Australian adults are considered the second most wealthy people in the world, with the latest Global Wealth report putting an adult’s average net worth at $613,000.
With property ownership a cornerstone of our national identity, experts predict big changes within the local market as buyers’ tastes move to align with those of the world’s super wealthy.
It’s important for agents to understanding global trends and their impact on Australia – not only to stay ahead of the game, but to provide sound advice to their clients.
Knight Frank’s Research and Consulting Director Michelle Ciesielski predicts Australia’s population of ultra high-net worth individuals (UHNWI), will increase dramatically over the next few years.
“If they’ve got net assets worth more than $30 million US outside their family home they would be considered an ultra high-net-worth individual, otherwise known as ultra-wealthy,” said Ciesielski.
“We’ve calculated about 3060 ultra-wealthy people live in Australia and that’s basically about 2% of the ultra-wealthy population around the world. So it’s interesting that we are quite wealthy on one hand but on the other hand at the top end we’re only represented in that top 2%.”
Over the next five years UHNWI growth in Australia is projected at around 20%.
Ciesielski predicts by 2023 at least a thousand ultra-wealthy residents will call Sydney home.
It means big changes for local market, with Ciesielski explaining these residents will expect luxury developments in Australia, like those currently offered across the globe.
These include home-living with above and beyond service.
“It’s the concept that you can be travelling, come back and there will be fresh flowers and your groceries in the kitchen.”
She added, residents want “that hotel experience… where you can pick up the phone and order room service.”
Today most of the world’s ultra high-net worth individuals live in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan – but of the countries projected to see the largest growth in UHNWI over the next few years, eight are in Asia, with trends there expected to play heavily on our local market in the near future.
For more information on private wealth and how it’s impacting the market, listen to our Podcast or watch the webinar.
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