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The New Property Premium
What global residential trends tell Australian property investors in 2026
An investor’s guide to scarcity, lifestyle, location, new-build property and the changing definition of value.
Every year, Knight Frank publishes The Residence Report, a global study of luxury residential development. The 2026/27 edition draws on its Global Branded Residence Survey, which covers nearly 1,800 live and pipeline schemes across 90 countries.
Most Australian investors will never buy a branded penthouse, so why should they care?
Because the luxury end of the market is often where changes in buyer behaviour show up first. This report points to a shift that matters at every price point: the features that used to signal value are becoming easy to copy, and the things that can’t be copied are becoming more valuable.
In this article we take the research from the luxury segment and ask a more useful question:
What does this tell an ordinary Australian investor about which properties may be better positioned for future demand?
In this article
- The new scarcity
- Value is moving to the location
- Scarcity matters more as supply grows
- The rise of lifestyle locations
- Brisbane’s big leap
- Queensland’s population story
- What the prime numbers say
- The new-build premium
- Amenities alone aren’t enough
- Wellness becomes a location driver
- Don’t buy the brochure
- It’s about better, not more
The New Scarcity
The most interesting idea in the report is what Knight Frank calls “the new scarcity”.
High-end developments now routinely offer gyms, spas, pools, lounges, wellness centres, concierge services and smart-home technology. As more buildings offer them, those features become easier to replicate, and they stop setting a property apart.
The report argues that value is moving towards the things money can’t instantly manufacture. For investors, that list looks like this:
- An exceptional location
- Genuine scarcity
- Lifestyle and a sense of place
- Connectivity and community
- Amenity that actually matters to the people living there
That lines up closely with how we assess investment-grade property. Features can be added to any building. Location, land and long-term demand can’t.
Property Value Is Moving to the Experience of the Location
One of the strongest findings is the move away from traditional gateway cities. In 2016, fewer than four in ten branded-residence schemes were outside major cities. Today more than half are, and the identified pipeline points to 57% by 2028.
Location can’t be reduced to “Is it in Sydney or Melbourne?” The better question is “What will make people want to live here?”
That could be employment, transport, education, recreation, beaches, health infrastructure, major infrastructure investment, access to amenities or population growth. Usually it’s several of these working together.
Scarcity Matters More as Supply Increases
The global branded-residence market has almost tripled in a decade, from 354 schemes in 2015 to 903 by the end of 2025.
The absolute numbers aren’t the point. What matters is what happens when something becomes abundant. When every new building offers a gym, pool, rooftop, concierge, co-working space and wellness facilities, those things stop being a reason to pay more.
Don’t confuse features with scarcity. A property can have a long list of inclusions and still lack a compelling reason for future buyers or tenants to pay more for it.
Lifestyle Locations Are Gaining Ground
The research shows growing demand for coastal, island, mountain and resort markets, and lifestyle-led communities. Phuket Island now has more branded-residence schemes than London. Lifestyle markets are also closing the price gap on the traditional capitals.
This is especially relevant in Australia. We have a large number of locations where lifestyle, population growth, infrastructure and employment meet: the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Moreton Bay and many regional centres besides.
Can today’s lifestyle location become tomorrow’s established residential market?
That’s the question to ask. The answer depends on whether jobs, infrastructure and services are arriving alongside the lifestyle, or whether the lifestyle is all there is.
Brisbane’s Big Leap
For Australian investors, this is the most useful section of the report. Knight Frank identifies Brisbane as one of Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing luxury residential markets and calls it Australia’s fastest riser.
The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games are part of that story. With a population of around 3 million, Brisbane will be the smallest host city since Montreal in 1972. The Australian and Queensland governments have committed to a $7.1 billion Games Venue Infrastructure Program, with the Commonwealth contributing $3.435 billion. The report also notes that 60% of Australia’s branded-residence developments are in Queensland.
The Olympics aren’t the investment thesis. Infrastructure, population, employment, connectivity and long-term demand are.
The Games are one part of the infrastructure and visibility story. A property that only makes sense because of a two-week event in 2032 isn’t an investment strategy. That’s why we put strategy before property.
Looking at Brisbane? Our Queensland site covers Brisbane investment property in more detail.
Queensland’s Population Story Backs It Up
You don’t have to rely on a luxury report for the Queensland growth story. The latest ABS data, for the year to 31 March 2026, shows where the growth is coming from:
That’s more useful than saying “Queensland is growing.” It shows the growth is broad-based, coming from overseas arrivals, births and people moving from other states. Each of those groups needs somewhere to live, whether they rent or buy.
What Brisbane’s Luxury Market Is Telling Us
The report records these movements in prime (luxury) residential values for the 12 months to Q2 2026, along with average prices for new luxury apartments:
| Market | Prime value change | New luxury apartments (avg per m²) |
|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | +2.6% | A$29,100 |
| Gold Coast | +2.4% | A$24,700 |
| Melbourne | −2.0% | A$33,200 |
| Sydney | −2.8% | A$74,500 |
Important: these figures cover the prime/luxury segment only. They aren’t benchmarks for the wider housing market or for typical investment property. Source: Knight Frank, The Residence Report 2026/27.
What’s interesting isn’t the prices themselves. It’s the direction. Brisbane and the Gold Coast are rising while Sydney and Melbourne ease, which suggests that buyers with the most choice are increasingly choosing south-east Queensland.
New-Build Property and the Convenience Premium
The report finds that international buyers are putting more weight on convenience, security and ease of ownership. They favour turnkey homes that need little ongoing management, and it identifies new-build homes as particularly well placed to benefit.
One Brisbane developer quoted in the report goes further. He says buyers at the top end now feel the apartment itself is only a fraction of what they’re paying for, and the rest is the concierge, wellness and community around it.
That doesn’t mean every investor should buy new. It does add to the evidence that convenience, low maintenance, lifestyle and amenity are becoming bigger parts of residential value. Tenants think this way too.
Test whether those characteristics really exist in a particular property and location, and whether tenants and future buyers will value them. A new build in the wrong location is still in the wrong location.
Amenities Alone Don’t Create Investment-Grade Property
The report argues that developers need to move from specification to depth: from adding more features to offering something that can’t be copied.
Easy to replicate
- A gym
- A pool
- A rooftop terrace
- A concierge
- Premium finishes
Hard to replicate
- Location and land scarcity
- Infrastructure and transport
- Employment and population growth
- Genuine local amenity
- Deep rental demand
For an Australian investor, the question isn’t “What does the building have?” It’s “What can’t easily be built next door?” That’s the core of our investment-grade property assessment.
Wellness Is Moving From an Amenity to a Location Driver
The report describes wellness shifting from amenity to infrastructure. It’s becoming part of why people choose where they live, not just something inside a building.
is giving way to
Demand may keep growing for locations with parks, beaches, walking and cycling paths, recreation, healthcare, open space, good restaurants and a real community. Those are features of a place, not a building, and that’s what makes them hard to replicate.
Don’t Buy the Brochure
A property can have a rooftop pool, gym, concierge, cinema, co-working space, wellness centre and spectacular finishes, and still be a poor investment. The real questions haven’t changed:
Demand
Who will want to live there?
Supply
How much competing property exists, or is coming?
Location
What makes the location hard to replicate?
Infrastructure
What is changing around it?
Population
Who is moving into the area?
Employment
Where will the jobs come from?
Rental Demand
Which tenants will compete for it?
Capital Growth
What fundamentals could support future demand?
Exit Demand
Who is likely to buy it from you later?
Take This Guide With You
Get The New Property Premium as a free 15-page PDF, including the Investment-Grade Property Checklist and five questions to ask before you buy.
The Future of Property Isn’t About More. It’s About Better.
The global luxury market gives us a useful view of where residential property is heading. As premium developments become more sophisticated, many features once considered exceptional are becoming standard.
That makes true scarcity more important, not less.
For Australian investors, the lesson isn’t to buy luxury property. It’s to look beyond the brochure for the fundamentals that are hard to replicate: location, demand, scarcity, infrastructure, employment, population growth, lifestyle and quality.
When supply becomes abundant, the properties that stay different become more important.
Strategy should come before property.
- Your Investment Journey: from objectives to strategy to property
- Strategy Before Property: why the order matters
- Positive Income Property: when cash flow is the priority
- Co-Living: a property model built around community and demand
- SMSF Investment Property: property inside your super
Look beyond the brochure
Want to Know if a Property Is Actually Investment-Grade?
Talk to us before you buy. We’ll look at the fundamentals, not the finishes, and show you our reasoning. We educate. You decide.
- Knight Frank, The Residence Report 2026/27: global luxury residential research and the Global Branded Residence Survey 2026 (primary source for the global and prime-market figures in this article)
- Knight Frank Australia, Brisbane named as one of the world’s hottest luxury property markets
- Queensland Government, 2032 Games Infrastructure Funding Deal Confirmed
- Queensland Government, The 2032 Delivery Plan
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, National, state and territory population, March 2026
General information only. properT network does not provide personal financial, legal, tax or lending advice. Figures quoted from third-party research relate to the segments and periods stated and may change. Property investment carries risk, including the risk of loss. Do your own due diligence and seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision.
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