A $7.1 million apartment in Sydney's Milsons Point is among the latest luxury off-the-plan sales

The nation’s luxury homes market is continuing to charge ahead, pulling in sales of up to $7.1 million for off-the-plan apartments.

A 141-square-metre apartment in Sydney sold for a whopping $7.1 million in late May at Aqualand’s Blue at Lavender Bay project in Milsons Point. The weighty sale equates to $50,354 per square metre.

A smaller apartment at the upmarket Revy development in Pyrmont, also by Aqualand, changed hands for $5.18 million or $41,440 per square metre.

The big sales continue to roll in despite warnings of a slowdown in the construction industry brought on by a COVID-19 pandemic-induced fall in new building approvals.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on June 3 showed building approvals rose by 7.3 per cent across the nation in the three months to April, 2020.

But Housing Industry Australia chief economist Tim Reardon said these figures were collated pre-pandemic.

“Due to the lag between project development and design, submitting an application for a building approval and obtaining an approval, the majority of these projects would have been envisaged at the start of the year or in 2019, when the housing market was gaining momentum,” he said.

The figures come as the federal government announced a $688 million construction stimulus to stave off a predicted slump across Australia’s building industry.

Agents across the board are reporting an upcoming shortage of stock, which is expected to have an impact on prices.

On the Gold Coast, two beach-facing homes at Sherpa Property Group’s The Golden Four in Bilinga sold off-the-plan for $3.2 million and $3.3 million in the past three weeks. And at Coolangatta’s Freedom Beach Homes, also by Sherpa, five new homes priced between $1.5 million and $2 million are under contract.

CBRE Gold Coast director Nick Clydsdale said the right conditions were still there for cashed-up buyers to purchase high-end apartments and penthouses.

“These types of people tend to have a lot more immunity to short-term market fluctuations,” he said. “We’ve still got cheap money, a great lifestyle and people are seeing value for money compared to the density in capital cities you see further south.”

At Mirvac’s Tulloch House in Brisbane, two three-bedroom apartments priced above $1.6 million have sold in the past month while at Pavilions, Sydney Olympic Park, a $1 million-plus apartment has exchanged, with another on deposit.

Many buyers had used the lockdown to do their property homework, said Mirvac’s head of residential Stuart Penklis.

“We saw a dramatic increase in the number of people viewing projects over the past two months and now that is being converted into sales,” he said. “Registrations for off-the-plan projects are, in many instances, back to the same levels we were seeing in February when the property market was surging.”

In Melbourne, The Marker in West Melbourne racked up sales of $4.52 million for six off-the-plan apartments in the past fortnight. And at Milieu’s One Wilson Ave project in Brunswick, more than a third of the 41 apartments have been purchased including a $1.25 million three-bedder that sold last week.

Patrick Cooney, Milieu sales and marketing director, said the COVID-19 pandemic had divided buyers into two distinct groups.

“There are two different types of people inquiring now – those doing their research and concerned about job security, not looking to commit until they get a better understanding of the economy,” he said. “And those who have the financial security of being in a job where they feel they will be able to secure a loan.”

In Canberra, a $1.47 million terrace home and 782-square-metre block of land for $1.175 million were purchased at The Parks Red Hill by Stockland.

Colliers residential land director Josh Reid said Canberra’s market was showing no signs of slowing.

“The fundamentals of Canberra remain the same, we have good job security and we’ve got good income here, so I think all of those fundamentals provide enough confidence for the market to continue to buy and also buy at a level that hasn’t seen any decreases in pricing,” he said.