While the wider market is currently experiencing a downturn, the luxury property markets of three major Australian cities have seemingly proven to be immune to the effects in growing more than the global average over the past twelve months, according to new research by Knight Frank.

Published in the latest Prime Global Cities Index which tracks the top 5 per cent of property sales around the world, the statistics show Sydney’s prime real estate market grew 4 per cent in the past year, followed by Brisbane with 3.5 per cent and Melbourne at 2.8 per cent growth.

With house prices falling across Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane has been the only Australian city to have remained consistent across the board.

The recent crackdown on risky lending by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) following the royal commission has made it tougher to secure the necessary finance, however those purchasing homes in the upper-end of the market face no such problems and have probably been the least affected by the changes in the market.

“Despite a cooling mainstream market off the back of tighter lending practices, Australian prime markets continue to experience growth with buyers less impacted by these measures,” said Michelle Ciesielski, Knight Frank’s head of residential research.

Residential agent William Manning from McGrath Estate Agents in Edgecliff told the Australian Financial Review that properties worth $15 million and above were selling quickly due to buyers in that price bracket having less of a reliance on banks.

“The $15 million-plus market has plenty of sophisticated high net worth individuals who don’t need finance, or have very little debt in terms of their loan-to-value ratio,” he said.

“The fact there’s not much stock at the top end of the market is certainly driving the market, too. If a wealthy homeowner is selling their home, they then need to find somewhere else to live,” said Manning.

Globally, the price of luxury property increased by 2.7 per cent in the year to September, although according to Knight Frank this was the weakest annual performance in almost six years.

Singapore topped the list of the cities with the strongest growth with high-end properties increasing 13.1 per cent, followed by Edinburgh at 10.6 per cent, Madrid at 10.1 per cent and San Francisco claiming the title of the strongest US market with a 9.5 per cent annual rise.

Prime residential real estate prices in London fell by 2.9 per cent over the last twelve months, with Knight Frank putting the drop down to low market sentiment marred by Brexit uncertainty.

The cities with the biggest price drops in their high-end markets were Vancouver (-11.2 per cent) followed by Istanbul, Stockholm and Taipei.