Dive Brief:
- Christie’s International Real Estate has issued its Luxury Index and Luxury Thermometer top 10 lists — compiled using data primarily from 2015 — with London and Auckland, New Zealand, earning the top spots, respectively.
- The Luxury Index ranks cities of at least one million residents by their "luxuriousness," and the Luxury Thermometer rates cities by the "health" of their $1-million-or-more housing markets.
- According to Christie’s, luxury markets have "cooled" since 2014 and have assumed a more normal rate of growth. In addition, low inventory in many markets, just as in standard markets in the U.S., has driven prices higher.
Dive Insight:
Hong Kong had the most expensive residential sale in 2015 ($194 million), even though it posted negative overall sales, followed by London ($141 million). Singapore pushed Dubai out of the Luxury Index, while Miami booked a record local sale of $55 million.
Christie's Luxury Index includes:
- London
- Hong Kong
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Singapore
- Sydney
- Miami
- San Francisco
- Paris
- Toronto, ON
Auckland grew its $1-million-plus market 63%, while Toronto grew 48% and saw its luxury stock last fewer days on the market. Second-home markets like Jackson Hole, WY, benefited from an increase in domestic buyers, and Valencia, Spain, had a rise in international buyers, thanks in part to increased tourism. Portland, OR, and Stockholm, Sweden, drew homebuyers from the growing tech market in those cities, but a lack of inventory has limited that growth.
Christie's Luxury Thermometer includes:
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Toronto, ON
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Valencia, Spain
- San Francisco
- Jackson Hole, WY
- Costa Smeralda, Sardinia
- Portland, OR
- Sydney
- Stockholm, Sweden
The Knight Frank and Douglas Elliman 2016 Wealth Report found Monaco to be the world’s most expensive residential real estate market on a square-foot basis, at $1 million per 183 square feet. The report also found that $1 million would buy 215 square feet in Hong Kong, 236 square feet in London and 290 square feet in New York City — the most expensive housing market in the U.S.