When purchasing a prime residential property, the headline price is not the only cost that buyers need to be aware of. Across the 30 markets we monitor, the average additional cost stands at 15% of the purchase price. Costs associated with the buying process currently make up just under two-thirds of the total buy-hold-sell costs on average.

Singapore is the most expensive market of all World Cities to transact in, driven by its Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), where a 60% duty is applied to the purchase price for international buyers.

In the UK, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the introduction of an annual tax surcharge for properties worth over £2m ($1.5m) in her 2025 Budget. This has been seen as a relatively benign outcome compared with a broader mansion tax, with much of the risk already priced in. Overall, we expect these charges to have only a modest dampening effect on prices.

Globally, the largest change we have seen over the past five years has been the rising tax costs imposed on buyers of prime residential properties. Governments across the world have gradually increased stamp duties and transaction taxes on foreign buyers to raise revenue and tackle rising housing unaffordability.