Australia’s Most Expensive Home Sells for $140m

A three-storey penthouse in the tallest of Lendlease’s One Sydney Harbour towers has sold for an eye-watering $140 million, smashing sales records and officially nabbing the title of Australia’s most expensive home.

The outrageous price, which Lendlease confirmed is in excess of $140 million, breaks the elusive $100,000 per square metre barrier.

An anonymous local buyer acquired both the tower’s “premier” penthouse and neighbouring sub-penthouse to form a nine-bedroom, three-storey residence with 1,600sq m of living space a roof-top pool, spa and gymnasium.

A further seven whole-floor apartments have been sold in the 72-storey, 317-apartment skyscraper—the tallest building in the development—with sales to date passing the $1 billion mark before an official marketing campaign has even commenced.

Lendlease’s cluster of three Renzo Piano-designed residential towers brings 824 apartments to market at the same time as Crown’s neighbouring One Barangaroo competes to attract an exclusive pool of ultra-high-net-worth buyers.

Lendlease global head of sales Ben Christie said that the sale proves there is significant depth in Australia’s super-luxury apartment market.

“We are confident that the balance of the building will be highly-sought after in the coming weeks,” Christie said.

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▲The three towers, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano's firm, will bring 824 apartments to market. Image: Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Sydney’s ultra-high-end residential apartment market has emerged from the housing downturn relatively unscathed, with sales for prestige homes bolstered by a rapidly growing number of millionaires.

Sydney’s prime market now outranks Berlin, Dubai and Shanghai for average luxury prices—sitting at around $27,000 per square metre in 2018.

One Sydney Harbour’s $140 million sale makes James Packer’s dual-storey penthouse apartment in Crown’s neighbouring One Barangaroo look like a bargain; Packer paid a reported $60 million for the apartment purchase in 2017. At least four other $40 million-plus apartments have transacted off the plan at One Barangaroo to date.

The price also eclipses the $100 million paid by Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife for the Fairwater Mansion at Point Piper—a record at the time.

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▲The sale of the triple-storey, 9-bedroom penthouse broke the record at $100,000 per square metre. Image: Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

Lendlease Property chief executive Kylie Rampa said that the sale represents a paradigm shift in the market.

“An apartment [has] claimed the title of Australia’s most valuable residential property for the first time, a title historically reserved for significant houses,” Rampa said.

The 30-storey Renzo Piano-designed tower won final planning approval this month from the NSW government’s independent planning commission, the last of the three-tower precinct to get the green light.

Located in the Barangaroo South precinct, the Lendlease-developed apartment cluster comprises 317 apartments in tower one, 297 apartments in tower two and 150 apartments in the 29-storey third tower.

The three towers are slated for completion in 2023.