There are now more millionaires in Asia than in North America, according to new figures. In its latest study of high-net-worth (HNW) individuals, global consulting firm Capgemini reported that 4.7 million Asians had grown their personal wealth to US$15.8 trillion in 2014. The fastest growth in wealth was in India, where 198,000 HNW individuals were worth a combined US$785 billion.

Chinese HNW investors, who number 890,000, grew their funds by 19 percent to US$4.5 trillion, helped partly by exposure to Hong Kong real estate’s buoyancy.

Individuals in Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong also saw their fortunes increase rapidly with slower rates of growth in South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. And this trend is only set to accelerate in the coming years with much of the new wealth expected to come from the emerging economies of China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand.

This dynamic has led to an unquenchable appetite from the affluent for exclusive accommodation – both to live in and to invest in.

Doris Tan, Head of International Residential Project Sales for JLL, based in Singapore, says people are investing in real estate as a means of protecting their wealth against inflation. “Therefore, property assets become a hedge for them.”

Taste the difference

Growing wealth is also increasing expectations around the property and lifestyle and the newly rich. “As the rich get richer, their tastes become more discerning,” Tan says. As a result, many developers are trying to outdo their competitors to snare the demand for point-of-difference luxury.

There is a new appetite for secluded living, with estimates suggesting there are more than 600 island owners in China alone. And nowadays if HNW individual can’t find an existing island to buy they can always get one made for them.

The appeal of fleeing crowded cities to relax in total privacy will be the next big thing for the wealthy, says floating island builder Amillarah, which has projects in the Maldives, Dubai and Miami.

Customers are able to decide the features they want on their plot, and some of the custom-made slices of paradise will even be built for towing to different destinations when inhabitants want a change of scenery, adding new meaning to the mantra “location, location, location”.

Cost of lap-of-luxury homes

Among property markets, Hong Kong still has the most expensive real estate. The iconic Opus tower, designed by renowned avant-garde architect Frank Gehry, shows how thousands of the newly rich now live in splendour. The grandiose apartments with gilded, curving hallways, shiny platinum-look kitchens and palatial spaces sell for more than US$60 million.

In comparison, in neighboring China, a unit at the Tomson Riviera in Shanghai will set buyers back around US$20 million. The apartments have floor-to-ceiling windows, extensive marble fittings and multiple chandeliers, among their many extravagances.

The October Global House Prices review by The Economist reports that in 21 of 26 markets with a population of over three billion, prices are climbing. Of the five markets that are seeing falling prices, two are in Asia: China and Singapore.

Karamjit Singh, head of investments at JLL Singapore, says in an interview with CNN that Singapore’s weak performance at the top end of the property market is “a bit odd” given the country’s strong economic indicators.

However, an oversupply of top-end apartments has kept a lid on the prices of even the most exclusive dwellings. One such is Hamilton Scotts, which seven years after it was built is still just 70 percent occupied.

Uniquely, the 36-floor tower has an automated system that delivers a car all the way up to a resident’s apartment, where it is showcased in a glass case. The starting price for a condominium is US$10 million.

Singh believes prices have fallen up to 30 percent from their peak in 2007. “There are a combination of factors [for this], but [key to this] would be government policies and a glut of supply focused around the luxury market.”