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Mid-Year Luxury Report 2024: Industry Horizons

What will the anticipated drop in U.S. mortgage rates mean for real estate markets?

An intensely awaited development for the U.S. housing market this year is a long-anticipated fall in interest rates. While inflation has dropped over the past year, this progress has been slow, and officials within the Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, have kept interest rates at 5.25% to 5.5%—a 23-year high—since July 2023. 

Where the Federal Reserve leads, mortgage rates follow. The average 30-year rate reached a peak of 7.79% in October 2023, the highest level in 20 years, according to national mortgage lender Freddie Mac. As a result, property sales have been on a steady decline over the past three years, based on U.S. Census data. The difficulty in securing a property during this higher-rate cycle even led U.S. President Joe Biden to comment on the issue in his State of the Union address in March 2024.  

He proposed a US$10,000 tax incentive designed to encourage first-time buyers and those wanting to sell their starter homes. “I want to provide an annual tax credit that will give Americans US$400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage, when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space,” he said.

With another presidential election taking place in November 2024, concerns that the Federal Reserve’s decision on rates might be further delayed were dismissed by its chairperson Jerome Powell, who said the bank’s policymakers will “do what we think is the right thing, when we think it is the right thing.” 

Industry experts expect borrowers to get a bit of breathing room by 2025, however. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that rates will fall to about 5.9% by 2025, while Wells Fargo has made a similar forecast of 6%. In mid-June 2024, the Federal Reserve projected that it would only make one cut to interest rates this year, with Powell saying the “restrictive” policy “is having the effect we would hope for” in stabilizing the economy.

“I believe we can say with some certainty that U.S. mortgage rates will be lower at the end of the year,” says Anthony Chan, former chief economist, JPMorgan Chase. He anticipates that the rate at the end of 2024 will be around 6.4% and will fall to 5.9% in 2025.

“As buyers see lower rates, they will be less worried about the ‘lock-in effect’—the hesitancy of selling their house if it means taking out a higher-rate mortgage for their next home,” adds Chan. “This will ultimately support housing activity if the economy avoids a slowdown.” Fears of a downturn have dropped significantly, with JPMorgan Chase reversing its prediction in 2024. At a speech at the Economic Club of New York at the end of April 2024, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the economy was “booming,” adding that “the American consumer—even if we go into recession—is much wealthier than before.”

Less Means More

While leading institutions predict interest rates will decline, homebuyers face other roadblocks to securing a property: rising prices and low inventory. Although the number of homes on the market has risen this year, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors in April 2024, the projected time it would take for this current inventory to run out if no additional homes were built or offered for sale is 3.2 months—well below the six-month national average. Inventory for newly built homes is above this average, at 8.3 months, according to U.S. Census data.

This, in turn, could create upward pressure on prices until inventory reaches normal levels. Investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates that property prices will rise in the U.S. due to pent-up demand. According to Roger Ashworth, the firm’s senior strategist on its structured credit team, and analyst Vinay Viswanathan, home prices could rise by 5% in 2024, and by 3.7% in 2025.

J.P. Morgan Private Bank advised its clients in April 2024 that “now is a good time to buy a luxury home.” The bank said this was because the luxury market “is not impacted by changing mortgage rates like the overall housing market is” but is driven by increases in total net worth. “A post-pandemic surge in the total wealth of the top-income households… has spurred dramatic gains in luxury housing prices,” the bank added, and “that shows no signs of abating.”

Cities such as Chicago, Illinois are already seeing this effect. “Lincoln Park has been more in demand than I have seen in 20 years due to the lack of inventory and the healthy amount of appreciation over the past few years,” says Sam Jenkins, vice president of sales, Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty. “Good inventory that is priced correctly is few and far between.”

Despite the 5%-10% increase in prices, he says the Chicago market is fairly accessible. “But the time is now if you are looking at the big picture in the long-term,” adds Jenkins. “By next spring it could be a frenzy again, with multiple bids and more demand waiting in the wings.” 

In New York City, prices could be tempered as sellers who have been waiting for a year or more finally list their properties. “It is likely that as interest rates fall, sellers will feel more bullish about the market and finally list their ‘warehoused properties,’” says Jonathan Hettinger, senior global real estate advisor, Sotheby’s International Realty – Downtown Manhattan Brokerage. “This increase in supply could limit the price appreciation we would normally expect in a declining interest rate environment.”

In New York City, the market for luxury properties selling above US$4 million has been somewhat insulated from the rise in interest rates. “This is because many such purchases are done on an all-cash basis,” says Hettinger. “It’s likely that a decline in interest rates will impact lower-priced properties more than those at the top end. Cash buyers always have a major leg-up on buyers who require a mortgage—I don’t see this changing.” 

George Ballantyne, global real estate advisor, Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty in Boston, Massachusetts, agrees. “I don’t think I have any luxury buyers who have mentioned interest rates during their search or negotiation,” he says. These buyers have other sources of financing and their offers are not contingent on them obtaining a mortgage, adds Ballantyne.

A similar effect is seen on the West Coast, where “many Bay Area residents have access to substantial assets, whether they are personal or familial,” says Alex Hachiya, senior real estate advisor, Sotheby’s International Realty – San Francisco Brokerage. “Now more than ever, sellers prefer to work with buyers who make all-cash offers.”

Hachiya also echoes a warning about waiting for interest rates to come down, as this “will most likely mean buyers will end up paying a higher purchase price, since additional buyer activity will drive prices up.” 

In general, a more important factor in the luxury field is how U.S. equity markets are performing and what returns are being generated, says Chan. “If investors are doing well, as they did in 2023 and have so far in 2024, that will boost demand for luxury housing.” Buyers who have seen massive gains in their stock market portfolios may also opt for slightly more expensive homes when interest rates start declining, he says, as a way to secure those profits. 

Global Ripples

Global financial markets are interconnected, so a change in U.S. interest rates affects capital flows in other countries, which in turn can lead to changes in interest rates, says Paulo Fernandes, owner and CEO, Paris Ouest Sotheby’s International Realty in Paris, France. 

Europe’s real estate markets have already seen some softening—prices for residential properties declined by 0.3% in the EU in 2023 and 1.1% in the Eurozone, based  on data from Eurostat released in April 2024. The largest drop occurred in Germany (7.1%) where economic growth has been slow, while prices rose in Bulgaria (10.1%), Croatia (9.5%), Lithuania (8.3%), Poland (13%), and Portugal (7.78%) due to higher growth.  

Any impact felt in France from falling interest rates in the U.S. will be “indirect, complex, and may take some time to materialize,” says Fernandes. “It is difficult to give a precise time frame, as it depends on many factors and how the financial markets and central banks react to the new conditions. The national economy and the state of the political sphere should also be taken into account. These can attenuate or amplify the impact.” 

The same applies on the other side of the world. “If interest rates increase, the yen will appreciate, which may impact the number of inbound clients for a bit,” says Mugi Fukushima, director, List Sotheby’s International Realty, Japan. “Overseas clients account for 30% of our clientele, so we’re watching what happens [in the U.S.] quite closely.”

“Some estimates suggest that it takes between one and two years for U.S. monetary policy to have its maximum effect,” says Julian Brown, managing director and founder, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty. “However, there is a large degree of uncertainty because the structure of the economy changes over time, and conditions vary.”

Fluctuating exchange rates are important to how attractive the New Zealand property market is. “We have a lot of international interest, especially from the U.S., due to the weaker New Zealand dollar,” says Brown. Buyers who are interested in purchasing homes in New Zealand also have more flexibility when it comes to mortgages, as they can be split into multiple loans at different terms and rates.

Buyers in the U.S. should also be aware that while 7.55% may be the standard for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage there now, they vary globally, averaging 3.95% in France for example, or as high as 11.01% in Mexico, where most property deals are primarily done in cash. These rates are influenced by various factors, including the monetary policy of central banks, the local inflation rate, and each country’s economic growth.

“The bottom line is that residential real estate markets in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia are influenced by economic growth, while luxury markets are more influenced by local equity markets,” says Chan. “In Asia, Thailand and Malaysia are facing some growth headwinds. After a recession, New Zealand may recover during the second half of the year. South Korea is expected to enjoy stable economic growth. Japan may be slowing down, but is coming back with a booming equity market, which should boost sales of real estate.”

Mortgage rates vary widely across the world, as does the typical term of a loan. There are also many variations in the types of deals offered by mortgage lenders, from long-term or time-limited fixed-rate deals to variable rate loans tied to the current interest rate.

Speak with your Sotheby’s International Realty Global Advisor to learn more today.

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Mid-Year Luxury Outlook 2024: People Power

More than half of the world’s population will vote in national elections this year, so how will political change affect real estate markets?

This year marks an unprecedented wave of national elections across the globe. According to Reuters and The Economist, about half of the world’s voting-age population—over four billion people spanning nearly 80 countries that collectively account for more than 60% of global GDP—will be eligible to cast their ballots in what Time magazine has dubbed “the ultimate election year.”

The most closely watched election is in the U.S., the world’s largest economy and third-largest nation by population, which will elect its next president in November 2024. The Democratic and Republican party platforms’ approaches to real estate are starkly different. Democrats are looking to improve housing affordability through initiatives such as tax credits and down-payment assistance, while Republicans aim to stimulate economic growth through pro-business, low-tax, low-regulation policies.

“The U.S. 2024 presidential election represents a critical moment for investors and financial analysts around the world—with the potential to have an impact on several areas, from economic policies to specific markets, the outcome could shape the global economic future,” says Renata Victorino, director, Bossa Nova Sotheby’s International Realty in São Paulo, Brazil. Victorino and her colleagues in South America are keeping a keen eye on what is happening in the U.S., even as municipal elections take place in Brazil in October 2024 to decide the leaders in more than 5,000 cities and towns across the country.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the world, India—the largest nation by population—started its massive six-week election process in April 2024 and voting for the parliament of the 27-member European Union took place in June 2024.

These events could have a dramatic effect on real estate markets for years to come, with the outcomes already playing out in countries that held elections in the first half of 2024, and the anticipation of changes in the political landscape felt in countries that have yet to hit the polls.

The Election Effect

“Historically, the housing market tends to experience a slowdown in activity during presidential election years,” according to a report issued by the Nationwide Mortgage Bankers in March 2024. “This trend is particularly noticeable in the months leading up to the election as individuals prioritize political developments over real estate decisions.”

“Every election year the market typically softens,” says Claire Reynolds, managing partner, United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty in London, who has been involved in luxury property sales for two decades. “Uncertainty can create a wait-and-watch attitude, resulting in a market with temporarily subdued growth.”

Christie-Anne Weiss, global advisor, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, Washington, D.C., who has more than 40 years’ experience in navigating the market during presidential elections, agrees. “From my experience, what we see again and again is that our market gets quieter around October,” the month before Election Day, she says. “Once the election is over and we know who the president is, business will resume as normal. It is buyer psychology; people do not make major investment decisions when there is imminent uncertainty.”

This effect spans the world. Pre-election uncertainty “slows down housing sales, specifically in metro markets, and impacts stock market activity, especially if a coalition government looks like it’s coming into power,” says Ashwin Chadha, chief executive officer, India Sotheby’s International Realty, whose background as a seasoned banker with BNP Paribas, Citibank, and Barclays has been invaluable to his work in real estate.

A sense of political stability, on the other hand, can have an unsurprisingly positive effect. Since India’s incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held onto power in this year’s elections, Chadha observes that the real estate market is likely to benefit. “The current government has reiterated its intentions for high spending, drawing in investments to boost the manufacturing sector,” he notes. “Both infrastructure spending and manufacturing augur positively for the property market, including luxury real estate.”

Manufacturing is one of the industries that has led to the rise in the country’s millionaires, which numbered 850,000 in 2022, an increase of 473,000 since 2012, according to research by the Swiss bank Credit Suisse. It also calculated that the number of millionaires in India grew annually during that time by around 8.5%, compared with an average GDP growth of 5.6%.

Nearly 80 countries (dark blue on map) are holding elections in 2024, according to news sources including The Economist, Reuters and Time magazine. This equals:

4 billion people eligible to vote in elections worldwide

50% of the world’s population

60% of GDP

Hein Pretorius, real estate associate, Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in South Africa, says May 2024 was a “watershed” election for South Africa. “This is the first year since 1994 that the ruling African National Congress [ANC] party does not have an outright majority,” he says. “The ANC is going to have to choose a partner in a coalition government, and it has a number of options.” The party’s main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, which has pushed a major land reform policy that would transfer state-owned land to individuals, has said it is open to coalition talks.

In the U.K., meanwhile, the Conservative and Labour parties went head-to-head in a general election on July 4, 2024 with the Labour party winning by a clear majority.

“The recent elections offer an opportunity for change. Against the backdrop of an optimistic interest rates outlook, housing plays a big part of the new government’s manifesto,” says Reynolds. “Only 18% of buyers [in central London] are purchasing their main home, 54% are purchasing a second home, and the other 28% are buying for investment,” Reynolds adds, citing statistics gathered by her firm. “International investment is hugely vital for the prime central London market, with the three most dominant groups of buyers being from the U.S., the Middle East, and China.”

Keeping Watch on Interest Rates

While real estate agents the world over are watching out for political changes, they are keeping an even closer eye on interest rates, which may play an even bigger role in homeowners’ decisions to buy and sell than who occupies the seats of power. This is because interest rates are set by the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee, a group of 12 banking leaders, and not by those seated in the White House or Congress.

“There’s a lot more conversation about politics this year, and a lot of polarization,” says Russ Anderson, president and chief executive officer, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty in Dallas, Texas, who has three decades of experience in real estate and banking. “But, when it comes to real estate, people are more focused on interest rates than politics. No matter who wins, if interest rates start falling, I think people will buy. If they stay elevated, people will remain on the sidelines.”

Weiss echoes this view, saying that the major drivers in property markets this year are “interest rates and the broader economic environment, more so than the upcoming election.” While interest rates are affecting the market at various price points, Weiss sees transactions taking place across the board, especially with the increase in luxury inventory in the Washington, D.C. area. “It is a wonderful time, in particular, for cash buyers,” she says.

In Brazil, rates are already going down, and are expected to fall further, Victorino points out. The country’s central bank reduced the basic interest rate by half a percentage point in March 2024, reducing it from 11.25% to 10.75%. “The change helps to make financing for real estate more accessible,” she says. According to a survey of economists released by Brazil’s central bank, the expectation was that by the end of 2024, rates would reach single digits. “The most affluent buyers do not depend on credit, but for investors, the reduction in interest rates makes real estate a more interesting option, favoring those seeking long-term profitability.”

As for India, strong economic fundamentals are being bolstered by falling interest rates along with rising wealth. “The economy is growing by close to 8%, and inflation is now pretty much under control,” says Chadha. “According to a report by Jefferies, a leading global, full-service investment banking and capital markets firm, India is expected to be the world’s third-largest economy by 2027. It is currently the fifth-largest economy, having just displaced the U.K., and our prime minister has an aggressive economic plan.” Such economic growth would also affect property markets.

An Interconnected World

While real estate agents are watching their own local elections closely, the property market is highly interconnected globally, so they have an eye on other elections as well, and the U.S. election looms the largest.

Chadha, even in his bullishness, recognizes concerns from abroad. “There are always risks,” he says. Internationally, a slowdown in the U.S. could have “a cascading effect on foreign investment.”

But Victorino points out that “investment in the real estate market is one of the most stable, and the easiest to recover, even in unstable scenarios.”

Experts including Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), agree that investing in real estate is solid in the long-term. According to a report issued by the NAR in 2023, upper-income households in the U.S. saw the value of their homes increase by an average of US$150,800 over the past 10 years. “This analysis shows how homeownership is a catalyst for building wealth for people from all walks of life,” says Yun, adding that, on average, homeowners are able to build “a net worth about 40 times higher than that of a renter.”

“An uncertain market can present good opportunities for those with an appetite for higher-risk investments, or those who take a longer-term view,” says Reynolds. “For those taking a five-year or longer view, we’re forecasting good growth.”

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Sky-High Ambition

SFROM BLUE-SKY LIVING TO THE GREENEST SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, THE SKYSCRAPER OF THE FUTURE IS EXPANDING IN EVERY DIRECTION, WRITES HARRIET THORPE

Jeanne Gang’s Aqua Tower in Chicago mirrors the hills, valleys, and lakes of a natural landscape.

 Jeanne Gang’s Aqua Tower in Chicago mirrors the hills, valleys, and lakes of a natural landscape.

The word “skyscraper” first emerged in Chicago in the late 19th century, a natural expression of people’s awe at the newly tall buildings scraping away a piece of sky from their vision, casting shadows onto sidewalks, and blocking out the sun. It altered their experience of the city. Skyscrapers still have that effect today, perhaps on an even more visceral scale: the gust of a wind tunnel, the speed of an elevator, the breathtaking sight of a skyline at sunset.

While US architect William Le Baron Jenney’s 10-story Home Insurance Building of 1885 in Chicago is widely considered to be the first true example of the form, it is his contemporary, Louis Sullivan (1856–1924) who was labeled “the father of skyscrapers” for his influential theories of design and construction that enabled these buildings to reach new heights. In the centenary of Sullivan’s death, it feels timely to reflect on the skyscraper’s ever-expanding appeal.

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the currently the world’s tallest building at more than 828m

 Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the currently the world’s tallest building at more than 828m

The past century has seen it rise from the ornate brick and steel office buildings of the late 1880s, all the way to the current tallest, the 828m Burj Khalifa, completed in Dubai in 2010: a colossal slither of glass, concrete, and metal. Styles have shape-shifted in between, from the decorative art deco Chrysler building (completed in 1930) and clean lines of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Modernist Seagram Building (1958) in New York; to London’s so-called Gherkin (2003), Cheesegrater (2014), and Walkie Talkie (2015); and Beijing’s CCTV Tower (2008), described by its Dutch architects OMA as a “three-dimensional cranked loop.”

Today, the lower height limit of a skyscraper is considered to be 150m, with China boasting six of the top 10 cities worldwide with the highest number of skyscrapers, and Dubai the highest number of “supertalls”—buildings above 300m. How we use skyscrapers has also dramatically evolved.

Architects MVRDV turned a drum tower into the colorful Shenzhen Women and Children’s Centre, which is now a vibrant community space

 Architects MVRDV turned a drum tower into the colorful Shenzhen Women and Children’s Centre, which is now a vibrant community space

Once built mainly as offices, skyscrapers are now vertical hubs of all kinds of activity. We traverse these towers with as much ease as the horizontal streets below them, whether that’s soaring up to a rooftop bar—Ozone on the 118th floor of Hong Kong’s 480m Ritz Carlton is currently the world’s highest—or to penthouse homes, from where the luckiest few can enjoy spectacular views of the skies and the surrounding city.

“It’s exhilarating to live and work in a place that is so private and solitary, but at the same time so connected to the city,” says architect Scott Duncan of SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill). The firm designed both the very first “mixed-use” skyscraper back in 1968 (Chicago’s John Hancock Center) and the world’s largest mixed-use, the Burj Khalifa, which houses a mall, restaurants, hotel, spa, apartments, observation platform, and much more. Duncan sees the appeal of living in the skies only increasing: “The skyscraper had its origins in efficiency and density. Its future, however, will be rooted in enhancing the quality of the human experience. We will see architects exploring ways to make living in a skyscraper an even more extraordinary and sublime experience.”

Residential building Aqua encourages social interaction between neighbors with strategically curved terraces

 Residential building Aqua encourages social interaction between neighbors with strategically curved terraces

Architects have been thinking about how to make skyscrapers healthier and more liveable since the 1970s. Singapore-based practice WOHA uses features such as elevated gardens, open-air walkways, integrated landscaping including trees, and shading systems that cool buildings to prevent reliance on air conditioning—all important for the tropical Southeast Asian context and for our globally warming world. In Chicago, architect Jeanne Gang has explored how to sculpt a skyscraper to boost social ties and nature. Her 82-story residential building Aqua (2009) is designed as a vertical landscape, with curved balconies, a rooftop garden and a bird-friendly facade.

Now construction accounts for around 40% of carbon emissions worldwide, a new era of skyscraper “retrofits” are showing that existing tall buildings can be effectively repurposed and made more sustainable with additions such as solar shading. Recent examples include the transformed Quay Quarter Tower office building in Sydney and the Shenzhen Women and Children’s Centre, once a 100m drum tower and now a colorful community resource. What will the skyscrapers of today become in the next century?

“The most sustainable building is one you do not tear down,” says Peter Wang, principal and design director at Gensler. He has just led the groundbreaking conversion of a 24-story 1970s office tower in New York into 588 homes, in response to changing demands of space in the city, post-Covid. “Shifts in culture, work styles, lifestyles, and attitudes are happening faster and faster, hastening the demise of these older buildings. Our job is to think analytically and creatively on how to leverage these existing structures to support new uses.”

Sweden’s climate-positive Sara Cultural Centre is currently the world’s third-tallest tower with an all-timber structure

 Sweden’s climate-positive Sara Cultural Centre is currently the world’s third-tallest tower with an all-timber structure

Sustainability has also been a driver for the recent growth of so-called “plyscrapers,” built with an engineered wooden structure made possible by innovations in cross-laminated and glue-laminated timber. Timber offers many benefits in comparison with concrete and steel; it is a natural carbon store and renewable when sourced sustainably, plus it can be pre-fabricated, is quicker to build with, and healthier for construction workers. Today, the tallest timber building rises to 86.6m; by 2027 it’s set to reach 100m (in Switzerland, with the Rocket & Tigerli by Schmidt Hammer Lassen).

Many of the first innovations in timber tall buildings have been in Norway and Sweden, countries with timber industries and support from the public sector and municipalities—for example, the 20-story Sara Cultural Centre (2021) in northern Sweden, which houses a theater, library, and art gallery. While excited about the promise of plyscrapers growing taller, the cultural center’s lead architects, Robert Schmitz and Oskar Norelius of White Arkitekter, both agree that height isn’t everything: “The main achievement of a tall timber building is its much smaller climate impact than a conventional tall building, the new possibilities for architectural expressions, and the quality of interior spaces that timber [offers].”

Architect Andrew Waugh, who has pioneered timber high-rises in east London where he grew up, supports this: “Timber is good for people, providing healthy environments that reduce stress and increase wellbeing. And timber buildings just smell so good!” Waugh’s design, the 10-story residential Dalston Works in London was the world’s largest cross-laminated timber building on completion in 2017. He wonders, do we really need to build higher and higher? “I think super-tall buildings aren’t great for people or for cities—they create shadow and wind and alienate the young and elderly. I think we’ll find a sweet spot for timber buildings that suit the material and work better for all of us.”

The Sara Cultural Center is located in Skellefteå, Sweden, which has a rich history of building with wood

 The Sara Cultural Center is located in Skellefteå, Sweden, which has a rich history of building with wood.

Just like scenes from science fiction, it seems the skyscraper of the future will be rising in all kinds of directions and dimensions. At present, Duncan sees most of the innovation happening “at the nano-scale.” SOM is currently co-developing an algae-based concrete (aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and soaking up CO2 from the air) and embedding solar technology in ultra-thin layers of glass to make this most skyscraper-friendly material more energy productive. In London, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels has teamed up with British designer Thomas Heatherwick on plans for a new Google headquarters “groundscraper”—as long horizontally as the Shard is vertical (as London’s tallest building at just over 300m). Meanwhile, the Italian architect Carlo Ratti has proposed an idea for the “farmscraper,” including a vertical hydroponic farming system for a Chinese supermarket chain. It seems as though the sky is no longer the limit.

Harriet Thorpe is a London-based author and journalist, writing about architecture, urbanism, art, design, and travel

The St. Regis Residences, Miami

The St. Regis Residences, Miami
Prices starting at $4m | ONE Sotheby’s International Realty

A sunny outlook

Robert AM Stern has been heralded as “architecture’s king of tradition” for his firm’s skyscrapers that blend admiration for the past with truly contemporary luxury living. The architect’s new project in Miami, the St. Regis Residences on the South Brickell coastline, is no exception. The elegantly curved building takes its design cues from the aesthetic of golden-age ocean liners, rooted in the art deco spirit that defines so much of Miami’s glamor.

Each residence commands expansive views over the Biscayne Bay and Atlantic Ocean beyond, and has access to truly covetable amenities, from a fine-dining restaurant and bayside infinity pool, to a private marina and sky bar. Lush landscaped grounds and terraces are designed by Swiss designer Enzo Enea, who expertly crafts livable outdoor spaces—a perfect way to enjoy Miami’s glorious weather.

Photos: © Steve Hall; Bettmann/Getty Images; © Nick Merrick/Hedrich Blessing; Courtesy of MVRDV, © Xia Zhi; Jonas Westling; Visit Skellefteå.

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New Wave

MIMINAT SHODEINDE’S INTERIORS FOR THE PRIVATE M/Y K VESSEL SIGNAL A CHANGE IN TIDE FOR YACHT DESIGN

Miminat Shodeinde on her OMI D-3 chair in stained mahogany and nubuck.

 Miminat Shodeinde on her OMI D-3 chair in stained mahogany and nubuck.

From a slick penthouse in Cape Town, South Africa, to a contemporary country residence in Gloucestershire, England, British-Nigerian designer Miminat Shodeinde has worked on the interiors of a wealth of different residences since launching her studio, Miminat Designs, in 2015. She has also created an array of sculptural furnishings and objets d’art, and has several architecture projects underway in Portugal, India, and beyond. Now, Shodeinde is diversifying her impressive professional portfolio as she completes the fit-out for M/Y K, a 131ft private yacht.

The yacht’s owner commissioned London-based Shodeinde in the summer of 2022, and although she wasn’t familiar with creating spaces for the water, it was an opportunity she couldn’t let go adrift. “I love what I do and want to try designing everything and anything,” she says.

Interior render of Shodeinde’s design for the M/Y K private yacht

 Interior render of Shodeinde’s design for the M/Y K private yacht.

The interiors will be installed in the latter half of this year, the culmination of a design process that came with new challenges for Shodeinde: suddenly she found herself having to navigate the space limitations imposed by even a superyacht’s quarters, and consider how pieces of decor could impact stability, weight distribution, and performance at sea. “It was such a learning curve, especially when it came to all of the marine, boating, and yacht lingo,” she adds. “But overall it doesn’t really differ from designing spaces on land—you’re essentially trying to create moving art that caters to the brief and the desires of the client.”

In taking this unified approach to design, Shodeinde has instilled M/Y K with the same warm tactility that permeates her shore-side residential works: darkened ash veneer will line the vessel’s sinuous walls and swathes of honey-colored jute will underpin the seating areas. The ceilings will be lined with pale ceramic-composite panels, their rectangular form emulating that of a traditional Japanese tatami mat. “A lot of what I do stems from Japanese design philosophy, as it often centers on space, simplicity, harmony, and a deep appreciation for the natural elements. There’s also a strong emphasis on the seamless integration of indoor and outdoor,” says Shodeinde.

Interior render of Shodeinde’s design for the M/Y K private yacht.

 Interior render of Shodeinde’s design for the M/Y K private yacht.

M/Y K’s future furnishings also add to the yacht’s home-like ambience. All of the pieces were designed in-house at Shodeinde’s studio, yet each of them holds distinctive details that make it appear as though they’ve been artfully collected. The chairs that will surround the dining table, for example, feature cushions lined in a soft, suede-style fabric and angular aluminum backrests, while the light pendant that will hang above is a sumptuous mix of textured glass and Nero Marquina marble. “Many yacht interiors tend to embrace an austere and sometimes very clinical look; they have a lot of white, glossy, and reflective surfaces that almost makes it seem like you’re on a spaceship,” explains Shodeinde. “I wanted to create something that was inviting and elegant.”

She isn’t the only one. An increasing number of architects and interior specialists are getting on board with yacht projects, applying the same palette they would use for spaces on terra firma. Shodeinde thinks this may, in part, be a result of advancements in industry technology and the wider availability of lighter, more durable iterations of ultra-luxe materials that can be effectively applied within marine interiors. But it could also be down to a significant shift in aesthetic tastes.

“There’s a growing emphasis across all design genres to infuse spaces with personality and intimacy, particularly in a post-Covid world,” she says. “Everybody wants that boutique, homely feel.” If indeed there is a new wave of yacht design coming, it seems Shodeinde is already riding high.

Photos: Armand Da Silva, courtesy of Miminat Designs.

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Retire to the Florida Town Where You Don’t Even Need a Car

Boca Grande (meaning “Big Mouth” in Spanish) is the largest town on Gasparilla Island near Cape Coral and Fort Myers on the Gulf of Mexico. Gasparilla Island is a barrier island and is also home to Gasparilla Island State Park. The island boasts excellent blue waters and pristine sugar-sand beaches. Boca Grande is an affluent, stunning coastal community and a great laid-back option for retiring in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico.

Click here to read the entire article from The Travel.