Vanessa Hale
Director, Research
The annual Christie’s International Real Estate Luxury Index* rates the relative “luxuriousness” of primary market cities with at least one million residents.
It includes the following factors: market record sale price, average price per square foot for luxury homes**, number of sales over US$1 million, percentage of listings over US$1 million, average price for luxury homes sales, percentage of international and non-local buyers, and percentage of secondary home sales.
With more luxury listings than any other city, as well as the world’s second most expensive residential sale in 2015 (US$141 million / £92 million), London retained its position as the most luxurious property market worldwide. In spite of slower growth due to new taxes on prime property purchases, the city continues to attract strong domestic and international buyer demand.
Highlights from the index include:
Even with negative annual overall sales growth and pressures from a decline in mainland Chinese capital outflow, Hong Kong narrowly edged out New York to place second in the Luxury Index. The harbour city posted the world’s top residential sale in 2015 (US$194 million / HK$1.5 billion).
Singapore joined our Index rankings after showing signs of an uptick following several years of declines due to government cooling measures. Singapore knocked Dubai— where pressures from declining oil prices and an oversupply of luxury properties caused price and sales volume declines—out of the world’s top 10 luxury markets.
Miami achieved a local record sale (US$55 million for a new-build penthouse), which offset declines in overseas and cash buyers, ensuring a solid performance in the Luxury Index. New luxury stock and slowing buyer demand evidenced in late 2015 and early 2016 however, is likely to move it down in next year’s rankings.
* All prices for the Luxury Defined 2016 report are presented in US dollars, with average exchange rates calculated during the period of the report which was from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. In addition some data references 2016 where noted.
** A survey of real estate specialists in more than 100 property markets across the globe reveals an enormous difference in where the starting price for a “luxury” home begins, varies considerably, and has shifted significantly in recent years thanks to exchange-rate movements. For the Luxury Defined 2016 report the average starting price for a luxury property worldwide was US$2.2 million.
These findings were originally produced in the Christie’s International Real Estate Luxury Defined 2016 report, to which Strutt & Parker contribute UK data.