the year

A new type of insanely wealthy property buyer has emerged in Sydney, with the city’s top 15 home sales alone totalling more than $1b this financial year. See who inked the top deals

Ultra-wealthy home seekers have been streaming into Sydney to capitalise on the weaker dollar and glitzy Harbour lifestyle, driving a record 26 mansion sales above $30m this past financial year.

The top 15 residential property sales alone totalled $1b, with many of the luxury homes trading for millions more than the already lofty sums they sold for only a few years ago.

Most of the top sales were in traditional mansion retreats such as Vaucluse and Bellevue Hill, but this year also saw $35m-plus sales on the north shore and northern beaches for the first time.

The estate agents behind the top deals revealed some of the biggest spenders had links to US or homegrown tech giants or were from Asia’s burgeoning ranks of new multi-millionaires.

They were often extra cashed up after mergers and acquisitions this year or because of the favourable exchange rate.

A sub-penthouse sale for $70m at One Circular Quay was the highest unit purchase.

Agents told the Saturday Telegraph some premium buyers were prepared to pay millions more than only a few years ago because of Sydney’s growing popularity among the world’s elite, coupled with the shortage of waterfront retreats up for sale.

But it was home grown tech titan Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar paid the highest price for a house over the financial year, shelling out $130m for Point Piper estate Uig Lodge in December.

It smashed the previous Australian record for a residential house sale set in 2018 when Mr Farquhar’s business partner Mike Cannon Brooks paid $100m for nearby estate Fairwater.

Uig Lodge had last sold for $9.2m in 1996.

The priciest apartment sale was the $70m paid for one of the sub penthouses in the under construction building One Circular Quay in the Sydney CBD. Another sub penthouse in the same building sold for $60m.

‘Leura’ in Bellevue Hill sold for $70m.

The $42.2m sale of historic estate ‘Idlemere’ in Lavender Bay was the top sale on the lower north shore.

Dial-A-Dump founder Ian Malouf paid the highest northern beaches price, offering about $40m for a Palm Beach estate known as ‘Anakela’.

There was a jaw dropping $37m sale in Coopers Shoot in the Byron Bay region, the priciest house sale ever recorded outside of a capital city and the Gold Coast.

Sydney Sotheby’s International director Michael Pallier, who inked $778m in real estate deals over the financial year, said immigration helped push up the ceiling for luxury prices in a big way.

Rich lister Ian Malouf, with daughter Ellie, bought a Palm Beach estate for about $40m. Picture: John Feder

“What was selling for $20m is now selling for $30m or more,” he said. “Immigration has opened up and the low dollar has played into the hands of people coming from overseas.”

He added that Sydney was attracting overseas billionaires in a way that wasn’t seen in previous decades.

“We didn’t have billionaires here in the 1980s,” Mr Pallier said. “Now they’re coming from all over … a lot are in the tech sector.

“They like the high standard of living in Sydney and the excellent education. Usually it’s all about the location. Those spending over $30m want the iconic view, the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge.”

Luxe agent Brad Pillinger, who orchestrated $200m in premium real estate deals in the last six weeks alone, said demand for luxury estates eclipsed supply by a significant measure.

"Uig Lodge" sold for $130m.

Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar was behind the $130m purchase. Picture: David Mariuz

“The elite level is absolutely a supply, or lack there of, driven market,” he said. “The breadth of international and expat investment is as high as it has ever been.

“The fear of not coming back in has limited supply, which will drive prices up in any form of market, but particularly elite level real estate.”

Among the other real estate records broken this year was the circa $47m paid for a modest Tamarama house near the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk, the highest ever paid on the eastern beaches. The block is slatted for redevelopment.

‘Idlemere’ in Lavender Bay was the top north shore sale.

This Tamarama block sold for a new record for the eastern ocean beaches at about $47m.

The $32.18m paid for a Clontarf house owned by one of Cambodia’s ruling families, was a new record for a northern beaches suburb outside the Pittwater shoreline.

TOP NSW RESIDENTIAL SALES OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR

1. Uig Lodge, Point Piper $130m

2. Leura, Bellevue Hill $70m

Sub-penthouse, One Circular Quay $70m**

3. Mainhead, Point Piper $69m

4. Kambala Rd, Bellevue Hill $61.5m

5. Akuna, Point Piper $60m

6. Sub-penthouse, One Circular Quay $60m**

7. Coolong Rd, Vaucluse $59.5m

8. Victoria Rd, Bellevue Hill $52.25m

9. Lang Syne, Tamarama $47m*

10. Idlemere, Lavender Bay $42.2m

11. Point Seymour, Vaucluse $40m*

Iluka Rd, Palm Beach $40m*

Marara, Avalon Beach $40m*

12. Bulkara Rd, Bellevue Hill $37.5m

13. Rothesay, Bellevue Hill $37m

Sub-penthouse, One Circular Quay $37m**

14. Macleay St, Potts Point $34m

15. Coopers Shoot $33.6m

16. Victoria Rd, Bellevue Hill $33m

17. Amiens Rd, Clontarf $32.18m

18. Iluka Rd, Mosman $30.5m

19. Monkton, Bellevue Hill $30m+*

Eastbourne Rd, Darling Point $30m+*

20. Wolseley Rd, Point Piper $30m

Tipper Ave, Bronte $30m*

* Unconfirmed

** Yet to be constructed

Originally published as Revealed: Sydney and NSW’s top 20 home sales of the year