Boom times for city’s luxury housing market

Sydney’s surging luxury housing market has produced its best performance in at least 15 years.

Sydney’s surging luxury housing market has produced its best performance in at least 15 years. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Sydney’s surging luxury housing market has produced its best performance in at least 15 years, with a 70 per cent increase in house and apartment sales in the $10m-plus bracket compared to last year.

The findings by valuation firm Pontons also reveal that while ­luxury sales volumes increased during 2020, the average sale price of houses and apartments above $10m jumped by 10 per cent ­compared with last year. Pontons director Andrew Parkinson said there were 121 residential sales of established houses and apartments above $10m in the Sydney metropolitan area during the year, the highest number of sales since the data was first collected 15 years ago.

“This is the highest on record since we commenced collecting this data in 2005 and equates to a 70 per cent increase from 2019, which recorded 71 Sydney residential sales above $10m,” he said.

Mr Parkinson said Sydney’s luxury $10m-plus housing sector was initially hindered by a rare double election last year that spooked buyers and sellers.

“However, confidence swiftly returned and the market surged over the second half of the year,” he said. “The year 2020 started well and after the initial shock of COVID-19, predominantly local and expat buyers set about seeking larger, higher-quality homes and apartments plus lifestyle and secondary housing options such as rural and or coastal retreats.

“Vendors benefited from this demand as the supply remained tight with strong growth and a handful of stellar prices exceeding all expectations for 2020.”

Mr Parkinson said the analysis did not include off-the-plan and unsettled sales.

The Sydney suburb of Vaucluse dominated the top 10 luxury house sales of the year, with four properties changing hands valued from $24.6m to $34m, according to Pontons Research.

But Point Piper accounted for the largest three sales, with ­prices led by the yet-to-settle sale of 82 Wolseley Road at $95m, 64 Wunulla Road at $51m and 152 Wolseley Road for $36m, which is also yet to settle.

On the luxury front, Ray White chairman Brian White expects 2021 to also outperform.

“It will be strong. A lot of business owners are already talking to Ray White about selling their properties over $10m,” Mr White said. “Low interest rates have been the catalyst for the whole thing. People are watching them and want to capitalise on it.”

He expects luxury sales to be particularly strong in March given families will meet over the Christmas period and discuss selling. “That is why the best month of the year for us is always March,” he said. “Because of the favourable interest rates and plenty of good comment from all sources they expect the market to hold next year, there’s been a real upturn in discussion.”

The Agency co-founder Ben Collier says current indicators suggest the luxury housing market will continue to be strong next year.

“The biggest driver behind all of that is the low levels of housing supply,” Mr Collier said.

He said people would sell if they had a property they wanted to buy. “But if they can’t see that property there is a reluctance. It’s a vicious circle which is assisting this surge in prices,” he said.