Pinpointing The Rise Of The New Ultra-Rich

A new property report pinpoints where the wealthy are investing their cash in homes.

New York and London standing toe-to-toe fighting for the top spot, but less traditional wealth centres from the Asia Pacific are starting to dominate the top of the charts.

The study, by international property consultants Knight Frank predicts that by 2024, three of the top five property investment cities favoured by the wealthy will be from Asia.

The study has looked at house sales in key cities around the world and found markets in the east are leading price growth.

They are Jakarta, Indonesia; Auckland, New Zealand; Bali and Christchurch, New Zealand.

The other city experiencing a large hike in prices was Dublin, Ireland.

Bouncing back

Bouncing back are markets in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Madrid, Spain.

Knight Frank ties in the rise in luxury house prices with an increase in the number of ultra-wealthy individuals.

The firm calculates the number with more than $30 million of disposable income rose by 3%, and expects the number to grow by 30% in the next 10 years.

The study reckons although Europe will outperform other regions for increasing numbers of wealthy, the biggest hike in numbers will be in Africa. The rich list there is expected to soar by 53% – mainly spurred by a 92% increase in Nigeria and 74% in Kenya.

In the Asia Pacific, the firm predicts a stellar rise in the number of wealthy – including 144% in Indonesia and 166% in Vietnam.

Safe havens

The firm’s Liam Bailey said: “A long history of wealth push London and New York way ahead of other countries, but the real changes in the leaderboard are happening just below them with the rise of the ultra-wealthy in the Asia Pacific.

“Sooner or later, one nation will emerge as the regional economic hub in much the same way New York has for the Americas and London for Europe.

“We should not forget some centres in the Middle East that are trying to establish themselves as regional hot spots. They include Istanbul and Dubai.”

Both financial centres are seen as safe havens for Middle East and North African investors as they have remained unscathed from the Arab Spring revolts.

“Don’t forget Sydney either,” said Brady. “The city is remote from the rest of the world, but is an important wealth and financial hub.”

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