Global house prices continue to rise, despite growing economic uncertainty
House prices across 56 countries and territories are still rising at a rate of 8.8% per annum, down from 10.9% at their peak in Q1 2022.
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However, in real terms, when accounting for inflation, house prices are now declining by 0.3% year-on-year.
In nominal terms, however, the slowdown is taking longer to materialise than we envisaged. Forty-eight of the 56 countries and territories tracked by the index are still registering price growth on an annual basis.
Turkey leads the board but it’s phenomenal growth can largely be discounted due to rampant inflation. Northern and Central European markets continue to perform strongly with Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Slovakia,
North Macedonia and Latvia all registering annual price growth above 16%.
Markets that have seen the largest jump in interest rates are sliding down the rankings table. Canada has moved from 10th to 34th place in the rankings, and Australia from 28th to 47th place in the last three months.
New Zealand, which started its rate hiking earlier than most other advanced economies, has shifted from 41st to 52nd place over the same time period, with prices down 2% nationally in the year to Q3 2022.
At 11%, annual price growth in the United States may seem robust but it has dipped from a peak of 21% in March 2022. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate breached 7% in October for the first time since 2002, according to mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.
Singapore is Asia’s top-ranking city with growth of 14%. A healthy labour market, and a move by investors out of equities and into property to capitalise on rising rents, is driving prices upwards.
The UK sits mid table with annual growth of 10% but with house prices falling month-on-month in September they look to have peaked.
Only six countries and territories recorded a decline in prices in the year to Q3 2022, these include South Korea, Hong Kong, Peru, the Chinese mainland, New Zealand and Morocco.