The number of super-prime sales above US$10 million have doubled in Sydney, according to the latest Global Super-Prime Intelligence report.
The Knight Frank report, which provides a quarterly snapshot of super-prime sales across 12 key international markets, showed Sydney had the highest increase in sales topping US$10 million, rising from 15 in the first quarter of the year to 38 in the second quarter of 2023.
It was the highest volume of luxury home sales for Sydney over at least the past five years.
The 38 luxury home sales in Sydney equated to US$686 in value or an average sale price of $18 million.
Dubai had the highest number of super-prime sales in the second quarter at 95, which was an increase of just three sales in the March quarter.
This was followed by New York (67), London (54), Hong Kong (42) and then Sydney.
The data also showed that many cities recorded a drop in super-prime sales between quarter one and quarter two, including LA, which fell from 53 to 24, Hong Kong, which fell from 67 to 42, Geneva, which dropped from 27 to 16, and Palm Beach, which fell from 39 to 21.
Other cities to record drops in super-prime sales included Singapore (37 down to 30) and Miami (29 down to 17).
Over the past year the volume of super-prime sales in Sydney rose 46 per cent, which was the second highest behind Dubai (79 per cent).
The rise in sales volume for Sydney over both the quarter and the past 12 months came despite an 11 per cent decline in overall super-prime sales across the 12 international markets analysed between the first and second quarters this year.
Knight Frank Head of Residential Erin van Tuil said the luxury segment was not immune to the impact of higher interest rates seen around the globe, but Sydney’s market had proved resilient.
“Sydney’s super-prime market has witnessed strong sales in the last quarter, driven by a rapid surge in demand, partly from overseas but also from a significant portion of domestic buyers,” she said.
“Given the limited supply, buyers are actively seeking off-market opportunities to reduce competition.
“Looking ahead, there’s a shortage of super-prime construction in the pipeline, indicating that the supply shortage is likely to persist.”
The report also showed there was a 13 per cent fall in total super-prime volumes over the past 12 months, with 483 sales seen in the second quarter last year compared to 422 in the second quarter this year.
The total value of sales over the 12 analysed markets in Q2 amounted to US$7.3 billion, down from $8.4 billion in Q1 2023, and $8.7 billion in Q2 2022.
Despite a fall in overall sales volumes for luxury residential homes, sales in the 12-month period up to June this year (totalling 1638 globally) are still running well ahead of the levels seen pre-pandemic (1009 in 2019).
Total sales in the 12 months up to June in all markets stood at under US$30 billion, down from the peak of US$40.7 billion seen in 2021 but well ahead of the pre-pandemic figure of US$18.6 billion in 2019.
