Shaping Australia’s Next Generation of Luxury Developments
Abadeen Executive Chairman & Founder Justin Brown shares his insights on the resilience of Sydney’s ultra-luxury property market and the future of premium living.
3 min
Sydney’s ultra-luxury property market continues to move to its own rhythm.
Scarcity, lifestyle appeal and a new generation of high-net-worth buyers are reshaping how prestige projects are designed, marketed and sold.
We asked Abadeen’s Executive Chairman and Founder Justin Brown to unpack what’s driving demand, where he sees opportunity and how the definition of luxury living is changing.
Q: Sydney’s ultra-luxury property market has remained remarkably resilient. Why?
Supply is structurally tight, and the best sites are almost impossible to replicate. Planning is slow, construction costs are high, and true blue-chip land rarely changes hands. That keeps premium stock scarce.
Much of the demand at this level is from owner-occupiers, and their numbers are increasing exponentially. With long horizons, they help stabilise values through cycles.
As a developer, we manage release strategies carefully. Private placements and staged launches absorb volatility and protect pricing integrity. Sydney’s quality of life, stability, and the international desire to live here do the rest.
Q: Off-market transactions are a hallmark of prestige property sales. What advantages do they offer buyers and sellers?
Both channels have a role. On market provides full exposure, public benchmarking and visible competitive tension. It’s useful when we want to set a new reference price or showcase a precinct at scale.
Off-market delivers privacy, precision and control. There is a smaller pool of qualified buyers who set the tempo and negotiate the terms that actually matter.
It protects residents’ privacy, reduces disruption on site, and keeps the brand experience consistent. Buyers gain early access to irreplaceable products and the ability to tailor outcomes quietly.
For true trophy assets and pre-release allocations, I prefer off-market. We are able to customise and personalise the outcome.
Q: Luxury buyers expect more than location. What must-have features and amenities drive demand?
Views and villages is simplistic but precise. Long, protected outlooks, correct orientation, and a connected neighbourhood that offers vibrancy seven days a week.
Then privacy and a sense of arrival. Generous indoor–outdoor living, a primary kitchen plus a catering space for real entertaining, serious wellness facilities, secure multi-car garaging with EV infrastructure, and building services that feel five-star without fuss.
Technology should disappear into the experience and be reliable. Acoustic and thermal performance matter as much as marble. Designing homes is our craft. We obsess over those details because they determine how a home actually lives and breathes.
Q: Beyond Sydney, are there emerging luxury markets in Australia that high-net-worth investors should watch?
We have further expanded in Melbourne, Perth and Queensland. That is where we see sustained depth for the premium owner-occupier product in the right areas, targeting similar demographics to the Sydney market.
Think Melbourne’s inner bayside and east, Perth’s western suburbs and river precincts, and select Brisbane and Gold Coast locations where scarcity is real and community amenity is maturing.
Q: What has been your most remarkable sale, and what made it unique?
I have been fortunate over the last 30 years to be involved in Australia’s premium apartment revival from Bennelong, Hyde Park precinct and Barangaroo in Sydney, to HMAS in Melbourne, and the waterfront precincts of South-East Queensland and Perth, amounting to more than $200 million in property sales. We have also transacted a high proportion of development opportunities, up to $750 million.
Q: What is one piece of advice you always give high-net-worth buyers?
Choose the developer first. At this level, counterpart risk matters as much as postcode. Buy in the best village with the best views you can, but make your first filter the team delivering it: if you trust the people and the product, move early and buy with confidence.
This interview appeared in the Spring issue of Kanebridge Quarterly magazine. You can buy your copy here.
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Australia’s median advertised rent has climbed to a record high, with every capital city recording quarterly price growth despite a slight lift in vacancy rates.
2 min
Australia’s rental market has reached a new milestone, with national median advertised rents climbing to a record $670 per week in the June quarter as prices continued to rise across every capital city.
New data from realestate.com.au shows national rents increased 3.1 per cent over the quarter and 6.4 per cent over the past year, while capital city rents rose 2.2 per cent over the quarter to a median of $690 per week, up $10 from the March quarter.
REA Group economist Luc Redman said rental price growth had continued despite a small increase in vacancy rates.
“National median rents reached a new high in the June quarter, with widespread price growth across the capitals,” he said.
“The rent increases occurred despite a small increase in the rental vacancy rate over the same period.”
Melbourne and Perth recorded the strongest quarterly growth among the capitals, with rents increasing 3.5 per cent in each city. On an annual basis, Perth led the nation with rental growth of 10.3 per cent, followed by Hobart at 9.1 per cent and Darwin at 7.7 per cent.
Sydney remained Australia’s most expensive city for renters, with a median advertised rent of $800 per week, while Melbourne and Hobart were the most affordable capital cities at $600 per week.
Regional markets were more subdued, with rents holding steady over the quarter but remaining 5.3 per cent higher than a year ago, suggesting the rapid pace of growth outside the capitals has eased.
Mr Redman said the full impact of the Federal Budget’s changes to investor tax settings was yet to be seen.
“The May Federal Budget, which announced sweeping changes to investor tax settings, occurred in the middle of the quarter, so the full impact on the rental market is yet to be seen,” he said.
“While the vacancy rate has edged higher, the expected decrease in investor demand due to the budget’s tax changes could slow the pace of new supply, putting further pressure on rents.”
The report also found house rents continued to outpace units, rising 2.9 per cent across capital cities over the quarter compared with 1.5 per cent for units. Melbourne was the only capital where renting a unit was more expensive than renting a house, reflecting demand for well-located apartments.
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