A list of the top ten locations with the most expensive prime property in the world reads as follows: London, Monaco, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Cannes, St. Tropez, Sydney, Paris and Rome.
As per the ‘Wealth Report 2007’ by estate agent Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank, London takes the top honors with prime property registering a cost of 2,300 pounds per square foot.
Monaco comes a close second with 2,190 pounds per square foot.
New York comes in at third place with an average rate of 1,600 pounds per square foot followed by Hong Kong at 1,230 pounds per square foot.
The report charted the value of similar properties at the top end of the market in about 70 locations to come up with the list. In London the prices for the most expensive properties rose by more than 14 percent on an average in 2006 as compared to 9 percent rise for the mainstream properties in the market.
This sudden spurt in prices has been attributed to the huge economic development and creation of new wealth. Undoubtedly the ownership of immovable property is a known indicator of wealth and drives the stiff competition to own more and more prestigious properties. These high net worth individuals are said to be having investment assets of more than 5 million pounds spread across the property market across the world. This trend is estimated to grow over the next 4-5 years.
Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank estimates that the prime property would continue to outperform mainstream markets. He also pointed out some new prime property locations that would be in the running. These were St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia, Delhi and Mumbai in India and Guangzhou and Beijing in China.
Even though London’s prime property market recorded a growth of more than 30 percent, the main markets in Russia, India and China have outshone London by almost 30-40 percent.
