New figures show that property prices have risen in 80 per cent on major cities worldwide.
The latest data released by global estate agency Knight Frank shows that property prices in key cities across the world increased by 3.5 per cent on average in the second quarter of 2019.
The highest growth was seen in the Chinese city of Xi’an where prices grew by 25 per cent.
The second highest annual growth was 24.2 per cent in Budapest, followed by 18.3 per cent in Hyderabad, 15.3 per cent in Ahmedabad, and 14.6 per cent in Wuhan and St Petersburg.
The Knight Frank Index covers 150 cities worldwide. Of these, 80 per cent saw property prices rise in the 12 months to the end of the second quarter while there was growth of 5.9 per cent in emerging markets and 2 per cent in developed markets.
However, prices fell in some of the index’s larger markets. Prices in Sydney fell by 9.6 per cent during the same period, while Dubai saw a price decrease of 9.4 per cent. Other notable price falls were seen in Melbourne (9.3 per cent). Abu Dhabi (7.8 per cent), Ljubljana (7.5 per cent) and Delhi (7.1 per cent).
While prices in most markets are rising, the average pace of the growth is slower than it has been in previous years; down from a high of 6.7 per cent at the end of 2016. The index report says that rising economic uncertainty, political crises and affordability concerns are leading to weaker sentiment in mainstream housing markets.
“Economic fortunes, opposing market cycles and in some cases, tighter property market regulations are behind this divergence,” said Kate Everett-Allen, head of global residential research at Knight Frank. “A number of tier one cities find themselves in the bottom third of the index rankings this quarter, including London, New York, Auckland, Rome, Dubai and Sydney.
“In a number of these cities, the prime sector continues to outperform the mainstream market, whilst in others, analysis of price movements in the last quarter suggest their rate of decline is starting to slow,” she added.
Article published 14th October 2019