New York and Florida are under threat as the top locations with UK luxury property buyers, with demand dropping dramatically. Traditionally dominating the market, the luxury property landscape in the USA is changing as buyers seek out alternative locations in which to invest.
Figures from LuxuryEstate.com show that New York in particular has suffered a 12 per cent drop in the proportion of searches from the UK following the election of new mayor of New York Bill de Blasio in November last year.
De Blasio supported tax increases for the wealthy during his campaign and an eight per cent tax assessment rise has been scheduled for July 2014. This has affected the US market overall, with the proportion of UK buyers searching for luxury properties in America decreasing by eight per cent in the same period.
States including Illinois and Georgia are becoming tourist hot spots, both for domestic travellers and those from the UK, and LuxuryEstate.com has seen an increase in searches for US properties located in these areas by UK residents.
The emergence of these up-and-coming American locations into the international luxury property market suggests that buyers are shifting their focus from cosmopolitan apartments in major cities to villas, townhouses and large country homes in previously 'undiscovered' places.
For example, the proportion of searches for luxury property in Atlanta, Georgia have nearly doubled from four per cent to seven per cent from September to November 2013, Chicago stayed steady at 1 per cent and East Hampton entered as a new search in November - December 2013 among UK buyers.
Silvio Pagliani, President of LuxuryEstate.com said:
"We are seeing an appetite for new and alternative areas of the US, which is very much a recent trend. As the search for alternative locations increases, a shift in the type of property is also occurring - gone are the days where luxury is defined solely as a penthouse apartment.
"People are exploring a more well-rounded view of luxury, meaning large homes in the countryside or an 'arts and crafts' style townhouse in Chicago. As this trend gains momentum we predict that the US as a location will recover strongly, with New York City and Florida becoming less dominant in the market overall."
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