New York and London Are Among the Hottest Places in the World to Invest in Real Estate in 2015
As the world continues to recover from the lengthy recession which followed the global economic downturn of 2008, real estate investors are becoming excited about new opportunities in key cities. The big question is, what is really the hottest city to put real estate money in these days? There are many options and many ways of looking at that question, but signs are pointing to major urban centers like New York, Hong Kong and London as the key sites for market investment in the days to come. Let’s take a look at the key features in favor of these exciting centers.
The New York Luxury Scene
One of the interesting developments that’s come out of the recovery in the real estate market is the new emphasis on luxury. While this may seem surprising on the face of it, one factor is that luxury properties are seen to be holding more value in this recovering market, making them more attractive to investors.
Investments in these types of high end properties actually began in a larger way in 2006, just as signs of the real estate bust were becoming very evident. In today’s terms, prices were “at the bottom” in 2006, and today these properties have seen a 50 percent increase in value since then. London’s luxury real estate market has skyrocketed, with luxury properties now at double the rate they were going for in 2006. Hong Kong has also seen a large increase in pricing, which today makes New York seem almost a bargain.
One of the reasons these properties became so attractive as investment vehicles is that they seemed stable in relation to other financial instruments that were seeing a roller coaster effect in value during the economic meltdown. Today, luxury apartments in New York are $2,586 per square foot.
In comparison, London is now at $4,480 and Hong Kong is at $4,682, so it’s easy to see why New York is currently looking like a bargain, at least in high end luxury terms. Experts expect this situation to be short lived, however, as the market heats up and more investors realize the value of these properties.
When comparing “value” it’s all pretty relative. London is very hot right now, and Hong Kong is on fire, yet New York’s “bargain” rate makes it the market to watch for savvy investors.
Roman Temkin is a real estate developer from NYC.
