Luxury homes on the rise once more

The move away from obvious displays of wealth to pared-down simplicity in home-buying patterns – so-called wealth whispering – appears to have been short-lived. Real estate players worldwide say the super rich have regained their appetite for trophy properties, with increasingly more buyers returning to opulent real estate hot spots.

British-based property group Knight Frank says it has over recent months seen a marked uptick in demand from high net worth investors looking to bag a trophy holiday home or investment property while prices are still below 2007/2008 peaks.

“Wealthy residents from a growing number of countries are investing more of their investment portfolios in luxury residential property across a widening range of locations,” says Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank.

Bailey singles out St Moritz (Switzerland), Cap Ferrat (France), Paris, London, Monaco and Portugal’s Algarve as favoured playgrounds for those seeking top end lifestyle buys. Interestingly, Cape Town is currently ranked alongside Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Sydney and London as the world’s most popular destinations for big ticket buyers motivated primarily by investment returns.

Source: Fin24