One-bedroom Bondi Beach apartment fetches $11 million as luxury unit market soars

A stunning one-bedroom apartment in Bondi Beach has sold for a staggering $11 million, as new data reveals Australia's luxury unit market continues to reach new heights.

The luxury apartment, located in a highly sought-after beachside block at  1/8-10 Notts Avenue and with views over one of Australia's most famous beaches, sold prior to its scheduled auction after multiple buyers attempted to secure the property before it went under the hammer.

Listing agent Alexander Phillips, a partner at PPD Real Estate, said interest in the apartment was strong, driven by its location and multi-million-dollar views.

"It is basically in the best position along the whole of the eastern beaches," he said.

"A lot of interest came from people coming out of the inner city and local people wanting to downsize. Although the eventual buyers are from interstate and plan to use it as a weekender."

The apartment in a boutique block of three, is considered a 'luxury unit', defined as properties priced in the 95th percentile of all units sold in Australia.

Luxury premium

According to new data from Neoval, luxury units now command on average a $1.6 million price tag. This marks a 2.9 per cent increase in values compared to the previous year and a substantial 27.6 per cent jump over the past five years.

In contrast, the mean unit price hovers around $668,409 - just over a third of their high-end counterparts, with much more subdued growth over the past five years.

According to Ray White Group senior data analyst Atom Go Tian, Sydney leads the way as the most expensive luxury unit market, across all capital cities and regional areas, with unit prices averaging $2.2 million.

Regional Queensland, encompassing the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, follows with luxury unit prices at $1.5 million and an extraordinary five-year growth rate of 62.2 per cent - the highest among all the regions.

Although Melbourne is the third most expensive luxury unit market, its growth has slowed to just 16 per cent over the last five years.

Mr Go Tian said it wouldn't be hard to imagine Brisbane moving up the ranks with its 50.9 per cent five-year growth and 9.6 per cent one-year growth rate.

Meanwhile, regional New South Wales is the fourth most expensive luxury unit market, driven by areas such as Byron Bay, Tweed Heads, and Newcastle.

"The growth of the luxury units market has been significantly greater than increases for the geometric mean unit price and I think that speaks to the resilience of that luxury market," he said.

"I guess in general, home prices have been very strong and the luxury unit market benefits from that," he said.

"But while values may have slowed down in other sectors, it has maintained that high level of demand and grown even more due to some of the scarcity that we're seeing in that particular market," he said.

High-end resilient

Mr Go Tian said lower supply of luxury apartments was likely to see the high-end of the unit market remaining resilient for some time to come.

"Industry wise we're seeing construction insolvencies increasing, the number of developments slowing down and the nature of the luxury market is that as things become more scarce, prices increase," he said.

Australia's top 10 most expensive suburbs for luxury units is dominated by Sydney, with eight out of the ten locations.

Double Bay - Darling Point leads the way with an astonishing average price of nearly $6.2 million, followed closely by Bellevue Hill at $5.6 million. While Woollahra and Bayview-Elanora Heights have average luxury unit values of $4 million each.

In Queensland, Noosa Heads ($5.12 million) on the Sunshine Coast, Main Beach ($4.46 million) on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Beach ($3.96 million) have the highest luxury unit values.

Queensland has seen some of the strongest five-year price growth in the luxury unit market, with prestige areas such as Buddina-Minyama on the Sunshine Coast and Mermaid Waters on the Gold Coast seeing five-year price increases of 72.2 per cent and 71.4 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the prestigious, inner-city suburbs of Toorak ($3.86 million), Brighton ($3.2 million) and East Melbourne ($2.99 million) boast the most expensive luxury unit markets in Victoria.

"Across all the regions, the luxury market is overwhelmingly positive. It looks strong," Mr Go Tian said.

Mr Phillips from PPD Real Estate said the "big" price tag for the Bondi Beach apartment was a reflection of the strength in the luxury unit market.

"We are continuing to see very strong demand for big units that are well finished, in good boutique buildings and in good locations, " he said.

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