Hong Kong remains the most expensive city in the world in which to buy a property, a new report reveals.
The 2019 Global Living Report, carried out by CBRE, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate and investment firms, found that Hong Kong’s property market was the only one in the world where average property prices top the US$1 million mark.
According to the report, the average property price in Hong Kong is US$1,235,220, placing it comfortable ahead of the world’s second-most expensive city, Singapore, where average prices are US$874,372.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore – and indeed third-placed Shenzhen in China – have introduce cooling measures in a bid to reduce property price growth,
London is the most expensive European city, in eighth place overall, with average prices of US$646,973, with Paris (US$625,299) the only other European city inside the top ten, in tenth.
Two US cities – Los Angles and New York – also find themselves in the top ten in sixth and seventh place respectively, while Vancouver in Canada is the only other non-Asian city ranked in the top ten, in fourth.
Average house prices were found to be growing in 30 out of the 35 cities examined in the report. The biggest year-on-year growth was experienced in Barcelona (16.9 per cent), Dublin (11.6 per cent), Shanghai (11.2 per cent) and Madrid (10.2 per cent).
“Six out of the ten cities with the highest house price growth are in Europe,” explained Jennet Siebrits, Head of Residential Research at CBRE UK. “Three of these – Barcelona, Madrid and Dublin – all suffered severe price falls in prices during the financial crisis and took much longer to recover from the economic downturn that followed. Now that they are recovering, they are showing significant growth. In comparison, London recovered much faster after the downturn and is now further into the cycle.”
Article published 23rd April 2019