If you are looking for encouraging news about the state of the property market worldwide, three bits of information could be appropriate, says Lanice Steward, managing director of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

The first is that – according to Anne Porter Properties’ UK associates, Knight Frank – there has been a marked shift among investors into property. This appears to be the retreat to safe haven bricks and mortar which takes place every time a big financial crisis hits the world’s stock markets and at the moment European asset holders are exceptionally worried about the future of the Euro and the Eurozone.

“So, once again, property is proving its value and attraction in difficult times,” she says.

The second surprising fact is that the US housing market is now turning over homes at 80 percent of its previous levels.

“Some reports  might give the impression that sales are down by at least 50 percent, but that is not the case. Furthermore, although average values dropped by about 45 percent they are now back to within 32 percent of previous values – again, therefore, property is showing a resilience that other asset classes cannot match.”

The third encouraging fact, said Steward, is that in top-flight cities like London, Paris, Munich, New York and Toronto, the prime central business district residential properties have completely shrugged off the impact of the recession.

“Knight Frank report that in central London prime property prices have risen 12.5 percent in one year and 38.2 percent since March 2009. Market prices are now 5.2 percent above those of March 2010 and have in fact never been as high as this before.”

Liam Bailey, head of Knight Frank’s residential research team, predicts further price growth in 2012 in central London but at a slower pace.

According to Knight Frank’s latest global wealth report, property in lush Asian locations like China, Cambodia and Bali are among the hotspots on the Christmas wish list of African jetsetters, says Daniël Kriel, chief executive of Sanlam Private Investments.

“As global wealth and power shifts ever eastwards, Africa’s super wealthy – defined as individuals with investible assets of over $10-million, excluding their first homes – are looking to new and exotic locations for their second, third and fourth properties.

“Luxury property opportunities are emerging in these exciting destinations that are still relatively untouched by the price tags that come with mainstream property developers. Asian countries provide all the luxury lifestyle options – spas, shopping, golf courses, fine dining, and water sports – that appeal to the luxury-conscious, but often at a more attractive price than traditional offshore property locations.

“Wealthy people enjoy a good bargain as much as the next person. Buying a luxury London flat could set you back more than R450 000/m2, whereas buying a property in Hanoi’s luxury sector in Vietnam costs around R33 000/m2. Phnom Penh in Cambodia would cost less than R20 000/m2.”

Then there is the continued price growth in these regions. Prime property prices in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, for example, rose by seven percent last year.

A favourite location highlighted in the Knight Frank Wealth Report is the idyllic island retreat of Bali in Indonesia. A tropical paradise, Bali’s prime market enjoyed strong growth last year, with prices rising 10 percent. In fact, luxury villas in the region now sell for over R80m.

Furthermore, Bali’s economy is forecast to grow by 5.7 percent a year over the next five years, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and is expected to become one of the world’s top 10 economies in under a decade. Kriel believes this is all the more reason why Bali serves as the ideal example of Asia’s ability to go head-to-head with well-known second-home destinations like the US and Europe.

Longstanding property stalwarts such as London, New York and Paris continue to deliver good price growth. Despite the recession, property prices jumped 15 percent in Paris, 13 percent in New York and 10 percent in London last year.

“Other well-known holiday hubs such as Florida, the Cote d’Azur, Tuscany and Barbados are still top of the log as second-home favourites,” Kriel says.

He says property makes up about 35 percent of the investment portfolios of wealthy individuals.

“Buying property is a passion investment or an emotional acquisition and wealthy investors are more likely to put their money into property than any other investment – bar their own businesses,” he says.

He believes that the international luxury property market offers SA’s wealthy opportunities that will meet both those goals.

“With South Africa’s local market remaining under pressure, even in the upper income bracket, it is good to know that other options are available to the wealthy, offering both the ‘good life’ and resilience to the global downturn. But irrespective of where South Africa’s wealthy decide to buy property, diversification is increasingly effective for investors who want to mitigate against unpredictability around the globe.”