Global Luxury Property Review May 2013
World’s most expensive property prices set to soar The value of residential property purchases over £10 million in the world’s top financial hubs of London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore is set to grow by 27% in the next five years according to a report released today by developers Candy & Candy. The research, which has been produced by Candy & Candy, Savills and Deutsche Bank and examines the recent and immediate future of ultra prime property markets in these four cities which are regarded as being at the forefront of global private wealth flows. The ultra prime housing markets in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore collectively witnessed more than 300 residential real estate transactions in 2012 where the price was over £10 million, according to latest analysis from international real estate advisor Savills. Together, the value of those transactions exceeded £6.6 billion. The 300 sales over £10 million seen in 2012 are expected to grow to 400 per year by 2017 with a total value of £8.4 billion. 1|Page
This growth is expected to be both organic and incremental as areas considered ultra prime expand and as new ultra prime stock is built to expand the existing finite supply, and above all, driven by the direct impact of global wealth increases and subsequent investment in top real estate. Source: www.propertywire.com
Foreign buyers encouraged to London by safe haven status The weak pound has made property in prime central London even more enticing to foreign investors seeking safe havens and will continue to do until 2018, according to Knight Frank’s latest London Residential Review. Prime central London residential property prices rose 0.7% in April, and have been rising now since November 2010, the report reveals. It says that much of this rise is underpinned by the demand from overseas buyers who accounted for 52% of all £2 million plus homes sold in the sector between March 2012 and March 2013. Source: www.propertywire.com
Aberdeen Asset Management acquires Kings Place and Conquest House for £31 million Rockspring Property Investment Managers (“Rockspring”) announce that they have sold Kings Place and Conquest House in Kingston-Upon-Thames to a private client of Aberdeen Asset Management for £31.05 million reflecting a net initial yield of 6.85%.
Kings and Conquest House is the largest of five buildings which made up the 252,000 sq ft South East office portfolio acquired by Rockspring’s UK Value Fund in February 2011 from St Martins. Savills acted on behalf of St Martins at the time. Following 2|Page
acquisition, the asset was subject to a substantial refurbishment to provide 90,000 sq ft of Grade A offices, with ancillary retail space on the ground floor. The entire office space was pre-let to leading multinational oil company Saipem for its UK headquarters on a 15 year lease.
Robert Godfrey, director of Savills, says: “Aberdeen are delighted to have bought this Grade A office building let on a long lease to a strong covenant at a low rent relative to other suburban London locations. We believe this investment has good growth prospects and opportunities to buy buildings of this quality at such a low capital value per sq ft are rare in the South East let alone Greater London.” Source: www.savills.co.uk
Spain Attracts Foreign Luxury Property Buyers New figures show that Spain is still the top holiday destination in Europe. Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, found that in 2011 some 13% of all outbound trips within Europe where made to Spain with Italy and France coming in joint second place. These figures do not include holidaymakers outside of the EU, however, and total visitor numbers are likely to be much higher. Estate agents believe it is good news for the property market as buoyant tourism sectors often driving local property markets and statistics from the Bank of Spain show that international property investment in Spain grew by 17% to more than €5,445 million in 2012. Spanish house builder Taylor Wimpey España’s sales and marketing director Marc Pritchard said ‘Marbella in particular is one of the most popular places for foreign nationals to buy property in Spain. We have experienced a 300% year on year increase in sales in the area, proving that demand for Spanish real estate shows little sign of abating anytime soon, with non residents of the country increasing their market share for six consecutive quarters now.’ Read more: www.propertywire.com 3|Page
Other Luxury Property News Hamptons Home Sales Jump Home sales in the Hamptons, the Long Island beach retreat for summering Manhattanites, rose 21 percent in the first quarter, led by lower-priced properties after a year-end selling rush drained the area of luxury deals. Read more: www.businessweek.com
Luxury launches and positive outlook in Dubai Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Emaar Properties recently launched its latest high-end residential project, offering buyers the opportunity to own a unit in the exclusive The Address Residence Fountain Views ‘Sky Collection’. Read more: www.property-report.com
Foreign buyers propel Montreal’s luxury home market
Roughly half the buyers of luxury homes in Montreal are foreign, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada estimates, after having combed through its own sales data about top-tier dwellings. “Montreal was a bit of a shocker,” chief executive officer Ross McCredie said. “People don’t think of Montreal as having a large proportion of international buyers.” Read more: www.theglobeandmail.com
Sydney Luxury Housing Stirs Sydney’s luxury-home market is reviving, with two harborside mansions -- one of which was offered for more than A$50 million ($51 million) -- selling in the past month and realtors reporting a jump in buyer inquiries. Read more: www.bloomberg.com 4|Page
Property Spotlight Luxury Villa in Nueva Andalucía, Marbella, Costa del Sol This stunning and extremely spacious 6 double bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms luxury south facing private villa situated on an elevated plot in the golf valley surrounded by a mature landscaped garden. This magnificent property enjoys 180 degree panoramic views over the golf valley and Mediterranean Sea. Set in La Cerquilla, an exclusive residential area of Nueva Andalucia, this desirable address is just a few minutes away from the vibrant Puerto Banus, Marbella and all kinds of amenities such as international schools, commercial centres, restaurants, bars and of course the beach. For more details and photographs of this exclusive luxury property in Marbella, visit the Butterfly Residential website About Butterfly Residential The Global Luxury Property Review is a monthly article compiled by Butterfly Residential offering a snapshot of the sector. Butterfly Residential is a boutique, professional, high-end property company specialising in sales and rental of luxury property Marbella, London and Barbados, among others. Butterfly Residential is headed by Edward Fairless and Nicola Fairless, a brother and sister team who are the new sensation in the global luxury property sector. Address: Avd. Ricardo Soriano 72, Edf. Golden, Portal C, 2º H, 29601 Marbella, Málaga, España Email: info@butterflyresidential.com Web: http://butterflyresidential.com
Tel: (+34) 662 258 896 Tel: (UK) 0208 1444 383 Skype: butterflyresidential
5|Page