PIRI 100: UHNWI's attitudes to wellness and the prime property market

According to The Attitudes Survey, 80% of respondents said their clients were dedicating more of their time to personal wellness and fitness. Asked how important wellness attributes are when choosing a new home, access to nearby green spaces was considered the most important, followed by the availability of wellness facilities and the design of the property and how it contributes to their physical and mental wellbeing.

Alasdair Pritchard of Knight Frank's Private Office team said it is a burgeoning trend: “Young professionals are prioritising health and wellbeing more than ever before. It is no longer the preserve of burnt out executives in their 40s or 50s. Young professionals such as tech millionaires are increasingly seeking a haven to retreat to for one month a year to focus on wellbeing.”

Preferred locations among his clients include New Zealand, The Alps, Malibu, The Hamptons, Sydney, Japan and South Africa, he says. “Design and functionality is important whether its courtyards, meditation rooms, resistance pools or living walls, but the reality is it is the location and proximity to nature that is the decisive factor. Waterfront, forest and mountain locations are most in favour,” he explains.

On a more macro scale, the health of the planet will have an impact on where people want, or are able, to live. The scale of the threat is underlined by Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia which led the PIRI 100 in 2012 and 2013 with 35%+ annual price growth. The administrative functions of the city are now due to move 726 miles northeast to the province of East Kalimantan, on Borneo, due to the threat of flooding and rising levels of pollution.