Luxury and Trophy Real Estate Records — 2026-09-26
Hong Kong has surged to second place globally for ultra-prime home sales while Dubai retains the crown, per fresh Knight Frank data. In Paris, the city hall finally offloaded two historic hôtels particuliers for €11 million combined. Meanwhile the UK's mansion tax is already measurably distorting prices below the £2m threshold, and Thierry Henry listed his SoHo penthouse for $25 million.
Luxury and Trophy Real Estate Records — 2026-09-26
Top developments
Hong Kong jumps to No. 2 in global super-prime sales
Knight Frank data shows Hong Kong's super-prime residential market ranked second worldwide for ultra-luxury (US$10m+) home sales in Q2 2026, with both transaction volumes and values rising year on year as the market recovers. Dubai remains the world's top market for homes worth at least $10 million, but Hong Kong has closed the gap rapidly.
Paris City Hall finally sells Goncourt "grenier" and hôtel Haviland
After several failed attempts, the City of Paris has found buyers for the hôtel Haviland and the hôtel de Montmorency — the former home of the Goncourt brothers — for a combined €11 million, a welcome sum for an increasingly indebted city. This follows earlier reporting that the municipality struggled to offload its hôtels particuliers even after re-listing them at reduced prices via online auction; luxury brokers had expressed scepticism about the process.
Thierry Henry lists glass-topped SoHo penthouse for $25 million
The soccer legend and his partner combined floors to create a SoHo penthouse of more than 6,000 square feet, now listed for $25 million — one of the most notable downtown trophy listings of the week, featured alongside celebrity listings from Paul Feig and Maria Menounos.
Italy's luxury home sales double
New Knight Frank figures show Italian luxury-home sales have doubled as wealthy buyers seek "the dolce vita," with deals spreading beyond typical second-home destinations like Lake Como into major cities such as Rome and Milan.
Local view
Greek press is sounding the alarm on the planned fivefold hike in the property transfer tax for non-EU buyers — from 3% to 15% from July 2027 — warning it "may hurt demand for holiday homes from non-EU citizens." A Bank of Greece study adds that transactions shifted to cheaper-tier properties after the Golden Visa thresholds were raised from the historic €250,000 minimum.
Context & numbers
- The UK mansion tax is already bending the market: sale prices are bunching just below the £2m threshold as "cautious" buyers strategize, the first hard evidence of the tax distorting house prices.
- Knight Frank's PIRI 100 tracked global prime prices up 3.2% in 2025 (vs 3.6% in 2024), with 73 of 100 markets rising, and ~89 new UHNWIs entering the market daily — the backdrop for record trophy deals.
On the radar
- Paris 7e: John Taylor has launched the sale of a 1,300 m² hôtel particulier from an 1872 manège, complete with basement pool and Eiffel Tower views, asking €37.3 million.
- Greece's 2027 transfer-tax surge is expected to pull non-EU holiday-home purchases forward into 2026; watch for a pre-deadline buying rush.
- Inman flags new strategies required for 2026 luxury homebuyers as the resilient-but-changing market settles.
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