Global House Prices Grew by 5.6% in 2020
04-20-2021
Emerging markets, including Russian and inflation-plagued Turkish cities, were among the top-performing areas, according to Knight Frank
BY V.L. HENDRICKSON MANSION GLOBAL
Ankara, Turkey, had the highest price increases in 2020.KONEVI FROM PIXABAY
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Average home prices across the world’s major cities rose 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Knight Frank’s residential index, released Wednesday.
That’s up from 3.2% in 2019, and marks a remarkable growth rate in light of the global pandemic and its wide-reaching economic effects, according to the report, which looks at 150 international urban locations.
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“Emerging markets are amongst some of the strongest performers, Turkish and Russian cities amongst them—albeit Turkish price growth is largely linked to high inflation and the lira’s trajectory,” Kate Everett-Allen, head of international research at Knight Frank, said in the report.
Indeed, the top three cities on the index are in Turkey. It’s capital, Ankara, took the No. 1 spot.
Average prices there rose 30.2% year over year in the final quarter of 2020, the data showed. Izmir and Istanbul ranked second and third, with annual increases of 29.4% and 27.9%, respectively.
Auckland, New Zealand, landed in the fourth spot with a 26.4% average annual price increase for the fourth quarter, followed by St. Petersburg, Russia, which saw a jump of 25.4%, according to the report.
Despite increased growth across the index, the gulf between the highest and lowest ranking cities grew last year.
“The gap between the strongest and weakest-performing city is now 42 percentage points, up from 36 in June 2020,” Ms. Everett-Allen said in the report.
Four of the five weakest-performing cities were in India, with Chennai ranking last on the index. It registered a 9% decline in average prices in the final quarter of last year, compared to the same time the previous year, the data showed. Pune, Kalkata and Delhi saw prices drop 5.3%, 4.3% and 3.9%, respectively.
Dubai saw the second-worst drop in prices, which declined 7.1% annually in the fourth quarter, according to Knight Frank.
In the U.S., 14 of the 15 cities tracked by the index registered annual price growth of over 7% and are now within the top third of the index, according to the report. That’s up from only two cities last year.
Phoenix, which saw a 14.4% annual increase in average prices in the fourth quarter, ranked 15th on the index, the highest among U.S. cities. Seattle and San Diego ranked 17th and 18th, with 13.6% and 13% year-over-year price increases for quarter.