Who wants to be a billionaire?

London is seeing an unprecedented demand for luxury items from multi-million pound houses to top-of-the-range cars.Unsurprisingly, it's the Russian oligarchs and uber-rich clients from the Gulf who are contributing to the boom.Despite some claims that the housing market is beginning to stall, estate agents in the capital say foreigners now make up a crucial part of the market, with top-end property prices rising by 30 or even 40 per cent compared to last year.Property developers are said to be eyeing between £3,000 and £4,000 per square foot compared to £2,000 18 months ago.Residents of prime addresses such as Kensington Palace Gardens include Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose personal fortune is estimated at £19 billion, his Russian-American tycoon neighbour Len Blavatnik and Foxtons estate agents founder Jonathan Hunt.Liam Bailey, head of residential research at upmarket estate agent Knight Frank, said: "At the top end of the market, Russian buyers account for about one in five in all property transactions above £5 million."He continued: "Aside from Russians we also see European buyers, Middle East buyers and Asian".Meanwhile, demand is outstripping supply at one car dealership despite price tags of £325,000 for a Rolls-Royce Phantom and almost £600,000 for a Bugatti Veyron.HR Owen boss Nicholas Lancaster said: "Well 2007 has been an absolutely astonishing year I think for all luxury goods. First of all the inflow of people from outside the UK has made a huge contribution towards the level of business."We used to say that there is old and new money, now there is nearly all new money."And for those who tire of travelling by car, Netjets, Europe's largest private jet company, can have a luxury aircraft waiting to whisk clients away at relatively short notice.The company flies wealthy customers across the globe with a minimum of 25 hours flying time costing a mere £87,500.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | August 27, 2007

Tags:. .residential. .research. .agents. .middle. .claims