Waterfront Property Drives Prime Residential Market
Kanebridge News
Share Button

Waterfront Property Drives Prime Residential Market

One in three super-prime residential sales in Australia have been absolute waterfronts.

By Kanebridge News
Tue, Nov 30, 2021 11:04amGrey Clock 2 min

As an island nation, it should come as no surprise that Australian’s are more willing than most to pay a premium for waterfront property.

However, in Knight Frank’s Australian Waterfront Premium 2022 report, the results indicate waterfront real estate represents a substantial share of super-prime sales, with one in three of the 374 sold over the last year located on the absolute waterfront.

Knight Frank’s report includes properties worth more than $10 million.

According to the report, the most popular type of waterfront super-prime sale was harbourside, representing 64% of super-prime sales in the last year — up from the 48% in Q3 of 3030.

This is in line with the super-prime surge witnessed this year, which shows the market more than doubled its volume in the first three quarters of 2021.

Properties with coastal frontage represented 16% of total sales in 2021, followed by 13% on canal, and 7% on river.

Knight Frank Australia Head of Research Michelle Ciesielski said waterfront real estate was obviously finite and tightly held, driving demand, particularly in Sydney.

“Sydney has taken the top position for greatest average uplift in waterfront sales this year, rising by 13.5% in the last year to 119% in Q3 2021,” Ms Ciesielski said.

This likely reflects the increase in price premium attributed to waterfront properties in 2021, increasing by 14% in the last year to represent a 79% price premium on their inland equivalents.

Elsewhere in Melbourne, waterfront homes experienced enormous growth.

“Waterfront homes in Melbourne have experienced the strongest growth of the five major Australian cities, with the waterfront premium increasing from 30 per cent in Q3 2020 to 37% in Q3 2021,” Ms Ciesielski added.

Away from the major markets of Sydney and Melbourne, the prime markets in both Gold Coast and Perth continue to grow with the Gold Coast following Sydney at a premium of 71% in Q3 2021, representing a growth of 5% year-on-year, and Perth recording an average uplift of 67% at 9.5% year-on-year growth.

“Brisbane’s prime market has been dominated by interstate buyers and local upsizers who favour riverfront real estate in prestige suburbs, averaging a waterfront premium of 54 per cent at a 14 per cent uplift,” Ms Ciesielski said.



MOST POPULAR

Early indications from several big regional real-estate boards suggest March was overall another down month.

Art can transform more than just walls—it shapes mood, evokes memory, and elevates the everyday. Discover how thoughtfully curated interiors can become living expressions of personal meaning and refined luxury, from sculptural furniture to bespoke murals.

Related Stories
Property
Canadian Property Market Hurt by Tariff Concerns
By Robb M. Stewart 15/04/2025
Property of the Week
Property of the Week: Chateau Immanuel, 25 Glenn Vista Place, Chevallum 
By Kirsten Craze 11/04/2025
Property
California Mansion John Stamos Built During ‘Full House’ Heyday Lists for $13 Million
By Casey Farmer 09/04/2025
Canadian Property Market Hurt by Tariff Concerns

Early indications from several big regional real-estate boards suggest March was overall another down month.

By Robb M. Stewart
Tue, Apr 15, 2025 3 min

OTTAWA–The nascent recovery in Canada’s housing market has become a casualty of the trade dispute with the U.S.

The latest national home-resale data are due out Tuesday, but early indications from several big regional real-estate boards suggest March was overall another down month as many prospective buyers exercised caution.

The recent weakness in home sales has dimmed the previously brighter outlook for the property market coming into 2025, when buyers were encouraged by the Bank of Canada’s aggressive interest-rate cuts.

“The chills the U.S. trade war has sent through participants in the housing market are getting frostier,” said Robert Hogue , assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada.

Hogue said resales are down materially in a number of markets two months running, and home prices in several markets are coming under pressure as inventories rise. And although Canada was spared additional levies when President Trump unveiled so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries earlier this month, no meaningful rebound is likely so long as trade uncertainty lingers, he said.

Home buyers in Toronto, Canada’s most populous city and the country’s financial hub, aren’t turning up for the usual spring pickup in property-market activity.

Sales in the Greater Toronto Area slumped 23.1% in March from a year earlier, as new listings for the region jumped close to 29%, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. That marked the worst month of resales since 1998.

The board’s chief information officer, Jason Mercer , said many potential home buyers were likely taking a wait-and-see approach given the economic worries as well as a pending federal election. “Homebuyers need to feel their employment situation is solid before committing to monthly mortgage payments over the long term,” he said, adding that ownership has become more affordable and prices in the area fell about 3.8% year on year in March.

Uncertainty is also weighing on the housing market in Calgary, the biggest city in oil-rich Alberta. The city’s real-estate board said realtors reported a 19% drop in sales of existing homes from last year, with a similar trend of improving supply and a sharp increase in the average number of days that homes were on the market.

On the West Coast, home sales registered in the metro Vancouver area of British Columbia were the lowest for March since 2019, falling 13.4% on a year earlier and coming in close to 37% below the 10-year seasonal average, while active listings continued to rise.

There are some areas of resilience. The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers said total sales in the province were up 9% year on year in March. Still, RBC’s Hogue estimated Montreal sales in March were down about 15% from December seasonally adjusted, effectively rolling back the advance since the end of last summer.

The most recent national data for the country, from the Canadian Real Estate Association, showed resales dropped 9.8% month over month in February, when homebuyers may also have been put off by harsh winter storms in parts of the country. That marked the sharpest fall since May 2022 and brought the level of sales to their lowest level since November 2023, snapping signs that activity had been picking up in recent months.

Rishi Sondhi , an economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, in a recent report estimated the country was tracking toward a double-digit quarterly decline in Canadian home sales and a mid-single-digit drop in Canadian average home prices for the first three months of 2025. That is much weaker than a pre-Trump inauguration forecast made in December that projected a loosening in federal mortgage rules, lower interest rates and continued economic growth would fuel a modest gain in sales and prices.

Central-bank officials are set to decide Wednesday on monetary policy, but they have signaled a cautious approach to rates as they balance the prospect of tariffs stoking price pressures against the likelihood that they will dampen demand and weigh on the economy. That could mean the Bank of Canada will pause after seven straight cuts to its policy rate.

Housing is a hot topic for party leaders campaigning ahead of the April 28 election, with both the incumbent Liberal Party and opposition Conservatives proposing tax cuts and incentives to encourage buyers and builders.

The outlook for new homes has also dimmed with the tariff threat. The value of residential-building permits issued in February fell 2.9% from a month prior, adding to a retreat in January that took back some of the surge in intentions in the final month of last year, Statistics Canada data last week showed.

MOST POPULAR

If U.S. stock prices continue to fall, wealthy consumers could slow their spending, putting further pressure on the U.S. economy and markets. That could mean everything from fewer luxury cars and handbags being sold to reduced demand for top-end homes and fancy vacations. Broadly, retail sales rose a less-than-expected 0.2% in February from January, the Census Bureau …

She built a cult global swimwear label worn by Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber. Now, Rebecca Klodinsky opens up about the emotional decision to shut it down — and how starting over led to her next big success in ethical luxury.

Related Stories
Property
Architect Carla Middleton’s Light-Filled Beach House for Sale in Tamarama
By Kirsten Craze 28/03/2025
Property
Ringling Circus Brother Built This Newly Listed Florida House in 1918 Complete With a Speakeasy
By CASEY FARMER 28/03/2025
Money
The U.S. Now Has More Billionaires Than China. Musk Is Still Tops.
By ABBY SCHULTZ 28/03/2025
0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop