_Revolutionising the concept of 'the penthouse'

A revolution in the concept of the residential penthouse is being led by the Crown Residences at One Barangaroo. Until this recently completed development in Sydney, traditionally, Australia’s prime apartment towers had been uniform in configuration – the penthouse with exclusive features was very much the pinnacle apartment within the complex.

Breaking the mould of the traditional penthouse, all residences are created equal in ‘penthouse quality’. All residences are finished with the same materiality to the same exceptional standard, all have views to Sydney’s icons, and all have the same access to the services and amenities of the Crown Resorts hotel beneath. You don’t need to be at the top of the building, or in a very large residence, to take advantage of this lifestyle.

The new concept offered by the residences in One Barangaroo is likely to pave the way for the prime market in Australia, with more super-prime projects likely to emerge over the next decade. We have seen that buyers are willing to pay this premium.

Analysis across five global cities – New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney – reveals penthouses are on average 129% larger than the average apartment in the same development and can command a premium in price of 35% on a per square metre (sqm) basis.

Exclusivity and privacy also underpin values and local factors such as, configuration of developments and sales technique, mean premiums in various cities can differ by up to 50%.

Sydney’s penthouse prices command a premium of 22%, on average, compared to others in the development, lower than in other global cities – but the highest size differential, at 182%.

This size differential demonstrates how large Sydney apartments are when compared to other global cities and this factor also tends to skew the square metre rate when comparing super-prime apartments in the harbour city.

The first half of 2021 was the first time it’s been possible that exchanged sales in the super-prime Crown Residences at One Barangaroo have been captured within the total residential sales volume by our research team, as these off-the-plan sales had also settled in this period.

What we saw in this time was the top five super-prime apartment sales in Sydney average $39 million, and four of these five apartment sales took place at One Barangaroo - reflecting the demand of our ultra-wealthy population for super-prime luxury homes in the sky.

Erin van Tuil worked for Knight Frank in the UK, Australia and Asia Pacific region over the past 15 years. She is currently a Partner, leading local and international Sales and Marketing for Crown Residences at One Barangaroo - Australia's first fully integrated hotel branded residences.

Get in touch:

Erin van Tuil
Erin.vanTuil@au.knightfrank.com
+61 409 325 700