Welcome to Lees Associates’ regular look at the trends in the prime residential markets, compiled from a selection of London’s leading real estate professionals and property experts. Please visit contributor websites for more information. In this edition we look at:
· Who are the new set of super-rich making waves in London
· Comparing London and New York high-end property transactions
London’s kerb appeal retains the focus of the world’s super-rich
We have worked with high-end clients from every part of the globe so we were not surprised to see the recent article in Tatler Magazine looking at the new sets of super rich or ‘tribes’ now looking for luxury property in London.
The Russians are no longer around, but there is still plenty of oil and gas money coming from middle eastern customers and we are seeing huge numbers of high-net-worth individuals from India, Africa, Canada and Brazil investing in London, so there is no shortage of buyers and we believe this trend will continue to evolve.
Prime areas attract prime residents
With such trends it is also very easy to forget that “old money” is still readily available and working well alongside an increasingly young and growing group of British hedge-fund managers. This group have always been very wealthy, but some have now become stratospherically wealthy, pushing them to the very top of the pile in terms of the different values of properties (with emphasis on the plural) that they are purchasing.
According to The Tatler article, demand has been bolstered by a strong dollar and customers keen for a close-to-Europe base.
Old money and new money equally aspire to a London residence with status
In super-prime London, according to research by estate agency Hamptons, American buyers in the most exclusive areas have increased from 2 to 7 per cent. Beauchamp Estates, who have a hand in the sale of some of the most luxurious properties, estimate that half the homes above £15 million went to American buyers last year (worth £620 million in total).
But, with new ‘tribes’ moving in – all that is now about to change. Read the full article here.
Location, location, location
London versus New York
London and New York remain the critical cities for the world’s wealthy with more ultra-prime property transactions ($25m+) in 2022 than in any other global market, according to The Wealth Report, compiled by Knight Frank.
Some 43 transactions above this level took place in each city last year, representing a 26% increase in sales in London compared to 2021, but a 35% decline in New York. Ultra-prime sales in London hit their highest level since 2014. Los Angeles comes in third place with 39 sales, with Hong Kong (28) and Miami (23) making up the top five.
London is now the city that never sleeps
The Wealth Report also reveals the number of transactions that took place in 2022 in the super-prime market ($10m+), with a significant 1,392 sales above this level transacting across the 10 key global markets analysed in 2022. While this represents a decline to the record-breaking 2,076 transactions recorded in 2021, it is still 49% above 2019’s total and equates to US$26.3 billion in sales.
It's good to see that London remains an ultra-attractive destination for the international wealthy elite looking for somewhere safe to invest in property!