Earlier this month I reported that London’s luxury commercial property market was heating up. The trend continues to this day. But now it is being helped by a spike in London’s luxury home prices, which is seeing the highest price increase since March 2008.

BusinessWeek has more:

The value of houses and apartments costing more than 1 million pounds ($1.5 million) rose 3.2 percent from January, the London-based property broker said in an e-mailed statement today. The annual increase was the largest since the market peaked in March 2008 and compares with an 11.5 percent advance in January.

Overall this is good news for the luxe market both in the UK and abroad. But read a bit further in the article and you’ll see the emergence of a trend that I referenced in a previous blog post about Chinese Lambda personalities buying Western art and vintage wines, something that is somewhat uncommon in Mainland China:

The pound’s 22 percent decline against the euro in the past three years attracted purchasers from Russia, Italy and Greece, in particular, Bailey said. Foreigners bought 45 percent of properties sold for more than 2 million pounds in the past year, according to the broker.

Theta personalities typically own numerous properties across their homeland, and perhaps one or two smaller properties in other countries. Those properties are likely to cost <$1 million. So when we see that 45 percent of properties sold for >£2 million ($3 million), this tells us that these foreign buyers are likely Lambda personalities. Owning a luxury property in London is seen as an accomplishment, both personally and professionally.

Consumer confidence in the UK is on the rise, which helps to explain why this is happening now. Things aren’t great, but they’re better than than they were. Lambdas are seeing an opportunity to re-assert their dominance and be among the first to polish their images with spashy purchases.

Watch for similar trends in more traditional luxe markets such as Paris and Berlin. London could just be the start of a the new European luxe revival.

A new report is out on the state of India’s real estate industry. The findings show that demand for luxury homes is growing at a quick pace.

This is yet another example of luxe industry diversification in the face of faltering demand from the West. This pull-quote from the report sums it up well:

Medium and luxury housing segments are expected to witness significant growth in the coming years. It is expected that medium housing segment will record CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of around 25% while luxury housing will see CAGR of nearly 33% during our forecast period (2009-2013), against CAGR of just around 4% in affordable housing.

I wrote previously that the luxury industry is re-focusing away from western markets, to lesser well-known, and emerging economies.

India is considered a developing country with a more than 1 billion people and a growing GDP. As a result, the luxury industry will continue to grow and prosper.

The New York real estate market has been hit hard by the credit crunch, experiencing a dramatic downturn in sales, to such an extent that realtors are turning to extreme and unusual methods to attract buyers for their homes.

Hall F. Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens, is holding a number of sophisticated events at his new residential developments to lure in the luxury buyer. He accepts that with slow markets there is a call for price cuts but still feels that there is a place for unique events. Recently, the firm has tried exhibiting a range of expensive jewellery, with a diamond expert on hand to offer advice. He has also joined forces with Christie’s, to hold a preview for an auction of modern South Asian art in their luxury apartments.

A different approach to securing a buyer could be offering one’s house as first prize in a raffle. This is indeed what Tim and Zoë Bawtree are in the process of doing. After the £850,000 house, which featured on Grand Designs, failed to sell through traditional methods, they dreamt up the contest in a bid to beat the housing slump. Each ticket has gone on sale for £25; however there is a catch – the three-bedroom “eco-home” home will only be given away if at least 40,000 tickets are sold. This is to cover the costs of stamp duty, furnishings and a donation to Cancer Research as well as the value of the house.

However, Michele Kleier, president of Gumley Haft Kleier, believes that the luxury buyer will not be seduced by gimmicky special events, calling it ‘a waste of time’.

“Nobody who’s spending $13 million on an apartment cares about your free vacation to Disney World or Chocolate tasting with five different chocolatiers. If you need a gimmick to get me in, there’s something wrong with this apartment”.

Only time will tell whether the gimmicks will lure and secure luxury house buyers, but in a period when the housing market has reached an all-time low, it might be worth staging fashion shows, art exhibtions and book signings to get the prospective buyer in.

Rapid property inflation has removed the prestige of the formerly exclusive million-dollar home according to Canadian estate agents Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.

Seven-figure properties are increasingly being snapped-up by the middle-classes, spawning a new benchmark for luxury as the rich seek ways to distinguish themselves from their neighbours. Royal LePage have published a top ten ‘must have’ feature list for any truly luxury home, which could cost as much as $400,000 to install. LePage agents defined the new yardsticks of exclusivity as follows:

1. A car lift for the garage with an indoor car wash. Car lift is $2,500 to $6,500 while car wash is $30,000.
2. Walk-in refrigerator. Cost $7,000 to $20,000.
3. Spa, gym or yoga studio. Cost $50,000.
4. Wine Cellar. Starts at $60,000 and can go to $150,000.
5. Concierge Services. Rate of $50 to $75 per hour with a minimum purchase of 50 hours.
6. Media room. Starts at $50,000.
7. Wrapping or sewing rooms. Starts at $5,000.
8. A wired home. Cost $25,000.
9. Home elevator. Cost is $30,000 for equipment and installation with construction extra.
10. Heated driveway. Starts at $5,000 for 600 square foot driveway.

The list shows how changes in lifestyle and technology in particular are influencing the property market and the demand for new luxuries, with time saved by concierge services spent on personal indulgence such as spas whilst technology is harnessed not only to do chores such as washing the car but also to set new standards for entertainment facilities.

Today the Times of London made an interesting note of luxury goods and services online. Janus Thinking has known and read mentioned sites Born Rich and Luxist for quite a while now, but we hadn’t yet heard of two other sites, 20Ltd and the Real Estalker.

Launching this coming Monday, 20Ltd will sell only 20 uber-exclusive luxury goods online at a time. The article notes three items soon to be sold that might strike a connoisseur’s fancy (or lead someone on the road to connoisseurship). The first is a four-piece coffee and tea set by Zaha Hadid for Alessi (pictured above) selling for 20,000 GBP. The second is an aluminum shell chair by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for 8,225 pounds, and the third is a set of 3 wallpapers, the “Devil Damask” by Timorous Beasties, for 666 pounds. Each of these items is very exclusive (only 100 or less available). It will be interesting to follow the success of 20Ltd, to see if the research suggesting that affluent people are more active online holds true.

The other site worth noting, the Real Estalker, provides a (somewhat voyeuristic) look into the properties of the rich and famous. Design ideas, anyone?