Where do the world’s sports professionals live and invest, and what impact do their buying habits have on a local property market? There’s a closer relationship between sport and property than you might think.

Savills Sports Services recently carried out a bespoke survey across our global network to establish which markets are the most popular with various world class athletes and sports – be it a family home, a holiday home or an investment that forms part of a wider portfolio.

When plotting where various sports figures buy around the world, we established that football, tennis and golf professionals are the most active buyers, while the Caribbean, specifically Barbados and the Cayman Islands, has far reaching appeal across multiple sports, with influence coming from the close proximity and easy access to North America for both leisure and training purposes.

Ibiza is becoming a surprisingly popular global hotspot and many sports professionals, and even US basketball players, are buying homes here. However it is New York, Miami and LA that have the broadest appeal for sports professionals worldwide. In recent years we have seen a particular increase in premiership footballers moving to North America towards the end of their careers, due to the ever increasing popularity of the MLS (Major League Soccer) and the financial pull associated with that league.

Property requirements for sports professionals can include helipads, running tracks, fitness centres, putting greens, seven-aside football pitches, games rooms with betting tables and slot machines as well as car and golf simulators. Such sophisticated at-home training facilities reflect the constant desire of sports professionals to strive for excellence in their respective sports. They also demonstrate how these often high-profile sports stars want to create entertainment centres in their own homes so they can unwind and relax away from the public eye.

We also discovered that sports professionals working alongside their training and support teams are investing more in their beds and bedrooms to ensure they create the optimal sleeping environment, as sleep is a hugely important part of their training regime.

Undoubtedly sporting professionals have global reach within property, including leisure, training and team related moves. The transient nature of some sports professionals means that they are often attracted to areas close to highly specialised training facilities or team bases. For this reason you will frequently get a number of players from the same sports purchasing properties in close proximity.

We are also seeing more international developers starting to cater for this niche market by understanding the needs of sports professionals and reflecting these needs in the properties they bring to market.

Further information

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