Modern Luxury Is Now Defined by Total Mobility

As the global economy becomes more stuck in place, modern luxury is coming to be defined by the complete opposite: total mobility.

The latest Wealth Report from Knight Frank details the changing desires of the wealthy and finds that ultrahigh-net-worth individuals—defined as those with a net worth of $30 million or more—are increasingly prioritizing multiple bases around the globe and a more flexible footprint overall.

In the old luxury playbook, a buyer might have concentrated tens of millions of dollars in a single trophy home in London or Los Angeles. Now, that same buyer might spread their footprint across a tax-efficient base in Dubai, a turnkey apartment in New York City, and an ultraprime rental in Miami.

“Many wealthy buyers aren’t just relocating, they’re optimizing across jurisdictions, maintaining multiple residences, and timing their footprint to minimize tax exposure,” explains Realtor.com® senior economist Anthony Smith.

Knight Frank calls this the “dip-in, dip-out” lifestyle, and it reflects a growing divide in housing today.

While mainstream buyers are often pinned down by mortgage rates, affordability, and limited inventory, the ultrawealthy are paying for something else entirely—the ability to live, work, invest, and leave on their own terms.

The move to a global footprint

One of the biggest drivers behind this global reset is tax and regulatory pressure, according to Knight Frank.

The report points to a growing list of tax-efficient wealth hubs, including Dubai, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland, and parts of Europe where wealthy buyers can reduce tax exposure while maintaining access to major global markets. In the U.S., Smith says states with no income tax—like Florida—have a similar advantage for wealthy households weighing where to establish residency.

“Tax strategy is a consistent theme, especially for clients relocating to Florida,” says Lourdes Alatriste, a Miami luxury real estate adviser. “We’ve seen a meaningful increase in buyers from high-tax states who are very intentional about establishing residency here.”

But the shift isn’t as simple as wealthy buyers leaving one place for another. Instead, many are changing their relationship to multiple places at once.

“Many of these clients are not leaving other markets entirely,” Alatriste says. “They’re maintaining a presence in places like New York or Los Angeles, but with a different mindset around how and when they use those properties.”

That’s where Miami becomes a useful U.S. case study. South Florida’s appeal has long included sunshine and favorable taxes, but its role has expanded in recent years.

Today, hedge funds, private equity firms, and wealth management operations have helped turn the region into a year-round business destination, allowing wealthy buyers to spend more time there without feeling cut off from work, capital, or advisers.

“It illustrates the full arc of wealth migration, from early adopter destination to established institutional hub,” Smith says.

Access matters, too. For buyers moving among several homes, the value of a market is partly determined by how easy it is to use.

“The ability to get in and out quickly is also a major convenience, whether that means a nearby regional airport or direct flights to major hubs,” Smith explains.

The new trophy home is easy to own

The emphasis on ease is also changing the types of homes luxury buyers want. 

Knight Frank says ultrahigh-net-worth individuals are spending fewer than 90 days a year in traditional hubs, which has scaled down their property requirements. And while a sprawling estate may still carry status, it can also be harder to staff, maintain, and use across a fragmented schedule.

“We’re seeing more clients build a network of homes rather than rely on a single primary residence,” Alatriste says. “A buyer might have a waterfront property in Miami, a seasonal home in the Northeast, and spend time internationally throughout the year.”

In that model, convenience becomes a luxury feature of its own.

“Turnkey condos and fully serviced buildings are especially appealing because they make that lifestyle very easy to maintain,” Alatriste adds.

Michael Merrill of The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman sees the same demand for flexibility in his work with clients.

“There’s definitely more emphasis on keeping options open,” Merrill says. “Some buyers are holding off and renting while they track pricing and inventory. Others are still buying, but with a clear focus on properties that are easy to manage and easy to exit if needed.”

Knight Frank links the same preference for flexibility to a surge in the superprime rental market. High-end rents in New York, London, and Singapore have risen 63%, 53%, and 48%, respectively, over the past five years, according to the report.

The luxury market is splitting away from the rest of housing

That behavior helps explain why the luxury market can look disconnected from the housing market most buyers are experiencing.

For mainstream buyers, the pressure points are familiar: high mortgage rates, tight affordability, limited inventory, and growing anxiety about the economy. At the top of the market, those forces matter less.

Knight Frank found that global luxury residential prices rose 3.2% in 2025, compared with 2.9% for mainstream global house prices. Prime markets, the report notes, “continue to outperform their wider national peers.”

“The split ultimately reveals a two-speed housing economy,” says Smith—but that’s not to suggest that the luxury market is immune.

“The mainstream market is constrained by rates, affordability, and supply. The luxury market is constrained primarily by the availability of turnkey, move-in-ready products,” he adds.

That product constraint is now one of the defining forces at the high end. Knight Frank points to a “chronic shortage of prime, move-in-ready housing” across global luxury markets. Even wealthy buyers are reluctant to take on renovation risk as construction costs, permitting delays, and regulatory complexity make major projects harder to predict.

The result is a more selective luxury market, says Merrill.

“Well-located, well-finished properties are moving,” he explains. “Everything else requires price adjustments or extended time on market. It’s a market that rewards precision more than momentum.”

South Florida shows both sides of that split. Miami may continue attracting wealth, but rising insurance premiums, HOA fees, and other carrying costs are making the lower end of luxury more vulnerable.

“The more meaningful constraint falls on buyers at the entry level of luxury,” Smith says.

While ultrawealthy buyers can absorb higher costs as part of owning a trophy asset, buyers closer to the entry point of luxury may not have the same cushion.

It’s the exception that proves the rule: The top of the market is not unaffected by cost, policy risk, or uncertainty, but it does respond to those pressures differently. 

For mainstream buyers, the question is whether they can afford the home. For luxury buyers, the question is whether the home is useful enough—tax-efficient enough, connected enough, private enough, and easy enough to own—to justify its place in a more mobile life.