You'll get 41 square metres of luxury real estate in Sydney and 117 square metres in Melbourne with US$1 million, according to the latest Wealth Report 2015 from global property consultancy Knight Frank.
The firm has just released the ninth edition of The Wealth Report 2015, with Melbourne included for the first time in its list of the world's key luxury city and second-home markets. The report contains a Prime International Residential Index with performance data for 100 of the world’s cities. The PIRI 100 ranked Melbourne in 21st position, with annual growth of 8.5 per cent. Sydney was in 13th position with annual growth of 11 per cent; up from the previous year’s annual growth of 9.3 per cent.
The report looked at what US$1 million will buy around the world in terms of square metres. Monaco is tightest, covering only 17 square metres, followed by Hong Kong at 20 square metres and London with 21 square metres. The US dominates the top end of the rankings in terms of price growth with four cities in the top 10. By contrast, Asia, which had four top 10 markets in last year’s rankings, now has Bali as the sole regional representative in third place.
In Australasia, investors saw strong prime property returns in 2014, with the PIRI 100 index showing 12.1 per cent, 11.0 per cent and 8.5 per cent annual price growth in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne respectively. “Demand from Asian buyers for properties in Australia and New Zealand remains strong, underlining Australasia’s connection to the Asian region – and the appeal of its lifestyle, educational institutions and safe-haven status. Wealthy Chinese investors have been dominant, exemplified by Australia’s Significant Investment Visa (SIV), which, since it was introduced in 2012, has seen 90% of its applicants come from China,” said Matt Whitby, Group Director, Head of Research & Consulting at Knight Frank. “Watch for Hong Kong buyers in Miami, and Chinese buyers on the Australian Gold Coast and the US West Coast – and just about every nationality in London and New York” Whitby added.
