The new global mobility: introducing the “dip in and dip out’ lifestyle
How changing patterns of wealth mobility are reshaping demand for prime properties and branded residences
The ultra-wealthy are on the move as never before. Wealth has always been mobile – there’s nothing new about relocating to Switzerland, Monaco or the Cayman Islands – but today’s scale of wealth migration is without precedent. It’s a more nomadic lifestyle that has profound implications for investors and the properties most in demand.
Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2026 highlighted this changing pattern of mobility, describing it as a ‘dip in and dip out’ lifestyle. It records how a potent mix of “tax pressure, frictionless technology and shifting lifestyles is driving unprecedented mobility among the wealthy, reshaping where they live, invest and buy luxury homes.”
For clients traversing different global regions, often spending less than 90 days in any one location, there are clear advantages in having a number of well-managed, smaller boltholes rather than one sprawling villa.
Flexibility is the ultimate luxury
“Flexibility, services and liquidity are the new property priorities for the mobile wealthy,” says Oliver Banks, Partner in Knight Frank’s International Residential Development team. “They look for homes with smaller footprints and with the backup of exceptional services and facilities to ease their lifestyle. A turn-key property requiring no significant internal renovation is absolutely crucial and so too are convenience and security. In busy lives, people look to make the most of their time in any one location. They want the convenience of city centre homes, well-connected to airports and transport links, with extensive management services on site that can be turned on and off as required.”
Prime branded residences, many now with their own private members’ clubs, present an ideal solution for many clients. They provide a ready-made community, good amenities, gyms, swimming pools and wellness facilities, with staff at hand to handle all day-to-day maintenance. As explored in Knight Frank’s The Residence Report, the sector has almost tripled in a decade, from 354 schemes in 2015 to 903 by the end of 2025, passing 1,000 this year with around 1,088 schemes and 170,000-plus units, and nearing 2,000 within a decade.
A case in point is One&Only's first resort and Private Homes destination in the South Pacific, located on the pristine shores of Balawi Beach in Fiji's Yasawa Islands, set to open in 2029. Here homeowners will enjoy access to a suite of One&Only resort amenities including restaurants, bars, a spa, beach and pool clubs, water sports and curated island experiences, as well as exclusive privileges across One&Only and Kerzner International properties worldwide.
“If the residence is attached to a hotel, owners can use rooms there to invite friends and family to stay, while the sports and leisure facilities mean that there’s something to please every generation,” says Banks. “Added to that, boutique hospitality branded residences in cities such as Miami, New York, Singapore and Dubai, have a rarity value that should improve their rental value and help with liquidity when owners choose to sell.” This does also mean, however, that in many global cities, supply of ready to move into high-quality homes lags well behind demand, warns Banks.
These more nomadic buyers favour “presence over residence” says Rupert des Forges, Knight Frank’s Head of Prime Central London Developments, echoing his clients’ principal objective of flexibility.
Explore branded residences globally
Price on Application
Six Senses Residences Porto Heli, Costa Perla, Ermioni, Argolis, Peloponnese
Development, 601 sqm
Price Range Of
€7.500.000 - €35.000.000
The OWO Residences by Raffles, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EU
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£4,000,000 - £100,000,000
The Whiteley, Queensway, London W2 4YN.
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“London is now a dip-in, dip-out city,” says des Forges. “My clients are deeply connected to it socially and professionally, but some won’t live here because the tax framework no longer works for them. They arrive Tuesday morning, stay until maybe Wednesday night, then head back to Milan, Madrid or Malta for the weekend.”
In addition to an increased interest in turnkey, fully managed and branded residences, ultra-wealthy mobility is impacting property markets in other significant ways, says des Forges.
“As the wealthy spend less time in any single location, their budgets have been scaled back. Buyers who would historically have spent US$30 million on a primary ‘trophy’ residence are now allocating around US$15 million for a more practical bolthole,” he says. “And a reluctance to pay stamp duty and mansion tax on a property used only sporadically, alongside concerns about potential illiquidity means there’s feverish interest in the very best high-end rentals. Top-end rents in New York, London and Singapore have risen respectively by 63%, 53% and 48% over the past five years. This also underlines how, paradoxically, despite wealth being more mobile than ever, the cities where it feels truly comfortable remain remarkably familiar.”
What does the future hold?
“Owning in a branded residence with chefs, babysitters, security and housekeepers on tap, means people need less space to accommodate their own staff, one reason why we’re seeing two and three-bedrooms being delivered, and one-bedroom homes being attractive to those who want access to these amenities without a large price tag,” says Banks. “The desire for turnkey properties is here to stay I believe, with people unwilling to undertake the level of renovation work they once would have been comfortable with, and boutique schemes with true rarity value will also do well as owners perceive their value.”
For des Forges, the expansion of private members’ clubs will continue and spread from New York and London to other global cities such as Singapore, Miami and Milan. These make arguably the ultimate city social and dealmaking networking base for those arriving for brief stays. “Housing will be used more dynamically with the continued shift from ownership to usability,” he says. “Flexibility, convenience and global connectivity will continue to be the focus.”
