Australia’s most expensive house in 2024 sold for an eyewatering $51.5million – with that astronomical sum buying incredible views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
Briana and Ben Voltz, the Melbourne-based co-founder of e-commerce marketing technology company Rokt, bought the Federation house in Point Piper with eight bedrooms and six bedrooms in March.
The Wolseley Road mansion, built in 1904, was previously owned by racehorse breeder Tom Magnier.
The mansion cost 51 times the price of a typical capital city home and 2,710 times the price of Australia’s cheapest house that sold for $19,000.
The property is only a short walk from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Wunulla Road home, and was one of five homes in Sydney’s eastern suburbs that made the top 10 list of Australia’s most expensive real estate in 2024.
Sydney’s Mosman and Palm Beach had two other spots, along with Melbourne’s Toorak, plus Noosa and the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Domain chief of research and economics, Nicola Powell, said buyers of Australia’s most expensive real estate generally weren’t too concerned about high interest rates as they generally want water views regardless of the cost.
‘The price points are eyewatering – when you’re getting to this type of price, the performance of these properties is not influenced by the cash rate,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Australia’s most expensive house in 2024 was 142 Wolseley Road in Point Piper, which sold for sold for $51.5million
‘It tends to always be the eastern suburbs of Sydney with a few in Melbourne as well, such as Toorak.
‘It showcases the premium nature of some of these ocean-front locations where the properties are highly sought-after, they’re highly unique and there’s only so many of these types available and this is why they continue to command such eyewatering price tags.
‘Everything is about location and there’s only so many homes that have that prime views as well – if you’re looking at the Opera House or the Harbour Bridge, that just adds to the value.’
But Australia’s second most expensive property didn’t have water views after a house in Toorak sold for $40million in February.
The park-style mansion with five bedrooms, five bathrooms, a tennis court and views of the city skyline last sold for $23.3million in 2014.
Australia’s second most expensive house was located in Melbourne’s Toorak and sold for $40million
This Rose Bay house on Rawson Road sold for $38.5million in July
A house in Vaucluse on Wentworth Road sold for $31.75million in September, only six years after selling for $19.6million
Meanwhile, the next five most expensive homes were back in Sydney.
Lowes menswear co-owner Jeffrey Mueller snapped up a $38.5million property on Rawson Road in Rose Bay in July.
The property has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a four-car garage with panoramic views of the Harbour Bridge and the city skyline from the dining room and kitchen.
A house in Vaucluse on Wentworth Road in sold for $31.75million in September.
Mei Peng, the wife of Chinese mining executive Zhian Zhang, bought a house on Wentworth Road in Vaucluse for $31.7million in September.
The property, with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a 12 car parking space and views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, last sold for $19.6million.
In nearby Fitzwilliam Road, also in Vaucluse, a four-bedroom, five-bedroom house with a privat jetty sold for $30.38million.
On the other side of the harbour at Mosman, on Sydney’s lower north shore, ZRL Capital director Enquan Zhen bought a a six-bedroom house with seven bathrooms and a five-car garage sold for $30million in March.
Home care tycoon Jon Kontopos bought a five-bedroom, four-bathroom, four-car garage house metres from the beach at Rose Bay for $30million in April.
In nearby Fitzwilliam Road, also in Vaucluse, a house right on Sydney Harbour but without views of the famous bridge and the Opera House, sold for $30.38million
On the other side of the harbour at Mosman, on Sydney’s lower north shore, a six-bedroom house with seven bathrooms and a five-car garage sold for $30million
The same money – $30million – bought a five-bedroom, four-bathroom, four-car garage house at Rose Bay, just metres from the beach
A four-bedroom, four-bathroom house with its own jetty on a canal at Noosa Heads on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast also sold for $30million in May.
The Gold Coast entered the list in ninth place with a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a six-car garage selling for $28million in February to billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer and his wife Anna.
Palm Beach on Sydney’s northern beaches rounded out the top 10 with a six-bedroom, six-bathroom house with room for four cars selling for $26.5million in June to car dealer Paul Warren.
The Pacific Road house on the southern end of Palm Beach has views of the Pacific Ocean and Barrenjoey Lighthouse.
At the other end of the real estate spectrum, Australia’s cheapest properties sold in 2024 were nowhere near an ocean breeze, and cost the same as a used car.
This four-bedroom, four-bathroom house at Noosa Heads also sold for $30million
The Gold Coast entered the list in ninth place with a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house at Mermaid Beach selling for $28million in February
Palm Beach on Sydney’s northern beaches rounded at the top 10 with a six-bedroom, six-bathroom house selling for $26.5million in June
The outback opal mining town of Andamooka, population 262 and located 600km north of Adelaide, was the home to the nation’s cheapest house in 2024.
A one-bedroom, one bathroom stone and corrugated iron home, set on 2,185 square metres of land, sold for $19,000 in August.
The silver and zinc mining city of Broken Hill, in the far west of New South Wales, was home to the second cheapest property with a three-bedroom house selling for $40,000 in November.
And a four-bedroom home in Coolgardie, 560km northeast of Perth, came in third place after selling for $56,000 in early 2024.
The cheapest house in Australia for 2024 sold for $19,000 and was located in the outback opal mining town of Andamooka, 600km north of Adelaide
A three-bedroom house selling for $40,000 in November in Broken Hill, far west New South Wales, was the second cheapest house in 2024
This four-bedroom house selling for $56,000 in Coolgardie, 560km north-east of Perth, was the third cheapest property