Prestige sales go off-market

The rollback of coronavirus restrictions on the real estate industry is hoped to result in a rise in luxury listings.

A Brisbane penthouse in the heart of the city at 108/540 Queen St has come on the market as restrictions begin to ease.

The rollback of coronavirus restrictions on the real estate industry is hoped to result in a rise in luxury listings as more vendors are encouraged to sell publicly rather than test the market offline.

It is not unusual for deals to be made behind the scenes at the luxury end of the property market. However, agents in the prestige rings of Sydney and Melbourne have noted an increase over the past six week as careful vendors choose to test the waters quietly.

While the rollback of restrictions on open home and auctions in most states is unlikely to directly benefit those at the top end, the confidence provided by a return to normality is hoped to flow through.

The dining room in the penthouse at 108/540 Queen St, in the Brisbane CBD.

The spike in off-market selling in Melbourne over the past few weeks is said to have outpaced the rise seen throughout the global financial crisis of 2008 and the 2018 downturn due to the combination of economic and health concerns. Melbourne prestige agent at Marshall White — Stonnington, Marcus Chiminello, said it was about limiting exposure to the marketplace.

“There's no exposure to the general marketplace and it takes the legwork and the connections of an agent to bring their best buyers forward, so there are many vendors out there that prefer that method of selling irrespective of what the market is doing. But, it certainly has been far more popular as of late than it has in years gone by,” Mr Chiminello said.

“Compared to the royal commission (into misconduct in the banking industry) situation and the GFC, we are probably finding it more now — people have an awareness of health and protection as well as value protection, so it is twofold.”

The number of homes coming on to the market, particularly at the top end, has shrunk as discretionary vendors choose to wait out the economic storm.

The magnificent lounge room at 108/540 Queen St.

National head of sales at The Agency, Thomas McGlynn, is aware of “a number of very exclusive homes” being offered off-market in Sydney at present.

While that method has been working, demonstrated through the $16.6m sale of a Rose Bay waterfront home earlier this month, he hopes the record-breaking price of $12m for Surry Hills’ ‘‘Italianate House’’ at 177A Albion St shows there is still demand in the market for luxury property.

“I was very, very happy with that sale given that property was on the market through the whole COVID-19 restrictions. To be able to get a strong result like that for property that had been exposed to the market pre and during COVID was, I think, a great sign for the prestige market,” Mr McGlynn said.

108/540 Queen St features a luxurious kitchen

“In saying that, there hasn't been a huge amount of prestige property come to the market, and therefore it's hard to say what sort of impact might be had, but we’ve had some good results that might actually tempt a lot of (people) to potentially test their luck.”

The tide already looks to be turning, with several big-ticket properties hitting the market in the past two weeks. The 1930s era Bellevue Hill manor home of former Enero Group chief Matthew Melhuish has been listed with a price guide of $9.5m, while the Bronte property of film producer Chris Hilton, listed for $6m, has drawn strong interest.

Smaller markets are also seeing a spattering of prestige properties coming to market. A fully renovated penthouse in the heart of Brisbane's CBD and overlooking the Brisbane River is on offer through Place Ascot’s Drew Davies, with best offers to be in by June 12. In the west, an ultra-contemporary coastal home at Cottesloe in Perth’s upper ring has been listed through Ray White’s Jody Fewster, commanding offers from $3.9m