The sale catapults Queensland into the top end of property sales alongside Sydney, where a reported 14 sales have broken the $10 million mark so far this year.

The deal follows the sale of a 425 sqm apartment on Soul’s 68th level in August 2006 for $7.8 million, which was the Gold Coast’s equal top price until today.

Juniper Group’s marketing manager, David Kortlang, said these sales demonstrate that the top end of the residential property market is thriving, contradicting recent reports that the broader market was softening.

“From our perspective we’ve experienced very strong demand for Soul Surfers Paradise with more than half the apartments in the development now sold,” My Kortlang said.

Today’s $16.85 million unconditional sale for the off-the-plan, 987 sqm apartment eclipses the previous record set when Mr Symond sold his 660 sqm apartment on Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, for $16.5 million.

Prior to that, radio broadcaster John Laws and Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe were the owners of Australia’s priciest apartments when they bought in Sydney’s Woolloomooloo Wharf. Laws and his wife Caroline paid $15 million for their unit in 2005 while Crowe and his wife Danielle acquired an upstairs unit in 2003 for $14.3 million.

Construction of the 77 storey Soul Surfers Paradise is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2007, with preliminary site work set to commence in December 2006. Juniper has already secured unconditional sales for 150 apartments, worth $300 million.

Source: http://www.apr.com.au/publish/article_4047.shtml