London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Miami complete the top five in Knight Frank’s annual index.
New York retained its title as the world’s top super-luxury housing market last year—though it had to share the laurels with London, according to the latest index from Knight Frank.
Both cities registered 43 sales of $25 million or more. In London, that marked a 26% increase from 2021; while New York’s figure was down 35% from the prior year.
“Despite rising economic headwinds and growing uncertainty, the world’s wealthy have been committing to luxury residential property, with London and New York the standout cities in demand for ultra-prime sales,” Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, said in the report released Wednesday.
Claiming the third spot was Los Angeles, with 39 sales priced at $25 million or above. It was followed by Hong Kong, with 28 ultra-prime sales, even during a tumultuous year for its housing market; and Miami, with 23.World’s Top 10 Ultra-Prime MarketsNumber of sales at US$25 million or moreSource: Knight Frank
Not surprisingly, these cities also had the most $10 million-plus sales in 2022. New York topped the list with 244 sales at this price point, Los Angeles and London had 225 and 223, respectively, according to the report.
Across the top 10 cities—which also included Singapore; Palm Beach, Florida; Geneva; Sydney; and Paris—there were a total of 1,392 sales at or above $10 million, a decline from the record 2,076 transactions at this level recorded in 2021, but up 49% from pre-Covid 2019.
Of the 100 prime property markets tracked by Knight Frank, 85 recorded positive or flat price growth in 2022. Dubai led the pack with a staggering 44.2% annual growth rate, boosted by its visa incentives that have attracted many ultra-high-net-worth buyers, Knight Frank said.
Other prime markets that saw surging home prices included Aspen, with a 27.6% increase year over year; Riyadh, capital city of Saudi Arabia, with a 25% annual growth rate; Tokyo, with 22.8%; and Miami, with 21.6%.
Markets that had some of the strongest growth during the pandemic recorded the deepest price declines in 2022, which included the New Zealand cities of Wellington (-24%) and Auckland (-19%); Stockholm (-8%); Vancouver (-7%); and Seoul (-5%), according to the report.
Overall, the Knight Frank Prime International Residential Index rose 5.2% on an annual basis in 2022, the highest growth rate since the global financial crisis excluding the record year of 2021.
“Wealth preservation, safe-haven capital flight and supply constraints played their part in driving prime price growth, but it was the post-pandemic surge that continued to push prices higher,” Kate Everett-Allen, partner of residential research at Knight Frank, said in the report.