Dubai, New York City and Palm Beach are world's top super prime housing markets in early 2024
According to new data from Knight Frank, there were 426 sales of properties valued at over $10 million in the first three months of 2024 across 11 tracked markets. This is an increase from the 365 sales in the previous quarter but represents a 11.6% annual decrease compared to the 482 sales in Q1 2023.
The 426 sales in Q1 across Knight Frank's 11 key luxury markets were higher than in the previous two quarters but showed a year-on-year decline.
In the 12 months leading up to March 2024, there were 1,618 sales, marking the lowest annual total in three years. Annual super-prime sales have stabilized in the 1,600 to 1,700 range over the past two years, a drop from the post-COVID peak in 2021 and 2022 but still significantly higher than pre-COVID levels.
Despite the decrease in sales volume, the total value of super-prime sales reached $8.0 billion in the first quarter of the year, the strongest result since Q2 2023.
On an annual basis, sales across the 11 markets totaled $30.5 billion for the year ending in March, a 2.6% decrease from the $31.3 billion recorded in the 12 months leading to Q4 2023.
Dubai led the super-prime sales ranking with 105 sales, followed by New York and Palm Beach with 56 and 47 sales, respectively. Although Dubai's total was robust compared to other cities, it marked the first quarterly decline in sales since the survey began in 2019.
U.S. markets performed well, with New York overtaking London to secure the second position, after lagging in the previous two quarters. Palm Beach Florida made a strong showing, ranking third for the first time in the survey's history.
London's super-prime market faced challenges due to uncertainty surrounding the upcoming UK general election and the non-domiciled taxation regime. Although Q1 sales dipped, London remains the second-largest global super-prime market on an annual basis, 15% ahead of New York in sales for the year ending in March. In Asia, Hong Kong led with 132 sales in the 12 months to March, compared to Singapore's 88.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's Global Head of Research commented, "Dubai's arrival as a super-prime hub has helped to support global sales of $10m+ property. Of the major markets Dubai, London, New York and Geneva are still seeing sales above the levels they experienced in the pre-pandemic period - helping to drive global activity."