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Sydney-based developer Ellipse Property has shattered Castle Hill's apartment price record after a penthouse at its Lily Lane development sold for $5.75 million, eclipsing the suburb's previous benchmark of $3.3 million and underscoring surging demand for premium downsizer product in Sydney's Hills District.
The sale anchors a rapid uptake at Lily Lane, the second stage of Ellipse's $850 million Carrington Place masterplan at 32–36 Carrington Road, where 40 per cent of initially released apartments were secured within six weeks of the March 2026 launch.
Lily Lane comprises 213 apartments across two 12-storey towers, with 67 one-bedroom units priced from $745,000, 100 two-bedroom units from $990,000, 46 three-bedroom units from $1,395,000 and penthouses from $2,900,000.
The pricing sits well above Castle Hill's current median unit price of $1,007,000, which has grown 6.56 per cent over the past year according to CoreLogic data, while the suburb's median house price stands at $2,510,000.
Blake Schulze, national director of residential at Colliers, which is handling sales, says Lily Lane has generated strong interest from both owner-occupiers and investors.
"We are seeing particular demand from downsizers who want to remain in the area but transition into spacious, high-quality apartment living,” says Schulze.
“The penthouse sale achieved a price 75 per cent higher than the previous record of $3.3 million, showing that these buyers are prepared to pay a premium for scale, quality, and direct access to the Metro.”
Construction of Lily Lane by Decode Group is set to start mid-2026 with completion expected in early 2029.
The broader Carrington Place masterplan, which secured development approval in mid-2023, spans 3.2 hectares and will deliver more than 800 apartments across multiple stages, with full completion expected by 2032.
Stage One, known as Atrium and comprising 151 apartments, has sold out.
The record-setting penthouse was purchased by Bob and Vicki McKinnon, local downsizers who have lived in Castle Hill for more than 30 years. Bob McKinnon is a former director of Sydney Metro.
“We’ve lived in the Hills for much of our lives, and we’re now travelling a lot more - so we wanted a place we could lock up and leave," says Bob McKinnon.
"I still work and have no immediate plans to stop, so easy access to the CBD is a must."
The 3.2-hectare Carrington Place site is next to the Castle Hill Metro station which has been a central selling point since inception. Ellipse Property has previously noted that the masterplan was conceived to capitalise on the infrastructure investment in Sydney's north-west corridor.
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