Victoria’s most expensive home sales revealed: Toorak and future tallest tower among priciest sales
Half of the state’s most expensive sales this year were in one Melbourne suburb, led by an $80m ‘ghost mansion’. SEE THE TOP 10
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House price records have doubled and tumbled in 2022, led by the $80m sale of a Toorak ‘ghost mansion’ to a crypto king, but all is not as it seems behind closed doors at the top end.
Mind-blowing new benchmarks have left homeowners in the city’s most affluent postcodes with inflated and unrealistic expectations, with properties priced beyond $20m struggling to sell, according to industry experts.
The Herald Sun can reveal half of Victoria’s top 20 sales this year were in Toorak.
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Brighton, South Yarra, Kew, and a handful along the Mornington Peninsula, also made the list.
Melbourne’s future tallest tower of power, Southbank’s $2bn STH BNK By Beulah project, notched three of the state’s top sales as high-flying buyers gear up to move into the ritzy tower once completed — likely in 2027.
The project’s 1000sq m sub penthouse sold off-the-plan earlier this year for what was a record-breaking $35m at the time, while two other apartments in the building sold for $30m each.
Beulah managing director Jiaheng Chan said the lofty purchases were made by a mix of buyers “from all walks of life”.
“Some are local families who want to create a truly special family home in a landmark project, one that is a city within a city and has everything you could need at your fingertips,” Mr Chan said.
“There are also local business owners and frequent travellers who live in different cities during different parts of the year, while others are suburban or regional dwellers who were looking for a city location.”
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The historic mansion at 17 St Georges Rd almost had the crown of most expensive house in Victoria when it sold for almost $75m in August, but was scooped by 27-year-old crypto king and Stake.com founder Ed Craven, who paid a staggering $80m for an unfinished mansion at No. 29-31 on the same street.
It came just months after the young entrepreneur splashed $38.5m at the nearby Toorak Garden Residence — a glamorous home at 802 Orrong Rd, designed by Conrad Architects with an outdoor precinct by renowned garden designer Paul Bangay.
Leading the three priciest sales of the year was Marshall White Stonnington director Marcus Chiminello, who said he was confident the $80m Victorian house price record would be broken again next year.
“The scarcity of those premium homes has driven generational opportunities and will continue to do so,” Mr Chiminello said.
He added there was a notable depth of interest on both the No. 17 and 29-31 St Georges Rd properties, with vastly different buyer demographics between them.
“But both types were looking at them for the same reason — to create a generational estate that will be within their family for generations not just a couple of decades,” he said.
“I confidently believe we will see some exceptional sales next year that will break the Victorian record again.”
Despite the enormous sales this year, Victoria’s property market still remains difficult for those looking to sell.
Morrell & Koren buyer’s advocate David Morrell said Mr Craven’s $80m purchase “nuked the market”, as Toorak homeowners now believed their property to be worth 10 to 15 per cent more than it was.
“These record-breaking sales are certainly outliers, as the top end of the market runs at a different drum beat,” Mr Morrell said.
“In the past six months there were only seven or eight sales over $20m … most people are waiting to sell and unless there’s an opportunistic buyer who sees value, there’s no point selling now.”
Mr Morrell highlighted a number of properties in suburbs like Toorak, South Yarra, Armadale, Brighton and those on the Peninsula, which had been on the market for months to no avail.
“Fulham Ave in South Yarra has three houses which have been for sale for months, which is just absurd and shows that vendors are wanting too much,” he said.
“As a buyer, we’ve never had it so good … there’s a lack of competitive stress compared to this time last year when there were four or five bidders (at auctions).”
Also within the top 20 sales was a newly built, five-bedroom mansion at 44-46 Hopetoun St, Toorak, which was snapped up by an international family for a huge $23.39m in an off-market deal.
But the sale didn’t come easily, with the property spending 193 days on the market before a change of agency led to the deal in August — brokered by Kay & Burton South Yarra partner Grant Samuel, who believed the market was still showing signs of strength.
“You’re not seeing five buyers on properties as we were seeing 12 months ago, but you’ve still got one or two strong, cashed-up buyers,” Mr Samuel said.
“What we saw 12 months ago was a one-in-50-year event where prices went really high, and we’ve had a correction on that, so now we’re back to what I define as a normal market.”
Demand is highest for renovated properties amid building cost concerns, with Mr Morrell saying ready to move in to mansions were selling for a “10 to 15 per cent premium”.
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