The $100million Barangaroo penthouse NO ONE wants to buy

‘s high-end apartment market is about to get a contender for record-breaking price tag.

The city’s most-expensive penthouse, a $100million apartment at Barangaroo’s  Crown Residences, has been up for sale for nearly four years – despite dozens of the city’s richest identities having toured the property.

And soon another top-floor sky mansion will hit the market – a tri-level monolith atop the pending residential development One Circular Quay – which is also expected to carry a $100m price tag.

Both will make history as the most-expensive apartments ever to sell in Australia however questions remain if a buyer will be found for either as border restrictions limit offers from the lucrative international market headed by Chinese buyers.

In the meantime it has been left up to local billionaires to fill the void and, as yet, most have been tentative when it comes to big-ticket purchases.

It is a bizarre scenario where – according to one leading analyst – only a few buyers can afford such extravagant properties and those that can are opting to scale down

‘Look I think it’s definitely great to buy in a building that has a property for sale for $100 million dollars but you don’t want to be the person who actually pays $100 million for that property,’ says Reece Coleman, head of real estate advisory firm Maker and 25-year broker veteran.

‘The feeling is very much one of, in regards to Crown, why buy the penthouse for $100 million when you can go eight feet down and get something similar for $30million less.’

Since landing on the market back in 2019, the lavish Crown penthouse – which recently served as the backdrop for Russell Crowe’s Poker Face film shoot -has attracted worldwide attention and has been toured by a who’s who of Aussie million and billionaires.

James Packer, who is currently at the final stages of an $8.9billion Crown takeover bid from US investment firm Blackstone, also owns a lower apartment worth $70 million. 

But despite its stunning outlook and luxurious trimmings the penthouse is yet to attract a buyer, while 90 per cent of the apartments underneath have now sold.

One prospective buyer, who asked not to be named, said he had toured the Crown penthouse and was impressed by the lavish sky mansion but believed the price was ‘too high’ even in the current booming property market.

He referenced the ANZ Tower penthouse, purchased in June 2021 by Ian Malouf from John Boyd for $65million, as an example of similar build but a much lower price.

‘The Crown penthouse is stunning.

It has the ocean views that the (Malouf) penthouse doesn’t have but is that worth the extra $35million?

‘I’m not so sure.

‘And there seems to be some feeling within buying circles that the market will come back about 10 per-cent in the next few months.

‘Given that scenario I think many people who are in a position to buy something like this may be holding off.’

However a drop in price by Crown developers remained ‘unlikely’ until all of the remaining apartments in the Barangaroo tower had sold, says Coleman.

‘(The) developers will hold that record price to maintain the price of the building,’ he told The Daily Mail Australia.

‘Keep in mind there have been a lot of examples of properties which have come to market with a healthy price tag and the market has eventually caught up with them.’

A spokeswomen for Crown selling agents Knight Frank confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the penthouse remains on the market and, as yet, there has been ‘no change’ in the asking price. 

Meanwhile Sydney will soon have its second $100m penthouse on the market with construction underway on the palatial One Circular Quay located in the old Gold Fields House site.

Billed as ‘the most expensive building in Australia’ and comprised of 180 apartments, the as-yet unfinished penthouse is causing a stir in Sydney’s high-end real estate circles.

However despite being touted since 2018, apartments will only hit the market in the second half of this year with a building completion date slated for early 2024.

Justin Brown, head of CBRE’s residential division, is overseeing the sale of all One Circular Quay apartments and confirmed the sales campaign would commence later this year.

In the meantime the prospect of another three-storey mega-penthouse – this one nestled in what many regard as the prime Sydney slot between the the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge – has some real estate watchers salivating.

Coleman believes it will only add to Sydney’s reputation as one of the world’s great and most expensive international cities – up there with Honk Kong, Japan, Vancouver and New York.