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Headlines
Winter/26
Sydney Prestige
Residential
Prestige residential sales Update
Prestige sales
Sydney recorded a lower number of prestige residential sales above $5 million over the past year Sales trended down 17% with a total of 1,380 transactions in the year ending Q1/26, being outpaced by the five year annual average of 1,432 sales. Sales activity tends to shift with interest rate movements and changes in economic confidence, while ongoing global uncertainty continues to influence decisionmaking Isolating the 244 sales in the Q1/26 quarter, this was 55% below the previous quarter whilst lower than the 291 five year quarterly average
Super-prestige sales
The share of super-prestige sales (above $10 million) was recorded at 30%, after analysing the total number of prestige sales (above $5 million) across Sydney in the year ending Q1/26. This was higher than one year ago when the proportion was 21%, and remains above the 24% share recorded five years ago Over the past year, Sydney’s super-prestige sales volume has increased by 20%, and grown by 114% over the past five years
Rolling tally of annual prestige residential sales
Sydney prestige ($5m+)
Share of super-prestige sales ($10m+), by number
Sydney prestige
Sales velocity
days
Sydney prestige homes are taking more time to sell than one year ago Prestige homes across Sydney averaged 84 days on market in the year ending Q1/26, from the time they were listed to the day they went under contract This duration was 84 days a quarter ago (+0 days) and 76 days one year ago (+8 days). A lower number of days on market typically indicates that homes are selling more quickly, often reflecting strong buyer demand and well priced, desirable properties In contrast, a higher number of days on market may signal slower buyer activity Looking back over the five-year average, it has taken 74 days to sell a home
Average days on the market
-10.4% -3.1%
Less Sydney homes have been newly listed for sale than this time last year. Newly advertised listings in Sydney were 10 4% lower in the month of March 2026 than the equivalent period last year, according to Cotality. This change in new listings trended below the Australian average of -3 3% and below the -6 3% across Australian capital cities
Overall, the total number of homes listed for sale in Sydney is down on last year. Sydney's total number of listings in the month of March 2026 were 3 1% below the equivalent period last year, according to Cotality. By comparison, the Australian average change for total listings was -11 5% and across Australian capital cities was -8 6%
Prestige prices
Sydney residential property prices have trended lower than a year ago across the prestige market Sydney prestige property prices fell by 2 6% in the year ending Q1/26, with a fall of 2 7% recorded in the last quarter Looking back at price growth since Q1/21, prestige houses (15.6%) were outpaced by prestige apartments (15 7%) over the five years In Q1/26, prestige house prices were lower by 3.0% and by 3 0% on the previous year In the same quarter, prestige apartment prices fell by 2 7% after declining 2 6% in the past year Annual residential price growth has averaged 3 2% over the past five years
Prestige price outlook
Looking ahead, Sydney residential prestige prices are likely to fall over the coming year McGrath Research forecasts Sydney prestige residential prices to compress by 4% by the end of 2026, followed by price stability in 2027 Factors taken into consideration include the projection of a challenged economy and business environment, a solid performing stock market, anticipated pressure on the interest rate target, as sales volume remain stable.
Tracking prestige prices
Sydney prestige
change from a quarter ago
change from a year ago
Forecast for prestige prices
Sydney prestige
Prestige residential rents
Prestige yield
+38 bps
Gross rental yield Sydney prestige
Sydney prestige gross rental yields have trended higher over the past year Residential gross rental yields rose 23 bps in the Q1/26 quarter to be 2 97% across the Sydney prestige market, whilst being 38 bps more than a year ago. Gross rental yields are a good initial measure of comparing the return of a property investment before expenses are deducted A yield greater than 3% tends to be considered most desirable for prestige properties located in capital cities, while below this, tends to indicate high property prices relative to rent, or low rental demand Gross rental yields have averaged 2.48% over the past five years.
Residential rental vacancy Sydney Vacancy 1.8%
The number of residential rental homes in Sydney is currently undersupplied. Sydney rental vacancy was recorded at 1.8% at the end of Q1/26, falling 40 bps in the quarter whilst falling 20 bps over the past year according to REIA. Generally, around 3% vacancy is considered a balanced market between rental supply and demand Below this equilibrium is considered to be an undersupplied pool of rental homes, which places upward pressure on weekly rents. For the past five years, Sydney residential rental vacancy has averaged 2 0%
from a year ago
Prestige residential rents
Tracking prestige rents Sydney prestige Prestige rents
+10.6%
Residential rents across Sydney trended above the weekly prestige rate recorded a year ago Sydney prestige property rents rose by 10 6% in the year ending Q1/26, with a rise of 5 3% recorded in the last quarter Looking back at rental growth over the five years since Q1/21, prestige apartments (71.5%) outpaced prestige houses (45.7%). Prestige apartment rents in Q1/26 were 2 4% above a quarter ago, and were 8.7% higher over the year. In the same quarter, prestige house rents rose by 7 6% after rising 11 8% in the past year On average, over the past five years, prestige rents grew 9 6% per year
Prestige rental outlook
Sydney prestige +3%
Forecast for prestige rents
The Sydney prestige residential market is continuing to experience upward pressure on weekly rents Only a modest number of new homes have been built in Sydney, reducing the share of prestige rental homes available as the city continues to attract a large portion of the country’s wealthy population As a result, McGrath Research forecast there will remain upward pressure on rents of 5% at the end of 2026, with a further 3% rental growth likely in 2027
Sydney prestige, Q1/26
Definitions
Prestige property
The most desirable and most expensive property in a given location, generally defined as the top 5% of each market, by value.
Prestige sales
Sydney prestige sale transactions hold a threshold of A$5 million
Super-prestige sales
Sydney super-prestige sale transactions hold a threshold of A$10 million.
UHNWI
An ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNWI) is someone with a net worth of US$30 million or more.
Guiding
you home
Michelle Ciesielski
National Head of Research, McGrath Research
www.mcgrath.com.au/research
