Alicia Keys was right when she said that New York is a "concrete jungle where dreams are made of" as the city was recently named home to the "ultrawealthy" homeowners in the world.
Based on a new report by financial insight company WealthX and real estate platform, REALM, over 25,000 residents of the Big Apple are considered "ultra-high-net-worth" individuals with a net worth of over $30 million. These individuals also own a primary or secondary residence in the city.
Despite the economic threat brought by the coronavirus global pandemic, the insanely rich homeowners remain unbothered in their New York apartments, mansions, and villas.
New York as Global Center For Finance
According to the report entitled "Spotlight on the World's Leading Markets for the Wealthy: Residential Real Estate 2021," half of the 24,660 ultrawealthy individuals in New York had a second home in the city
The said report, which figures were derived from December 2020, only shows that New York is the global center for finance and commerce in the United States.
"This reflects New York's status as a global center for finance and commerce that offers a rich blend of cultural and luxury lifestyle opportunities, high-quality education, and prime real estate," the report reads.
To provide a comprehensive view of the ultrawealthy demographic's residential footprint, the report included both primary and secondary homes owned by these rich individuals.
"This footprint is significant because, even if only for days or weeks in a given year, any type of residential presence represents an opportunity for organizations that seek to understand and engage the world's wealthy," the report added.
Other Real Estate-Rich Cities
Because of the United States' size and geographic diversity, the country dominated the rankings having 11 cities from the top 20 markets.
The second world's richest real estate city goes to Los Angeles, which is home to a total of 16,300 ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Two-thirds of the said number owns a secondary property in the City of Angels.
London landed on the third spot for having 14,485 wealthy residents with 68 percent had a secondary residence in the capital of the United Kingdom.
Hong Kong proved that it is the home of the OG "crazy rich Asian" for having 14,235 ultrawealthy residents. It was followed by Paris with 7,035.
Meanwhile, the report also shows that secondary homeowners from New York, London, and Hong Kong were more likely to be younger than primary residents or female homeowners.
The report states: "Reflecting their choice to spend most of their time in the world's leading global financial centers, [they] comprise a high proportion of self-made wealthy individuals with a higher-than-average focus on banking and finance as their primary industry."
The Coronavirus Pandemic Effect
While the number of ultrawealthy residents in the above-mentioned cities was pretty impressive, it is expected to improve in the coming years as the COVID-19 crisis blurs the line between primary and secondary residences.
Chicago-based luxury real estate adviser Joanne Nemerovski said: "The pandemic has set up the best market for second and even third homes in the luxury real estate market,"
"Regardless of how amazing their main residence is, this group of wealthy individuals is used to travel, and it's hard for them to stay put. Variety is the spice of life," Nemerovski told Mansion Global.
