New York City’s luxury housing is now more expensive than London’s

NEW YORK – New York has surged past London as a pricier location to purchase prime residential real estate, according to new data from Knight Frank’s annual wealth report.

In 2022, US$1 million (S$1.35 million) bought 33 sq m of prime property in New York and 34 sq m in the United Kingdom’s capital city – a change from 2021, when London was the more expensive location.

“The strong dollar had an influence and boosted New York’s position, but prime prices in New York were up 2.7 per cent last year and 1.5 per cent in London, so we’re seeing slightly slower growth in London,” said Ms Kate Everett-Allen, global head of residential research at Knight Frank, who added that properties in both markets were attractive to ultra-high net worth buyers as an inflation hedge.

“The volatility in other asset classes, like equities and crypto, is highlighting the appeal of prime property, especially in safe locations like London and New York,” she said.

Monaco kept its title as the most expensive residential market, with US$1 million bringing buyers just 17 sq m, according to the report.

Hong Kong followed with 21 sq m, with New York coming in third. Some of the cheapest cities highlighted in the report were Sao Paulo, at 231 sq m, and Cape Town, at 218 sq m. 

When it came to aggregate super prime sales of US$10 million or more, New York, Los Angeles and London led the pack, with New York topping the list.

The super prime market enjoyed a record-setting year in 2021, with 2,076 sales above US$10 million transacted. 

In 2022, sales in that category slumped to just 1,392 across the 10 markets included in the report. Still, they were 49 per cent higher than in 2019. 

“Investors want to increase their exposure to the dollar, and want a foothold within the US, especially with the economic headwinds we’re seeing,” said Ms Everett-Allen. BLOOMBERG