The world's wealthiest property investors are now taking notice of Sydney.
Sydney has entered the list of top ten cities most important to the world's wealthiest people, the latest Wealth Report from global property consultancy Knight Frank reveals. The report, which tracks the super-rich population in 98 cities across 91 countries, defines Ultra High Net Worth Investors as those with US$30 million or more. Sydney has ranked in eighth position this year, up from 14th last year.
The number of these investors in Australia grew by 135 percent between 2005 to 2015, with the firm expecting this growth to slow to 35 percent over the next decade.
However, while Australian wealthy investors increased, globally, almost 6,000 people dropped out of the UHNWI wealth bracket, representing a 3 percent slide. Knight Frank reports this is the first annual dip in ultra-wealthy populations since the global financial crisis began in 2008.
There are now 187,468 UHNWIs globally – marking a 61 percent rise from a global UHNWI population of 116,800 in 2005. By 2025, the global population of UHNWIs is set to rise by 41 percent to 263,483. Asia tops the absolute increase in UHNWI population among the world regions, both in the last 10 years and in the next 10 years.
The growth in the number of Australian UHNWIs is due to changes in sources of wealth, including technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and strong growth in the property sector, said Knight Frank Australia Chief Executive Officer Stephen Ellis.
"However, this level of growth in numbers of UHNWIs in Australia is anticipated to slow over the next decade to 35 percent, and we have already seen a slowdown of 2 percent during 2015. In Australia, the biggest concerns UHNWIs have in regard to wealth creation and preservation over the next 10 years include stock market volatility, the global economy, and the issues that come with succession and inheritance," said Ellis.
Ellis said The Wealth Report has ranked the cities that matter most to the world’s wealthy, based on where they live, invest, educate their children, grow their businesses, network and spend their leisure time. "Sydney has appeared in the eighth position due to its quality of lifestyle in these areas," he said.
Matt Whitby, Knight Frank's Head of Research for Australia, said that although the ultra-wealthy population declined in 2015, the growth expected over the next five to 10 years, particularly in Asia, will see large capital flows into Australia continue, with UHNWIs and global funds likely to broaden their focus from just Sydney and Melbourne.
This year’s report marks the 10th annual edition of The Wealth Report.