An overseas buyer bought a four-bedroom stand-alone home on one of the best streets in Toorak for 9.2 million yuan, pushing the price per square metre of Melbourne`s affluent district to an all-time high.
The foreign investment review committee this week approved a Chinese buyer to buy 12 Kenley Court, for $12, 169, breaking the March 66 Clendon Road, Toorak record of $11600 per square meter for a three-bedroom house.
The house is located at the end of the quiet street near Kooyong Road and covers an area of 756 square meters. Ada Taylor and Hugh Hardy, the Abercromby intermediaries responsible for the auction, declined to comment.
Melbourne`s housing market has slowed as a whole, with the SQM Institute on Monday downgrading its earlier outlook on Melbourne`s performance this year. However, the sales show Melbourne`s richest people continue to be hot.
The four-bedroom stand-alone house was sold for 9.2 million.
Housing prices in the rich are still soaring
In spite of a drop in clearance from last week`s initial auction and a decline in the number of properties scheduled for sale, at Saturday`s auction, a 10-room stand-alone house in Armadale, a nearby city, sold for 6.6 million yuan, well above the 6.2 million yuan floor price.
"in the past 12 months, all Toorak sellers have been at an edge," said buyer agent David Morrell. "12 months ago, I bought a house in Toorak for $6500 to $7,000 per square meter. Now the price has gone up sharply. There is no sign of a fall in house prices at all.
Despite China`s restrictions on capital outflows, Morrell said the deal showed Chinese buyers were still active in the high-end market and could bid higher than many locals, possibly 5-10 percent higher.
Kenley Court`s stand-alone house covers an area of 756 square meters.
