More countries recorded an increase in house prices in the year ending June than at any point since the start of the global financial crisis but Europe is still lagging behind.
The Knight Frank Global Price Index presented a mixed picture this quarter. The average rate of annual growth has slowed from 7.1 percent in March to 5.2 percent in June, but the rate of quarterly growth has picked up, rising from 0.6 percent over the first quarter to 1.6 percent in the second.
Dubai tops the annual rankings for the fifth consecutive quarter, recording annual price growth of 24 percent but this is down from 27.7 percent in the year to March 2014. The Emirate’s mainstream market is outperforming the luxury end of the market due in part to the mortgage rules introduced by the UAE Central Bank which are less restrictive for those buying residential property worth below AED 5 million.
Ireland’s staggering rebound continues. In Q3 2012 Ireland was in 54th position in Knight Frank’s table of annual growth, Greece was the only country to perform worse at this time, but now Ireland finds itself ranked in third place with prices having increased by 12.5 percent in the year to June.
The rate of growth in the U.S. slowed in the second quarter with annual price growth of 6.2 percent recorded in the year to June compared to 10.3 percent in the year to March. According to Knight Frank prices in the U.S. may slow further as the stimulus used to aid the economic recovery post 2007/8 continues to be withdrawn by the Federal Reserve.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
