McGrath Estate Agents has ended the year with another billion-dollar month and also opened a new office.
The group recorded $1.02 billion of sales in December 2014 at an average price of $1.00 million after making $1.27 billion of sales in November.
The fastest-growing office in the network was Brighton-Le-Sands in Sydney, which grew its sales volumes by 174 per cent between December 2013 and December 2014.
The other star performers were Mosman in Sydney, which jumped 167 per cent, and Palm Beach on the Gold Coast, which grew 145 per cent.
Chief executive John McGrath forecast that the Sydney market will enjoy steady growth in 2015, although about half of the level it reached in 2014.
“Our first auctions will start next month, with February 21 and February 28 already shaping up to be exceptionally busy auction days,” he said.
Mr McGrath said other property markets along the eastern seaboard were in healthy shape as well.
“The Central Coast is also benefiting from an upsurge in upgraders and investors across all price brackets,” he said.
“The strong growth recorded from our Mosman office is in line with our view that the prestige market will perform very well this year off the back of a relatively quiet year in 2014 compared to the rest of the market.”
Meanwhile, McGrath Estate Agents has opened a new office in the Sydney suburb of Manly, with plans to open another office in nearby Seaforth in the next six months.
Mr McGrath said Manly property is underpriced and will increase in value by up to 8 percent this year.
“Manly is going to be the stellar performer on the northern beaches this year and property prices in Seaforth should also track well,” he said.
“We are seeing a trend of buyers making the move from harbourside locations to beachside homes for lifestyle reasons. Beachside locations are now being seen as more than just the domain of the young.”
McGrath Estate Agents now has 62 offices.