Leading international real estate advisor Savills has acquired specialist residential valuation and buyer’s agency Pontons, in a strategic move that will bolster its prestige residential offering on the eastern seaboard, as Australia’s premium housing markets move ahead of the broader cycle.
Leading international real estate advisor Savills has acquired specialist residential valuation and buyer’s agency Pontons, in a strategic move that will bolster its prestige residential offering on the eastern seaboard, as Australia’s premium housing markets move ahead of the broader cycle.
Founded in 1997, Pontons is a boutique valuation practice, with strong credentials in prestige homes, prestige apartments, and complex development sites. While confidentiality underwrites the success of Pontons, its client list of high-net worth individual reads like a “who’s who” of high-profile Australian business identities.
Prestige residential markets have historically led housing cycles, underpinned by structurally constrained supply, equity rich buyer profiles, and reduced sensitivity to interstate movements, with listings in blue chip suburbs remaining well below long-term averages.
According to Oxford Economics, upper-quartile house prices across Australia’s combined capital cities are forecast to grow by 5.0% year-on-year in 2026, with upper-quartile unit values expected to rise a little faster at 5.9%. Brisbane and Melbourne are expected to outperform slightly, with price growth of 5.4% and 6.2% respectively for houses, and 6.3% and 6.4% respectively for units.
Savills will form a new Prestige Residential Valuation & Advisory division led by Pontons’ Directors Paul Donovan, Andrew Parkinson, and Andrew Tunbridge, and supported by Pontons’ team of nine staff, including seven valuers.
Paul Roberts, CEO of Savills Australia and New Zealand, said, “This move reinforces our ongoing commitment to sector led expertise and specialist advisory services. Residential markets remain buoyant, attracting significant interest from global markets, and are a core part of our strategic focus in Australia alongside our roots in commercial agency.”
Paul Donovan has owned Pontons since 2003. He is a leading specialist in prestige residential valuations and advisory for banks, legal firms, and private clients. With over 30 years’ experience, his work spans some of the most prolific prestige estates and complex residential assets in Australia.
“Around the world, Savills is known as a global force in residential property. Integrating Pontons into the Savills team will fire up its Australian residential arm and up-scale its footprint in our market.
“This is a strategic move that will deliver significant benefits to our clients. Supported by our dedicated and highly experienced team, in some ways, it is business as usual, and we will continue to operate as boutique residential specialists. But moving forward, we are backed by a global platform with the benefit of broader market insight through Savills,” Mr Donovan said.
His long-term business partners are Andrew Parkinson and Andrew Tunbridge.
Globally, Savills is one of the world’s most active advisers in prime and super-prime residential property, with a longstanding track record advising on trophy homes, waterfront assets and prestige developments in some of the world’s most tightly held markets.
The leading agency has been steadily growing its footprint in Australia’s residential markets. It launched its first residential division in Melbourne in 2023, rapidly following with a Sydney team in 2024.
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