Knight Frank launches Knight Frank Prime Global Rental Index for Q1 2014 and compares the performance of prime residential rents across key global cities.
Key Highlights for Q1 2014:
• Prime Global Rental Index rose by 4.7% in the year to March 2014.
• Kenyan’s capital, Nairobi, topped the annual rankings for the fourth consecutive quarter, but there are signs that the market is cooling with growth of only 2.1% recorded in Q1 of this year.
• Prime rents declined in Singapore, London and Hong Kong in the year to March 2014. However, we expect prime rental growth in these key cities to strengthen over the remainder of 2014.
• Dubai and Tokyo recorded the strongest rise in prime rents in the first quarter of 2014.
• According to David Ji, Director and Head of Research & Consultancy, Greater China, although there has been a relaxation of the Double Stamp Duty rule in Hong Kong, a number of stringent cooling measures remain in place. With foreign buyers facing purchase costs as much as 25% of the sales price, the luxury rental market is attracting those deterred from buying, which should help support future rental growth.
• Rising interest rates could push would-be buyers into prime rental markets in cities such as London and New York in 2015.
Kate Everett-Allen, Partner, International Residential Research at Knight Frank says, “The key risks for the world’s sales markets could emerge as catalysts for growth in terms of prime rents.”