Luxury Residential Property in Australia’s Capital Cities Remains Significantly More Affordable than Many Other Cities Around the World

• Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2025, released today, found US$1m would buy 45sq m of luxury real estate in Sydney in 2024, 87sq m of luxury real estate in Melbourne, 102sq m in Perth, 114sq m in Brisbane and 119sq m on the Gold Coast
• This is significantly more than other global cities including Monaco, where you can only buy 19sq m for US$1m, Hong Kong (22sq m) and Singapore (32sq m)
• Despite being more affordable, the amount of luxury real estate you can get for $US1m has fallen by 33% in Sydney, 25% on the Gold Coast, 19% in Melbourne and 13% in Brisbane. However in Perth it has increased by 9%
• Luxury property prices continue to rise in most Australian capital cities, with Perth (5.3%), Brisbane (4.1%) and the Gold Coast (3.6%) recording luxury property price growth equal to or above the global average over 2024
• 2025 could be the time to buy luxury real estate in Australia as price growth moderates

Luxury residential property in Australia’s capital cities remains significantly more affordable than many other cities around the world, according to the latest data from Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2025, released today.

The report found US$1m (circa AU$1.61m at the time of calculation) would buy 45sq m of luxury real estate in Sydney in 2024, and 87sq m of luxury real estate in Melbourne.

In Perth US$1m will buy 102sq m of prime residential property, while in Brisbane you’ll get 114sq m and on the Gold Coast – the most affordable market – you’ll get 119sq m.

This is significantly more bang for your buck than other global cities when it comes to buying luxury property, including Monaco, where you can only buy 19sq m for US$1m, Hong Kong (22sq m) and Singapore (32sq m).

While luxury real estate in Australia is more affordable than other global cities, Knight Frank’s flagship report found that the amount of luxury real estate you can get for your money has fallen by 33% in Sydney and 19% in Melbourne over the past decade as prices have risen.

The report found US$1m bought 67sq m of luxury real estate in Sydney in 2014, compared to 45sq m now, and in Melbourne that amount of money would buy 109sq m 10 years ago compared to 87sq m now.

In Perth the number of square metres you can buy for US$1m has actually increased by 9% over the past decade, due to changes in the exchange rate, while in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast it has fallen by 13% and 25% respectively.

How many sq m of prime property US$1m buys in selected city markets:

City	sq m US$1m would buy in 2014	sq m US$1m would buy in 2024	Buying power change from 2014 – 2024
Monaco	18	19	+5%
Hong Kong	23	22	-4%
Singapore	41	32	-22%
Geneva	46	33	-27%
London	23	34	+43%
New York	33	34	+2%
Los Angeles	68	37	-46%
Paris	51	42	-18%
Shanghai	83	44	-47%
Vienna	53	45	-16%
Sydney	67	45	-33%
Milan	54	52	-4%
Miami	126	58	-54%
Tokyo	88	58	-34%
Berlin	118	69	-42%
Dubai	188	78	-59%
Melbourne	109	87	-19%
Madrid	136	89	-35%
Lisbon	187	92	-51%
Perth	94	102	9%
Mumbai	102	99	-3%
Brisbane	131	114	-13%
Gold Coast	159	119	-25%

Source: Knight Frank Research, Currency calculation as at 29 December 2024

Due to changes in the exchange rate, some cities have seen a slight increase in buying power for US$1m – for instance $US1m would buy 43sq m in Sydney 12 months ago, compared to 45sq m now.

Luxury real estate prices continue to rise

The Wealth Report 2025 found prime residential prices continued on an upward trajectory globally in 2024, with an increase of 3.6%, marginally up on the 3.3% rise in 2023.

In Australia, Perth (5.3%), Brisbane (4.1%) and the Gold Coast (3.6%) recorded luxury property price growth equal to or above the global average.

Perth recorded the highest luxury residential price growth of the Australian cities for the second year in a row, recording very similar growth of 5.2% over 2023, while Brisbane almost doubled its growth rate of 2.3% in 2023.

Prime International Residential Index – PIRI 100 Annual change in prime residential prices, 2024

Australian city	PIRI 100 rank	12-month price growth
Perth	27	5.3%
Brisbane	38	4.1%
Gold Coast	48	3.6%
Sydney	67	1.1%
Melbourne	86	-1.9%

Of the 100 global markets tracked in Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index (PIRI), 77 recorded positive annual price growth, three were at a standstill and 20 saw prices fall, including Melbourne.

Asian and Middle Eastern markets dominate the first six spots in the ranking with Seoul (18.4%), Manilla (17.9%) and Dubai (16.9%) leading the list. see page 82 of The Wealth Report for the full global list).

Knight Frank Global Head of Research Liam Bailey said despite higher interest rates over the past four years in Australia, prime residential prices in Australian cities had largely remained on an upward trend.

“Shielded by cash buyers who are less dependent on financing and by lower supply, prices in markets like Perth and Brisbane rose ahead of the PIRI 100 average in 2024,” he said.

“While buyers of the luxury real estate are less reliant on financing, the RBA’s decision to reduce rates at their recent February meeting signals a change in the market towards greater stabilisation and a strengthening of the economy. There is now improved sentiment and further rate cuts expected this year will restore momentum.

“However, we expect a moderation of price growth in Australian luxury property markets over 2025, in line with the mainstream market, due to factors including the federal election, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and further interest rate cuts being unlikely until the second half of the year.

“Underlying this though – and supporting prices in the luxury real estate market – the stock market is buoyant, properties remain tightly held with higher demand than supply and there is still a significant number of cash buyers seeking downsized homes.

“This year Perth is again expected to lead luxury property price growth, with a 3% predicted rise, followed by Brisbane and the Gold Coast with 2% and Sydney at just 1%. Melbourne prices are expected to remain flat.”

Michelle Ciesielski, Head of Research at McGrath Estate Agents, Knight Frank’s partner in Australia*, said: “Australia’s prestige property has increasingly become more competitive on an international scale with the lower Australian dollar over the past year which is attracting expats to buy back home.

“For a local buying residential property with Australian dollars, prestige prices grew by 2.8% in 2024 across Australia. However, analysis by McGrath Research shows that for a buyer using US dollars to purchase residential property, prices effectively were 6.6% cheaper over this time. This currency advantage was as much as 7.2% cheaper for those buying with Hong Kong dollars, 5.1% with the British pound and 3.6% with Singaporean dollars.

“We continue to experience growing buying activity with expats who are taking advantage of the favourable currency exchange and the strongest demand remains in well-established lifestyle locations for when they eventually return home.”

Adam Ross, Associate Director at McGrath Estate Agents, Knight Frank’s partner in Australia*, said: “The expected growth moderation in luxury property prices over 2025 could create further opportunities in the market for local buyers of high-end real estate in Australia

“We expect the two largest capital cities will lead the opportunities given the weight of money is heavily skewed there, but we can’t underestimate the further prestige opportunities across regional Australia like the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and the Mornington Peninsula.

“2025 could be the year for the most astute investors to upgrade their home as price growth is more conservative, but the challenge remains of finding the ideal prestige home to make the move in this tightly held market.

“At any price point in the prestige market, lifestyle plays a huge factor, especially when they seek a home positioned on the waterfront where buyers need to act fast when they come to market.”

McGrath reports two strong sales in Australia’s luxury market over the past two weeks:

• On the Gold Coast, an architecturally-designed 5-bedroom waterfront house over 4 levels sold for $22m.
• On Sydney’s northern beaches, a 3-bedroom beachfront home in Mona Vale sold for $9.775m.

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Definitions:

PRIME PROPERTY: The most desirable and most expensive property in a given location, generally defined as the top 5% of each market by value. Prime markets often have a significant international bias in terms of buyer profile.

THE PIRI 100: Now in its 18th year, the Knight Frank Prime International Residential Index tracks movements in luxury prices across the world’s top residential markets. The index, compiled using data from our research teams around the world, covers major financial centres, gateway cities and second-home hotspots – both coastal and rural – as well as leading luxury ski resorts.

*Knight Frank, together with New Zealand-based Bayleys, has a partnership with Australian residential real estate group McGrath, following the acquisition of a controlling stake in the agency in June 2024.