Sydney luxury units to sparkle as mansion sales jump

After a run of high-profile mansion sales along the harbour, Sydney is about to see a series of new luxury apartment towers despite covid concerns.

An artist’s impression of One Circular Quay by Wanda.

After a run of high-profile mansion sales in the city’s harbourside enclaves, Sydney is about to see a series of new luxury apartment towers completing in defiance of fears prompted by the corona­virus crisis.

Smaller developers might be under financial pressure from the pandemic and a deep economic recession has slowed the middle-range apartment market, with all but owner-occupier markets finding it tough going.

But the fevered level of activity in the top end of the mansion market has kept luxury property afloat and could spill over to suppor­t fresh luxury towers.

Big home deals include the sale of a $95m harbourfront estate­ on Point Piper’s Wolseley Road to a Chinese buyer and businessman Rodney Adler selling his Vaucluse home for $16m.

Sydney prestige agents such as Michael Coombs, founder of LJ Hooker Avnu, say there’s a plethora of cashed-up buyers around. Mr Coombs already has several parties interested in a Mosman mansion that hit the market on Friday with a price tag of $35m.

And ANZ’s former head of global markets Steve Bellotti has listed his Iluka Road, Mosman, mansion in a bid to downsize.

A mansion at Opera Residences in Sydney’s Bennelong Point which sold for $13.5m.

Further north, Mr Coombs has just sold a Wategos Beach residence for $22m after five days on the market, as buyers chase out-of-town boltholes, with hopes of international travel pushed back.

But attention is now shifting to the wave of towers being developed in key prized locations, including Sydney‘s Circular­ Quay and rival Barangaroo precinct.

The Opera Residences, where the penthouse sold for $27m to businessman and philanthropist Robert Salteri and wife Kelly, will be completed first, and resales to local buyers are easily surpassing original purchase prices.

It will be followed by AMP Capital’s Loftus Lane, then a luxury redevelopment of the Sirius Building, where JDH Capital will replace 78 rundown public housing units with a premium bout­ique development of similar scale with agent CBRE quietly registering interest.

And CBRE is also promoting the lavish One Circular Quay project, which has changed owner twice since being launched by Chinese company Wanda.

The project was bought by developme­nt company Yuhu, but its founder, controversial businessman and political donor Huang Xiangmo, has been barred from returning to Australia.

Shortly after his visa was cancelled Mr Huang sold his half share in One Circular Quay, and the three tower Jewel project on the Gold Coast, for $575m.

The market is now abuzz with news that the Sydney project could be relaunched shortly with the 60-storey glass and stone residential building designed by Kerry Hill Architect.