Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

If Luxe could kill

With off-plan property proliferating in every corner of the globe, Laura Henderson homes in on some stunning locations with a significant luxury footprint

At the apex of the property market, the buy-sell dance is more like the quickstep than the Viennese waltz these days. The last two years have witnessed unprecedented growth, with prestige pads being snapped up across the globe for record-breaking sums. Baby boomers cashing in, increased ease of travel, and entrepreneurial wealth have all played a part, and a new level of upscale real estate has been created by the demand for luxury homes with on-tap amenities such as yachting facilities and aircraft parking. “The investor pool normally narrows above the €4m mark,” confirms Roger Willoughby of Prestige Property. “But the market demographics are changing. With high-growth economies and increased purchasing power in countries such as China, India and Russia, high earners are looking for upscale places where quality of life and climate combine.”

French fancy

The idea that rarity makes for an exclusive market is certainly borne out on the Côte d’Azur. Embracing new blood and even newer money, the region is a hotbed of property negotiations where lofty prices and a respect for privacy are the order of the day. “Out of the prestige market around Nice, less than 6% of properties come onto the market each year, with seasoned locations such as St Tropez, St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Villefranchesur-Mer still top of the pecking order,” explains Phillip Klein of Haussmann Real Estate.

Created in 1904, the glossy harbour commune of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been home to a privileged caste of artistes through the decades, including Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Here, discretion is the golden rule. Located in secluded grounds and sporting panoramic views of the bay of Villefranche, an elegant six-bedroom 1930s mansion is for sale through Prestige Property. Accessed by a gated, tree-lined gravel drive, the villa’s belle époque entrance gallery leads directly into a chandelier-clad reception area. The ground-floor pièce de résistance is an etched-gold banister, which spirals up the staircase to a first-floor couloir of pralines-and-cream-coloured bedrooms and an ornate, wraparound balcony overlooking the pool and the shady, palmed garden. The property comes with a separate caretaker’s lodge and a four-car garage. Its asking price is €12.5m.

Spanish style

Staying on the Med, Mallorca’s shiny image has been buffed by starry property buyers such as Annie Lennox, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The jet-set popularity of Palma, the capital, shows no sign of abating. Those who plump for a designer pad in the Old Quarter, with its mix of chic patrician houses and modernista boutique hotels, will need cavernous pockets. “Palacios in the Barrio Viejo, even the ones that require renovations, are like gold dust,” confirms property consultant Michael Potts. “You can pay upwards of €2.5m for a luxury penthouse with marina views, with demand remaining steady for luxury villas in the districts of the south-west, namely Puerto Andratx, Portals and Bendinat.”

Just a 30-minute drive from the capital, Puerto Andratx’s glossy marina, where €18m Sunseeker yachts vie for attention, is the hub of the expat luxury market. One of several stunning second homes on Prestige Property’s books is the €6m secluded hilltop summer residence of the former Earl of La Romana. The sumptuous 16th-century manor comes with its own family chapel, olive press, barns and stables. Classically Mallorcan in style, with antique terracotta flooring, ornately carved porticos and high, beamed ceilings throughout, the residence also boasts its own servant quarters for ring-the-bell drinks on the terrace.

Russia’s riches

One of the emerging markets that’s seen the sharpest rise in high net-worth investors in the past year is Moscow. Here, oil-driven realestate growth has seen prices double, and €2,900 ($4,000) per square metre is now the going rate for a luxury pad in Ostozhenka, Moscow’s much-hyped Golden Mile. Frozen in time by Soviet decree until the 90s, the district has since evolved into a Russian Beverly Hills of puffed-up penthouses, Maseratis, and caviar and champagne restaurants.

Patriarch’s Ponds, a neighbouring expat favourite that was made famous by Mikhail Bulgakov’s surrealist novel The Master and Margarita, is a more traditional area of verdant parks that buzzes with after-theatre diners and concert hall crowds at weekends. Intermark Savills is currently marketing a magnificent 300m2 penthouse apartment in what it calls a “pre-revolutionary residence”, with views over a private courtyard garden.

A minimalist, ultra-modern interior, custom-made cabinetry and plenty of space mean it’s a steal at €5.8m, even behind the old Iron Curtain.

African affair

Moving even further afield Kenya’s colourful reputation as the number one destination for safaris has recently been coupled with a healthy growth in prestige real estate. Lodges, mansions and estate investments are being snapped up by overseas buyers seeking a more exotic location for their second homes. Since holding democratic elections in 2002 – following 24 years under the dictatorship of Daniel Arap Moi – Kenya’s GDP growth has accelerated impressively. “There is a good interest in Kenya from European buyers,” says Jayne Mugambi of Knight Frank. “The property market is strong, rising 45% over the past 12 to 18 months.”

Those with a spare €1.5m to spend will have no problem finding their ‘wow’ factor property. But those with a more realistic budget will also find that the home of their dreams is within budget. Located in the Rift Valley Province in Kajiado District and bordering Nairobi National Park, is a magnificent, thatched, three-bedroom house with a two-bedroom guest wing, pool and a further two guesthouses located in the grounds. On sale for €563,000 ($760,000) through Knight Frank, the house has an open-plan living room and library, with a custom-made spiral staircase leading up to a large rooftop terrace and uninterrupted views of the Athi Plains. Additional outbuildings, including six stables and a workshop, are dotted throughout 20 acres of grounds. The property is situated a mere 40-minute drive from Nairobi Airport. and is on the market.

FR » Quand le luxe nous prend

Si l’on suit le baromètre du marché de l’immobilier, le ballet continu entre la vente et l’achat s’apparente plus au Quickstep qu’à la Valse viennoise. En effet, nous avons assisté ces derniers deux ans, à une hausse sans précédent, avec des propriétés de prestige fusant à travers le globe et proposées pour des montants battant tous les records.

La Côte d’Azur est aujourd’hui le point chaud des transactions immobilières. Située dans des terres reculées, avec depuis les hauteurs une vue panoramique sur la baie de Villefranche, Prestige Property a en portefeuille un manoir enchanteur des années 1930, à six chambres, pour la somme de €12.5m. La grande galerie à l’entrée de la villa Belle Epoque mène directement dans un hall de réception paré de chandeliers, de là, s’élance un escalier en spirales, la rampe gravée de dorures, montant jusqu’à un couloir au premier étage, débouchant sur des chambres couleur praliné avec un balcon orné de volutes surplombant la piscine.

Toujours dans la région ‘Med’, la popularité de Mallorca question jet-set ne montre aucun signe d’essoufflement. La résidence d’été de l’ancien Comte de La Romana est une des propriétés de Prestige Properties devant laquelle on tombe en admiration. Isolée au sommet d’une colline, elle est mise en vente à €6m. Ce somptueux manoir du 16e siècle comprend sa propre chapelle familiale, une presse à olives, des étables et des écuries.

Dans une direction relativement opposée, dans les environs de Moscou, émerge aussi un marché qui a vu au cours de l’année précédente l’une des croissances les plus accrues en matière de gros investissements. Interlink Savills commercialise à l’heure actuelle un magnifique penthouse avec vue sur un jardin dans une cour privée, pour la somme royale de €5.8m. Le Kenya non plus n’est pas en reste. Son immobilier de prestige témoigne d’une belle croissance sous l’impulsion d’acheteurs étrangers à la recherche d’une seconde résidence dans une localisation plus exotique. Pour un prix affiché de €561,000 ($760,000) Knight Frank propose une somptueuse maison à toit de chaume, à trois chambres avec un escalier en spirales fait sur mesure conduisant au sommet d’un toit, d’où la vue est infinie sur les Plaines et le Parc d’Athi. Elle dispose aussi de chambres d’amis supplémentaires et d’une piscine.

NL » Leven in luxe

Op de luxevastgoedmarkt houden vraag en aanbod er tegenwoordig een stevig tempo op na. De voorbije twee jaar swingden de prijzen de pan uit en gingen prestigieuze eigendommen wereldwijd voor recordsommen van de hand.

De Côte d’Azur is momenteel hét vastgoedparadijs. Interesse voor een elegante villa uit de jaren 1930 met zes slaapkamers en panoramisch zicht op de baai van Villefranche? Prestige Property regelt de verkoop voor €12,5m. Een indrukwekkende inkomsthall in belle époquestijl leidt tot een fraaie ontvangstruimte met kroonluchters en een vergulde draaitrap. De crème-enpralinekleurige slaapkamers op de eerste verdieping komen uit op een doorlopend, statig balkon dat uitkijkt op het zwembad.

Verder in de Middellandse zee blijft Mallorca razend populair bij de jetset. Een van de vele adembenemende eigendommen in de portefeuille van Prestige Properties is de op een heuveltop gelegen zomerresidentie van de voormalige Graaf van La Romana. Prijskaartje: €6m. Het fraaie 16de-eeuwse landhuis heeft zijn eigen familiekapel, olijfpers, schuren en stallen.

Noordelijker oefende groeimarkt Moskou het voorbije jaar de grootste aantrekkingskracht uit op kapitaalkrachtige investeerders. Interlink Savills verkoopt momenteel een prachtig penthouse met zicht op een privébinnentuin voor het vorstelijke bedrag van €5,8m. Ook Kenia kent een gezonde groei in prestigieus vastgoed dankzij overzeese kopers op zoek naar een exotisch tweede verblijf. Voor een vraagprijs van €561.000 heeft Knight Frank een charmante villa met drie slaapkamers en rieten dak in de aanbieding. Een op maat gemaakte draaitrap leidt naar een groot dakterras met wijds zicht op de Athi-vlakte en het natuurpark. Ook inbegrepen: extra gastenkamers en een zwembad.

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