Why luxury property sales grew 15 per cent during 2020

Just over a year ago when the world went into lockdown over COVID-19, billions were preparing for a dismal future – but it had quite the contrary effect on the property market. Luxhabitat Sotheby’s International Realty CEO George Azar explains the global real estate boom was a silver lining to the unprecedented crisis. “COVID was very good for the investment world, to be honest with you, especially on real estate,” George shared at Sir Anthony Ritossa’s 14th Global Family Office Investment Summit in Dubai. “So as much as people thought it was going to have a negative effect, it actually had a very positive effect. “Quarantine has been seen as a very attractive asset class for a lot of investors globally.” The property expert says Europe recorded villa sales five times higher than the previous year – a number that hasn’t been seen anywhere else in the world. “The revenues of all the companies have gone up by at least four to five times in terms of real estate business,” he says. “And this is not by coincidence. This is the quarantining.” In 2020 alone, Sotheby’s International Realty recorded more than US$150 billion in sales globally – compared to US$120 billion in 2019.

Why luxury property sales grew 15 per cent during 2020

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