While bubbles have burst, prices tumbled and sales declined in the broad property markets across Europe, at the very top end, in the prime locations, it is often a very different story. Central London is the gold standard of internationalluxury residential property, but there are other areas, from Paris to Monaco to Tuscany, that are not far behind.

'At the prime end and even more at the super-prime end of the London market, prices are at an all-time high. You would not recognize that there was an economic crisis,' says Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist of the U.K. property professional body, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

'If I had inherited three million and wanted to invest it, what would I spend my money on?' asks David Forbes, head of the private office at the internationalestate agents Savills . 'I'd look for something in London as close to the center as possible. That would only get you a flat with two or two-and-a-half bedrooms. But it is an absolute safe haven for your money and it remains seriously under-supplied.'

Tancred Lidbury, associatedirector for Europe at Christie's International Real Estate, says: 'Prime Central London property is trading at anything between £23,000 per square meter to £85,000 per square meter for top Knightsbridge serviced properties. Prime Paris property, on the whole, tends not to exceed 45,000 per square meter, though apartments are generally larger. Prime areas of Geneva and Zurich are pretty much on a par with each other, with prices of some larger lakefront properties reaching up to 42,000 per square meter.'

While the U.K. capital city is not alone in seeing rising prices, it would seem it has the foremostcombination of elements driving the top end of the market ever upward. Some of the factors are economic, others more to do with lifestyle.

Perhaps the main reason for the city's resilience is the international nature of its luxury property market. The proportion of foreign buyers increases the further up the price scale you go. According to Mr. Forbes, once you get over £10 million, well over 90% of the buyers are from outside the U.K. And the interest is truly global so London is not drastically affected by regional economic downturns.

Nick Candy is chief executive of Candy & Candy, the development managers and interior designers of One Hyde Park, the Richard Rogers-designed complex where a single apartment recently sold for more than £135 million. It has already completed £1.5 billion of sales with fewer than 20 apartments remaining.

'The super-prime residential property market in London is particularly strong because the city has more internationalwealth purchasing property than any other city in the world. This began back in the 1980s with the arrival of Middle Eastern investment into the London real estate market, followed by former USSR states such as Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan in the mid-1990s,' Mr. Candy says. 'Today we have the Indian and Far Eastern markets to bolster this even further. Super-prime buyers are able to invest here in a tax-efficient way if they are non-domiciled and non-resident, compared to somewhere like the U.S. where the tax charges would be substantially higher.'

Also, says Edward de Mallet Morgan, associatepartner at estate agents Knight Frank, billionaires are probably making money whether the markets are rising or falling. They are not looking for a quick turnaround on residential property, which in turn means they are less likely to sell. 'Central London is not getting any bigger,' he says. 'There are a few little developments and properties being extended by people, but ultimately there are fewer and fewer houses for more and more of these wealthy people to come and buy.'

The multitude of reasons why London is attractive to high-end buyers adds to its resilience as a market. Its position as Europe's main financial center, which helped drive up prices, could have proved a liability in a financial downturn widely blamed on bankers. This has not been the case. Such is London's popularity that many believe even a stricter tax regime for foreigners in the U.K. would do little to deter super-prime buyers. 'I talk regularly to people who are thinking of relocating to Switzerland, Monaco or Singapore. Then they look at the schools and the general London way of life and say: 'We'll stay and pay the tax,'' says Mr. Forbes of Savills.

This type of attitude perhaps goes some way to explaining why the high end of the property market doesn't always track the local national or regional economy. Take France. It is regarded by a number of commentators as Europe's most dynamic luxury real estate market.

There was some concern that new tax regulations introduced at the beginning of January would have a negative impact. But according to Estate Net France, an agent for luxury property on the Riviera, the only effect has been to increase the number of properties on the market and to push prices down slightly, at least for the moment.

Alexander Kraft, president of Sotheby's International Realty France-Monaco, says 2011 was 'a really solid year.'

'The fourth quarter was one of our best ever. We sold more than 200 properties with an average sale price of more than 1.1 million, which is basically seven times the average sales price for a single family home in France,' he says. There are, Mr. Kraft believes, a number of reasons why the French luxury property market has been so robust, the main one being that although prices have increased they still appear good value.

'I tell people you should sell your garage in Mayfair and buy a castle in France. You can still find a nice château for 1 million to 1.5 million,' he says. This is partly a reflection of a property market that has been stable since the 1980s. 'It's especially attractive given low bank interest rates and the volatile stock market,' Mr. Kraft adds.

There has, he says, been an influx of overseas buyers both from the traditional areas of Western Europe and North America, but also from the emerging markets, including Russia, increasingly Brazil and from China