Ultra-luxury home sales are soaring in select US markets, defying global trends, according to new data from Knight Frank.
The real estate consultancy reported that New York, Miami, and Palm Beach saw a notable uptick in sales of homes priced at $10 million or more during the second quarter of 2024, driven in part by the strength of financial markets.
New York led the pack with 72 ultra-luxury homes sold—marking a 44% increase compared to the same quarter in 2023.
Miami followed closely, with 55 homes sold, up 16%. Palm Beach also saw a strong performance, selling 36 homes in the $10 million-plus category, reflecting a 27% year-over-year rise.
Despite a robust market in parts of the US, not all cities experienced the same growth. Los Angeles sold 42 homes for over $10 million, more than Palm Beach, but this marked a steep 29% decline.
The drop was primarily attributed to the city’s newly implemented mansion tax, which has cooled demand at the high end of the market, according to Knight Frank’s report.
Palm Beach reported the biggest sale of the quarter
Michael Dorrel – an Australian infrastructure investor bought the only private island of Palm Beach for $150 million in May which ended up being the biggest deal of the second quarter.
Another 3.2-acre historic estate of Palm Beach went for $148 million in the quarter while Manhattan came in third with a $135 million sale of Aman New York penthouse in July.
Neither New York nor Miami or Palm Beach, however, could beat Dubai in ultra-luxury real estate sales. The most populated of the seven emirates sold a total of 85 houses for $10 million or more in Q2.
Dubai has sold 436 ultra-luxury homes over the past 12 months versus 23 only in 2019. That’s because the tax-friendly regulations have attracted the wealthy from all over the world to Dubai in recent years.
Lower interest rates to boost ultra-luxury home sales
Knight Frank attributed the trend-bucking increase in sales of ultra-luxury homes in Miami, New York, and Palm Beach partly to the strength in the financial markets.
According to Liam Bailey, its global head of research:
Substantial wealth creation has supported the growth in the global super-prime sales market. The transformation of markets like Dubai, Palm Beach, and Miami has more than offset the slowing experienced by some more mature markets.
Globally, sales of $10 million or more real estate in the 11 luxury markets that the real estate consultancy tracks declined by 4.0% on a year-over-year basis.
One of the largest declines was seen in London, with sales of luxury homes down 47% in the second quarter due to concerns about higher taxes on the UK’s ultra-rich.
The expected decline in interest rates will likely help boost ultra-luxury home sales in the back half of this year, its report concluded on Tuesday.
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