Hungary is in first place as global house prices lag
PRICES across 56 countries and territories worldwide are rising at an annual rate of 3.7% on average. This marks the Knight Frank Global House Price Index’s slowest rate of growth for over six years.
This trend mirrors the pattern observed in Knight Frank’s other global city indices – across both the mainstream and prime segments.
Analysis of the latest data shows Hungary leads the index this quarter with 15.4% annual price growth, boosted by a robust economy (4.9% GDP growth forecast last year), low mortgage rates, high wage growth and a range of government subsidy measures.
South Africa, ranked 24th, shows a 3.8% increase over a 12-month period (Q3 2018 to Q3 2019).
Other previous front runners from the past two years have cooled significantly – Slovenia (18th), Malta (22nd) and Iceland (26th), either due to weaker economic landscapes, affordability concerns or a decline in tourism.
In contrast, some countries and territories are rising up the rankings. A year ago, Greece sat in 24th place with a price growth of 2.4%. Although prices still sit 37% below their 2008 peak, they are now rising at a rate of 7.7% per annum and Greece is ranked 12th out of 56 countries and territories.
Seven of the top 10 rankings this quarter are European countries and most are in central and eastern Europe. Here, prices are rising from a low base, economies are strengthening and borrowing costs are close to record lows.
On a world region basis, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (formerly the USSR) lead the rankings, registering average annual growth of 5.7%. Prices in Russia are up 8.1% over the 12-month period and Ukraine has moved off the bottom rank in the past year and is now averaging 3.3% growth per annum.