While Melbourne’s prestige market continues to be defined by elegant homes, iconic streets, and long-held blue-chip value, the most significant shift of the past year has come not from what is being sold; but who is buying, and how.
In suburbs like Toorak, Brighton, Hawthorn, and South Yarra, Marshall White agents are increasingly working with a new class of prestige purchaser. These clients are globally mobile, tech-literate, and demographically diverse, often representing second-generation wealth, returning expatriates, or multi-generational families pooling resources to acquire homes with lasting lifestyle appeal.
They are privacy-conscious and deeply informed, with a clear vision for location, lifestyle and long-term value. Many skip the traditional sales campaign altogether, preferring the efficiency and discretion of off-market buying. In a lot of cases, prestige properties are sold before ever being publicly advertised; a trend that continues to gather pace across the $5 million to $20 million range.
What they seek is not only scale, but purposeful design. Demand has grown for homes that accommodate the modern needs of extended families; separate living zones, self-contained guest suites, lifts, kosher or butler’s kitchens, and seamless indoor-outdoor entertaining areas. Proximity to private education, walkable retail, and access to sporting or club amenities are also high on the checklist.
Importantly, these are not speculative buyers. They are often Melbourne born, family focused, and well embedded in the local community or returning to it. They are purchasing with clarity; not driven by FOMO or rate noise, but by a genuine, lifestyle-aligned need.
As one Marshall White director puts it, “They know exactly what they want. And when it surfaces, they’re ready to move—fast.”
“MANY SKIP THE TRADITIONAL SALES CAMPAIGN ALTOGETHER, PREFERRING THE EFFICIENCY AND DISCRETION OF OFF-MARKET BUYING.”
