Luxury property has been one of the more resilient asset classes of the past few years, but the global averages hide very different stories city by city. Knight Frank’s 2026 research — its 20th annual Wealth Report and its quarterly Prime Global Cities Index — offers one of the clearest views of where the world’s wealthiest buyers are putting their money.
At a glance
- Prime prices rose 3.2% across Knight Frank’s 100-market index in 2025.
- 73 markets rose and 24 fell; the Middle East led and North America lagged.
- Tokyo topped the city index in early 2026 with annual growth of 44.4%.
- London prime prices were still falling in mid-2026.
The big picture: steady, not spectacular
Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index, which tracks the top end of 100 city, beach and ski markets, rose 3.2% in 2025, slightly below the 3.6% recorded in 2024. Of the 100 markets, 73 saw prices rise and 24 fell. The more recent quarterly data tells a similar story: across the 46 cities in the Prime Global Cities Index, prime prices were up 2.6% in the year to the second quarter of 2026, with 32 cities rising.
Underneath those modest averages is a market increasingly decoupled from mainstream housing. Knight Frank points to rapid wealth creation as the main driver — its 2026 report counts more than 713,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals worldwide.
The leaders: the Middle East and Asia
- Dubai remains the world’s busiest super-prime market. Knight Frank recorded 500 home sales above US$10 million there in 2025, and the Middle East was the best-performing region in the index.
- Tokyo topped the Prime Global Cities Index in the first quarter of 2026 with annual growth of 44.4%; a weak yen, which makes Japanese property cheaper for overseas buyers, is widely cited as one factor. Manila, Dubai, Seoul and Singapore completed the top five.
- Singapore continues to set price records, although high stamp duties keep transaction volumes in check.
- Mumbai ranked eighth globally in the second quarter of 2026, with prime prices up 6.2% year on year.
The laggards: North America and London
North America was the only region in negative territory in Knight Frank’s 2025 index, pulled down by Vancouver and Toronto, where higher borrowing costs have weighed on prices. In Los Angeles, the city’s “mansion tax” (Measure ULA) has cooled super-prime liquidity. London also remains in decline at the top end, with prime prices down 3.6% in the year to the second quarter of 2026 as changes to the taxation of wealthy residents push some buyers to rent rather than buy — or to look at Milan and Madrid instead.
Monaco: the world’s most expensive square metre
For sheer cost, nowhere compares with Monaco. In Knight Frank’s 2025 Wealth Report, US$1 million bought only about 19 square metres of prime property in the principality — roughly the size of a parking space. Limited land, favourable tax treatment and steady international demand keep it at the top of the table year after year.
Six themes shaping the market
- Wealth creation continues to outpace the wider economy, supporting demand at the very top.
- Tax and politics are prompting the wealthy to move, with London, Los Angeles and parts of Canada feeling the effect.
- Mobility. Many owners now split time between several homes and jurisdictions, favouring smaller, easy-to-manage “bases”.
- Competing wealth hubs — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Milan, Singapore and Miami among them — are attracting family offices.
- Scarcity of turnkey homes. Buyers increasingly avoid renovation risk, so move-in-ready properties sell quickly.
- Branded residences. Knight Frank expects more than 1,000 live branded residence schemes worldwide by 2030, as buyers pay premiums for hotel-grade service and privacy.
What it means for buyers
Knight Frank’s mid-2026 forecast expects average prime price growth across 20 global cities of 1.6% in 2026, rising to 2.2% in 2027. In that environment, location and quality matter more than ever: the best turnkey homes in supply-constrained neighbourhoods are still selling quickly, while ordinary stock in tax-pressured markets can sit for months. For international buyers, currency movements — as Tokyo has shown — can matter as much as local price growth.
Figures are from Knight Frank research published in 2026 and reflect prime (top-tier) residential prices, not the wider housing market. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
Sources
- Knight Frank: PIRI 100 — The Wealth Report 2026
- Knight Frank: Prime Global Cities Index Q1 2026 (PDF)
- Business Today: Mumbai prime prices rise 6.2% in Q2 2026 (Knight Frank)
- Caproasia: Knight Frank Wealth Report 2026 key findings
- Business Insider: $1 million buys 19 sq m in Monaco (Wealth Report 2025)
- DM Properties: Knight Frank Global Residential Signals forecast