Where do Australia’s major prime markets rank?

Overall, the index rose by 2.6 per cent over the last year to June 2018, which is down from the previous year’s 4.4 per cent, which the report attributed to the top-performing cities rising slower than expected.

Michelle Ciesielski, head of residential research, Australia at Knight Frank said Australia’s prime residential market is performing strongly with three out of four major Australian markets ranking in the top 20.

“Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit at 15th, 17th and 20th place on the Prime Global Cities Index, while Perth sits in 23rd place,” Ms Ciesielski said.

“Despite a cooling mainstream market off the back of tighter lending practices, the prime market this quarter has continued to be resilient with buyers less impacted by these measures.”

Additionally, The Wealth Report, another report from Knight Frank, indicates the number of ultra-wealthy Australians (defined as those with net assets of at least US$50 million) rose by 9 per cent in 2017 to 1,260, with this number expected to rise by 37 per cent over the next five years.

For those who wish to enter the prime real estate market, these rising ultra-wealthy Australians will make things more difficult according to Sarah Harding, head of residential, Australia at Knight Frank.

“We are seeing more of our prestige buyers seeking their second and third homes, not for income-producing purposes. This has resulted in these buyers not releasing a property to market before buying another, limiting the number of prime opportunities,” Ms Harding said.