Prestige Market Update NERIDA CONISBEE
This Adelaide home at 32 Avenel Gardens Road, Medindie, is on the market for $3.35 million through Jamie Brown of Booth & Booth Real Estate
Perfect match The wish list for luxury home buyers has some clear must-haves It’s not surprising that Albert Park and Toorak in Melbourne, Medindie in Adelaide, and Bronte and Paddington in Sydney, are some of the most popular suburbs in Australia when it comes to luxury property. But do you know what luxury buyers look for when searching for their ideal home? An analysis of search data on realestate.com.au makes it clear that the preferences of luxury property buyers are different from those of the average homebuyer in Australia when it comes to the key characteristics of a home. Property type: Like all property seekers, luxury buyers overwhelmingly search for houses, but an interesting trend favouring apartment living has emerged, making up 14 per cent of luxury property search preferences. Apartment living has evolved significantly over the past decade, and is increasingly a preference for luxury buyers wanting to live in certain central locations close to amenities and with high levels of service and security. Bedrooms: In Australia, the average home has three bedrooms – the same as the average home in the US, Canada and the UK. Despite that we are aspirational – four bedrooms are what most people search for. For luxury buyers, five bedrooms is the most popular choice, while 10 per cent of luxury home buyers would like seven bedrooms. Bathrooms: Palatial marble bathrooms often spring to mind when we think of luxury homes. A surprisingly high number of 38
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buyers in this category look for six bathrooms, although three is the most common selection. In comparison, the average Australian looks for two bathrooms – which seems much more manageable than six when it comes to cleaning, but I guess if you can afford so many bathrooms you can probably also afford someone to clean them for you. Car spaces: Articles regularly appear in the media about impressive multi-car garages and they receive a lot of attention. Given the known appeal of really big garages, it is surprising then that luxury home buyers, just like every other Australian, only search for two car parks. The fourth highest preference is for eight car spots. Other features: Luxury homebuyers actually have more in common with renters rather than they do with other homebuyers when it comes to they other features they rate highly in their searches. Air conditioning tops the list but that’s closely followed by a swimming pool. Based on this profile, created by search data on realestate.com.au, among the most desired luxury homes in Australia would be one in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie with five bedrooms, three bathrooms and two car parks. It would have superb air conditioning and a swimming pool to cope with the Adelaide summer, as well as secure car parking. Nerida Conisbee is the chief economist with realestate.com.au
Property type preference by luxury property seekers, 2020 Proportion of total property views of $3M+ homes by characteristic
Property type House Apartment Acreage Townhouse Other
74% 14% 10% 1% 1%
Bedrooms Five Four Six Three Other
36% 24% 14% 12% 14%
Car parks Two Three Four Eight Other
19% 17% 17% 10% 37%
Bathrooms Three Four Six Two Other
29% 22% 14% 12% 24%
Features Air Conditioning Pool Secure Parking Balcony Other
9% 8% 7% 7% 69% Source: realestate.com.au
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| JUNE 13-14, 2020
