2025 New Edition of the GLOBAL PROPERTY HANDBOOK
The 2025 edition of the Global Property Handbook by BARNES International highlights key real estate markets worldwide, ranking the most attractive cities for luxury property investments.
Discover the 2025 Global Property Handbook
Madrid, favorite city of the world's wealthy clientele
Madrid, Dubai, Miami, Monaco and Milan feature, in that order, in the Top 5 of the BARNES City Index 2025. This index lists the cities most sought-after by UHNWIs (Ultra High-Net-Worth Individuals), i.e. those with at least $30 million in net assets. “Prestige real estate has proven to be a bulwark against uncertainty. The three criteria of the BARNES City Index - affective, practical and financial - also show that cities like Monaco and Milan, which have made a spectacular leap up the rankings, appeal for their ability to offer a 360° experience via advantageous taxation, quality infrastructure and a refined lifestyle”, analyzes Thibault de Saint Vincent, President of BARNES. “Madrid or Milan meet the expectations of UHNWIs, who prefer authentic destinations where they can immerse themselves in the art of living, while benefiting from solid fundamentals, i.e. quality schools and universities, modern infrastructure and significant value-added potential”, adds Heidi Barnes, founder of BARNES. For the first time, Paris and New York, long-time regulars in the Top 5, are ranked 6th and 7th respectively in the BARNES City Index in 2025.
Investors looking for meaning
For HNWIs and UHNWIs, owning one or more prestigious properties often represents a personal and professional achievement. In less than a decade, new behaviors have become widespread, based on the parallel use of two or three residences, or even more. It is becoming quite common to own a pied-à-terre in a major city on either side of the Atlantic, as well as several holiday resorts around the world in which to share family life according to the season, against a backdrop of widespread telecommuting. The common thread is the circularity of the real estate process, embodied by the 7 R's: resell, repair, renovate, rehabilitate, reuse, recycle and reinvent. “We're witnessing a silent revolution, a craze for movable and immovable assets that have a past and a soul. As a result, our customers are looking for properties that have been renovated or transformed to maximize their impact while respecting the history of the site”, analyzes Thibault de Saint Vincent.
In this contexte, the 2025 ranking reshuffles the cards. Madrid, which ranked 4th in the BARNES City Index in 2024, takes the lead this year. The Spanish capital is now Europe's most attractive city, ahead of London and Paris, long thought to be the unchallengeable benchmarks. Interestingly, the Top 10 also includes three “cities of the future”: Dubai in second place, Miami in third and Austin in tenth.
In first place, Madrid, connected, festive, cultural and gastronomic
Cosmopolitan, cheerful and lively, Madrid has risen from 4th to 1st place in the BARNES City Index 2025 Top 5. Its quality of life, low crime rate, pleasant climate, free public services, top-notch healthcare, quality education and excellent transport system make it a preferred location for buyers from all over the world. While the Spanish capital is home to the headquarters of some of the country's largest companies, it is also Europe's fourth-largest city in terms of the number of multinational headquarters. A growing number of companies and investment funds are setting up shop here, seeing a future to bet on. As a result, Madrid is home to a high-quality foreign population, up 20% since 2016, who particularly appreciate the Salamanca district for its spacious family apartments, luxury boutiques and great restaurants, Chamberí for its calm and numerous shops, Chamartín, which is earning its stripes as a trendy new residential district, and finally, Cortes Las Letras, a lively and festive area. Depending on location, prices have risen from 11% (Chamberí) to 19% or even 20% (Cortes and Salamanca). “Madrid's appeal as a center for high-end real estate continues to grow. With a favorable investment climate and a steady increase in the number of foreign buyers, the city is consolidating its status as the destination of choice for luxury properties. Its dynamic market reflects both its cultural appeal and its promising economic prospects”, says Alvise Da Mosto, Associate Director of BARNES Spain.
To be continued in 2025: Madrid's hegemony could be challenged by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's announcement of plans to tax property purchases by non-European buyers.
What can you buy for 1 million euros?
An 80 sq.m² renovated apartment in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods, provided you can find it.
A beautiful 100 sq.m² apartment in the Chamberí district.
In 2nd place, Dubai, the city of the future par excellence
Last year, Dubai was the first Middle Eastern capital to top the BARNES City Index, but this year it was overtaken by Madrid. Over the decades, the former Emirati fishing port has transformed itself into one of the world's leading tourist and business destinations, as well as a leading financial and business center. This city of entrepreneurs has seen its population, mostly young (in 2024, 68.62% of Dubai's population, including expatriates, was aged between 25 and 54) and 92% expatriate, grow at an average annual rate of 4 to 7% for almost 30 years (+4% in 2024). An international mecca for prestige real estate, Dubai is now one of the must-visit locations for UHNWIs, those who need to own real estate assets. Unsurprisingly, prices are rising steadily: +15% in 2024. Constantly on the move, Dubai plans to convert 60% of its residential land into green spaces by 2040, which is bound to appeal to an international clientele that cares about the environment. They are also attracted by a highly favorable tax system: resident expatriates are exempt from income tax, and VAT is only 5%. Since 2023, a 9% tax on corporate profits has been progressively introduced for profits exceeding 375,000 dirhams (AED), or just under €100,000, which remains well below the global average.
Buyers are mainly looking for “waterfront” family villas (near lagoons) or on the edge of a golf course, and penthouses with panoramic views. New developments with prestige features and futuristic architecture are also very popular. “Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world. The population lives here in complete serenity and tranquillity, which is an important argument in the eyes of buyers, particularly families”, asserts Lorraine Soulier, International Director of BARNES Dubai. The artificial archipelago of Palm Jumeirah, shaped like a palm tree with 16 palms, whose aerial photos have been shown around the world, is particularly popular with buyers from Dubai and abroad.
What can you buy for $1 million?
Dubai Creek Harbour: an 85/90 sq.m² one-bedroom apartment.
Business Bay: a 150 sq.m² two-bedroom apartment.
Springs: a 150 sq.m² two-bedroom villa.
Miami, heliotropism, lifestyle and ultra-connectivity
With its thriving economy, renowned quality of life, first-rate healthcare system and schools and universities, outstanding tax advantages (no income tax for individuals and 5.5% corporate income tax) and a prestige market that's still reasonably priced, Miami remains firmly established in the TOP 5 of the BARNES City Index, rising from 2nd to 3rd place. The spread of teleworking has highlighted the assets that make Miami the darling of tech companies and hedge funds. In addition to Miami Beach, buyers are turning to newer neighborhoods (Edgewater, for example) and those with proven rental profitability (Brickell, in particular). “Digital, sporty, gastronomic, festive and cultural, Miami has what it takes to remain one of the world's most sought-after cities for entrepreneurs and wealthy families. French clients, in particular, are very keen on its quality of life and the excellent level of its international schools”, points out Enzo Rosani, Associate Director of BARNES Miami.
There is a plethora of prestigious properties on offer in Miami, the most sought-after being waterfront villas with pontoons on secure private islands and penthouses with panoramic views of Biscayne Bay or the ocean. Investing in high-end new-build properties is particularly attractive: the steady rise in prices often means immediate capital gains on delivery.
What can you buy for $1 million?
Miami Beach: a 100 sq.m² apartment
Miami Mainland: a 120 sq.m² apartment
Coconut Grove: a 90 sq.m² apartment
Key Biscayne: a 110 sq.m² apartment
Monaco, glamour, modernity and...respect for the environment
“People settle in Monaco for its security, political and economic stability, and tax attractiveness”, confides Florian Valeri, Managing Partner of BARNES Monaco. Ranked 4th in the BARNES City Index, Monaco is indeed a model in terms of security, both digital and on the ground, with complete coverage of the territory by a video surveillance system and the highest ratio of police officers per inhabitant in the world. It also benefits from a mild tax climate, with no income, inheritance or capital gains tax for individuals. Tax conditions are also favorable for businesses. A stable economic climate, with no public debt, further enhances its appeal to investors and wealthy residents from all over the world. What's more, living in Monaco means benefiting from a hub of attraction with an intense cultural, sporting, festive and gastronomic life. The Principality is also committed to maintaining strong social ties, and is strongly committed to the environment and sustainable development, both nationally and internationally. This commitment is reflected in the development of real estate programs such as Mareterra, located in the innovative Anse du Portier eco-district and designed to meet international sustainability standards.
Covering just two square kilometers, Monaco is unique in the world. Its real estate remains a safe haven par excellence, and its appeal continues to grow with time. This is despite the very high price per square metre (between €40,000 and €100,000), or even more, which has risen by 38% in 10 years. The Fontvieille, Larvotto and Carré d'Or areas of Monte Carlo are very popular with buyers. Numerous high-end residences are under construction or have just been delivered. Apartments and villas in the emblematic new Mareterra eco-neighborhood, despite prices ranging from €90,000 to €120,000/m2, have no trouble finding takers.
What do you buy with 1 million euros?
A 25 sq.m² studio in an average luxury building.
Milan, at the crossroads
Over the past two decades, Milan's luxury real estate market has evolved significantly: “In less than a generation, Milan has dusted off its image to establish itself as one of the major destinations on the world map of prestige real estate. The quality of life in its historic center is incomparable”, says Luca Pietro Ungaro, Director of BARNES Business Development Italy. As a hotbed of international fashion and design, the capital of Lombardy is also ideally located between the sea and the mountains, attracting international fortunes. Its economic dynamism coupled with the quality of its historic urban planning, its reasonable prices for prestigious real estate (from €9,000/m² to €21,000/m² for exceptional properties), the quality of its international schools, its cultural life, its gastronomy and its cultural offering, all combine to make it a lasting choice for UHNWI families...and to make it one of the TOP 5 in the BARNES City Index by 2025.
The Milanese market is highly diversified, ranging from apartments in restored historic buildings to century-old palaces and contemporary residences with top-level amenities. Foreigners are looking for large apartments in buildings of a certain architectural quality, on a high floor, bright, with a terrace and parking spaces. Hard-to-find properties!
What can you buy for 1 million euros?
A 120 sq.m² apartment in the Centro Storico.
A 180 sq.m² apartment in Parco della Resistenza.
