Price increases above 27 per cent for prime Shanghai property in 2016 placed China’s commercial capital at the head of the international pack, according to a newly released global residential index. Beijing (26.7 per cent) and Guangzhou (26.6 per cent) followed close behind. South Korean capital Seoul also registered strong growth at 16.6 per cent.
As a region Asia was second to Australasia in overall price rises, with Australia and New Zealand values jumping by 11.4 per cent during 2016, as Auckland and Sydney led the way.
In North America and Europe, the recovery in property values continued, with hotspots including Toronto (15.1 per cent increase), Seattle, Berlin and Amsterdam.
‘Cities that offer the potential for attractive margins, where prices are rising from a low base and where any risk is tempered by a level of transparency and good governance such as Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Dublin, Chicago and Seattle, look likely to perform well,’ stated the report.
The ‘second home’ markets of Ibiza, Mallorca, the Western Algarve and Lake Como all registered price increases in 2016.
Changes to stamp duty in the UK accounted for dampened demand for prime London real estate, the report argued, while Latin America and the Middle East also had a quiet 2016, thanks to fluctuation in oil prices.
