Buyer who wasn’t even looking buys penthouse for record-breaking price

A $9 million sale of a Maroochydore penthouse has set a new record for apartments on the Sunshine Coast.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom residence crowns Mosaic Property Group’s Lorient apartment development at 801/88 Duporth Avenue, offering expansive living zones, refined finishes, four car parking spaces, and views stretching from the river to the ocean.

At an expansive 572 square metres, the penthouse attracted 80 inquiries, 49 private inspections, five expressions of interest, and four written offers before selling to a local business identity after 24 days on the market.

Agents Niall Molloy and Dan Sowden of Ray White Maroochydore, who conducted the sale, described the transaction as a “want” purchase, with interested buyers already living in high-end homes.

“This sale sets a new benchmark for Maroochydore and underscores the depth of demand for irreplaceable, owner-occupier apartments on the Sunshine Coast,” Dan said.

For decades, Maroochydore was seen primarily as a holiday destination. But according to Mosaic Property Group’s managing director, Brook Monahan, that perception has shifted dramatically.

“As recently as 20 years ago, Maroochydore was a place to come on holiday,” Brook said.

“It was not, for many people, the main home.”

Now, with the emergence of a new CBD, modern waterfront projects, and a maturing buyer pool, the area has cemented itself as a lifestyle location of choice.

Developments such as Mosaic’s earlier Avalon project, which launched in 2018 with apartments priced from $2.2 million to $6 million and quickly sold out, paved the way for bold ventures like Lorient.

Originally sold off-the-plan for $7.4 million, the penthouse’s final $9 million result highlights both the strength of demand and the area’s evolution as a sought-after property market.

“This is at the top of the pyramid,” Niall noted, suggesting that sales of this calibre won’t be a weekly or yearly occurrence, but could re-emerge in future cycles.

Still, the appetite for high-quality waterfront homes in Maroochydore has never been stronger.

As Niall reflected, “In the history of Maroochydore, there has never been a property that quite hits that brief.

“It’s purely, ‘this is something that excites me more than what I currently have.’

“The main thing was the number of offers.

“To have four parties make a written offer here was a wonderful testament to the appeal of Maroochydore.”

For the Sunshine Coast, the Lorient penthouse sale is more than a single record-breaking transaction. It signals a clear shift: the region is no longer just a place to holiday, but a place where affluent buyers want to live, invest, and anchor their lives.

With only a handful of apartments in Maroochydore that could rival this scale and scarcity, the $9 million sale stands as both a milestone and a marker of where the Sunny Coast market is headed.

For more property news and off-the-plan apartments, click here.