Some agents said demand for property was so strong it was out-stripping available stock, with many would-be buyers queuing and waiting for the right properties to come on to the market.

Bill Lyristakis of Berkely Residential said he had a ''range of buyers'' actively looking in the ''$3 million-plus'' bracket. There were also ''four strong buyers'' looking in the $4-$6million range.

Sales agent Andrew Chamberlain of Peter Blackshaw Real Estate Manuka said he also knew ''a dozen'' buyers looking for property over $2 million.

He thought retirees whose superannuation had taken a hit were hurting the most from the unstable global economy and first-home buyers worried about interest rates.

Those in the top-end were somewhat insulated.

LJ Hooker Manuka director Stephen Thompson said while the world economy ''wasn't that great'', there was still a ''depth of wealth'' in Canberra.

''Some people have deep, deep pockets,'' he said.

LJ Hooker were also noticing movement among householders already in the upper price brackets looking to upsize or acquire more property.

''I think in these sort of times we find the financially intelligent and shrewd parties come out and upgrade,'' he said.

Demand was particularly strong in the Inner South, mainly because property was so tightly held. Many top-end properties in the area only came on to the market once every 20 years or longer.

While the majority of buyers looking for top-end property were Canberrans, Mr Thompson said LJ Hooker had also had interstate and off-shore sales.

''Last year we sold a house for over $3 million sight-unseen to an off-shore buyer who bought it through the internet,'' he said.

Another trend emerging among high-end buyers was off-market sales, where buyers contact the agents to discretely match them to a property.

''They don't want to turn up at an auction and show their hand, they don't want other people to know what they have bought and how much they have paid,'' he said.