7 Most Expensive Australian Residential Properties

The ascendance of prime residential property in Australia is reaching new heights, with new definitions of the term ‘trophy home’ being formed with every record-breaking sale. As new forms of luxury real estate and old-world mansions continue to draw intrigue from the international and local buyers alike, here we’ve compiled the most expensive residential sales in Australian history.

One Sydney Harbour, Sydney, $140 Million

A deal alleged to be worth more than $140 million is the country’s most expensive residence. The fee is said to have bought the top three floors of the in-construction Tower 1 development of One Sydney Harbour at Barangaroo South. The purchase of both the two-storey penthouse and the sub-penthouse below of the Renzo Piano-designed building was said to be by a local who is expected to make the penthouse their home when completed in late 2023.

Fairwater, Point Piper, $100 million

In 2018, Australian tech-billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie bought what was at the time Australia’s most expensive house, Fairwater. The historic purchase ended more than a century of Fairfax family ownership. With the sale of the 1.12-hectare estate (the largest privately held property on Sydney Harbour), exchanging in just over two weeks for $100 million. The home was last traded in1901 for £5350 by Sir John Fairfax.

Edgewater, Point Piper $95 million

In 2020, the Wolseley Road property in Sydney’s blue-ribbon locale of Point Piper sold for $95 million, becoming the second most expensive house sale on record. The property, known as ‘Edgewater’ has a rare 40-metre harbour frontage, directly in front of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

Elaine, Point Piper, $71 million

Joining this list is fellow Atlassian co-founder and billionaire Scott Farquhar, with yet another Fairfax family estate, Elaine. The historic property, which boasts 6986sqm in Sydney’s most expensive enclave features seven bedrooms and five bathrooms on Seven Shillings Beach. Previously the home had been owned by the Fairfax family since 1891.

La Mer, Vaucluse, $70 million

James Packer’s off-market exchange for the vast, six-storey monolith in 2015 set an Australian house price record at the time. Set across 3345sqm, with views of Sydney Harbour, La Mer was sold to Dr Chau Chak Wing — owner of Chinese property development company Kingold Group — and features a glassed -in garden area, home gym, workout room, cinema with space or 20 people and a garage for 20 cars.

Phoenix Acres, Vaucluse, $65.25 million

The grand proportions of Phoenix Acres, Vaucluse is typified by its 81-metre-wide water frontage attached to a 3731sqm parcel with 6-bedroom, 6-bathrooms and a triple garage. Other luxurious amenities include the lavish master suite, tennis court, resort-style pools and grand dining room with harbour view terraces. The property was sold in 2017 to hotel mogul Dr Jerry Schwartz.

Ganeden, Vaucluse, $62 million

Ganedan, Point Piper

Rounding out the list is corporate lawyer John Landerer’s Vaucluse mansion, Ganedan, selling for more than $62 million in 2022. The exact figure on the sale will be left to settlement, with the home finally finding a new owner after three years on the market. The property, which is built on a consolidated site from three houses between Wentworth Road and Vaucluse Road also the second most expensive non-waterfront sale, following La Mer, further up this list.

A Sydney waterfront mansion that has just hit the market could set a countrywide price record as the first home to sell for A$200 million (US$129.77 million).

Located in the affluent suburb of Point Piper, the sprawling home sits on a lot that’s equivalent to “four normal housing blocks” and features 98 meters (321.5 feet) of water frontage along the harbor, according to an announcement on Wednesday from Ken Jacobs, director of Australia Pacific of Forbes Global Properties, who has the listing in association with real estate agent Brad Pillinger.

“The estate is Australia’s most iconic residence and ranks amongst the best in the world, combining both privacy and space, exuding elegance and comfort, while featuring gun-barrel views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge,” Jacobs said in a statement.

The residence is expected to sell for A$200 million or more, Pillinger added. “There is no comparable property in Australia.”

The home, named Wingadal, as it’s located on Wingadal Place, was built for Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond, who purchased the property in 1999. It took eight years to complete the mansion, which was designed by architect Alec Tzannes, according to the listing agency.

“Wingadal is a highlight of my career in residential design and architecture,” Tzannes said. “The timeless design on the Point Piper peninsula offers a unique appreciation of Sydney Harbour from a variety of angles, rotating around an axis that lines up perfectly with the Sydney Harbour Bridge.”

The colossal home has enough internal space to entertain up to 500 people, and underground parking provides space for 20 cars, plus eight more can fit inside the garage.

The four-level home has four bedrooms as well as a two-bedroom apartment. There’s also a 2,500-bottle wine cellar, a home theater that seats 22, two commercial kitchens and a swimming pool.

“Wingadal has been a special home for my family over the past two decades, and now I’m looking forward to spending more time traveling overseas,” Symond said in a statement. “While being an exceptional family home, we have also enjoyed hosting many important events for charities and other worthwhile causes.”

This is not the first time Symond has tried to sell his waterfront estate. In 2016, he listed the home in hopes of selling it for at least A$100 million, which would’ve been a price record for the country at that time Mansion Global reported . The current benchmark was set in 2022, when a baronial-style estate, also in Point Piper, sold for A$130 million, according to The Sydney Morning Herald .