Apartments became a huge market in Sydney as families opted for smaller living spaces and young couples look for more affordable options.
According to Domain Group show, apartment in the suburbs that costs a million or more have risen by 77.7 percent by the past year. The country's 16 out of 17 apartments that cost one million or more are located in Sydney while the other one outside the harbor city is located in Balwyn North, Melbourne. However, Balwayn's sales are composed of town houses while Sydney's are apartments.
The most expensive apartment in Sydney is the Point Piper amounting to $1,615,000. The second apartment, Milsons Point, is just shy of $15,000 which is priced of $1.6 million. Third is the Darling Point on $1,525,000. The other new apartments to be included in the list are Ramsgate Beach ($1.07 million) and Caringbah South ($1.06 million). The only northern property to be included in the list is Manly which is being sold for $1.01 million.
Domain Group's senior economist Andrew Wilson explained that the sudden rise of high- priced apartments implied that people who are big- spenders are deciding to downsize their living spaces. They are choosing apartments instead of houses which are typically more costly. Dr. Wilson also added that "when you're talking about a million-dollar apartment median that's a prestige story. A higher-priced apartment is definitively a discretionary purchase. The trend has been rising, especially over the past 18 months."
Buyers are willing to live in Sydney where prestige apartments can be found or purchased and most apartments that are listed has ocean or harbor views. Dr. Wilson also noted that apartment prices in Balwyn have increased by Chinese-Australian market and downsizers' demand.
Gary Sands of Di Jones Real Estate says that younger people are choosing apartments due to convenience of having a village life and yet getting to live in a city.