BARNES International Realty has released its second annual Global Property Handbook (BGPH), which sees London knocked off the top spot.
The BARNES global growth forecast shows Brazil, India and France are on the rise in 2018, and the report indicates changes in the Top 50 most desirable cities to purchase a luxury property. London has lost its number one position, being replaced by New York, Paris came second, and London is now third. Los Angeles and Hong Kong follow.
The handbook is aimed at the world’s Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI) and market influencers, offering them an in-depth insight into the luxury property market for 2018.
Analysing the current geopolitical climate, predictions for major economic events, the buying trends of both the established and emerging wealthy elite and the top investment opportunities globally, BARNES provide a detailed report for those looking to grow their property portfolio.
The BGPH draws on a variety of studies compiled by agencies such as Wealth-X and its Ultra Wealth Report and the National Association of Realtors, as well as research carried out in 2017 with clients, employees, partners and other stakeholders of BARNES, including WARBURG in New York.
The BGPH shows that year on year, the number of UHNWIs has continued to increase, and in 2017, the global population of UHNWIs grew by 3.5%, reaching a record-breaking 226,450.
In their report, BARNES predict the number of UHNWIs will only continue to increase, with the number of global ultra-wealthy expected to rise to 299,000 members by 2021.
With a projected combined wealth of 35,700 billion dollars within four years, this emerging elite is not only looking for lifestyle and environment choices but is increasingly viewing property as a desirable and low-risk investment.
The report also notes a number of profound transformations in the UHNWI sector, those of a growing tendency to work remotely, a shift to lifestyle and experience-driven motivations over traditional considerations such as wealth preservation and generation, emotionally driven choices joining the safe house of property as an investment.
Alex Newall, Managing Director of Barnes Private Office in London, says: “UHNWIs are in consistent growth, and the luxury property market internationally reflects this.
Navigating this sector with its opportunities and challenges requires expertise, and the BARNES Global Property Handbook offers vital data and guidance for this elite market. The shifts in top-tier cities make for interesting reading, but what remains key in this marketplace is the increased demand for global residential portfolios amongst our private clients.
Property remains a low-risk investment for our clients, as it does for most, but the shift in trend in motivations, to increasingly seek the unique, is also guiding investment decisions. Factors such as technological advances enabling global communication and productivity from anywhere, and extraordinary locations, whether urban central or remote, are all coming into play.”
Newall adds: “As London loses its crown as the top global destination to invest, the city and surrounding areas are throwing up investment opportunities.
The BGPH details Runnymede in Surrey as growing by as much as 14% last year for properties over £2m, and in PCL, discounted properties offer up huge potential for growth as the market volumes start to increase once again.
With increasing market volumes, prices will stiffen, and we should see growth in the medium term.”
Experts Thibault de Saint Vincent, President of BARNES, Heidi Barnes, founder of BARNES, Frederick Warburg Peters, CEO of WARBURG, and Clelia Warburg Peters, President of WARBURG, all provide comments and expertise detailed in the report, including recent developments in luxury residential property.
The BGPH details the key spots for UHNWIs to own second homes, and beyond these premier cities, the report identifies the oceanfront and high-altitude destinations leading the market for second homes – St-Tropez, Balearic Islands, the French and Swiss Alps.
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