an insight into the luxury residential market FOREWORD - The “hottest” ranking luxury primary housing market in 2017 and early 2018 have shown robust growth in luxury the world is Victoria, BC, with strong year-on-year luxury real estate sales across most geographical markets. A stable sales volumes and high domestic demand. global economy, a strong stock market, low interest rates and rising consumer confidence served as positive tailwinds for - Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the “hottest” luxury second-home the luxury residential real estate markets. Still, there continue market, reaching sales volumes of million-dollar-plus homes to be a multitude of issues presenting both opportunities and not seen since pre-crisis years. challenges for prime property investors and sellers across - Trophy home sales dipped in 2017—only three homes the globe. Luxury markets are increasingly impacted by achieved the US$100 million+ “billionaire’s benchmark”— macroeconomic factors from political uncertainty, natural as the year’s 10 most expensive homes sold worldwide for disasters and terrorism fears to high equity prices, shifting aggregate of $1.24 billion, down from $1.32 billion in 2016. buyer demographics, currency risks, and increased taxes and - Star architects are now almost a prerequisite for high-end buying restrictions on residential real estate. residential developments, dominating the landscape of This year’s Luxury Defined presents insights into the world emerging luxury corridors like West Chelsea in New York. of luxury real estate and captures the collective wisdom and - Inventory constraints remained an issue in many prime insights of our global network—comprised of 27,000 agents property markets, as buyers from different, traditionally operating out of 940 offices globally—as well as specialists non-competing demographic and lifestyle cohorts competed from the broader Christie’s world. As we are under common for a limited supply of luxury residences, particularly at the ownership with Christie’s art auction house, Christie’s entry-level luxury tiers. International Real Estate is uniquely qualified to understand - Limited stock and high demand resulted in a decline in the the shifts and trends impacting high value asset classes, from time needed to sell a prime property—luxury homes sold in an fine art to fine homes, alongside the motivations of the affluent average of 190 days in 2017, down from 220 in 2016. individuals who purchase them—a distinction that sets us - Natural disasters and terrorism fears impacted not only the apart from our major competitors. The real estate experts directly affected housing markets, but also impacted other you will hear from in this white paper are the recognized luxury housing markets in ways that may have a lasting impact authorities in their local property markets, with particular on second-home buying trends. expertise in luxury real estate. - New taxes and foreign-buyer restrictions were introduced As the recognized authorities in the high-end housing in several housing markets in 2017 and 2018, reflecting the market, we are frequently asked questions such as: Which continued politicization of property ownership across the globe. are the “hottest” luxury housing markets? How are the international prime property markets performing, and what - Little is being done by governments to address the supply are the chief drivers? As we look back on the winding road constraint issue prevalent in many global markets. that the luxury real estate sector has traveled since the Our team is pleased to present the subsequent findings and beginning of 2017 and into the first four months of 2018, we hope you find this report instructive. several key themes and findings have emerged: - Worldwide luxury residential sales recorded robust 11 percent growth in 2017, buoyed by a revitalized global economy, stock market strength, and rising consumer confidence. - Second-home resort markets rallied in 2017 and into 2018 after stagnant growth in 2016. Sincerely, - Hong Kong ranked as the world’s most luxurious housing Dan Conn, CEO Christie’s International Real Estate market, followed by New York and London. CONTENTS Introduction 01 At a Glance: Luxury Defined 02 The Christie’s Luxury Housing Rankings 04 The State of Luxury Housing Worldwide 08 Luxury Residential Real Estate—The Rule Defying Market 08 1 Luxury Sales in Primary Housing Markets Flourish 10 Second-Home Markets Rebound Worldwide 11 Luxury Homes Sell Faster in 2017 14 Cash Buyers Decline—Again 14 Understanding the Luxury Home Buyers Driving Sales 15 How is Luxury Different? Comparing Top and Luxury Sales Prices to Overall Housing Prices 16 How Average House Prices Stack Up to Luxury and Trophy Home Prices 17 The Price of Luxury: A Global House Price Comparison 18 2 The Politicization of Property Ownership 20 The New US Tax Legislation and Its Impact on Prime Property 21 Snapshot of Notable Recently Introduced Taxes and Foreign-Buyer Restrictions 22 3 The Impact of Natural Disasters on Prime Property Markets 24 Trophy Homes 28 Top 2017 International Home Sales 30 A Snapshot of Trophy 4 Asset Prices and Performance 33 Top 2018 Home Sales to Date 34 US$100 million+ Listings Worldwide 35 The Penthouse Premium 37 Hidden Luxury Enclaves 40 Architecture as Art 38 5 6 Relative Values 44 Surveyed Affiliates 46 Research Parameters 46 Sources 47 Introduction Luxury is .... A word too often used by anyone with goods or services high-end property sales—we examine differences between the to sell. It gives branding agencies heartburn because of its luxury and the general housing markets and explore the impact overuse and the consumer’s resulting lackluster response, which of government intervention, political turmoil, money market defeat the very purpose of the word. “Luxury” needs to be fluctuations, environmental disasters, and demographic shifts reimagined. Rather than a banal adjective for anything costly on the prime property sector. or fine, it should be considered as a noun, more in terms of “having the luxury of” something that we aspire to obtain. Research Approach Half a century ago, some, but not all of us had “the luxury Lifestyle and location are two key hallmarks of value and of” watching color TV. Before that, a family was grateful for are central to the choice of affluent individuals when they the luxury of radio, telephone, of running water and flushing consider a residential property acquisition. As such, in this toilets. Today, we take for granted the garage door that opens year’s Luxury Defined—our sixth annual study of the global with a button, the microwave oven, and smart home devices prime property markets—we examined qualitative elements that can talk to us. such as client profiles, buying trends, destination preferences, Depending on where you live, of course, these things are and lifestyle amenities that shape the luxury sector (in other still considered luxuries. And they can be fleeting, even in words the luxuries they sought) alongside quantitative factors the developed world. Hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, volcanic including sales volumes, house prices, top transactions, eruptions, and other natural disasters have proven that all of and housing market supply. Eighty-one international this has to be viewed in terms of one other important luxury, luxury property markets were compared based on these which is to live in a safe and secure environment. We are characteristics. This study culminated in the Luxury Index reminded too often that many, but not all of us, have that which ranks of the world’s top cities for luxury real estate, and luxury of comfort and security. the Luxury Thermometer, a global indicator of the “hottest” In the decade since the global financial crisis began, the luxury primary and second-home markets. delineations of “luxury” in prime property have changed dramatically. More than ever before, luxury today means Selection Criteria and Research Parameters vastly different things to a widening arc of high-net-worth In analyzing luxury markets for this study, we reviewed individuals (HNWIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals factors that influence prices and luxury housing density, (UHNWIs), emerging from a continually expanding and including a market’s billionaire population, cost of living, luxury diversifying spectrum. Adding to this is an increasingly hotel density, and global cities rankings. Housing data for each complex geopolitical picture. The resurgence of populism, selected market was sourced from our Affiliated brokerages and, Brexit, climate change, growing wealth disparities, increased where noted, is supplemented by data from government and terrorism and privacy fears, and the “disruption” and industry associations. To offer a nuanced portrait of the global digitization of information have challenged many affluent prime property sector, housing markets are segmented into consumers’ long-held assumptions and sense of stability about several categories, outlined below. the world around them. These macro and micro influences have shifted the where, what, and why behind HNWIs’ and UHNWIs’ residential real estate transactions, and how they view the luxuries of home ownership. It is under this lens that we examine property markets in this year’s Luxury Defined report, presenting unique new insights about the ever-evolving world of luxury. Together with the collective knowledge of our more than 140 affiliated brokerages in 49 countries—all selected for their records of success in Report Legend NOTES: All amounts in this report are presented in US dollars and were calculated with average exchange rates for full-year 2017, unless noted. Data in the report covers the Luxury Housing Market Primary Markets Second-Home Markets period January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 unless otherwise noted. US$1M+ residential real Cities, urban areas Resort and lifestyle desti- estate in a designated and suburbs where the nations with a significant geographic area, not ship- majority of properties are second-home cohort and ping information limited to generally owner-occupied populations of generally the entire metro region or primary residences less than 500,000 “Luxury” accounts for more than simply price.