Knight Frank, the independent global property consultancy, launches the Prime Global Cities Index Q3 2016, which tracks prime residential prices across 37 global cities worldwide. Despite an average annual growth rate of 3.8%, 18 of the 37 cities tracked by our index saw their rate of price growth slide compared with last quarter.
Results for Q3 2016:
• The index increased by 3.8% in the year to September 2016, down from 4.6% last quarter
• Although still on top, Vancouver’s quarterly price growth slipped to 1.5% in the three months to September
• Europe is split, Dublin is Europe’s strongest performer and Paris the continent’s weakest
• Currency, in particular the trajectory of the US dollar, will be critical to future prime market performance globally
• Chinese cities such as Shanghai (23.4%), Guangzhou (14.3%) and Beijing (7.1%) dominate our top ten rankings for annual price growth
Nicholas Holt, Asia Pacific Head of Research, says, “Within the Asia-Pacific region, Tier-1 Chinese cities and Seoul were the stand out performers in the third quarter of 2016. Despite continued interventions from policy makers in China, which is likely to moderate demand, prices in the key markets remain on their upward trajectory. In Seoul, a combination of low interest rates and government plans to constrain supply has raised liquidity in the prime residential market, leading to some significant price uplifts.
“Looking forward, while local dynamics will dictate markets to a large extent, much also depends on the wider global environment, including the US economic and political outlook, the Brexit effect and the China's rebalancing.”
David Ji, Director, Head of Research and Consultancy, Greater China, says, “Hong Kong, where luxury residential prices are 4.7% below their Q2 2015 peak, has halted its decline with prices rising by 4.1% in the three months to September. Strong demand has led to a recent upturn in sales.”