It’s no secret that Australian property prices are among the most expensive in the world, and while some of us search for our dream home, there are some properties that most of us can only dream of. Think water views, luxury interiors, home gyms, wine cellars, multi-car garages (to house your prestige cars) and wealthy neighbours – and if any of these features are on your property shopping list, you’ll need a healthy bank balance to make your dream a reality.
Australia’s most expensive homes
There are plenty of pricey homes in Australia’s capital cities if you have a spare several million. The country’s most expensive real estate sale to date occurred in April last year when a group of four waterfront homes in the prestigious Sydney harbourside suburb of Vaucluse sold together for a cool $80 million.
The four homes came with 11 garages and a total of 4,250 sqm of living space, with the price tag eclipsing Australia’s previously most expensive property – the former Vaucluse home of billionaire James Packer, which sold for $70 million in 2015.
In Australia’s second-most expensive city, a contemporary four-bedroom six-bathroom home in the inner suburb of Toorak claimed the title of Melbourne’s most expensive property when it sold in December last year for a cool $26.25 million. The dramatic newly-built mansion boasts a six-car underground garage, a gallery space with its own cargo lift, a wine/cigar lounge with pony-hide-lined walls, a gym, expansive garden with pool, and rooftop terraces with sweeping city views.
Over in Brisbane, the most expensive gong goes to a riverside mansion at Kangaroo Point, which sold in March this year for $18.48 million. For that price tag, the buyer is enjoying uninterrupted city views from the 1,184 sqm lot, and a catalogue of luxurious features such as a fully-equipped gym, steam room, climate-controlled wine cellar, internal lift, infinity pool and an outdoor wood fire pizza oven.
However, the most expensive Queensland sale can be found south of Brisbane in the Gold Coast suburb of Mermaid Beach, where a beachfront resort-style home called ‘Tidemark’ sold in October last year for $25 million. With an 11-car garage, two gourmet kitchens, steam room, sauna and spa spread over 2,833m2, the new owners are guaranteed a comfortable lifestyle.
Property prices in Perth may be easing now that the mining boom is over, but the city’s most expensive property sale occurred in 2009 when mining magnate Chris Ellison paid $57.5million for a 7500 sqm waterfront mansion in Mosman Park, with its own cinema, gym, swimming pool and tennis court.
Australia’s most expensive suburbs
Beyond the luxurious mega-mansions, more and more suburbs around Australia are entering the million-dollar-plus club. According to CoreLogic, there are now 760 suburbs across the country with a median property price of $1 million and above. Five years ago, that number was 275.
The majority of the most expensive suburbs in Australia are found in Sydney. Of this top 10, nine are in Sydney, with the harbourside enclave of Point Piper topping the list with its median house price of $9.3 million. Nearby Elizabeth Bay comes in second at $7.8 million and Darling Point in third place at $6 million.
Completing the top 10 are Woolwich, Vaucluse, Watsons Bay, Bellevue Hill, Toorak (the only Melbourne suburb on the list), Duffys Forest and Potts Point.
