Branded residences are reaching new heights in luxury real estate
From Beverly Hills to Abu Dhabi, Cain is following the world’s wealthiest buyers – and betting that the right brand can put conventional measures of value to one side.
Can premium branded residences be the property product the world's wealthy are looking for?
Aman-branded homes at Cain’s One Beverly Hills development are selling for an average US$7,000 per sq ft, roughly 30% above local benchmarks and in line with some of the most expensive homes in London.
To explain such lofty numbers, CEO Jonathan Goldstein invokes the economics of luxury goods, where the right brand can untether price from more conventional measures of value. “You don’t negotiate with Chanel or Prada over the price of a handbag,” he says. “We’re seeing something similar in the residential world now, where brands place their hallmark on pieces of real estate. People know what they’re getting, and they’re prepared to pay for it.”
The One Beverly Hills development is “in some senses” a culmination of everything Goldstein and his team have learned over the past decade, he says. Two key themes underpin these investment decisions:
- That both wealth creation and migration will increase, focusing demand in the world’s leading cities, and
- That people will expect more from their real estate as spending continues to shift towards experience.
“We fundamentally believe in the thesis that wealth is growing and it needs product to serve it,” Goldstein says. Branded residences, he argues, sit at the intersection of these themes.
Branded residences are redefining the value of luxury real estate
Branded residences range from relatively loose licensing agreements in which a developer pays to “badge” a development, to fully integrated projects where the brand shapes the design, operations and resident experience.
The latter often command a premium, but can be challenging for developers, who may balk at expensive, prescriptive design requirements. Cain’s model is unusual because it owns part of Aman; it acquired the holding in 2022 through a US$900m equity investment alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
We want to be involved in shaping the environment – and that means having a voice at the table. We know how to work with brands and where we can add value, because we understand both sides.
Jonathan Goldstein
CEO, Cain
Goldstein is just as explicit when it comes to developers’ limitations – increasingly, essential amenities like members’ clubs and spas are best left to the brands, he says. “You’re wrapping wellness, health and physical wellbeing around your client within the fabric of what you’re creating … that’s something that the brands speak to.”
Where are branded residences heading to next?
Goldstein is guarded when asked about where the firm will invest next but is clear that it’s unlikely to be the UK. “You’re looking for areas of the world where there is untapped demand,” he says.
For Goldstein, the destinations poised to benefit are already visible in the migration data. “If you look at the net migration of people around the world, the top three areas are the UAE, the US and Italy,” he says. “They are the places that have welcomed the new wealth with no embarrassment and no shame, and that group needs places to live.”
Liam Bailey is Global Head of Knight Frank’s Research Department, leading the firm’s global research strategy and overseeing projects across the UK and international markets.
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