A new report shows that the Harbour City has risen to ninth place in the past year of jaw-dropping property sales around the world.
Knight Frank released its Global Super Luxury Property Intelligence report, which found 417 "super luxury property sales" - over $10 million - in the first quarter of 2023 in the 12 global markets tracked. That's the Australian equivalent of $15.2 million.
Sydney had 10 such sales, surpassing Paris and Orange in the US, while the strongest market was Dubai with 88 sales, followed by Hong Kong (67), New York (58), Los Angeles (46) and Singapore (37).
Some of the sales in Sydney in the first quarter included the purchase of a dream home in Sydney's eastern suburbs by F45 co-founder Rob Deutsch in February for A$36 million.
Deutsch, who cashed out of the global F45 gym empire, purchased a stunning five-bedroom, five-bathroom mansion in Bellevue Hill in June 2020.
Plastic surgeon Robert Drielsma and his anesthesiologist wife Debbie Hong sold their rebuilt Bellevue Hill mansion in March for $25 million.
Sydney recorded 76 ultra-low-priced sales in the 12 months to the end of March, putting it ninth ahead of Geneva, Orange County and Paris.
Sydney ranked ninth ahead of Geneva, Orange County and Paris.
The total value of super luxury sales in Sydney during this period was $1.23 billion.
Of these, the Mosman house sold for $30.5 million, the second highest price ever paid in the region, while two luxury harborfront sub-penthouses at Circular Quay sold for $60 million and $70 million from the 59-story tower One Circular Quay scheme.
Two of the most luxurious penthouses in eastern Sydney also broke the Twin Bays record.
The highest apartment sale in the suburbs was one of three penthouses at developer Top Spring's $200 million Ode project, which sold for A$24.9 million in August 2022.
It was followed by the second highest sale price, also for a penthouse at the Ode project, which sold for just under $21.5 million before Christmas.
Meanwhile, wealthy Garbo turned yacht broker Ian Malouf bought a beachfront home called Anakela in Palm Beach for $40 million in late 2022.
The sale of this 1,948-square-meter block overlooking Pittwater broke records in Palm Beach.
Erin van Tuil, Knight Frank's head of residential in Australia, said Sydney's ultra-high-end market had matured over the past five years and would attract more international buyers.
"In more affordable markets, domestic buyers tend to dominate, while in more expensive markets, international investment has risen in importance," she said.
"Unlike the US, Singapore and the UK, international buyers have been slower to return to Australia's prestige residential market since the reopening of the border, but we have seen international buyer inquiries intensify over the past few months and this is likely to intensify further as we move into the spring and summer months."
Data in the report shows that Sydney has sold more overpriced properties than Orange County each year since 2020, and the number of overpriced sales recorded in Sydney has been rising faster than in Los Angeles.
Michelle Ciesielski, Knight Frank's head of residential research in Australia, said respectable properties remain attractive to wealthy buyers.
"Data from the first quarter of this year confirms a continued appetite for new purchases above $10 million at a time when the market is overshadowed by uncertainty over global inflation and peak interest rates," she said.
"These factors are unlikely to affect buyers of superlative properties as they tend to be cash buyers, but it does have an impact on sentiment.
"The peak in 2021 occurred during the Covid blockade when the super-rich were looking to buy vacation homes in lieu of being able to travel.
"Another issue that has held back transactions in recent months is the limited inventory in most markets around the world, so this limited supply issue is not just happening here in Sydney.
Ms Ciesielski said expectations for 2023 would be more subdued than the peak in 2021.
