An expected continued rise in Australia's high net worth population, and other trends, is creating demand for "prestige" properties.

Global real estate consultancy Knight Frank has launched a new division for its Australia business that covers “prestige residential sales”, a sign of how high-end properties are seen as a growth area in the country. 

To launch the division, Deborah Cullen has been appointed, joining from Colliers International’s Lifestyle Estates team, to be Knight Frank’s head of prestige residential sales in Australia. She also brings from her previous team Richard Sholl, who is a sales executive for Australia. Cullen’s arrival adds to Knight Frank’s existing project marketing team in Australia, led by Michael Robinson, head of project marketing.

Cullen’s experience in the prestige and luxury markets in Australia spans 15 years, the firm said in a statement yesterday. 

The team will mostly concentrate on residential sales where the property has a value more than A$3 million (about $2 million). 

Knight Frank Australia’s residential has also seen the internal appointment of Sarah Harding, the current head of residential, Asia-Pacific, in Singapore, as the new head of residential for Australia. This is a newly-formed role; she is based out of Sydney.

The firm said its 2017 Wealth Report highlights the need for more boots on the ground in handling high-end real estate transactions. Sydney and Melbourne are in the top 10 list of most important cities globally for the wealthiest to invest, the report said. Sydney has seen an annual net inflow of 4,000 high net worth individuals, while Melbourne and Perth have seen a net inflow of 3,000 and 1,000 HNWIs respectively. 

The study said Sydney’s ultra-wealthy population is projected to increase by 70 per cent over the next 10 years to 2,091 UHNW persons, which puts Sydney at 18th on the global list, when ranked by forecast UHNWI population.