Which city leads world in luxury property price growth?

The performance of the luxury real estate market in the South Korean capital was supported by local wealth creation and the expansion of investable luxury residential developments, according to the Wealth Report 2025 released earlier this month by data researcher Knight Frank.

The city’s actual price growth rate was seven times higher than Knight Frank’s expectation. Seoul also far exceeded the Asia-Pacific’s average growth of 3.2%.

Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Pixabay/cmmellow

Seoul also experienced a 60.4% growth rate in the last five years, among the top 10 fastest-growing markets in the world.

The proportion of transactions exceeding KRW900 million (US$622,000) for apartments in Seoul surpassed half of the total transaction volume for the first time in history last year, indicating a continued rise in high-value apartment demand, according to official data cited by Chosun Biz.

The Knight Frank report also showed that Manila came second in luxury property price growth last year at 17.9%, followed by Dubai at 16.9%.

The top six spots in the ranking were taken by Asian and Middle Eastern markets, as European cities lagged behind due to slowing economies and weakened consumer confidence weighing on activity in some key markets.

In the last five years, Dubai proved to be the best destination for luxury property investment with a growth rate of nearly 147%, followed by Palm Beach (117%), Manila (87%) and Mimi (84%).

Manila’s growth has been consistently strong thanks to an expanding economy and interest from expat Filipinos reinvesting in the city, the report said.