With the price of a typical five bedroom property in the Côte d’Azur now exceeding $28.5 million, this region is by far the most expensive luxury region for home transactions among the ultra-wealthy, attracting buyers from across Europe, North America and most actively at present, from the Middle East and Russia, according to Savills’ latest Candy GPS report.

The report reveals that two further European regions also feature in the top five of the luxury residential areas ranking; Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda - which boasts a vast luxury property portfolio across its 35 mile coastline - and Monaco, where there is currently a five bedroom villa in the region’s Cap Ferrat area on the market for €58 million (around $78 million).

The Candy GPS report - produced by Candy & Candy, Savills World Research and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management - identifies the top 20 prime leisure locations where the global super wealthy are purchasing additional properties. Over 60 international leisure hotspots were identified in the research and analysed based on global reach, real estate values, exclusivity and luxury tourism.

The report also identifies several Caribbean locations which feature in the top 20. The small and exclusive island of St Barts ranks third overall, where prices have been sustained by the scarcity of stock at the very top end of the market and the continuing influx of buyers from new sources. The much larger island of Barbados came sixth in the world ranking, partly due to the high volume of British buyers now purchasing leisure properties.

Away from the sun, ski resorts of Aspen and Vail in the US and Courchevel in France ranked highly. Switzerland’s premier resorts of St Moritz, Gstaad and Verbier also featured in the top 20, where prices are considerably higher than Courchevel, reflecting the profile of their buyers and the relatively strong Swiss franc. Historically the Swiss Alps market has been dominated by British and other Northern European buyers, but the last few years have seen increasing investment from Asian buyers. Asking prices for chalets in these exclusive ski resorts are more than $1,200 per square foot, the firm said in a statement.

“The growth of UHNWIs has fuelled demand for prime secondary residences in exclusive leisure enclaves around the world,” said Nick Candy, chief executive of Candy & Candy. “In the same way that we have seen exponential real estate growth in global cities over recent years, we expect to see the same level of growth and property values replicated in the top luxury leisure enclaves where the world’s super rich are choosing to purchase additional homes,” said Candy.