Price records tipped for prestige property sector

There are no signs of a let-up in activity in Perth’s prestige property market, with predictions a handful of homes will break the $16 million residential sale record set in April before the year is out.

And the Australian residential sale record also could fall, if iron-ore magnate Angela Bennett manages to sell her Mosman Park riverfront mansion for more than $50 million.

Knight Frank national research director Matt Whitby said high net-worth buyers were not generally affected by the threat of interest rate rises, with high-end prestige properties in strong demand.

Mr Whitby said demand would drive prices higher in the $5 million plus category and only the unlikely event of a serious business or economic downturn would dent buyer confidence.

“Record prices have been the norm over the past 12 months, and this trend looks likely to continue in 2008. The Australian record house price will likely be broken once again in the next six months, with strong interest in various $40 million-plus properties in Sydney and Perth likely to translate into an eventual sale,” he said in a statement.

According to Knight Frank’s latest Australian Prestige Residential market report, the growing demand for prime property in Perth has resulted in an average 30 per cent jump in the value of Peppermint Grove, Dalkeith, Cottesloe and City Beach properties during the past 12 months.

Other suburbs close to the Swan River, Perth CBD and Fremantle, including Applecross, Floreat and Mount Pleasant, have also fared well, with median house prices over the past year soaring 54 per cent, 46 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.

The report found there were signs that more properties at the top end were changing hands.

The highest sale in Australia this year was recorded in August when a mansion in Point Piper, Sydney, named ‘Routala’ sold for $28.7 million. 

In WA, businessman Dave Rigoll broke the state record when he paid $16 million for a mansion in Chidley Way, Mosman Park, owned by Firepower director Tim Johnston.