Crown Residences Sets Record Sales
The already iconic Sydney ‘sculpture’ scales to new heights.
The already iconic Sydney ‘sculpture’ scales to new heights.
The centrepiece of Sydney’s Barangaroo district – Crown One Barangaroo – has almost completed sale of the luxury properties that inform Crown Residences.
Of the 82 elevated luxury properties, only a small selection of two, three- and four-bedroom residences remain available – as well as a duplex penthouse.
While the price remains undisclosed, the latter is set to run to a decent figure (large two-bedroom, two-bathroom residences are currently on from $9.5 million) and boasts jaw-dropping panoramic views of Sydney Harbour, 6-bedrooms, multiple living spaces, 6.5-metre double-height ceilings, a media room and a wine room.
Even with properties remaining, Crown Residences has shattered existing sales records, pointing to the strength and allure of the Australian prime property market, even during the pandemic.
“Crown Residences at One Barangaroo has achieved a record $650 million in sales including an unprecedented 12 transactions over $20 million to date,” states Erin van Tuil, partner Crown Residences at One Barangaroo. “Despite the pandemic, we are experiencing a record number of enquiries and sales are performing phenomenally well.”
Designed by award-winning British architecture firm WilkinsonEyre, Crown Sydney’s petal-like formation sees each residence unique in size and layout and complete with dual or triple aspect views of Sydney Harbour and its surrounds.
Residents will also have access to hotel services from Crown Sydney – such as daily maid services, the hire of a private chef or wine sommelier, along with access to all the amenities such as the Balinese inspired resident’s pool, a luxury gym and more.
Six-star hotel features aside, the residences also rest above what is set to become Sydney’s bets new luxury dining quarter, the planned precinct set to feature, song others, Nobu, Woodcut by Ross and Sunny Lusted, a’Mare by Alessandro Pavoni, as well as sustainable local options from Michelin starred chef Clare Smyth which residents will be able to order up to their homes.
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Ray White’s chief economist outlines her predictions for housing market trends in 2024
Ray White’s chief economist, Nerida Conisbee says property price growth will continue next year and mortgage holders will need to “survive until 2025” amid expectations of higher interest rates for longer.
Ms Conisbee said strong population growth and a housing supply shortage combatted the impact of rising interest rates in 2023, leading to unusually strong price growth during a rate hiking cycle. The latest CoreLogic data shows home values have increased by more than 10 percent in the year to date in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Among the regional markets, price growth has been strongest in regional South Australia with 8.6 percent growth and regional Queensland at 6.9 percent growth.
“As interest rates head close to peak, it is expected that price growth will continue. At this point, housing supply remains extremely low and many people that would be new home buyers are being pushed into the established market,” Ms Conisbee said. “Big jumps in rents are pushing more first home buyers into the market and population growth is continuing to be strong.”
Ms Conisbee said interest rates will be higher for longer due to sticky inflation. “… we are unlikely to see a rate cut until late 2024 or early 2025. This means mortgage holders need to survive until 2025, paying far more on their home loans than they did two years ago.”
Buyers in coastal areas currently have a window of opportunity to take advantage of softer prices, Ms Conisbee said. “Look out for beach house bargains over summer but you need to move quick. In many beachside holiday destinations, we saw a sharp rise in properties for sale and a corresponding fall in prices. This was driven by many pandemic driven holiday home purchases coming back on to the market.”
Here are three of Ms Conisbee’s predictions for the key housing market trends of 2024.
Ms Conisbee said the types of apartments being built have changed dramatically amid more people choosing to live in apartments longer-term and Australia’s ageing population downsizing. “Demand is increasing for much larger, higher quality, more expensive developments. This has resulted in the most expensive apartments in Australia seeing price increases more than double those of an average priced apartment. This year, fewer apartments being built, growing population and a desire to live in some of Australia’s most sought-after inner urban areas will lead to a boom in luxury apartment demand.”
The rising costs of energy and the health impacts of heat are two new factors driving interest in green homes, Ms Conisbee said. “Having a greener home utilising solar and batteries makes it cheaper to run air conditioning, heaters and pool pumps. We are heading into a particularly hot summer and having homes that are difficult to cool down makes them far more dangerous for the elderly and very young.”
For some time now, long-term social changes such as delayed marriage and an ageing population have led to more people living alone. However, Ms Conisbee points out that the pandemic also showed that many people prefer to live alone for lifestyle reasons. “Shorter term, the pandemic has shown that given the chance, many people prefer to live alone with a record increase in single-person households during the time. This trend may influence housing preferences, with a potential rise in demand for smaller dwellings and properties catering to individuals rather than traditional family units.”
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