Top 7 Places to Buy a Branded Residence in 2026

Sources: Savills 2025/26, Knight Frank survey.

1. Dubai

The global showcase, where the product meets its perfect buyer: tax-driven, mobile, service-hungry UHNW demand landing on Golden Visa rails. Scarcity discipline matters most here precisely because supply keeps coming.

2. Miami

The heart of the market’s largest region: North America holds the biggest share of global schemes, and Miami is its branded capital, from waterfront towers to automotive-brand debuts.

3. London

Heritage stock meets five-star operators, with completed Marylebone-to-Mayfair schemes anchoring Europe. The prime central London correction (around 7.0% in the year to Q1 2026, per Knight Frank) prices the entry.

4. Costa del Sol

Europe’s fastest-growing branded cluster, drawing safe-haven demand from US, Middle Eastern, and Northern European buyers into Marbella and its coastline.

5. Bangkok

The face of Asia-Pacific’s 55% five-year growth, pairing branded towers with the city’s new UK-school campuses, which puts two 2026 demand stories in one market.

6. Vietnam

The supply frontier: a named driver of the APAC surge alongside Thailand and India, with early-cycle pricing and the diligence burden that comes with it.

7. Mexico

The resort-premium play: resort locations carry the highest branded premiums, around 39% per Savills, and the Riviera Maya is where that number lives.

Sources: Savills Branded Residences 2025/26, Knight Frank Global Branded Residence Survey, sector coverage 2025-2026.

Why do cross-border buyers overweight branded residences? Because the brand substitutes for the local knowledge they do not have. A buyer landing in a new market cannot easily verify build quality, management standards, or rental performance; a global operator’s name is a bond posted against all three. That is why the category over-indexes in exactly the markets cross-border capital favours: Dubai, Miami, London, and the resort coasts.

• Check brand scarcity in that specific city: premiums compress where the same tier of brand is oversupplied.
• Read the brand agreement: length, renewal terms, and what happens to services if the operator exits.
• Model service charges over a ten-year hold and test resale evidence, not launch pricing.

A brand is a promise with a service charge attached. Pay for scarce promises, kept by operators bound for decades.

“The name on the door: branded residences in 2026” goes deeper on the full supply and pipeline data, the premium decomposition, and the four-point brand diligence screen. Access it through the free Explorer tier at intricglobal.com/en/subscribe.

How many branded residences exist in 2026?

Around 910 schemes at end-2025, nearly triple the 2015 count, with contracted projects taking the total toward 1,747 by 2032 across more than 90 countries, per Savills.

What premium do branded residences command?

Around 33% globally on average per Savills, about 39% in resorts, with Knight Frank framing 20% to 35% over comparable non-branded stock.

Which region is growing fastest for branded residences?

Asia-Pacific, up 55% in five years driven by Vietnam, Thailand, and India, per Savills.

Do branded residences hold their premium on resale?

Knight Frank data associates branded stock with stronger resale and rental performance, but the premium erodes in oversupplied markets, so test resale evidence for the specific scheme and city.

This article is information only and is not tax, legal, immigration, or investment advice. Rules change frequently and vary by circumstance; take qualified professional advice. Property values can fall as well as rise and capital is at risk. Figures are rounded and attributed to Savills and Knight Frank.