Global Luxury Property Review

January 2013
Monaco set for new skyline with double skyscraper by 2014
Monaco's skyline is set to be transformed by a one of the tallest and grandest building projects in several decades, according to a statement. The project is set to take luxury living to new heights in the principality. The Tour Odeon, due to be completed in 2014, is a 170 meter, 49-floor double skyscraper billed to be the tallest and most lavish development in Monaco since Le Millefiori and L'Annonciade, residential towers built in 1969. The first 3 levels will be dedicated to retail including a luxury supermarket. Whilst apartments up to the 19th floor will be designated for the use of the Monaco government and privately owned residences will be assigned from the 20th floor to the roof. Of the 259 available properties, only 24 have been given initial pricings starting at 5.35 million, or $7 million, for a one-bedroom apartment on the 20th floor. The star attraction of the build is the approximately 3300-square-meter penthouse that will cover five levels and have a private elevator accessing its foyer. The living area will consist of five main bedrooms and three staff bedrooms, a dining room with a 5.7-meter ceiling, a wine cellar, a spa, gym and outdoor infinity swimming pool.

Oversea buyers and a scarcity of luxury properties listed for sale is also inflating values in Manhattan. The median sales price climbed 7% in Q4 from a year earlier to US$4.4 million, Douglas Elliman Real Estate said. The broker defines luxury property deals as the top 10% by price. Meanwhile, increasing sales of luxury homes and condominiums is boosting South Florida's housing market recovery after a six year downturn, the Sun Sentinel has revealed. Miami-Dade County has by far the biggest share of the region's luxury market because of an abundance of foreign investors and luxury condos in downtown Miami and along the coast.

Property in Spain and France remains the most popular with British buyers. According to a leading overseas property portal shows that the top two most searched for destinations are the popular European countries, with US property in third place. Meanwhile, a report in Los Angeles Times last week said the Spanish government is considering a move to boost foreign property investment by offering residency to foreigners who buy property worth about $200,000 or more. Spain's super-prime market (15m+) is largely contained within the areas of Marbella, Sotogrande and the Balearic Islands.

London's most expensive homes will outperform the rest of the UK residential market this year as wealthy buyers shrug off property-tax increases, estate agent and property consultancy Knight Frank said, according to a report in the Shanghai Daily citing Bloomberg News. Prices in the super-prime market of houses and apartments costing 10 million pounds (US$16 million) or more will climb as much as 5 percent this year, it estimates. Values gained 6.9 percent last year as buyers competed for fewer properties, the report said. International investors spent 2.2 billion in central London new-build property in 2012, according to Knight Frank's International Residential Investment in London report.

The Swiss National Bank Governing Board member Fritz Zurbruegg said the central bank is worried about the development of the countrys property market, according to Bloomberg. We are concerned, Zurbruegg said in a television interview with the SF state broadcaster, published on its website today. We had the impression that the situation eased to a certain extent in the second quarter. Sadly this wasnt repeated in the third quarter. The SNBs decision to impose a ceiling on the franc in September 2011 as demand for the currency

surged has made the Swiss property market more attractive for foreign investors seeking a haven for their money.

In Eastern Europe, Property XPress reported the start of construction works of a luxury housing complex in the city centre of Kharkov, the Ukraine's second largest city.

Analysts predict Prices of luxury properties in Singapore will not drop significantly following latest measures according to a report in channelnewsasia.com. Experts said Chinese investors are still attracted by the cheaper prices of Singapore's luxury homes compared to Hong Kong.

According to Lucy Barnard at Abu Dhabi English-language newspaper, The National, a property developer linked to designer label Louis Vitton is to help develop a 168,000 square metre luxury shopping mall on Saadiyat Island (Abu Dhabi). The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), announced it had formed a joint venture with L Real Estate, a private equity fund sponsored by Louis Vuitton owner LVMH, to develop what will be one of the largest shopping centres in the emirate. Construction work is expected to start in 2014 and to be completed by 2017 to coincide with the opening of the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim Museum, The National reports.

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The Global Luxury Property Review is a monthly article compiled by Butterfly Residential offering a snapshot of the sector. Butterfly Residential is a boutique, professional, high-end property company specialising in Marbella, London and Barbados in sales and rental of luxury property. Butterfly Residential is headed by Edward Fairless and Nicola Fairless, a brother and sister team who are the new sensation in the global luxury property sector. Address: Avd. Ricardo Soriano 72, Edf. Golden, Portal C, 2 H, 29601 Marbella, Mlaga, Espaa Email: info@butterflyresidential.com Web Site: http://butterflyresidential.com Tel: (+34) 662 258 896 Tel: (UK) 0208 1444 383 Skype: butterflyresidential