The annual report examines the drivers and trends shaping the world's art and antiques market and the approaches of HNW individuals. Evidence is drawn from people in 14 countries.

Spending on art and antiques by high net worth individuals seems to be holding steady this year, having reached a median amount of $25,555, according to the Art Basel and the UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2024 report, issued yesterday. 

Spending in the first half of 2024 showed signs of stabilising; 91 per cent of HNW individuals surveyed were optimistic about the global art market's performance in the next six months, up from 77 per cent at the end of 2023, the report said. 

The report, conducted by Arts Economics, delves into views of HNW individuals in 2023 and the first six months of 2024. It is written by cultural economist Dr Clare McAndrew.

Such studies can be indicative of how optimistic HNW people are about their financial position; UBS said its report echoes its recent UBS Global Wealth Report 2024, which projects a $83.5 trillion wealth transfer over the next 20 to 25 years.

The new report gathered responses from more than 3,660 HNW people in 14 markets including Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, mainland China, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the US. 

“Findings from this survey align with our broader market research, revealing consistent and robust activity levels, but with a noticeable decline in average spending levels by value,” Dr McAndrew said. “The HNWIs we surveyed were transacting through a more diverse range of channels and price points in 2023 and 2024, engaging with more galleries than in previous years, including more new galleries.”

Dr McAndrew predicted that there will be a continued shift in focus away from the narrow high-end of sales that have dominated in previous years, potentially expanding the market’s base and encouraging growth in more affordable art segments which could provide greater stability in future.

Mainland China opens the wallet
Among specific details, responses from 300 people in mainland China showed the highest median spending of all respondents on art and antiques in 2023, as well as the first half of 2024, at $97,000. This figure was more than double that of any other region surveyed in the first half of the year, and followed by France ($38,000), Italy ($32,000), the UK ($31,000), and Hong Kong ($28,000).  

The data also shows how a global wealth transfer trend affects art.

An overwhelming majority (91 per cent) of HNW individuals had works in their collections that were inherited or gifted through a will or other bequest, and 72 per cent had kept at least some of them. Despite the much-discussed subject of changing tastes across generations, less than one-third of Millennial and Gen Z respondents cited a lack of fit with their collections as a reason for selling or donating inherited works. 

HNW individuals have a strong desire to buy from new galleries, as shown by their conduct in 2023 and 2024, with 88 per cent of those purchasing from dealers buying from at least one new gallery.  

There is a sign that buyers want to back new and emerging artists: they allocated 52 per cent of spending to such artists.

There was less impulse buying and a rise in collecting female artists’ work, the report added.