Contrary to urban myth that billionaires live in James Bond style properties, most choose large traditional family homes, typically six bedroom city mansion, the survey from Beauchamp Estates also shows.
Some 75% also have seven to 12 bedroom holiday home or four bedroom plus huge apartment or penthouse in a city such as London, and tend to avoid bachelor pads.
Amongst Western Europe’s capital cities, London is the favourite billionaire property hotspot with 67 billionaires living in the city, ahead of Paris on 25 and Geneva on 18.
The Ultra Prime Barometer survey reveals that a billionaire will spend £10 million or more on a London property, with their typical home in the capital being either a mansion in the platinum triangle formed by Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Belgravia, or a palatial residence in the St Johns Wood/Regents Park area.
In St Johns Wood/Regents Park, the typical ultra prime mansion costs £22.3 million, is 8,348 square feet in size and averages £2,527 per square feet. While a Mayfair mansion costs £21.7 million, is 6,820 square feet in size and averages £3,217 per square feet.
The average London ultra prime residence has six bedroom suites, four reception rooms, some 96% have an outside garden, 39% a private swimming pool, 43% a private cinema and 43% a gated driveway.
Amongst the European beachfront, island and rural estate holiday locations, the French Riviera is the top property hotspot for billionaires with an estimated 39 having homes in the region, with other popular locations including Tel Aviv in Israel with 17, Tuscany with 14, and Greece and the Greek islands with nine billionaires.
The typical French Riviera ultra prime home is a modern refurbished villa with sea view valued at around £18.6 million, providing 6,151 square feet of living space. It has six to seven bedroom suites, four reception rooms, and 90% have a swimming pool, 48% a private gymnasium and 7% a wine cellar.
The property is typically set in 0.5 hectares of land. The average Riviera ultra prime home has a value of £3,134 per square feet, although values of up to £6,865 per square feet have been recorded in the area of Monaco, reflecting the fact that some trophy locations along the Riviera can be as expensive as prime central London.
In Tuscany billionaires get a lot more land and property for their money with the typical Tuscany ultra prime home costing £12.1 million yet providing 74 hectares of land, a 15,508 square feet house with 12 bedrooms, five main rooms and a private swimming pool, vineyard or olive grove.
Where these types of Tuscan estate are purchased, 87% will have undergone substantial restoration and modernisation to turn them into a billionaire’s pad, with state of the art communications and security systems. At £1,116 per square feet, these ultra prime pads are just a third of the cost of a London or Riviera ultra prime property.
An ultra prime residence in the Greek Islands will typically cost £4.15 million, making it one of the most competitively priced locations amongst the billionaire holiday hotspots, and provide a 0.49 hectares estate along with a 3,392 square foot, six bedroom, three reception room villa complete with sea view, helipad and swimming pool.
The survey also ranked the key selling features important to buyers of über prime property. Top is location, followed by size, outside space, security and specification with the finest quality workmanship and interior design a must.
‘We advise ultra high net worth individuals buying homes in London and around the Mediterranean to set aside budgets of typically £50 million to acquire the right properties. Most buying in Western Europe see having an ultra prime home in central London and on the French Riviera as must have badges. Others then decide they also want a Tuscan estate or residence on the Greek islands which adds another £10 million,’ said Gary Hersham of Beauchamp Estates.
According to his colleague Penny Court there has been a strong uplift in demand for ultra prime property in London from all over the world, whilst over the last six months there has also been a demand from London based billionaires for mansions and villas on the French Riviera.
‘Ultra rich Americans, Indians and Russians are currently the key buyers for Tuscan estates whilst the demand in the Greek islands is being driven by wealthy Lebanese and Israeli buyers because its an hours plane hop and generally there is good demand from across the Middle East,’ she explained.
There has also been an increase in the number of wealthy buyers in London from the Ukraine who have replaced Russians as the top buyers from central Europe. Over last 24 months buyers from the region's top five countries of Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia have purchased over £2 billion of luxury residential property in central London and the Home Counties.
Wealthy Ukrainian or Russian families will typical spend anything from £15 million to £60 million plus on a home in central London. This is normally a large family house or a huge apartment providing four bedrooms. For 85% of buyers Knightsbridge or Belgravia are their preferred addresses and worldwide they normally own three to four properties.
