During the first quarter of 2021, there were 1429 sales in Australia’s prestige property market, according to a new report by property consultancy firm Knight Frank, released on Thursday.

The sales totalled a whopping $6.797 billion.

Demand for Australia’s prestige real estate is on the rise, and is classed as homes in the top five per cent of the market.

The report categorised buyers of these “prime” residences as ultra rich individuals, with a net-worth on average of $40 million.

“This group tend to be agile and travel the world,” the report’s lead researcher Michelle Ciesielski told news.com.au.

“That obviously hasn’t happened over the past 16 months, (so) that’s something that’s certainly kept them grounded in Australia.”

In lieu of travel, rich-listers are now fighting it out in the elite property market.

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The beginning of 2021 was Australia’s highest quarterly turnover of the prestige property market on record.

The first three months of this year had 34 per cent of the total number of sales in all of 2020, according to Ms Ciesielski.

Perth experienced an 85 per cent growth during this time, while Sydney was up by 58 per cent, Brisbane by 54 per cent and Melbourne by 24 per cent.

A property is considered to be prestige if it sells in Sydney or Melbourne for $5 million or more, and in other cities for $3 million or more.

“The top end of the (prestige) market (is) seeing the most activity of all,” Ms Ciesielski. “It’s called the super-prime market.”

In Melbourne and Sydney, super-prime properties sell for $10 million plus, and $7 million or more elsewhere in the country.

“We don’t have enough super prime luxury stock,” she added.

“When we’re talking about a prestige home, it does end up being on the market a lot longer than a mainstream property.

“What we’re finding is because there wasn’t enough stock, people were approaching homeowners off market.”

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Multimillion-dollar homes are being snapped up amid rising demand.

The average days on market dropped to 119 days, giving rich-listers a week less to make a decision than normal.

Sydney and Melbourne prestige properties led the pack, being sold after 86 and 97 days respectively.

However, a surge in interest for Perth prime properties saw buyers have to purchase homes marketed for 27 days less on average – which was the biggest drop in Australia.

The ultra rich buying these properties are from all walks of life.

“It’s quite a mixed bag,” Ms Ciesielski explained.

They are often in the property or finance industries, looking to grow their portfolios the older they get or wanting to secure a home for their children.

“We’re seeing a lot more entrepreneurs in their early 20s,” she added, while others come from family wealth.

Whatever their background, they all have one thing in common – they’re looking for absolute luxury.

“Because they’ve travelled the world, they know the quality and luxury. The level of expectation is higher than it’s ever been,” Ms Ciesielski said.

The pull of the tide

The research also found that people want to be near the water, especially in a time where stay-at-home orders can be issued at any moment.

“When were talking about these ultra-wealthy people they have a location in mind,” Ms Ciesielski said.

“[There was] a significant increase in those that want to be close to water and have a view because of COVID-19.”

Often they will buy a property at the right location and then rebuild it to suit their needs later on.

And since Sydney has only a handful of vantage spots facing the ocean, buyers are looking further afield.

Queensland’s Gold Coast has had the biggest rise in annual sales turnover at 91 per cent.

Increasingly, Perth is becoming the place to be.

“We’re seeing the strongest capital growth in Perth,” she said.

“Being in the same time zone as Asia certainly helps Perth.

“They haven’t had as many restrictions placed on them as the east coast.

“Perth is moving at a different pace to the other cities.”

How Australia compares

Australia’s prestige property market still has a long way to go.

“From an Australian point of view, we haven’t been keeping up with that global trend,” Ms Ciesielski said.

“We don’t have enough of these new properties being built to meet demand.”

That said, you can get a lot more bang for your buck in Australia.

With US$1 million (A$1.3 million), you can own 88 sqm on average.

However, in London, that amount of money would only get you 33 sqm, and only 23 sqm in Hong Kong, where populations are more dense.