Mumbai luxury property prices up by 20 per cent: Global Wealth report

With a 20-per cent jump in the price of luxury properties in 2010, Mumbai ranked second after Shanghai in terms of percentage change in the cost of up-market properties in top cities around the world.

The city, however, ranked 25th in the list of 60 most expensive places in the world for luxury properties, published today in the Global Wealth Report brought out by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank.

The average luxury property unit in Mumbai sells for $17,100 for a sq metre; Monaco, the priciest luxury property market, tops the list with a price of $65,600, followed by London at $56,300.

The only other Indian city to feature in the prime residential properties listing is Bangalore at number 52, with an average price of $4,300. Luxury property prices in the Karnataka capital shot up by 17 per cent in 2010, placing it fifth in terms of price change.

The report indicates that prime properties are very import for the world's wealthiest people. On average, property accounts for 35 per cent of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI) investment portfolios, second in importance only to investing in their own businesses.

Almost 40 per cent of the 85 prime city and second-home locations in 40 countries that were analysed by the report's prime international index rose in value during 2010, 17 of them by 10 per cent or more. A number of locations, however, saw values fall significantly. These include Dublin (-25 per cent) and Dubai (-10 per cent).