A top-shelf performance from East Coast prestige market

The year also ranked second-highest in sales volume, falling short of the 715 properties sold in 2024.

Despite the surge in listings in recent years, McGrath national head of research, Michelle Ciesielski, told SPI that the prestige market was still being shaped by low volume.

“The number of listings for all prestige homes has remained relatively low, with many off-market and newly built apartments driving the surge in luxury apartment sales,” Ciesielski said.

“This has strengthened the prestige market, pushing prices higher, deepening competition, reshaping buyer preference towards premium apartment living and rebalancing the geographic spread.”

She said that while the primary market for prestige properties used to be in Victoria, a two-horse race had emerged between Queensland and NSW in 2025.

“Victoria made up 49 per cent of prestige apartment sales back in 2015, followed by NSW (36 per cent), then Queensland (15 per cent),” Ciesielski said.

“In 2025, Queensland held the majority share of sales, with 43 per cent, followed closely by NSW (41 per cent) and Victoria (16 per cent).”

“Regional Queensland recorded the greatest share of apartments sold, making up 23 per cent of all prestige residential sales in 2025.”

Across the capital cities, Sydney led the way with 15 per cent of the total sales, followed by Brisbane and Melbourne, which accounted for 13 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

In addition to the increase in sales volume, Ciesielski said new prestige apartments had experienced significantly stronger growth patterns than the existing properties.

“The performance of new prestige apartment prices for all four cities (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast) has since overtaken and led price growth trajectories in Q3 2025,” she said.

“When indexed to Q3 2020, new prestige apartments recorded total growth of 88 per cent on the Gold Coast, followed by Brisbane’s 60 per cent, Sydney's 34.4 per cent and Melbourne’s 32.2 per cent.”

Ciesielski said the main factors driving the surge in demand for new properties over existing dwellings were larger floor plans, higher-quality materials, and historically low levels of supply built to cater for the rising wealthy population.

Where prestige reigned supreme

With Sydney being the most expensive capital city in the country, the NSW capital also dominated the highest value prestige markets.

The harbourside suburb of Barangaroo recorded the country's most expensive median apartment, valued at $3.58 million, according to Cotality.

Darling Point, which ranked third most expensive for apartments in 2020, jumped one place to claim the second-highest apartment price in the country, at $2.31 million, while former price leader Milsons Point fell to third at $2.06 million.

“In Sydney, limited choice of homes with great views or those well-positioned along the water have seen prime suburbs reaching new price benchmarks,” Ciesielski said.

Ciesielski said the median apartment price growth for what the report found to be NSW’s top 10 suburbs had risen by 18 per cent over the previous five-year period.

In Queensland’s prestige market, Paradise Point and Main Beach had emerged as the new value leaders, with former leader Noosa Heads falling to third on the list.

In 2025, Paradise Point and Main Beach have both reached a median apartment price of $1.7 million, while Noosa Heads boasts a price of $1.64 million, a significant increase from its previous median of $1 million in 2020.

“Collectively, the top 10 Queensland suburbs ranked for apartment prices rose 88 per cent over these five years,” Ciesielski said.

“Brisbane has emerged as a new prestige hub in Queensland, with values rising sharply in the lead up to a significant infrastructure spend ahead of the Olympics.”

“While the Gold Coast has received strong demand from right-sizers who are seeking coastal living.”

While in Victoria, Brighton East had the highest apartment value in the state, at $1.4 million, closely followed by Mont Albert North and Caulfield South, both with values above $1.25 million.

“The top 10 suburbs in Victoria grew 31 per cent in Q3 2025 when compared to Q3 2020,”

“In Melbourne, the relative value of prestige homes compared to other cities and the opportunity to upsize to a high-quality home with premium design and lifestyle amenities were key drivers of growth,” Ciesielski concluded.