Between January and June, 939 ultra-luxury homes were sold, 5 fewer than in the same months of 2023, which corresponds to a negative year-on-year variation of 0.5%. The trend is the same considering only the second quarter when 463 properties were sold, a slight decrease compared to the 476 sold in the same period of the previous year.

Dubai is the city with the most sales, 85 homes, but also saw a slight drop compared to the same period last year, 97 homes. New York follows with 72 sales in the last quarter and Hong Kong with 61.

The total value of sales in the last 12 months was 33.4 million dollars (30.03 million euros), 450 thousand dollars (404.37 thousand euros) less than last year.

This downward trend is expected to change with the change in the monetary policy of central banks, which have already started to reduce interest rates. The ECB announced its second cut last week and the US Federal Reserve is expected to announce its first this Wednesday. “With the reduction in rates, total transaction volumes (…) should increase until 2025”, predicts Liam Bailey, global director of research at Knight Frank.

The study indicates that “super-prime” sales, the highest and most exclusive level of the ultra-luxury real estate market, with homes that can exceed $100 million (around €89.86 million), have been between $32 billion and $34 billion (€28.75 million and €30.55 million, respectively) since the fourth quarter of 2022.

Francisco Quintela, CEO of Quintela e Penalva, Knight Frank’s partner in Portugal, highlights that “clients are increasingly demanding, looking for high-quality and distinctive projects. Clients are often looking for unique properties with very specific characteristics that are out of the market.”