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A M E R I C A S
A M E R I C A S
o see what’s happening across
the Americas right now, look
at the cities, advises Yolande
Barnes, head of World Research
at Savills. Nowhere is this
clearer than in the US itself, she
says, where housing
market recovery – which had been
slower than in much of the
Commonwealth and Asia – has now
been led by New York, San Francisco
and LA in particular.
In these major cities, prices have
come back to – and in some cases far
exceeded – their pre-downturn peaks,
and strong demand exists across all
segments of the market. These
locations have among the largest
volume of international investment of
any US cities, and now similar things
are happening in what Barnes terms
‘second-tier but still global’ urban
centres such as Nashville, Tennessee
and Austin, Texas, which both attract
high net worth individuals thanks to
their sophisticated infrastructure and
‘big city’ cultural life.
Not all cities are moving at the same speed.
Those with less connectivity or wider economic
problems – Detroit, for example, which is still
coming to terms with de-industrialisation – are
still way off peak 2007 price and transaction levels.
Even the nervousness surrounding a new
president is unlikely to deter growth significantly.
‘In an increasingly uncertain world, real estate in
New York and other major US cities still looks a lot
safer than many investments in most other places,’
explains Barnes. ‘As a result, this asset class may
be taking on a more traditional, solid status.’
There remains interest in high-quality leisure
properties such as ranches, vineyards and ski
lodges in prestigious locations outside
the biggest urban areas, but these have
not seen the speed of recovery so
evident in major cities.
The rest of the Americas may be
slower than the US in terms of
returning to full value, but many
individual countries’ markets are
showing encouraging signs.
For those few international investors
who remain wary of the US until the
new presidency beds in, Canada is
perhaps seen as the safest port of call.
In particular, the formerly overheated
market in Vancouver – which recently
introduced stricter lending rules for
domestic buyers and scrapped a three-
decade ‘golden visa’ incentive, and has
increased stamp duty for wealthy
overseas purchasers – is slowing to
more sustainable levels.
Mexico City, too, has seen a series of new
developments and increasing overseas interest
after some years of the peso edging downwards
against the dollar. Meanwhile, in Chile the
confident economy of Santiago – now seeing the
arrival of financial services and tech start-ups as
alternative income sources to traditional mining
– is enjoying an increasingly confident market.
T
62 COOPER SQUARE, NEW YORK, US
The largest penthouse on the market, located on the top three floors of the Carl Fischer Building in NoHo.
Bedrooms 8 Bathrooms 9.5 Price US$29,500,000 Contact Michael Chapman,
OVERSEAS
PURCHASERS
International buyers
make up some 7%
of the US market in
dollar terms, led by
the Chinese and
followed by
Canadians,
Mexicans, Indians
and the British
In Miami, Venezuela
provides 16% of
buyers, followed
by Argentina (13%),
Brazil (8%),
Colombia (8%)
and Peru (8%)
New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco lead the charge in recovering luxury house
prices in the Americas, with real estate in urban centres still seen as a safe investment
A tale of three cities
New York | Los Angeles
Miami | San Francisco
Barbados | Bahamas
Turks and Caicos | British Virgin Islands