A haven for hedge-fund titans and Hollywood grandees, Greenwich is one of the world’s most expensive residential enclaves, where eye-watering prices meet unapologetic grandeur.
4 min
Greenwich, Connecticut, is in New England (just barely), but that doesn’t mean it’s a quaint, sleepy small town with covered bridges and white churches on the green.
It’s leafy, certainly, but it’s also a luxury-minded power centre close to New York City, with many celebrity residents (director Ron Howard, singer Diana Ross, actor Meryl Streep and, at one time, Australia’s own Mel Gibson).
The main shopping street, Greenwich Avenue, is home to brand stores such as Hermès, Kate Spade, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Tiffany & Co.
And Greenwich, particularly in the “back country” north of the Merritt Parkway, is host to some of the most exclusive real estate in the world.
The average price for a single-family home in the second quarter of 2025 was USD $3.25 million (AUD $4.9 million). But that’s merely an entry point, buying a smaller home in one of the town’s less desirable neighbourhoods.
What does USD $43 million (AUD $66 million) buy in Greenwich?
Last autumn’s most expensive listing offered a 1,068-square-metre waterfront home with eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, plus “Gatsby-like lawns”, a gym, games room, party room, wine cellar, fruit orchard, pool and spa. The front and side porches have heated floors.
Prefer something more traditional and secluded? For USD $33 million (AUD $50 million), buyers could close on an 11,760-square-metre Georgian manor on 3.2 hectares, featuring eight fireplaces, an elevator, and a dumbwaiter.
The first floor features a three-storey cascading chandelier. For bibliophiles, there’s a two-storey mahogany library. If bocce is more your pace, a similar USD $25 million compound on 7.5 hectares, built for a liquor magnate in 2009, may appeal. Fourteen bathrooms should suffice.
The Greenwich market is strong, but not without challenges.
“The big problem is that there’s no inventory,” said Evangela Brock, an agent with Douglas Elliman. “It’s extremely low at all price points.”
In November, just 15 properties under USD $1 million (AUD $1.52 million) were listed without contracts, compared with 23 above USD $10 million (AUD $15.2 million). Of those, six had contracts pending. Greenwich has more than 17,000 single-family homes.
Kanebridge Quarterly toured two mid-priced houses in Greenwich. “You don’t lose money in Greenwich real estate,” said Beth MacGillivray, a realtor with the Higgins Group. “This is the hot spot.”
MacGillivray opened the door to a 733.9-square-metre Georgian colonial in the Sherwood Farms Association development her family built in 2005. The house was expected to sell for about USD $5 million (AUD $7,743,535).
The six-bedroom, four-level house is move-in ready, with staged furniture showing its potential and many of the amenities that buyers in this range expect.
Visitors enter through a two-storey foyer with a marble floor. A circular staircase leads to an airy living room with double-height ceilings.
There’s a main bedroom with his-and-hers bathrooms, a cherry-panelled library with cigar-smoke venting, five fireplaces, and a state-of-the-art kitchen with a breakfast nook by Greenwich-based designer Christopher Peacock.
Most rooms have huge walk-in wardrobes. Even the laundry room has granite countertops. Custom millwork, cabinetry and fixtures are evident throughout.
The drawbacks? A smaller yard and no pool. Still, refugees from the city would marvel at the abundant interior space.
Not far away, an entirely different house was on the market for USD $2.66 million.
The imposing 696.7-square-metre, nine-bedroom, seven-bath Georgian/Federal home on Shady Lane in the Glenville neighbourhood was built in 1900. Its good bones and inherent grandeur were apparent, as was a clear need for updating.
“It’s a good project for someone,” said realtor Kaori Higgins. “It needs the right buyer, someone who is looking to return it to its stately original condition.”
Given the hot market, some buyers may be tempted to tear it down and build anew.
But the house is filled with charming period details, including hand-built stone fireplaces, reading nooks, pocket doors, leaded windows and beautiful original millwork.
The second floor offers a vast veranda with views of Long Island Sound and a built-in swimming pool.
The drawbacks? Bathrooms that were awkwardly redesigned in the 1970s, unsightly flooring on the upper levels, and crumbling exterior elements.
Higgins noted that a nearby sister property, fully renovated, sold for USD $11 million (AUD $17 million). Any buyer of Shady Lane’s faded elegance would need both imagination and deep pockets.
For contrast, Kanebridge Quarterly left Greenwich for nearby Fairfield’s upscale Greenfield Hill neighbourhood to visit Lion’s Gate, a 595 square metre Tudor Revival home built as a modest dwelling in the 1920s but extensively expanded and remodelled in 2000.
With three acres of land, a guest cottage, an artist’s studio and a pool house, the asking price is USD $3.3 million (AUD $5 million). Like the Sherwood home, Lion’s Gate is flawlessly move-in ready, with designer touches throughout.
The entire second floor was added during the renovation and features parquet flooring, a massive main suite, arched doorways and 2.74-metre ceilings.
Many rooms include walk-in wardrobes, extensive carved millwork and built-ins. The wood-panelled library (on the site of the former stable) is warm and inviting.
The expansive kitchen includes a window seat with a hand-painted ceiling, a wine cooler and a butler’s pantry.
Realtor Lorelei Atwood said Fairfield faces the same inventory shortage as Greenwich.
“Demand is growing as more New York-based executives are being told they have to report to the office,” she said. “Fairfield has always been a commuter town.”
Why is this home USD $3.3 million (AUD $5 million), and the Sherwood property around USD $5 million (AUD $7,743,535)?
Location. Greenfield Hill is lovely, but Greenwich real estate occupies a rarefied class of its own.
Note: Thanks to realtor Sherri Steeneck for chaperoning.
This story appeared in the Autumn issue of Kanebridge Quarterly, which you can buy here.
Rugged coastal drives and fireside drams define a slow, indulgent journey through Scotland’s far north.
A haven for hedge-fund titans and Hollywood grandees, Greenwich is one of the world’s most expensive residential enclaves, where eye-watering prices meet unapologetic grandeur.
Australia’s wealthy class is expanding fast, and Knight Frank says that a surge in billionaires is reshaping the nation’s luxury property market.
3 min
Australia’s luxury property market is being quietly reshaped by one of the most significant wealth expansions in the world.
According to Knight Frank’s latest Wealth Report, the country’s billionaire population is set to grow by 77 per cent over the next five years, rising from 48 to 85 individuals.
That surge sits within a broader wave of wealth creation. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals, those with more than US$30 million, are forecast to increase by nearly 60 per cent to over 26,000 Australians by 2031.
Globally, the pace is accelerating. The report reveals that 89 new ultra-wealthy individuals are created every day, a figure that underscores a structural shift in capital formation rather than a cyclical upswing.
For luxury property markets, this is not just a headline number. It is a demand driver.
Australia’s wealth story is increasingly underpinned by diversification across resources, finance, technology and services, creating a depth of private capital that is both mobile and strategic.
And mobility is key. The ultra-wealthy are no longer tied to a single market. Instead, they are operating across multiple global hubs, maintaining footholds in cities like London, New York and Singapore, while using Australia as a stable base.
In this environment, real estate becomes less about shelter and more about positioning. Trophy assets remain desirable, but capital is increasingly being deployed across the full risk spectrum, from long-term holds to value-add opportunities. For Australia, the implications are clear. As wealth expands, so too does the expectation of product, and the locations that can attract it.
The billionaire effect
While property remains central to wealth preservation, the latest data shows that capital is increasingly spreading across luxury asset classes, albeit with a more disciplined approach.
Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index recorded a modest 0.4 per cent decline in 2025, signalling a stabilisation phase after several years of correction.
But beneath that headline number is a more telling shift. Collectors are moving away from speculative buying and toward assets defined by rarity, provenance and cultural significance.
Impressionist art led the market, rising 13.6 per cent, buoyed by landmark sales including a US$236 million Klimt painting. Watches also performed strongly, up 5.1 per cent, driven by continued demand for brands like Patek Philippe and Rolex.
At the same time, more volatile categories have corrected. Whisky values fell 10.9 per cent, while parts of the fine wine market have softened following pandemic-era highs.
Perhaps the most notable trend is behavioural. Younger investors are entering the market through fractional ownership platforms, gaining exposure to high-value assets that were once out of reach.
For property, the parallels are clear. The same focus on scarcity, narrative and long-term value is increasingly shaping buying decisions at the top end of the residential market.
Global wealth
The growth in billionaires is not just increasing demand, it is changing where that demand is directed.
In Australia, Brisbane has emerged as one of a handful of global cities experiencing rapid change in its luxury positioning. The city’s transformation is being driven by infrastructure investment and the 2032 Olympics, with top-end apartment prices rising from around US$6 million to more than US$10 million in just 12 months.
Luxury price growth has remained steady, with Brisbane rising 2.1 per cent in 2025, while the Gold Coast recorded 2.8 per cent.
At the same time, buying power is tightening. US$1 million now buys 5 per cent less in Brisbane than it did five years ago, reflecting the upward pressure on prime markets.
The trend is not confined to capital cities. Regional lifestyle markets are also capturing attention. Geelong’s waterfront has been identified as one of the world’s hottest luxury residential markets, driven by a combination of coastal amenity, infrastructure and relative value.
In these markets, pricing is no longer the sole driver. Lifestyle, accessibility and long-term growth are increasingly shaping buyer decisions, particularly among globally mobile wealth.
Alternative luxury assets
Beyond residential property, high-net-worth individuals are continuing to diversify into alternative assets that combine lifestyle and investment potential.
One of the most compelling examples is vineyard investment. Knight Frank’s Global Vineyard Index highlights the Barossa Valley as one of the best-value wine regions globally, where US$1 million can secure more than 18 hectares of land.
Despite a 10 per cent decline in land values over the past year, the broader outlook remains positive, particularly as the global wine industry shifts toward premiumisation.
This “trading up” trend is seeing consumers favour higher-quality, provenance-driven wines over mass-market products, reinforcing the long-term appeal of established regions like the Barossa and Eden Valleys.
For investors, the appeal lies in the intersection of lifestyle and capital preservation. Vineyard assets offer not only production potential, but also a narrative — something increasingly valued in a market where experience and authenticity carry weight.
