Sydney becomes a true destination for the wealthy
Global research has seen Sydney leapfrog Miami and London for house sales in the high-end market
TONY THOMAS
Sydney has earned a place as one of the world’s hot spots for the rich and famous, according to a recent report.
Research from Knight Frank Global for the final quarter of 2025 showed Sydney had 52 sales of homes at $US10 million or more.
This presented a 58% rise on Q3 figures and saw Sydney leapfrog Miami and London as a destination for the wealthy.
Since Q4 in 2024, Sydney has doubled the amount of $US10 million plus houses sold. Over $US930 million worth of property changed hands in this bracket during Q4 2025.
Sydney now ranks fifth on Knight Frank’s rich list, with Miami, London, Singapore and Orange Country in the USA behind the NSW capital.
In the full year 2024, Sydney had $US1586 million in high-end sales and that rose to $US2355 million at the end of the full year in 2025.
Dubai remained at the top of the tree with 143 houses in the $US10 million plus bracket, up from 103 in Q3.
Hong Kong (81), Los Angeles (63) and New York (57) rounded out the top four.
London and Singapore were the interesting cities on the list.
The English capital fell from 37 to 35 properties in Q3 to Q4, while Singapore went from 36 to 32 houses sold in the same period.
“Sydney posted one of the quarter’s strongest rebounds, mirroring broader Australian housing resilience at the upper end,’’ said Liam Bailey, Global Head of Research at Knight Frank.
“Two stories stood out this quarter. First, Dubai’s record year capped a powerful multi‑year run of wealth inflows and super-prime new‑build delivery.
“Second, London’s fall to seventh place in Q4 underscores how tax reform has weighed on trading in the super‑prime market.”
On annual performance (12 months to Q4 2025), Dubai set a new record year with 500 sales, just over three times London’s tally, underlining its structural lead.
New York rebounded from its 2023 low to 326 annual sales, Hong Kong continued to climb and London fell to fifth place with 161, down from first place as recently as 2022.
On a 12‑month view, sales volumes eased slightly from the prior quarter’s peak to 2164 sales across all markets with an aggregate value of $US40.5 billion, still the second‑strongest rolling annual tally since 2021.
