New world billionaires boost house price in Top10 cities

Hong Kong

The index revealed that Hong Kong is in a league of its own in value terms, more than twice the value of London (£6,700 vs £3,090) ($115,955 per sqm vs $53,472 per sqm)

Meanwhile Tokyo is No2 in terms of £psf (per square foot) and in terms of size, making this the most expensive of any world class city for the ultimate home, at £83 million ($129,255,829).

Singapore(144 per cent), Mumbai (138 per cent) and Moscow (110 per cent) recorded greatest 5 year growth to end 2010.

“World class cities not only attract international business, they are also the haunt of a growing number of global billionaires who are increasingly important investors in residential real estate, and their wealth is creating a new global super class of real estate,” said Savills.

A new index of super prime ‘global billionaire’ property reveals that the homes of the super rich in the top 10 cities worldwide rose by an average 10 per cent in value in the first six months of this year.

This compares to average price growth of 6 per cent for a range of ordinary properties in the same cities and follows growth of 65 per cent in billionaire properties over the previous five years.

The index appears in Insights: World Cities Reviewpublished yesterday by Savills.

It looks at the drivers of residential real estate in 10 cities that the company calls ‘world class’ – Hong Kong, London, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo.

“We recently identified ten world class cities whose real estate markets have more in common with each other than the mainstream markets of the countries in which they operate and they are all attracting billionaires’ dollars whether generated at home or overseas,” said Yolande Barnes, director of residential research at Savills.

“Global billionaires can make any country their home, and often have several different residences across the globe. Most will seek a base where they are doing business.”

“This has the effect of funnelling global equity into the very best residential real estate – a rare commodity in any city. Billionaire buyers demand the best international standards of accommodation and are paying prices to match, creating a super class of global billionaire homes,” Barnes said.