Price levels of London's prime residential projects are expected to hit over £10,000 (approximately USD $13,000) per square foot by 2016, according to London-based Knight Frank. for sale in qatar
The study, which examines the impact of One Hyde Park, the 86-apartment* Knightsbridge project, on construction standards and buyer expectations, sheds new light on the global super-prime development market's forecasted path.
One Hyde Park's price efficiency
Real price performance at One Hyde Park - the world's most expensive residential development - has been released for the first time, with a full review in the report; this confirms how prices rose during the development of the iconic scheme from £4,560/sq ft in 2006 to £7,500/sq ft in late 2011, with over £1.4 billion in achieved residential sales to date (62 apartments sold).
The report also gives an exclusive look at the 'value added' elements of the development that have helped to make it so appealing to buyers: the Mandarin Oriental brand and the levels of service it provides; architecture by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, an internationally recognized firm; and award-winning interior design by Candy & Candy.
According to market research, there is unlikely to be another residential development quite like One Hyde Park for some time, partly due to a lack of financing available for speculative residential projects, and partly due to the rarity of immediately-recognizable'super-prime' locations like its Sloane Street/Hyde Park site being available.
As demand for a London home from the foreign newly wealthy grew in the last decade, new-build property began to fill the void, and became a barometer of the city's appeal to (U)HNWIs from Asia, the Middle East, and CIS countries. Hotel-trained concierge staff, interiors built with the finest marbles, timber, and technology, terraces, and off-street parking became standard in developments, helping to push prices of the best prime central schemes from £1,000 per sq ft in 2000 to £2,000 per sq ft in 2004, and up to £3,000 per sq ft by 2006.
Comparisons on a global scale
The super-prime construction trend is now gaining traction in other world-famous destinations such as New York, Monaco, Singapore, and Hong Kong, but only a few cities are reaching London's standard.
"One Hyde Park's success has been attributed to the fact that it was planned and executed to meet a very particular demand from the new foreign affluent," says Liam Bailey, Knight Frank Head of Residential Research. Not only did these consumers come out of the recession relatively unscathed, but so did central London in certain respects. The availability of top-end technologies that attract wealthy foreign buyers in key markets like London is still very small. The potential for developers to profit from this demand is thus real. "The issue is that suitable sites for these projects are small, as are the skills and expertise needed to produce the right product." However, if you have this combination right, the benefits can be substantial. Given the £1,000/sq ft increase to close to £8,000/sq ft in the ten years leading up to 2011, as well as the recent success of One Hyde Park and other super-prime apartment sales, I believe this record will be broken much faster - and that the very best designs will be sold for £10,000/sq ft before 2016."