Brisbane’s Five Standout Penthouses for 2025

The Brisbane apartment market has really come of age in the last few years.

Downsizers in particular have identified the apartment market as undervalued, due to the limited amount of new supply coming to the market in the Queensland capital.

This is primarily due to build cost escalation and the limited availability of builders, which is constrained by government infrastructure projects associated with the Brisbane 2032 Summer Olympics.

Those downsizers are descending on the most premium apartments at the top end of the tower. These penthouses are more akin to those found in Sydney and Melbourne, rather than their Gold Coast neighbour, prioritising view lines of the skyline rather than private rooftops.

From apartment-laden precincts like Newstead to a rare offering in Highgate Hill, we’ve wrapped up the top five penthouses on the market in 2025.

Upper House, South Brisbane. Developer: Aria Property Group

Award-winning developer Aria Property Group is offering one of the penthouses atop its multi-award-winning Upper House in South Brisbane. The four-bedroom penthouse, completed in 2024, crowns one of the first buildings in Brisbane designed by legendary Japanese architect Koichi Takada.

The 253 sqm apartment features 3.1m coffered ceilings, hand-blown lighting, and a sculptural stone wine bar. The chef’s kitchen includes integrated Gaggenau appliances, a Pitt cooktop, Sub-Zero fridge, butler’s pantry, and wine fridge.

The layout features four bedrooms (one configured as a media room) and a lavish master suite with custom timber panelling, a skylit wellness-style en-suite, and a gallery-style robe with a makeup station. The three parking spaces include an EV charger.

Upper House is one of Brisbane’s most iconic buildings, recognisable for its signature gold pergola known as The Nest, the largest structure of its kind in the world, comprising more than 681 individual cross-laminated timber pieces atop the 33rd level.

The building’s 32nd and 33rd levels house resident amenities, including an infinity-edge pool, spa, magnesium plunge, sauna, steam room, yoga studio, wine bar, private dining room, cinema, and a boardroom.

Luminare, Newstead. Developer: Cavale

The corner penthouse atop the Luminare building in Newstead is poised to become the 10th sale in the development to surpass the $5 million mark.

Sky Home 2302 offers uninterrupted views from Mt Coot-tha to the city skyline, thanks to its expansive 40m north-facing frontage. The penthouse spans 262 sqm of internal and external space and includes four bedrooms, two living rooms, and a study nook.

At its heart is a 5m Taj Mahal quartzite island, framed by a full suite of Miele appliances, Zip Tap, and concealed prep kitchen. A 330-bottle wine cellar, integrated bar, and outdoor kitchen with Hoshizaki ice machine complete the entertainer’s layout.

The master suite occupies its own wing and features floor-to-ceiling windows, a full-height walk-in robe, an ensuite with freestanding bath, and a unique “midnight kitchen” with minibar for skincare and wellness essentials.

Completed in 2023 and crowned Best Residential High-Rise in Australia at the Master Builders Queensland Awards, Luminare also leads Brisbane’s wellness evolution.

Residents enjoy access to cryotherapy, reformer Pilates, nutrition and sleep programs, rooftop horticulture workshops, and dog grooming. Atop the building sits Australia’s highest cantilevered glass-edge pool, magnesium spas, saunas, and a $300,000 Technogym facility.

High-profile residents include Domino’s Pizza boss Don Meij, who is believed to have set a city price-per-sqm record with his $12.95 million purchase, and Vita Group founder Maxine Horne.

Rivello, Hamilton. Developer: Brookfield Residential Properties

The penthouse atop one of Hamilton’s newest developments is among the largest delivered in Brisbane in recent years. Perched atop Rivello on Wharf Street, this five-bedroom residence offers 438 sqm of internal space and a further 124 sqm across three balconies.

At its core is a gourmet kitchen with a stone benchtop, Gaggenau appliances, and a generous butler’s pantry.

The adjoining dining area, main living space with statement fireplace, and secondary living room with wet bar and Liebherr fridge provide ample entertaining options. A full-width main balcony maximises riverfront exposure.

Additional features include a dedicated cinema with seven seats, home gym, full home office, and five ensuited bedrooms — all expertly finished to a luxury standard.

Noura, Highgate Hill. Developer: Walter Iezzi Property Group

Arguably the most impressive apartment developed in Highgate Hill, the Noura Penthouse is now complete and on the market, with expectations that it will set a new suburb record.

Occupying the entire top floor of a boutique six-residence building on Beaconsfield Street, this sky home offers the largest external area on this list, with nearly 200 sqm of outdoor living.

The rooftop features a private swimming pool, a full outdoor kitchen, a fireplace, alfresco dining, and a louvred roof for all-weather use.

Inside, the apartment features a Roman Classico travertine kitchen with Gaggenau appliances, a custom stone rangehood, Liebherr fridge, and an expansive butler’s pantry. There are three oversized bedrooms, each with a travertine-clad ensuite, plus a media room that can double as a fourth bedroom and a steam room.

The Noura development also offers a communal rooftop pool, dining space, and BBQ facilities for residents.

The Ambrose, Milton. Developer: Kokoda Property Group

The final penthouse in Kokoda’s Ambrose development in Milton stands out for a unique layout rarely seen in the modern penthouse market.

The 325 sqm residence atop the Cottee Parker-designed tower on McDougall Street includes four bedrooms, one of which is a fully self-contained apartment with its own living area and kitchen, ideal for multi-generational living or an au pair.

High-end inclusions run throughout: herringbone European oak floors, Volakas Classic marble, a custom bar, and a chef’s kitchen with Miele and Liebherr appliances, oversized island, and butler’s pantry.

The living area opens to a spacious balcony with sweeping city and river views and an integrated Artusi BBQ — also accessible from the master suite, which includes a walk-in robe, dressing area, and luxurious ensuite.

The Ambrose was an early adopter of Brisbane’s rooftop amenity trend. Completed in 2022, the rooftop features an infinity-edge pool, spa, barbecues, outdoor cinema, yoga lawn, residents’ lounge, private dining room, and a seven-day concierge.

The typically busy spring season for the housing market was a dud, and the summer isn’t looking much brighter.

Housing services companies like Zillow Group and Rocket RKT +3.78% were loud and clear last week on earnings calls: Rocket CEO Varun Krishna called the quarter through June “one of the toughest spring housing markets in years.”

Jeremy Hofmann, Zillow’s chief financial officer, said on a conference call that the company predicted earlier this year that the market for mortgages would be flat. “We actually now think it’s going to be down low-to-mid-single digits,” he said.

The rest of 2026 will remain challenging for mortgage origination volume, says KBW analyst Bose George. The question now is what happens in 2027. “If mortgage rates remain [around] 6.75%, I think that’s going to be challenging even for next year,” he says.

But what’s bad news for mortgage companies could be a positive for bargain hunters. Buyers can expect prices to grow more slowly—or mildly decline—with less competition as long as mortgage rates remain unpredictable.

Mortgage rates at the beginning of the year were solidly below year-ago levels, notes Zillow senior economist Kara Ng. But they surpassed last year’s levels recently, she adds, referencing Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of 30-year fixed mortgage rates. Last week’s reading, at 6.69%, was higher than year-ago levels for the first time in 2026.

“From the affordability point of view, it’s going to get more challenging in the second half of the year,” she says. “And when affordability gets more challenging, that impacts sales and home price appreciation.”

Mortgage application data tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association has cooled since the beginning of the year. The trade group expects that the number of mortgage originations in the remaining two quarters will lag behind last year’s levels, after exceeding 2025 levels in the first half.

Rocket’s early-stage data—which the company told Barron’s it derives from its brokerage Redfin, demand for its mortgage products, and signs in its servicing portfolio that a homeowner is preparing to refinance or move—“leads us to expect the third quarter mortgage market to be smaller than the second,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Brown, said on the company’s call. He added that such an occurrence is “something the industry has not seen since 2022.”

Prices will be about flat nationally, Ng says. Zillow’s most recent forecast, which shows how values are expected to change in the year ending June 2027, show them dropping in roughly half of the 100 largest U.S. metros for which data is available.

Buyers aren’t rushing in at a time when mortgage costs are rising and unpredictable. But those with the right combination of patience and cash could stand to benefit. “If you are financially qualified to buy a starter home, you are facing less competition and you’re more likely to get a price cut,” Ng says.