News roundup: Worldwide super luxury home sales are down, plus other stories

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, super luxury home sales are down worldwide, with Dubai, New York, and Palm Beach leading the global sales. In other headlines, the Brisbane CBD needs an extra 11 towers built to accommodate a surge in office demand, while the Philippines’ office market grew despite challenges.
Super luxury home sales worldwide down 12 percent annually in Q1
According to new data from Knight Frank, there were 426 sales of properties valued at over USD10 million in the first three months of 2024 across 11 tracked markets. This is an increase from the 365 sales in the previous quarter but represents an 11.6 percent annual decrease compared to the 482 sales in Q1 2023.
Dubai led the super-prime sales ranking with 105 sales, followed by New York and Palm Beach with 56 and 47 sales, respectively. Although Dubai’s total was robust compared to other cities, it marked the first quarterly decline in sales since the survey began in 2019.
U.S. markets performed well, with New York overtaking London to secure the second position, after lagging in the previous two quarters. Palm Beach Florida made a strong showing, ranking third in the survey’s history for the first time.
Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s Global Head of Research commented in The World Property Journal, “Dubai’s arrival as a super-prime hub has helped to support global sales of USD10 million-plus property. Of the major markets Dubai, London, New York, and Geneva are still seeing sales above the levels they experienced in the pre-pandemic period, helping to drive global activity.”
An extra 11 office towers are needed in the Brisbane CBD to cater for a surge in demand
The Brisbane CBD will extend to inner city precincts and will need to have an extra 11 towers built to cater for a surge in office demand up to 2032, according to research by Colliers.
Colliers Queensland’s report – “Into the Golden Decade: Transformation of the Brisbane CBD” – has forecast that up to 1.9 million square metres of stock will be required by the time the Olympic Games start 2032 to accommodate Brisbane’s growing population.
As reported in realcommercial.com.au, Colliers Queensland office leasing national director Matt Kearney said southeast Queensland faced huge changes due to significant population growth and overseas migration, and the Brisbane CBD office market will be redefined.
Colliers: Philippines’ office market sustained momentum amid challenges
During the first quarter (Q1), total office transactions in Metro Manila reached 240,100 square meters (sq.m.), 88 percent higher than the same period in 2023. Traditional firms cornered 44 percent of total office space deals recorded in Metro Manila, followed by business process outsourcing firms (BPOs) at 33 percent, and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) at 23 percent, as reported in BusinessWorld.
While transaction volume has increased year-on-year, Colliers noted that area size requirements of some tenant classes have decreased. For instance, the average deal size of traditional firms decreased from 800 sq.m. to 600 sq.m.
Despite sustained demand, net take-up remains muted (75,000 sq.m. in Q1 2024) in Metro Manila due to continued space surrenders due to nonrenewal and rightsizing of occupiers. In Q1 2024, we recorded 161,000 sq.m. of new surrenders, slightly higher than the average quarterly vacated space of 145,000 sq.m. in 2023. Colliers expects this trend to persist until early 2025 as the remaining pre-pandemic leases are yet to expire.
The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].
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