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.

For decades, Australia has leaned into its reputation as the lucky country. But luck, as it turns out, is not an economic strategy.

What once looked like resilience now appears increasingly fragile. Beneath the surface of rising property values and steady headline growth, the Australian economy is showing signs of strain that can no longer be ignored.

Recent data paints a sobering picture. Australia has recorded one of the largest declines in real household disposable income per capita among advanced economies.

Wages have failed to keep pace with inflation, meaning many Australians are working harder for less. On a per capita basis, income growth has stalled and, at times, reversed.

And yet, on paper, things still look relatively solid. GDP is growing. Unemployment remains low. But that growth is increasingly being driven by population expansion rather than productivity.

More people are contributing to output, but not necessarily improving living standards.

That distinction matters.

For years, Australia’s economic success rested on a powerful combination: a once-in-a-generation mining boom, a credit-fuelled housing market, strong migration and a property sector that rarely faltered. Between 1991 and 2020, the country avoided recession entirely, building enormous wealth in the process.

But much of that wealth is tied to property. Around two-thirds of household wealth sits in real estate, inflated by leverage and sustained by demand. It has worked, until now.

The problem is the supply side of the economy has not kept up.

Housing supply is falling behind population growth. Rental vacancies are near record lows.

Construction firms are collapsing at an elevated rate. At the same time, massive infrastructure pipelines are competing with residential projects for labour and materials, pushing costs higher and delaying delivery.

The result is a system under pressure from all angles.

Despite near full employment, productivity growth has stagnated for years. In simple terms, Australians are putting in more hours without generating more output per hour. The economy is running faster, butgoing nowhere.

Meanwhile, government spending continues to expand. Public debt is approaching $1 trillion, with spending now accounting for a record share of GDP.

The gap between spending and revenue has been filled by borrowing for decades, adding further pressure to an already stretched system.

This is where the uncomfortable question emerges.

Has Australia become too reliant on a model driven by rising property values, expanding credit and population growth?

As asset prices rise, households feel wealthier and borrow more. Banks lend more. Governments collect more revenue. Migration fuels demand. The cycle reinforces itself.

But when productivity stalls and debt outpaces real income, the system begins to depend on constant expansion just to stay stable.

It is not a collapse scenario. But it is not particularly stable either.

Nowhere is this more evident than in housing.

The National Housing Accord targets 1.2 million new homes over five years, yet current completion rates are well below that pace. With approvals falling and construction costs rising, the gap between supply and demand is widening, not narrowing.

Housing is also one of the largest contributors to inflation, with costs rising sharply across rents, construction and utilities. Yet the private sector, from small investors to major developers, is struggling to make projects stack up in the current environment.

This brings the policy debate into sharper focus.

Tax settings such as negative gearing and capital gains concessions have undoubtedly boosted demand over the past two decades. But they have also supported supply. Removing them may ease prices briefly, but risks deepening the supply shortage over time.

That is the paradox.

Policies designed to make housing more affordable can, in practice, make the shortage worse if they discourage development. The optics may appeal, but the economics are far less forgiving.

It is also worth remembering that most property investors are not institutional players. The majority own just one investment property. They are, in many cases, ordinary Australians using real estate as their primary wealth-building tool.

Undermining that system without replacing it with a viable alternative risks unintended consequences, from reduced supply to higher rents and increased inflation.

So where does that leave Australia?

At a crossroads.

The country can continue to rely on population growth and rising asset prices to drive economic activity. Or it can shift towards a model built on productivity, innovation and sustainable growth.

The latter is harder. It requires structural reform, long-term thinking and political discipline.

But it is also the only path that leads to genuine, lasting prosperity.

The question is no longer whether Australia has been lucky.

It is whether it can evolve before that luck runs out.

Paul Miron is the Co-Founder & Fund Manager of Msquared Capital.