Artist impression of the One Park Lane tower development which has been approved for Southport. If completed, it will be Australia’s tallest tower. Picture: Supplied
From the nation’s tallest tower to waterfront luxury, there’s something for everyone in our top seven apartment developments set to be the talk of 2026.
Two of the most intriguing are in Queensland as construction ramps up ahead of the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
But impressive apartments projects in Adelaide and Perth also rate a mention, along ones in Sydney and Melbourne.
Regardless of where you buy in 2026, it’s important to be selective: do your research on the developer and their past projects, ideally be close to public transport and shops and if buying off the plan, consider the aspect of the actual apartment — a north-east facing living area is the best option.
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The top 20 residential sales around the country in 2025
1. One Park Lane, Southport, Gold Coast
Apartments in the project went on the market in November, off-the-plan. Picture: Supplied
The most exciting apartment development in the country is on the Gold Coast at Southport, which will be a 101-storey residential tower called One Park Lane.
The $700m project is set to be the tallest structure in the nation and the southern hemisphere at 400m high.
There’ll be nearly 200 apartments, but more than half of the $1m-plus units in the newly approved supertower on a 1507sqm site next to the Southport Bowls Club sold within just 24 hours.
They hit the market in November after Gold Coast City Council controversially gave it the thumbs up.
Many of the buyers were locals, though the developers are deliberately targeting offshore buyers for the top level apartments, including a $45m penthouse.
The site is set to be cleared after Christmas to allow construction. The One Park Lane Developments consortium in early discussions with builder Besix Watpac, the Australian wing of the company that built Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.
There’ll also be a 60-storey office tower as part of the development.
The apartment tower will be one floor higher than Melbourne’s Australia 108 tower. Although huge, it will be ranked no.43 globally in terms of height and less than half the size of the Burj.
The consortium behind the project, led by businessman Tony Goss, bought the site in 2021 for $2.1m and lodged the plans with the council in June.
2. Sydney House Residences, 194-204 Pitt St, Sydney CBD
An artist’s impression of Sydney House.
The former home of the iconic City Tatterstalls Club is being transformed into an $800m contemporary 50-storey mixed-use apartment and luxury hotel development.
On offer are one-bedroom units priced from $1.2m, two-bedders from $2m and three-bedders from $4.5m.
The joint venture, by Singapore-based First Sponsor Group and Melbourne-based developer ICD Property will result in 241 residences and 135 hotel rooms.
BVN Architecture, led by principals Phillip Rossington and Matthew
Blair, has designed the 50-storey tower with interiors by BVN’s principal Sally Campbell.
FJC Studio led by Richard Francis-Jones came up with the design for the heritage podium and restoration of the original 1891 building.
The the new tower is intended to have a distinct identity. but complement the three heritage buildings.
Its design pays homage to the late Victorian architecture of City Tattersalls Club and the adjoining heritage-listed buildings designed by Sheerin and Hennessy in the 1890s.
The decision to position the new structure with an offset to the existing buildings allows each new space to create its own character beside the period facades.
City skyline views can been seen from every level with penthouses offering panoramic harbour views of Hyde Park out to the Heads, Darling Harbour and Circular Quay.
Now under construction, completion is due at the end of 2027.
3. Queens Wharf Residences, 8 Margaret St, Brisbane
The Queen’s Wharf Integrated Resort Development on the Brisbane River earned Multiplex Constructions Qld the Xact Accounting Project of the Year Award at the 2025 Master Builders Queensland Housing & Construction Awards. Image supplied.
With the Olympics coming to Brisbane in 2032, the capital is a hive of construction activity.
Residents this year moved into Queens Wharf Residences — the first of two residential towers in a massive inner-Brisbane development — with the developer Destination Brisbane Consortium recently winning a range of awards, including the UDIA Queensland Award for Excellence in the category of Urban Renewal and Master Planned Communities.
The world-class project creates an integrated resort and entertainment precinct with luxury hotels, restaurants and residential and retail facilities.
The 242m tower has 667 apartments across 64 floors. The project sold out in 2020, totalling $650m, with prices ranging from $550k for a one-bedder and $4.1m for the penthouse.
Facilities include a pool, gym, private dining and recreational spaces.
The tower is one of the many projects to be built as part of the new Queen’s Wharf Precinct, which will have cost $3.6bn when complete in 2030.
4. Eighty-Eight O’Connell, 88 O’Connell Street, North Adelaide
Eighty Eight O’Connell in Adelaide consists of three high-rise towers, linked by an elevated SkyPark. Picture: Erin Jones
The doors opened this year on the 300m Eighty Eight develoopment, which consists of 158 apartments, including four penthouses, and 17 offices and shops, including Messina and a Japanese restaurant.
Just a handful of apartments remain for sale.
One of Adelaide’s largest private buildings and constructed by Tandem Building Group, it consists of three high-rise apartment towers, one 15 levels and the other two 13 levels connected by an elevated SkyPark.
When first offered off-the-plan in 2022, there had been some affordable one-bedders priced at $455,000, with two-bedders at $1.3m.
But the penthouses, one occupying a whole floor and two with 15m private pools, had price tags of more than $11m.
The development replaced an iconic, long-running Adelaide furniture retailer called Le Cornu.
Some residents thought the buildings were too tall, but Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said the developer had delivered on their promise of “generational change” for the city.
The 7500sq m site had been an eyesore after being left dormant for 36 years after the closure of Le Cornu in 1989.
The council bought it in 2018 for $34m, taking over control with the help of a $10m contribution from the State Government.
5. Somerset Residents, 1 Saintly Entrance, Burswood Point, Perth
Somerset Residences will be a luxury development of 203 homes.
Alongside Perth’s Swan River and the Belmont Racecourse site sits Burswood Point by developer Golden Sedayu.
This project aims to be a “city within a city,” it’s close by Optus Stadium and Crown Resort.
Set to transform the Burswood Peninsula area, it will offer vibrant wining, dining and shops.
The precinct will deliver 456 residences in total and construction is underway on Somerset Residences, a luxury development of 203 homes ranging from one- to four-bedrooms.
The apartments, with high ceilings, kitchen sculleries, and engineered timber floors and Gaggenau appliances, start at $825k for one-bedders; $1.4m for two-bedders and $2.2m for three-bedders with $7m penthouses.
Completioin is expected in late 2027.
Perth Stadium train station is close by, with a five-minute commute to the city.
6. Sth Bnk by Beulah, 60 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank, Melbourne
An artist’s impression of the proposed Sth Bnk By Beulah.
This project will be exciting, if or when it comes out of the ground.
Developer Beulah International describes it as “a visionary mini-Metropolis” and a “feast for the senses” on its website.
In late 2023, there’d reportedly been close to $1bn in off-the-plan sales in what was then Australia’s tallest residential project after selling more than 80 per cent of the over 700 apartments and penthouses available.
But the bid to build the tower is under a cloud after Beulah put the project manager of the planned $2bn Southbank tower into administration due to financial difficulties.
The developer is seeking a new capital partner or buyer to proceed, so construction has not yet started.
The move to call in administrators by Malaysian-backed Beulah came after the architecture firms designing the project, Cox Architecture and UN Studio, lodged a winding-up order
against BSSPV, the managing entity of the twin-tower project.
The towers, at 365m and 295m in height, would be home to the world’s highest vertical garden and a Four Seasons hotel.
The site was bought by Beulah for $101m.
7. 81 Yarranabbe, 81 Yarranabee Road, Darling Point, NSW
81 Yarranabbe Rd, Darling Point, NSW, development render of the lounge room. Picture: Supplied
There are only eight of them, but these luxury waterfront residences in Sydney’s Darling Point will blow your mind.
But so will the starting price of $38m. And the priciest is a whopping $83m.
Developer Yarranabbe Ventures and Banda Property, who have created exclusive homes in London, New York, Europe and the Middle East, are offering residences designed by Tzannes Architects with luxe bronze, marble and timber finishes overlooking Sydney’s magnificent harbour.
The homes will offer garaging for between three to four cars, with lift access to whisk you straight to your apartment. Facilities include a pool concierge, wellness centre and gardens designed by Spirit Level. There’s even a private jetty.
If you’re cashed up, contact 1st City Real Estate for one of these exclusive three-and-four-bedroom residences.
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