Demand for luxury asset finance jumps 260%, as HNWs look to offset weaker property returns
The latest data insight from Enness Global has revealed that demand from high-net-worth individuals looking to finance property purchases using luxury assets has increased by 260% over the last year, as investors look to avoid liquidating better-performing investments in order to secure a property, helping them to offset the weaker returns being seen across the property market.
Internal figures from Enness Global show that the number of luxury asset-backed property finance enquiries added to its database climbed by 260% in 2025 when compared to 2024, highlighting a sharp increase in appetite for borrowing against existing wealth to fund property acquisitions.
This surge in demand comes at a time when property price growth has remained comparatively subdued over the short term. The latest figures show that the average UK house price has increased by just 2.5% over the last year, whilst London has seen values fall by 1.2% and US house prices have effectively stagnated, rising by only 0.1%.
However, traditional bricks and mortar, while subdued over the last year, continues to demonstrate its long-term strength, with UK house prices rising by 19.6% over five years and US house prices increasing by 34.3%.
In contrast, many other investment classes have delivered significantly stronger returns over the last year. The Nasdaq 100 has climbed by 19% over the last year alone, with the FTSE 100 also rising by 17.9% and the S&P 500 increasing by 14.9%. Commodities have seen even more substantial gains, with gold increasing by 66.8% year-on-year, silver by 141.7%, and platinum by 103.3%.
Even asset classes prone to greater volatility and short-term corrections continue to demonstrate exceptional long-term performance. Bitcoin has fallen by 16.7% over the past year, but remains up 137.8% over five years, whilst Ethereum has climbed by 86.6% over the same period despite a reduction of 25.7% over the last year.
As a result, many high-net-worth buyers are increasingly reluctant to sell these appreciating assets in order to fund property purchases. Instead, they are opting to borrow against their existing wealth, allowing them to secure property while retaining exposure to investments that continue to deliver strong returns.
This trend is also being driven by the strong performance of luxury collectables. Watches have risen by 52.7% over five years, handbags by 34%, and jewellery by 20.2%, according to luxury investment indices. As a result, these items are no longer just lifestyle purchases but valuable financial assets, and many high-net-worth individuals are now using them as leverage to finance property acquisitions without selling.
This approach enables investors to benefit from property’s long-term stability without sacrificing the stronger performance currently seen across equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and luxury assets.
Islay Robinson, CEO of Enness Global, commented: “Property remains one of the most important cornerstone assets within any high-net-worth portfolio, but what we’re seeing is a fundamental shift in how these purchases are being financed.
Many of our clients hold significant wealth in assets that have delivered exceptional returns over the last five years, whether that’s equities, commodities, cryptocurrencies, or even luxury collectables and, from a financial perspective, it often makes little sense to liquidate those holdings.
Instead, clients are increasingly choosing to leverage these assets to unlock liquidity, allowing them to acquire property while maintaining exposure to investments that continue to perform strongly.
This approach allows clients to achieve the best of both worlds. They can secure property, which remains a stable and desirable long-term asset, whilst preserving the broader wealth structures that continue to generate strong returns.
As global wealth becomes increasingly diversified, luxury asset-backed lending is rapidly becoming one of the most important tools available to high-net-worth property buyers.”
Data tables and sources
- Data on luxury finance enquiries and year on year change sourced internally from Enness Global.
- Annual and five year change in the value of various investment asset classes based on a range of sources which are available via the data table linked below.
- Full data tables and sources can be viewed online, here