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Most of us who follow property with genuine interest have experienced that guilty pleasure of scrolling through the listings of prestigious homes just for sheer enjoyment. The luxury property market is undeniably eye candy for property enthusiasts and serious buyers.
While prestige property markets across Australia might reasonably be expected to show mixed results from year to year, 2025 has been a standout one for high-end transactions in many centres. Record-breaking sales in the luxury sector have certainly captured the headlines. But as anyone serious about property knows, the real story isn't found in headline figures alone. The nuances matter. The reasons behind what happened at the top end tell us far more about market direction than any single sale price ever could.
In this article, we’ll focus on Melbourne. How this city’s most sophisticated buyers reacted to market conditions throughout 2025. What they valued, what they avoided, and where they chose to deploy their capital gives us genuine insight into what's likely to unfold across the prestige space in 2026.
To assist, I've drawn on the extensive experience of our Melbourne Propertybuyer expert, Tass Pattas. Tass has helped me examine key sales at the luxury end of the Melbourne market and form some observations about what this activity signals for the year ahead.
Westpac Private Bank’s Prestige Property Report 2025 notes that, overall, Australian prestige buyers’ behaviour is shaped not so much by domestic interest rate changes as by the performance of global equity markets, bonuses, offshore capital flows, and currency shifts. These buyers depend on these fundamentals, along with traditional legacy wealth and global business strength, to purchase homes rather than a mortgage.
Herron Todd White (HTW)’s November 2025 Month In the review report, it was highlighted that Melbourne’s prestige buyers include a high number of overseas purchasers, particularly Australian-Chinese purchasers. However, the report also highlighted a notable presence of other high-net-worth individuals joining Melbourne’s prestige market. A growing cohort of self-made entrepreneurs from tech, e-commerce, and finance industries had also entered the sector in the past five years. This group was prioritising long-term value over speculative short-term views. These buyers also focused on exclusivity and good locations.
As HTW noted in their report, the core drivers of Melbourne prestige remain proximity to water, elevation, privacy, and prestige locations.
The inner-eastern suburb of Toorak continued to dominate as Melbourne’s premier prestige suburb in 2025. Toorak was closely followed by bayside Brighton, Kew, Hawthorn, Malvern, and South Yarra. Canterbury and Elwood, along with inner-northern suburbs such as Carlton
North, Fitzroy North and Brunswick, and southeastern Mornington Peninsula locations stretching from Mount Eliza to Portsea, also held firm when it came to their traditionally top-notch homes and sale prices.
But as the “crown jewel” of Melbourne’s prestige property market, Toorak can lay claim to having Australia’s highest residential sale ever. Yes, this year, Melbourne took the number one sales spot from Sydney, with the sale of 65 Clendon Road, Toorak. While not yet officially disclosed, the stunning Coonac estate is reported to have sold for somewhere between $131 million and $150 million in February.
65 Clendon Road, Toorak (source: Australian Financial Review)
Among other very select sales in Toorak was the $80 million transaction of 29-31 St Georges Road in August 2022 to a 27-year-old crypto casino co-founder.
29-31 St Georges Road, Toorak (source: realestate.com.au)
In the same month, and on the same street, no less, “Blair Estate” at 17 St Georges Road sold for $74.5 million. And, in June 2023, another mansion at 55-57 Albany Road, owned by the late billionaire developer and Melbourne Lord Mayor, Ron Walker, sold for a mere $61 million.
Our man on the spot, Tass, said prestige suburbs and their adjoining neighbours will always perform well in the medium to longer term, especially those in the inner east and inner south of the city. However, he also noted that many traditional prestige suburbs underperformed in 2025, including Glen Waverley and Doncaster, with a material drop in listings.
Let’s look at some more great sales that occurred in 2025. This 212 square metre, three-bedroom apartment at 433 Collins Street, Melbourne, sold for $3.65 million in August. Set on the 32nd floor of the Collins Arch development that was completed in 2020, the property features south-facing views across the city skyline to the Yarra River and Southbank.
3203/433 Collins Street, Melbourne (source: realestate.com.au)
Luxury is an understatement when it comes to this five-bed, three-level French Provincial mansion at 38 Monomeath Ave, Canterbury, which sold for $28.1 million in March 2025. This is just under the suburb’s record of $29 million. For this price tag, the new owner now enjoys a 1825 square metre spot on one of Melbourne’s most exclusive roads, complete with a solid marble bath in the master retreat’s ensuite.
38 Monomeath Avenue, Canterbury (source: realestate.com.au)
The buyers of 9 Kildrummie Court in Sorrento purchased the six-bedroom clifftop retreat for $15.05 million in February 2025. Set opposite the beach and described as having the best scenery on the Mornington Peninsula, “Laguna” features separate, self-contained guest quarters and terraces overlooking the sea.
9 Kildrummie Court, Sorrento (source: realestate.com.au)
The March 2025 sale price of Suma Park Estate, a 40ha heritage-listed property, across the bay from Sorrento, was never officially disclosed. But it’s believed to be over $10 million, which would make it this area’s highest sale for the 2025 financial year. Built in 1888 and including heritage-listed stables and a two-bed Victorian cottage, the property is expected to remain a popular wedding venue and conference centre.
Looking ahead and Melbourne’s prestige market is expected to enjoy further resilience and confidence in 2026. There has been a strong turnaround in Melbourne’s lower price points in the latter part of 2025, which bodes well for overall market confidence across this region. There is no reason to think this certainty won’t filter through to the upper price sector as well.
Tass predicts prestige suburbs like Toorak will do well in 2026 and into 2027. Quality postcodes near government infrastructure spending, like Rosanna, Heidelberg and Eaglemont in the northeast are also expected to continue their upward trajectory.
In today’s competitive market, it takes a skilled, highly experienced, and well-connected professional like Tass to ensure clients secure their dream property under the best possible terms. In fact, without an independent buyers’ agent on your side, you risk not even hearing of homes coming to market in this luxury sector where privacy is as important as price. If you’re looking to buy a prestige home in Melbourne in 2026, reach out to Tass and the team to secure the right home while saving your valuable time and effort for other endeavours.
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