Australia’s most expensive homes are proving their worth even in a market correction and amidst warnings that high-end properties are now feeling the impact of this downturn.
But high-end properties don’t take into account the true prestige market, which comprises sales in the price bracket upwards of $5 million or, generally speaking, the top 5% of all property transactions.
To put this into context, Cotality shows Sydney’s median dwelling value is just over $1.2 million, with Brisbane’s value standing at $1.08 million. *
It’s also important to understand that prestige vendors and buyers are more concerned with geopolitical issues and unrest in the Middle East, for example, rather than focusing on the domestic issues at play. This includes movement in Australia’s interest rates although they will monitor these changes. As a result, prestige buyers will often transact without a mortgage.
Likewise, Westpac Private Bank’s 2026 Prestige Property report noted that prestige sales are driven by capital availability, property quality and the scarcity of these listings and not borrowing capacity. Investment buyers are also less reliant on rental yields or tax settings.
This distinctive market’s continued success is backed by the increasingly high numbers of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) in Australia and across the world.
Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2026 found that Australia’s UHNWI population – those people with a net worth of US$30 million plus – is expected to rise by nearly 60% in the next five years.
Our billionaire numbers are also forecast to grow by 77% in this period, which puts us in fourth and fifth place globally in a listing of 200 locations.
Westpac’s Prestige Property report is based on data from 2025 when the market correction was in its first stages. But its predictions that this market’s sales volumes would be relatively high in 2026 have generally been correct, at least in the first half of the year.
McGrath’s Prestige Residential reports for this year’s Winter quarter showed Brisbane and the Gold Coast in particular were proving resilient amidst the market correction. Both locations maintained their steady performance in this quarter, although price growth was modest and sales activity was softer.
Sydney showed the sharpest fall in annual sales of the major East Coast capital cities with a 17% reduction in prestige transactions while Melbourne’s high-end property sales declined by 14% in the same period.
Yet in a trend being experienced across the property market, the prestige sector’s reduced activity follows a sustained period of exceptionally high growth.
As Westpac says, this sector saw record high growth in 2025 and sales more than tripled. The suburbs featuring these properties extend well beyond traditional blue-chip locations such as Point Piper in Sydney and Toorak in Melbourne, although these suburbs still hold the record for Australia’s highest ever residential sales of $130 million-plus in 2024 and 2025.
Australia’s 20 highest residential transactions occurred within the past decade, according to Cotality settled sales data as well.
Branded residences are becoming another popular option for prestige buyers. These developments are still rare in Australia, with the best example being the Crown Residences at One Barangaroo and Lendlease’s One Circular Quay project.
But Knight Frank’s latest Residence Report highlighted that a growing accumulation of wealth and global mobility were creating more opportunities for branded residence developers and investors, especially in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Knight Frank highlighted that Australia should benefit from strong worldwide demand for branded residences due to its lifestyle appeal, economic stability and growing concentration of wealth.
