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More bad news for luxury condo developers: the number of people able to afford ultra-luxe digs dropped last year for the first time since 2008, a NGKF and Douglas Elliman report reveals.
Worldwide, the number of people with investable assets exceeding $30M—or ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs)—dropped to 187,500 last year, down 3% (6,000) from the previous year.
Canada was hit the hardest, losing 24% of its UHNWIs, with South Africa trailing just behind at 23%, The Real Deal reports. The US lost just 2%.
The report blames the drop on volatile financial markets, falling commodities prices and the strong dollar (don't we all?), which exacerbates declines in local currencies for foreign UHNWIs.
Douglas Elliman chair Howard Lorber isn’t too concerned about the immediate impact on New York’s luxury housing market, however.
“There really is no oversupply,” he says, “except maybe in a little piece of the market—the very high priced things around [Manhattan's] 57th Street and Central Park.”
The report notes that since 2015 the number of UHNWIs has grown 60%, from 116,800. That number is expected to grow just 41% over the next decade, with the report predicting 263,500 UHNWIs by 2025. [TRD]
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