Sydney most attractive city to ultra-wealthy

Sydney has been named Australia’s No 1 city for quality of life and attractiveness to the world’s most cashed-up individuals.

Michelle Ciesielski, head of residential research, Australia, for Knight Frank Picture: John Feder

Sydney has been named Australia’s No 1 city for quality of life and attractiveness to some of the world’s most cashed-up individuals, according to Knight Frank’s inaugural City Wellbeing Index.

The real estate firm examined 40 cities to identify which are ­focused on the quality of life they can offer to attract entrepreneurs, skilled employees and encourage companies to grow and succeed.

Sydney beat Melbourne to be named Australia’s most liveable city, based on factors including personal security, lifestyle, healthcare, crime, work-life balance and access to green spaces.

Knight Frank’s head of residential research, Australia, ­Michelle Ciesielski, said the abundance of green space and the number of hours of sunshine Sydneysiders experienced each year was the reason the NSW capital won out.

“Liveability has always been high in Sydney and Melbourne, with both cities offering a high level of stability, environment and culture with world-class healthcare, education and infrastructure,” Ms Ciesielski said.

“From a local perspective, Sydney is the financial hub of Australia. For the ultra-wealthy, there is the draw of living on the waterfront. That element is also one that is drawing offshore investors.

“On the property side of things, the postcard image of Harbour Bridge and Opera House views is highly sought after by the ultra-wealthy.”

On a global scale, Sydney came in at seventh place in a dead heat with Amsterdam, while Melbourne came in at 11th alongside Berlin. European cities lead the City Wellbeing Index by some margin. Oslo topped the list, followed by Zurich and Helsinki tied in second place. Fourth place was taken by Vienna, with the top five rounded out by Madrid.

The release of the index coincided with the company’s “Wealth Report 2020”, examining the investment habits of wealthy individuals around the world. One of the report’s key measures, the Prime International Residential Index, revealed prestige property in Australia’s two largest capital cities was growing at a faster pace than the global average.

The top 5 per cent of luxury property in 100 sought-after cities were compared over 2019 to show Sydney and Melbourne ranked 27th and 44th in the world in terms of performance.

Prices in Sydney were up 3.7 per cent, while 2.2 per cent growth was recorded in Melbourne. Both were above the global average growth of 1.8 per cent.

“The restrictions in lending placed on the general marketplace over the past two years didn’t really impact on the ultra prestige market,” Ms Ciesielski said.

Knight Frank expects foreign interest in Australia to increase in the coming years as affordability, lifestyle and the increasing ease of access to the country through improving air travel offerings makes the country more attractive to ultra-wealthy investors.

“We are relatively affordable in the 5 per cent of the market in comparison to the rest of the world. So, there is room to grow,” Ms Ciesielski said.

“In terms of global platform at the moment, if you are buying with the US dollar, it can go a lot further with the current exchange rate.”