In this recently posted photo gallery by Forbes (click link) ranked the top 11 cities that the super rich (HNWI) are choosing to buy in. London ranked #1 with New York luxury real estate coming in at #2.

With a growing personal network of global brokers that I have met and know, it’s becoming evident to me how the high-end of luxury real estate is moving at a very different tune than the local or national markets where these cities are located. Central London and New York luxury real estate growth defies the more challenged neighborhoods just kilometers away in nearby suburban or non-central areas. Along the north side of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva’s “Swiss Riviera”) foreign high net worth individuals snap up lake view properties driving up prices. Over the hill prices drop quickly.

In September 2012 I was asked to speak on a panel at RE/MAX’s European convention for over 600 brokers from Israel to Finland. What was interesting was to see how different each market was affected. How the Mediterranean markets were struggling while the Germanic countries in Central Europe were humming along.

One thing was clear though – when speaking to those agents from Silt to Sardinia, London to Lugano, luxury buyers are focused on adding great real estate to their investment portfolios and are doing so in what they feel are the strongest markets and those with highest global appeal. Expect to be adding more cities to this list in the future as places like Sao Paulo, Brazil join the list.

Click here for the Gallery: