Australia's Best New Developments, Just Named
If you're weighing up which developer to trust with your next home or investment, the 2026 PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards Australia just gave you a shortlist. The awards, now in their ninth year, recognise the country's top developers, architects and designers, and Apartments.com.au was proud to be the official portal partner for the night, held at Shangri-La Sydney.
Here's what buyers should take away from this year's winners.
Sterling Global takes the top spot
Sterling Global was the standout of the night, picking up three major wins, including Best Luxury Developer overall and Best Luxury Developer for Victoria. Their project 623 Collins State Bank House also won Best Apartment Architectural Design, a strong signal for anyone considering an apartment purchase in that building or from that developer more broadly.
Strong results across every state
Buyers researching developers in their own state will find a useful state-by-state guide in this year's results:
- New South Wales: MD Living took out Best Luxury Developer, with its Catello Al Mare project also winning Best Luxury Single Residence and Best Oceanview Single Residence.
- Queensland: Capital Luxury Residences was named Best Luxury Developer, with its NOI project winning Best Waterfront Single Residence.
- Lifestyle and housing: OSK Property (Best Lifestyle Apartment Developer, for its Aura project) and Palm Lake Group (Best Lifestyle Housing Developer, for Palm Lake Resort Pelican Waters) both had standout years for buyers looking at lifestyle communities rather than traditional apartments.
- General housing: Broadview won Best Housing Developer for its Verna Estate project.
A number of other developers and design firms also picked up recognition on the night, including Marwood, The Living Company, Finbar, Brick Stone Development, ArNik Design & Build, UFN, Blue Run, WBG Property, OIA, Aform Architecture, JRZ Group and WEN Architects, across projects in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Why this matters if you're buying
Award wins aren't just bragging rights. The judging panel, made up of senior figures from property finance, strata, agency and design backgrounds, assessed entries against criteria that matter directly to buyers: build quality, liveability, energy efficiency, and how well a development integrates with its surroundings.
As Ivan Lam, the Awards' Australian chairperson, put it, this year's winners reflect how Australians actually want to live now, with more focus on wellness, connection to nature, and long-term value rather than just a good-looking facade. That's a useful filter to apply yourself when comparing developments: does the building or estate actually deliver on liveability.
Joel Robinson
Joel Robinson is the Editor in Chief at Apartments.com.au, where he leads the editorial team and oversees the country’s most comprehensive news coverage dedicated to the off the plan property market. With more than a decade of experience in residential real estate journalism, Joel brings deep insight into Australia’s evolving development landscape.
He holds a degree in Business Management with a major in Journalism from Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and has developed a particular expertise in off the plan apartment space. Joel’s editorial lens spans the full lifecycle of a project, from site acquisition and planning approvals through to new launches, construction completions, and final sell-out, delivering trusted, buyer-focused content that supports informed decision-making across the property journey
