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Singapore is not just one of the world's most expensive cities to live in. It is now officially the best place on the planet to buy a trophy home.
New research from Enness Global, a London-based brokerage specializing in high-value finance, found that 5.2% of all residential properties currently listed for sale in Singapore are valued at $10 million or more. That figure puts the city-state ahead of every other major global market, including New York, Dubai and London.
The study examined active listings across 13 cities widely considered top destinations for high-net-worth buyers. The methodology was straightforward: what share of each city's total market inventory qualifies as a trophy property, defined as a home worth the equivalent of $10 million USD in local currency?
Singapore's 5.2% share is not close. New York came in second at 1.2%, followed by Dubai at 1.0%. London ranked fourth at 0.8%, just behind the podium. Hong Kong placed fifth at 0.7%, with Sydney at 0.5%.
European markets trailed considerably. Lisbon ranked seventh at 0.4%, and Madrid came in at 0.3%. Paris, Berlin, Toronto, Cape Town and Rome each registered just 0.1%.
Islay Robinson, CEO of Enness Global, said the findings reflect how wealthy buyers increasingly think about property not as a single purchase but as a portfolio strategy. "Trophy homes sit at the very top of the global property ladder and play an important role in the wealth strategies of many high-net-worth individuals," Robinson said.
He noted that clients routinely hold property across multiple cities simultaneously. London, New York, Dubai and Singapore tend to anchor those portfolios, offering a mix of lifestyle flexibility and long-term investment security that single-market ownership simply cannot match.
Singapore's outsized share of trophy listings is a reflection of the city-state's evolution into a premier private wealth hub over the past decade. Ultra-wealthy families from across Asia, Europe and the Middle East have relocated there in significant numbers, drawn by political stability, favorable tax treatment and a tightly regulated financial sector. That migration has fueled demand at the very top of the residential market and pushed luxury inventory higher relative to the rest of the housing stock.
Dubai's position at third, ahead of London, is also notable. The emirate has spent years positioning itself as a tax-free alternative for global wealth, and that effort appears to be paying off in property market terms. Luxury listings as a share of total inventory now rival the most established financial capitals in the world.
London's fourth-place ranking does not suggest weakness so much as a different kind of market dynamic. Robinson pointed out that demand for prime London property remains strong even if its share of total listings is lower than Singapore's. "The capital continues to be viewed as a cornerstone market for global wealth," he said.
What the data does make clear is that availability varies enormously depending on where a buyer is looking. Singapore offers the deepest pool of options at the ultra-prime level, relative to overall market size. A buyer targeting a $10 million home in Singapore is operating in a market where that price point represents a meaningful slice of all active supply. The same buyer in Paris or Rome is looking at a far thinner slice of the pie.
The research was based on listing data drawn from major property portals in each market, including Zillow in the United States, Rightmove in the United Kingdom, PropertyFinder in the UAE, PropertyGuru in Singapore and equivalent platforms elsewhere.
