As Sydney's clearance rates marked a chilly start to spring on Saturday, there was plenty of heat at the launch of the King & Phillip Residences on Hyde Park.
Demand from high-end downsizers saw $250 million worth of apartments transact on the first day.
Of the 104 apartments on offer in the Galileo Group development 80 per cent sold on Saturday, of which all but two apartments sold to local buyers.
Sydney's highest residential sale of the weekend was the King & Phillip sub-penthouse, which sold for $10.1 million, according to CBRE's residential chairman Justin Brown.
King & Phillip is one of a handful of high-end residential buildings on the edge of Hyde Park that have met strong buyer demand in recent years from the city's cashed-up empty nesters.
A few decades ago the area around Hyde Park was predominantly a commercial and retail precinct. Now its giving Circular Quay a run for its money as one of the most sought-after residential neighbourhoods in the Sydney CBD.
That doesn't look like it will change any time soon. "The premium CBD market remains undersupplied as empty nesters look to move into the city," said Mr Brown.
"The Hyde Park precinct proved to be a major draw card with purchasers liking the ability to be within reach of the vibrancy of the CBD yet having the serenity of the park at their doorstep."
CBRE's sales show the building's two-bedroom apartments sold for between $3 million and $4 million, and the larger three-bedders sold for between $5 million and $6.5 million.
The 25-storey building designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp (fjmt) is set to be complete in 2020 on the site of the former University of Sydney law school campus.
The Galileo Group bought the brutalist-style building from Sydney University in 2015 for $45 million.