Crown Resorts has appointed a celebrity realtor in a bid to sell a lavish AU$90 million (US$60 million) apartment atop its Crown Sydney casino resort that has remained unsold since 2021.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Monika Tu, the owner of Black Diamonds Group and well-known figure on Luxe Listings Sydney – a popular show on streaming service Amazon Prime – has been tasked with selling the apartment, which measures some 800 square meters (8,600 square feet).
Tu brings with her a history of selling Australian property to cashed-up Chinese but may face a challenge in this instance given the decline in demand from the China market in recent years. Crown has already slashed its asking price for the six-bedroom apartment from AU$100 million to AU$90 million, according to Bloomberg’s report, although at AU$112,500 per square meter it still represents one of the nation’s most expensive homes.
“Chinese may still buy expensive and nice properties, but they don’t necessarily want people to know about it. That becomes harder when you make a high-profile purchase like this,” said Qiang Li, associate professor at Deakin Business School in Melbourne, in comments to Bloomberg.
Located on the 81st floor of Crown Sydney in Barangaroo, the apartment boasts a terrace, gym, wine cellar, internal elevators and a private garage for four vehicles. Residents also have access to 24-hour concierge and VIP treatment at Crown Sydney’s 14 bars and restaurants, albeit with management fees of AU$65,000 per quarter.
Originally developed to target the once booming Chinese VIP market, Crown Sydney opened in 2021 shortly after an inquiry into its relationship with Asian junket operators and having been found unsuitable to retain its casino license.
The launch was initially for non-gaming amenities only – the casino was granted permission to open roughly a year later – however lack of demand has seen Crown shutter one of its two Sydney gaming floors and reduce the operating hours of the other.
On a positive note, Crown was recently deemed suitable once again to hold casino licenses in both Melbourne and Sydney, opening the door for it to focus more time and energy on resurrecting its once flourishing gaming business.
As for the apartment in question, Tu told Bloomberg, “There is nothing like this in terms of quality, views and location.
“I understand what rich people want and so I’m telling them: buy it now or you’ll never get one like this. “If you want a piece of the best thing in Australia, then this is it.”
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