By Andrew Batt:
Hong Kong lead the world in house price growth during 2012 according to the latest Knight Frank Global House Price Index which was published yesterday.
Mainstream property prices in Hong Kong rose on average by 23.6 percent during 2012. With supply lagging, demand from mainland Chinese investors keen to get their slice of Hong Kong’s real estate prices has surged.
Average prices around the world rose by 4.3 percent, according to the report.
Kate Everett-Allen of Knight Frank said: “If the Hong Kong Government’s latest efforts to increase stamp duty is a measure of their determination to cool price growth we can expect a return to more muted growth in 2013. Properties worth below HK$2 million (S$3.2 million) now incur a stamp duty of 1.5 percent, while the rate for properties worth above HK$2 million has been doubled, to up to 8.5 percent of the property’s value.”
Meanwhile, Malaysia saw a 7.3 percent year-on-year growth, placing it slightly ahead of Indonesia which recorded a 7.0 percent rise. Non-landed private residential prices in Singapore rose by 2.6 percent during the same period.
Of the 55 housing markets tracked in the report, 20 saw prices fall in 2012, down from 25 in 2011. What is more telling perhaps is the fact that 19 of the 20 countries that experienced price falls in 2012 were located in Europe.
Everett-Allen added: “This year looks unlikely to deviate significantly from 2012’s script. The performance of the world’s mainstream housing markets will depend on finding some economic stimulus, relaxing lending criteria and instilling buyer confidence. Europe presents the main downside risk acting as a brake on global growth.”
Source: Knight Frank
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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