THESE THINGS CAN never be called official, but it appears London has overtaken New York to become the most prestigious place in the world to own a home. Much of the rest of Britain is considered des res by the world's fabulously wealthy and powerful too.
Interest in super-luxury British homes is so great, it has driven up prices to make them the world's most expensive - that is official.
According to CB Richard Ellis and Hamptons International, London has overtaken New York to become 'the most expensive prime and super-prime residential market in the world'.
The two companies' joint research shows prime residential properties in London are priced on average at GBP1,200 (HK$17,650) per sq ft compared with GBP1,000 per sq ft in New York, where the market is slowing.
At the very top end of the super-prime scale, an apartment at central London's Chesham Place development set a record for a newly built London home recently, with a price of more than GBP2,800 per sq ft, the companies reveal. Architect Foster and Partners, and interior designer, Candy & Candy, are converting a former 57,000 sq ft BT telephone exchange into six apartments with private terraces at the Belgravia project.
London has rocketed to the top of the residential property prices league on the back of a hefty rise in capital values. According to property consultancy Knight Frank, prices in prime central London, the country's most prestigious address, shot up 21 per cent in the 12 months to August.