Global Luxury Residential Real Estate Report 2015

We are pleased to present the Wealth X and Sotheby’s International Realty Global Luxury Residential Real Estate Report 2015, which looks at trends in the Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) individual’s appetite for luxury residential real estate across the world.

Global ultra wealthy population hold nearly US$3 Trillion in owner occupied residential real estate. US remains the most popular country for foreign ultra wealthy individuals looking to purchase secondary residences, followed by United Kingdom and Switzerland.

There are 211,275 Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) individuals – defined as those with US $30 million and above in net assets – in the world and 79 % of them own two or more residences. UHNW individuals each own, on average, 2.7 properties. The value of UHNW-owned residential real estate increased  by 8% globally in 2014 .

As of 2014, over 7% of the world ‘s UNHW population made their wealth through real estate, up from 5% in 2013.

Ultra affluent women value real estate assets more than their male counterparts, holding 16% of net worth in such assets, on average, compared to less than 10% for men.

Luxury residential real estate is an asset class typically favored by UHNW individuals with inherited health: these individuals hold 17 % of their net worth in real estate assets, compared to just under 9% for self-made UHNW individuals.

UHNW individuals with net worth between US $30 million and US $50 million typically keep their primary residences for over 15 years and their secondary residences for over 10 years. However, billionaires change one of their four properties, on average, once every three years.

UHNW Chinese and Russian multiple homeowners are typically self-made and young – these two clusters are becoming increasingly important buyers of luxury residential real estate around the world.

San Francisco feature prominently in one of the top ten cities by UHNW as their owned residences. With technology leading the way ,the low inventory and high demand, the Bay Area home prices will likely continue to be pushed up.

Please enjoy reading the Global Luxury Residential Real Estate Report 2015. For any of your real estate needs, please contact Henry Chu at Today Sotheby’s International Realty.