Coronavirus: New York, London millionaire mansions hit hardest by COVID-19 sale slump

Sales of New York’s most expensive homes cratered by 70 percent in the first half, the biggest decline among the world’s priciest cities.

Just 41 properties sold for $10 million or more in the US financial capital, down from 137 a year earlier, as the coronavirus pandemic closed borders and disrupted deals, according to broker Knight Frank. That topped steep declines of 68 percent in London and 61 percent in Hong Kong.

Sydney bucked the trend with an increase in sales, and Singapore saw only a slight decline, according to a Knight Frank report on Wednesday.

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“The impact of COVID-19 has been felt across all our international markets with most coming to all but a complete standstill for a number of months as various lockdown measures were put in place globally,” Paddy Dring, global head of prime sales at Knight Frank, said in an emailed statement.

Despite the falling number of transactions globally, deal values were generally higher, according to the report. The global average transaction value for super-prime properties increased to $20.7 million for the March to June period from $18 million a year earlier. London saw the largest increase and also topped global rankings with an average transaction value of $38 million.

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