'I want it . . . and I have the money'

The world's super rich are getting younger, richer and tend to have middle class origins, according to research presented at a luxury property symposium in Spain last weekend.

A survey of wealthy consumers in Europe carried out by American Express reveals that wealthy people in Europe have on average €5,700 a month to spend and a household income of €377,000 per year.

Some 31 per cent are owners of three or more properties and 32 per cent plan to buy another property in the next year. Hobbies among wealthy Europeans include fine dining, wine tasting and gourmet cooking. Fifty-three per cent said they had an interest in architecture and design.

Meanwhile, America's so called "new middle class aristocracy" is mostly made up of people who have acquired their wealth in the past 15 years and who have middle class origins, according to a survey of over 1,300 affluent and wealthy individuals in America.

Affluent people spend $10,000-$20,000 (€7,100-€14,300) a month, the super affluent spend $20,000-$40,000 a month and the wealthy over $50,000 every month, according to the survey. The average age of the new aristocracy is 48 and almost 60 per cent are still married to their first spouse. The American super rich name the Caribbean as their top international destination, followed by the UK, Hawaii, Italy, Mexico and France.

The details of the two surveys were presented at the Luxury Portfolio International Symposium, a property conference in Valencia, Spain last weekend. The event, hosted by Spanish company Inmobiliaria Rimongtó, was attended by luxury real estate agents from 15 countries around the world.

Luxury Portfolio was launched in 2005 and now has over 200 members, including Knight Frank Ganly Walters from Ireland. The organisation's website (www.luxuryportfolio.com) displays more than 12,000 property listings and is available in eight languages and 22 currencies.

"I want it and I have the money," is the catch phrase of Ireland's super rich, according to Robert Ganly from Knight Frank Ganly Walters and president of the IAVI. As elsewhere, Ireland's super rich are getting younger and tend to have had a middle class upbringing, says Ganly. Typically they are looking for property in a smart location where they will be "surrounded by like-minded people", according to Eleanor Bourke, overseas negotiator with Knight Frank Ganly Walters.

Portugal, France, Italy and increasingly ski resorts are the preferred options for Ireland's wealthy and budgets range from €3 million to €5 million and €10 million-plus for high flyers. The conference was also told that Europeans were the biggest international buyers of luxury homes in the US. Europeans account for one-third of all purchases, according to Pam O'Connor from Chicago-based company Leading Real Estate Companies of the World. Asian buyers represent 25 per cent of the market followed by Latin Americans (16 per cent) and Canadians (11 per cent), she said. Florida is the top choice for international buyers, with 26 per cent of all foreign luxury buyers purchasing there, followed by California (16 per cent) and Texas (10 per cent).