Knight Frank launches Global House Price Index Q2 2015

Knight Frank launches Global House Price Index Q2 2015

Index records weakest growth in four years;
Housing markets in China and US following divergent paths

1 September 2015, Singapore – Knight Frank, the independent global property consultancy, today launches the Q2 2015 Global House Price Index which tracks the house prices of 56 mainstream residential markets across the globe. Global house prices shifted marginally in the year to June 2015 rising by only 0.1%. Lingering concerns over the Eurozone economy, jitters in global stock markets and discussions of when, not if, a US rate rise occurs is impinging on growth.

Report highlights:
• The Knight Frank Global House Price Index increased marginally by 0.1% in the year to June 2015.

• The Hong Kong market continues to defy its policymakers’ cooling measures with mainstream prices up 20.7% year-on-year.

• In Dubai, weaker demand, a strong US dollar and ongoing cooling measures led to a decline of 12.2% year-on-year.

• Although China saw prices fall 5.7% year-on-year, it recorded positive quarterly growth of 0.2%.

• Europe is no longer the weakest performing world region, a title it has held for 15 consecutive quarters.

Mr Nicholas Holt, Head of Research for Asia Pacific, says, “With markets increasingly interconnected throughout the region, economic concerns in China will continue to cause jitters throughout Asia Pacific. The resulting impact on housing markets is not necessarily straightforward. On the one hand, economic growth is a key indicator for future house price performance; while on the other, property in times of economic turbulence has been seen as a safe haven and a postponement of an interest rate rise hike in the US will continue to provide many markets with a low cost of debt.”

Ms Kate Everett-Allen, International Residential Research at Knight Frank, says, “As China supplants Greece as the world’s key economic concern, and emerging markets look increasingly anaemic, there is a global quest for growth which is evident at a macroeconomic level but also when analysing house price performance.”

ENDS

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