The restaurants tell the story. Walk around the affluent neighbourhoods of London, New York, Hong Kong or any of the prime residential markets of France and take a look at the restaurants. The best are nearly always full; the rest not always so.
Those in the fine dining joints of Manhattan, Chelsea and Central Hong Kong are feeling richer than they were two years ago, when the economic downturn hit all their investments, not least their homes. The subsequent bounce in financial markets has left them feeling better off. Not surprisingly, given the connection between financial markets and luxury homes, the values for properties above £1m have also improved.
The same story is told by the developers and owners of the prime residences across the world: the market is back, in some places pushing prices back to and even beyond their peak of 2007. And yet undercutting the words of even the most bullish of market participants seems to be a slight sense of unease. The market might be good again today – having seen prices bounce off the floor found at the end of 2008 – but tomorrow is not so certain.