How Much Floor Space Can $1 Million Buy in These Three Cities?

Global Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) recorded 5.3% annual wealth growth, exceeding the world’s 3.3% GDP growth. Beyond non-liquid assets like jewellery, handbags, and luxury vehicles, their wealth includes expansive land and super-luxury homes. This has driven the global luxury housing index up 3.2%, according to Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2026 via the Prime International Residential Index (PIRI 100). This dynamic underscores the separation of the premium property sector from the daily housing market, which is sensitive to bank debt cost fluctuations. With $1 million (Rp 16 billion), the floor space of luxury properties available to investors in Singapore, New York, and Dubai shows spatial disparities. For investors with $1 million, Singapore is the most restrictive Asian-Pacific market in terms of floor space conversion. In the Lion City, this budget only secures 23 square metres of living space. This spatial constraint places Singapore among the world’s most expensive property markets, competing closely with Monaco and Hong Kong. Despite transaction volumes being dampened by domestic market protection policies, such as a 60% Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for foreign buyers, Singapore’s property asset values still grew 7.9% annually, driven by local conglomerates’ purchasing power not reliant on debt leverage. Moving to the North Atlantic corridor, New York offers slightly more space. With $1 million, buyers can secure a premium apartment of 34 square metres in Manhattan. New York’s real estate market demonstrates strong structural resilience, allaying industry concerns over the new mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric on local wealth taxes.