KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE DRIVING OUR SUCCESS IN THE PRESTIGE MARKET
- April 22, 2021
It takes a certain skill set, market insight and ability to nurture relationships with both vendors and buyers in order to achieve success in the highly specialised prestige sector. We’re the only local agency with more than 20 years of history selling property in this market, having sold countless luxury residences in the area, some many times over. When you run the data against the top five agencies in the Inner West, C&H comes out on top with a 45% market share of properties sold over $4m.
There’s an added level of expertise and trust required in prestige property. Most crucial, however, is an understanding of buyers in this market. They’re often discrete and not always actively looking, so forging close relationships, understanding their desires and knowing how to engage them is vital. About 80% of our prestige buyers come from the local area while the remainder are expats returning from overseas, interstate purchasers and those relocating from the Eastern Suburbs and North Shore.
We’ve achieved a number of benchmark prestige transactions in 2021 including the highest priced house sales in Balmain, Balmain East, Birchgrove, Rozelle, Drummoyne and Russell Lea this year, along with the highest priced house sale ever recorded in Leichhardt and the peninsula’s strongest under-the-hammer house sale ever recorded.
Given the extraordinary strength of the broader property market at the moment, we’ve had several incredible high-end results in recent months. As a renowned Inner West specialist, Ben Southwell achieved the two highest priced house sales ever recorded in Leichhardt within a matter of weeks.
He comments, “The Leichhardt, Lilyfield and Annandale prestige markets are seeing such strong results because these areas offer more ‘blue sky’. i.e. more open space where you’re less hemmed in, with a greater ability to create larger luxury homes. With the family and upsizing market being a key driver, these areas have become increasingly gentrified over the past 20 years thanks to the improved local amenities, parks and the like. We’re attracting clientele from all areas, not just locally, which continues to make the Inner West a real melting pot.”
We’ve also got some exciting prestige properties coming up for sale, with our Drummoyne office listing three exclusive waterfront apartments. Located within the boutique building of four ‘Tiona’, 1/6 Wolseley Street, Drummoyne enjoys use of a superb harbourfront pool, jetty and beautiful gardens, with a price guide of $3.4m. Nearby in the prestigious ‘La Mer’ building, 2/96 St Georges Crescent, Drummoyne is an ultra-luxurious whole-floor apartment with incredible harbour views and a communal 20m pool, gym, outdoor kitchen and shared jetty with mooring. It comes at a price guide of $4.5m. A little further around the bay and you can enjoy the resort-style surroundings of Balmain Cove, with its pools, spa, gym, sauna and childcare centre. With a price guide of $3.2m, 13/3 Wulumay Close, Rozelle features a wonderfully generous covered terrace from which you can soak up great water views.
“Current conditions mean that we’re seeing plenty of cashed up buyers,” says Samantha Elvy. Money is cheap and people have bigger budgets to play with – $4m is the new $3m. Empty nesters are playing a big role in driving our premium market, with plenty of buyers coming from Hunters Hill and the Upper North Shore who want to be in a lively area closer to the city.”
“We can only deal in the here and now and given the market sentiment at the moment, it’s a great time to sell. Who knows what might happen in a month but right now we’ve got a pool of eager buyers and a shortage of stock which is really propelling the market forward, so sooner rather than later is our advice. We can achieve quick, discrete, benchmark-setting sales with a strategy that our vendors are comfortable with.”
If you’re looking to make a move, have a conversation with our team today.
