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Holiday home matchmaking
Hoping to reinvent the way we view holiday homes, a new breed of co-ownership companies now offers the benefits of flexibility, variety and hassle-free fractional ownership within a freehold basis. August has more than 500 homeowners and manages 80 renovated properties across Europe. Its CEO Mélie Dunod claims that the average holiday home is used for just 35 days every year.
“Why own 100 per cent of an asset that you visit just 10 per cent of the time?” she asks. August’s co-ownership model gives you a choice of shared properties and locations, as well as regulated access to the calendar to pick your time away (shares from €700,000). “We’re real-estate matchmakers,” says Dunod.
Re-branding Paris
The march of five-star branded residences continues, with a recent report from marketing agency Graham Associates indicating growth of almost 180 per cent in the past decade. It’s a sector predicted to more than double by 2031, but a lack of viable space in Paris has meant the major players have largely bypassed the capital. Until now. Among the vanguard is The Maybourne Residences Saint-Germain, a reinvention of the former Ministry of Defence across two creative streets of the Rive Gauche, which will create 23 luxury homes alongside a 101-key hotel (from €3.5mn for a one-bedroom residence at rue de l’Université).
The 17th-century buildings will be “re-concepted for the 21st century… to be the living room of Saint-Germain”, says Maybourne of the properties, which will provide owners with exclusive access to a 25m pool and hotel facilities that include six cafés and restaurants, and one of the city’s largest spas and health clubs, Surrenne, a sister to those at The Emory in London and The Maybourne Riviera.
Designs on Dumbo
One successful way to reinvent an area in need of a fillip is to designate it as a Design District. Miami is one blueprint, where real estate investor Craig Robins has transformed 18 low-level blocks of unprepossessing furniture depots into an art and architectural must-visit hub. The latest neighbourhood to get official Design District designation is Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).
An 1890s industrial area reinvented for 21st-century creatives and loft-loving tech bros, it has more than 150 design firms, showrooms and studios. When David Walentas, founder of Two Trees Management, bought two million square feet in this area in 1978 for $12mn, he had to entice early arrivals with free or heavily reduced rent. Today, penthouses sell for up to $17mn, Walentas is a billionaire and Dumbo is one of Brooklyn’s most expensive and desirable neighbourhoods. Available through Sphere Estates, this three-bedroom waterfront Dumbo apartment, for sale at $5.5mn, has views across the East River taking in Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.
Dubai, the golden visa go-to
Say what you like about the Emirate – and plenty do – but its transformation from a 1960s fishing village into a global playground is a lesson in what ambition and barrels of oil money can achieve. In a world where wealth is ever more mobile, Dubai is an undisputed winner, says Jeremy Savory, co-founder and CEO of citizenship and residency investment firm Savory & Partners, who has reported a 41 per cent rise in Golden Visa applications over the past year.
The top of the market is booming too: Savills’ figures show that transactions in the Dh10mn-plus market (about £2mn) saw a tenfold rise over the past four years. Rosewood is the latest five-star brand to arrive, announcing plans for Rosewood Residences Dubai, 63 residences alongside a 195-key hotel on Jumeirah Beach. The apartments will be priced on average at $3,000 per sq ft.
Tuscan revival
Tuscany can seem little changed since Michelangelo picked up his paintbrush, thanks to the heavily protected landscape across this central Italian region. In fact, artful reinvention has saved innumerable historic estates and farmhouses from decay, turning them into desirable rural homes. The Ricasoli family, who have produced wine on their Chianti Classico Brolio Estate for centuries, were among the first to sell rundown estate farmhouses to foreign buyers 50 years ago.
This autumn they unveiled a further six unrestored homes for sale, exclusively through Knight Frank (from €1.8mn). “These farmhouses, including one that featured in Bernardo Bertolucci’s film Stealing Beauty, offer a rare opportunity to get a foothold in prime Chianti on a world-famous estate,” says Bill Thomson, chairman of Knight Frank’s Italian Network.
Mighty Madrid
London’s successful reimagining of some of its classical landmarks into modern branded residences has been mirrored in the Spanish capital, where new developments in historic buildings by investment firm Persepolis include Banyan Tree Padilla Madrid Residences and SLS Madrid Infantas Residences. It’s also the city that designer Patricia Urquiola has chosen for her first Spanish mainland project: Casa Lamar Cedaceros 9 will have 22 one- to five-bedroom residences with five-star wellness and concierge services (from €2.3mn).
The timing could not be more fortuitous, with estate agency Lucas Fox reporting the number of international buyers up 80 per cent between mid-2022 and mid-2025. “Madrid is where the smart money is going,” says Marco Gramaglia from Lucas Fox. “No wealth tax, a thriving cultural scene and a lifestyle to match. With names like Soho House setting up shop, and seven five-star hotels opening since 2021, Madrid is not just on the rise, it’s front and centre.”
