Dubai led the entire world in super-prime properties sold in the first quarter of 2025, totalling a staggering ₹1.90 billion in total sales spread across 111 deals, according to a recent industry study. In the first three months of the year, 527 deals took place throughout the world in deals crossing $10 million (hence, tagged ‘super-prime’), up 6 per cent year-on-year.
The total value of the quarterly super-prime real estate deals touched $9.43 billion in the first quarter, up 6 per cent from the same period last year, according to Knight Frank’s Global Super-Prime Intelligence report.
The Middle Eastern city of Dubai led the charge with 111 deals raking in $1.90 billion, while New York came in second with 75 deals worth a total of $1.41 billion. Following them were Palm Beach, with 74 deals amounting to $1.35 billion, and Miami, with 58 deals worth $1.29 billion in total.
Legacy architecture, prestigious location, world-leading design, the finest in luxury living accessories, specialist focus, and discretion and privacy are said to be key features of super-prime properties.
In the United Kingdom, super-prime homes are the ones sitting in the top 5 per cent price range of the housing market, usually starting at £10 million (a little over ₹115 crore). However, globally, the standard for super-prime properties stands at $10 million or above (just above ₹85 crore).
The report noted that two of the usual contenders, Hong Kong and London, “both cooled after strong Q4 2024 closings”. Despite Hong Kong’s deal count rising from 36 to 42, volumes dropped from $0.99 billion to $0.69 billion. London slipped 37 per cent to 34 deals with $0.59 billion in overall value.
“These pullbacks reflect typical post–year-end lulls, combined in London’s case with adverse taxation shifts,” noted the report.
“The super-prime market hit a new gear entering 2025. Dubai maintains its lead, but the resurgence of South Florida and the rebound in Hong Kong show that demand remains truly global,” Knight Frank’s global head of research, Liam Bailey, pitched in.
“As we move through 2025, deal flow should remain healthy—however, rising macroeconomic uncertainties will demand greater focus from developers and investors,” added Bailey.
The rise in Dubai’s super-prime market and its undisputedundisputed domination could be attributedattributed to its low-tax environment, which has consistently attracted global capital. Investors seeking portfolio diversification in the US appear to be driving the Florida real estate market, benefiting Miami and Palm Beach.
Industry watcher Knight Frank now expects “super-prime deal flow to remain robust” given the steady rise of the ‘ultra high net worth individual’ (UHNWI) population in the past couple of years. The Wealth Report by Knight Frank revealed that, in 2024 alone, the UHNWI population grew by 4.4 per cent year-on-year globally.
However, interest rate changes, currency and foreign exchange uncertainties, and local policy changes regarding real estate ownership and asset taxes could factor in as the year progresses.
