Why demand will always outstrip supply in Sydney's luxury off the plan apartment market: Five minutes with Ray White Projects Managing Partner Eddie Mansour

Sydney's Eastern Suburbs is the most expensive pocket of real estate in the whole of the country.

Whether it's harbourside Point Piper, where four of Australia's most expensive house sales have occurred in recent years, or beachside at Bondi or Bronte, demand for prestige houses is always bubbling away.

In 2022 there were 72 sales settle over the $10 million mark, 32 of those over $15 million, just in the Woollahra LGA alone.

Ray White Projects Managing Partner Eddie Mansour believes prestige turnover could be higher however, if there were more high-end new apartment developments being launched.

"You've got a consistently high turnover of prestige house sales every year in Sydney's most affluent areas," Mansour says.

"With limited prestige developments launching, there's very few places for these sellers to go.

"They could be walking away with over $10 plus million in cash, and want to buy a bolthole in Sydney and another home in a Hinterland or Coastal location, which will ultimately end up as a potential retirement dwelling.

"But there's not enough high-end apartment stock to service these buyers, which makes them hold onto their homes longer."

Mansour says these buyers aren't affected by interest rate movements. If something comes to the market, they can buy it within a day without the same bank approvals the majority of Sydney buyers need.

Last year the Ray White Projects team snappily sold out the second stage of the luxury 1788 Double Bay apartment development, Encore by SJD Property (pictured main and below). In the first stage that has been settled only one of the 26 buyers need a bank valuation, the rest settled in cash.

The Encore 1788 development by SJD Property

Prices for the one-bed apartments started from $2 million.

Mansour says the project acted as a good opportunity for those downsizing locally to secure a bolthole. 

"At any given time the building, at best, is about 50 percent occupied. It's predominantly used as the owners' Sydney residence."

Mansour noted a trend during the sales process at 1788, a trend which has become more and more prominent in Sydney's east.

"There were a number of buyers in the project amalgamating apartments, buying two apartments to create one of the largest apartments in the block," Mansour said, adding that amalgamations are something the Woollahra Council are starting to limit.

"They want to try and keep entry level units in new apartment developments affordable for a wider range of buyers, rather than those that have just sold their prestige home and can put together two or three smaller apartments in the building."

Amalgamations were prevalent at the new luxury Bondi Beach development Aqualine on Hall Street, albeit located in the Waverley LGA.

The Aqualine, Bondi Beach project designed by Koichi Takada

The latest development on Sydney's beaches by prominent architect Koichi Takada, the plans for Aqualine were for 17 apartments, but a number of amalgamations has taken the total number of apartments down to 12.

Ray White Projects have all but sold out the project, with just the $26 million penthouse remaining. That's expected to launch in the next few months, and will be the largest apartment across a single level in Bondi Beach, sprawling some 450 plus sqm.

Mansour says there's been a lot of interest for the project both locally and offshore for the four-bedroom apartment complete with multiple living/entertaining areas and two balconies.

There are less and less approvals coming through councils for high-end apartment developments, Mansour notes, across both Sydney's East and North Shore.

"There were five or six developments we were expected to work on at the back end of this year, however with delays, they're all now pushed out to the start of 2023," Mansour says