Monaco remains the most expensive city for top homes
MONACO has kept its title as the world’s most expensive place to buy a high-end house, according to research out yesterday, though cities in Asia are quickly climbing up the leader board.
For $1m (£612,442), a property investor can expect to buy just 15 square metres of luxury real estate in Monaco, according to Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank’s annual wealth report.
Monaco’s biggest property deal last year was the €240m (£210.6m) sale of La Belle Epoque to an unnamed Middle Eastern investor.
The penthouse was sold by the Candy brothers, who also made £140m from the sale of the penthouse at One Hyde Park in London – the second most expensive city for luxury property. An investor with $1m can buy around 18 square metres of space in the complex.
But Shanghai, Mumbai and Singapore saw the biggest price rises during 2010, with high-end properties in Shanghai going up by an average of 21 per cent. The Chinese city is now the 23rd most expensive city for top real estate. The research also noted that $11 trillion of investable cash is now held in the Asia Pacific region.
The area remains third-biggest behind North America and Europe, but its high net worth individuals saw their wealth grow by 35 per cent last year – well ahead of the next largest increase of 25 per cent seen in Latin America.
New York remains the most economically active and influential city according to the report, with London a close second.