The global super and ultra-prime market – Not locked down

In the first six months of 2020* there were 281 super-prime transactions in the 12 locations we studied, less than half of the 594 seen in the first half of 2019. Despite Covid-19 being known to the world since January and officially being labelled a pandemic on 11 March half of the super-prime transactions, 153, took place after the beginning of March.

Sydney was the standout market with 15 super-prime sales in the first half of 2020 compared to 13 in the first half of 2019.

Less is more

Despite the falling number of transactions those transacting were generally of a higher value. Overall, the global average increased by 15% for the March to June period, at US$20.7m compared to US$18m for the same period in 2019.

London saw the largest increase and takes the top spot with an average transaction value of US$38m, compared to US$16.9m in 2019 – the average in Geneva has also jumped, whilst Hong Kong which usually sits on top has fallen to third position.

However, Hong Kong ranks highest for the number and volume of transactions with 60 having taken place in 2020 so far, 41 since March - whilst this is less than half of the 155 in the first half of 2019 it is only marginally down from the 74 in the second half of 2019 when the city grappled with social unrest.

New York has the third highest number of super-prime sales this year with 41, behind Los Angeles in second with 52, and almost half of these, 19, having taken place since March. With the city being particularly hard hit by Covid-19, accounting for approximately one in six of all US cases in April, this demonstrates resilience and that the fundamentals remain.

Looking at the ultra-prime (US$25m+) segment, there has been a stronger showing here. Eight of our markets saw one or more transaction in the ultra-prime market in the March to June 2020 period with a total of US$1.3bn being transacted.

Sydney and Palm Beach went from no sales or one sale above US$25m in March to June 2019 to one and two respectively, London saw six in each period and Geneva saw two.

Hong Kong has once again seen the highest number of ultra-prime sales with 10 so far in 2020, down from 30 in the first half of 2019. However, in terms of the total volume of sales, London leads the way with US$434m in sales followed by Hong Kong’s US$372m.

The momentum in this segment could continue as wealthy buyers look for more spacious housing options post-lockdown. This is already being evidenced with a strong showing in Los Angeles since April.

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*Data correct as at 22 June and corresponds to publicly available sales and therefore may not capture all sales in the market. Exchange rates as at 22 June 2020.

Photo by Keith Zhu on Unsplash