Boomers underpin high-end vertical rise apartment market
LOS ANGELES: Boomers continue to underpin the high-end vertical rise apartment market in the core of cities.
Melbourne’s recently minted apartment price record could be broken in a matter of weeks.
A massive concrete shell at the top of the Sapphire by the Gardens development at the northeast end of Melbourne’s CBD is believed to be edging towards a sale north of $38m.
Part of a twin-tower complex that includes Melbourne’s first Shangri-La five-star hotel and a unique, curvaceous golden sky bridge dubbed a glass oculus that links the two buildings at levels 46 and 47.
While unfitted at present, the 1200sq m residence is already one of the biggest apartments ever built in Victoria and if it follows the trend of past concrete shells sold at the literal top of Melbourne’s market the eventual buyer will spend millions customising it to their taste.
Colliers project marketing national director Ben Gearing confirmed that after interest for the home emerged from across the USA, Asia and Australia, a “local buyer” was shaping up as a front runner for the top home in the project by Malaysia-based developer SP Setia.
Mr Gearing would not confirm if the prospective buyer was Melbourne based or just an Australian resident, but said he believed a deal would soon be done for the home that would set a new record for the city.
Currently, the high score for apartments is held by a $38m off-the-plan sale at Australia’s future-tallest tower, the STH BNK by Beulah project on Southbank Boulevard, Southbank.
That sale was confirmed in February, superseding its own record set at $35m in 2022.
The current apartment price record holder will be located more than 75 floors up, but despite the Southbank project’s height advantage Mr Gearing said he believed the buyer for the top level penthouse at the 60-storey Sapphire by the Gardens would get the better deal.
“This will be, without doubt, the best apartment in the city — if not the country,” he said.
“It’s 1200sq m at the top of the building that is the home of the Shangri-La hotel. It is unrepeatable.”
In terms of amenities, the space provides for a lavish residence with significant numbers of bedrooms and entertaining areas — but at present won’t feature any outdoor space as it is fully enclosed.
While not planned yet, he added that there was a possibility the owners would negotiate access to services provided by the luxury hotel it shares a building with.
Occupying a 62-storey tower next door, the Shangri-La is expected to provide guests with Melbourne’s biggest ballroom, restaurants a lounge and bar, gym and yoga space, an indoor pool and a sky-high garden.
It’s expected guests will begin to stay at the Shangri-La from 2024, and that tower was last year listed for sale with a $500m asking price with expressions of interest due by April 28, 2022.
The hotel will feature 500 rooms, averaging 50sq m in size, and 57,114sq m of floor space.
Residents have begun moving into the smaller of the two towers in the 215m-tall twin-tower project which is already a visual landmark for the city thanks to a golden bridge between the two buildings.
Almost 310 of the project’s 325 apartments have now sold, with most of those remaining listed with $1.2m-$2m price tags and two-bedroom floorplans.
“We are seeing a lot existing stock in the market being quickly snapped up, so people are jumping in,” Mr Gearing said.
“All signs are good in the new builds market.”