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Global real-estate consultancy Knight Frank just released the latest edition of its Prime Global Cities Index, which tracks luxury residential real-estate markets around the world, with data current as of the close of the third quarter of 2019.
Moscow, Russia, takes the top spot as the fastest-growing luxury real-estate market in the world, showing an 11.1% jump in prime property prices over the past year and a 1.3% bump in the past three months alone. Following in second is Frankfurt, Germany, which reported a 10.3% jump in prime prices over the past year, though it had no change within the past three months.
Meanwhile, no city in North America made the top 15 - the highest-ranked North American city is Toronto, Canada, coming in at No. 19 with a 2.2% year-over-year jump in prime prices. The US real-estate market makes its first appearance even further down, with Miami, Florida, ranking at No. 25 on the list, showing a 1.4% jump in prime prices.
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Knight Frank reports that prime prices in the United States have slowed over the years, largely due to escalating political tension, such as unsteady US-China trade relations and the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Moscow, the researches note, tops the list because of the completion of numerous high-end luxury residential projects in prime areas.
Keep reading to find out the 15 fastest-growing luxury real estate markets in the world, arranged in order of increasingly large growth.
The South China Morning Post's Zhang Lin reported in January that many people in China are looking to buy homes to pass down to their children, and buying a home in a big city like Beijing means better access to goods, services and infrastructure. "An area's administrative center is also its economic center," Lin wrote. "As well as its transport, medical, and education centers."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Japan's "relatively" deregulated housing policies have allowed the country to keep up with housing demands. The Journal also reported that Japan builds nearly one million new homes each year. However, the prices of these homes have been slightly constrained "due to anemic economic growth and population decline."
The Scotsman reports that the average home price in Edinburgh is £264,943 (or about $347,000), making the city the most expensive place in Scotland to buy real estate. Jacqueline Law, managing partner at Aberdein Considine, told the Scotsman that, especially ahead of Brexit, buyers were "taking a long-term view on the market."
However, Law notes that one of the main forces driving up home sale prices is the fact that there is an overall lack of homes to sell, meaning that the homes which are for sale have been going for a higher price than they ordinarily might.
"Regardless of what kind of [Brexit] deal, if any .... many Scots are pressing ahead with purchase decisions in order to provide short-to-medium term security," she told the publication.
Global Property Guide reports that despite a strong economy, the housing market in Indonesia is still sluggish, with apartments in Jakarta costing $2,823 per square meter.
Paris Perfect reports that because of Brexit, many companies are looking to move further into mainland Europe, and Paris, along with Frankfurt (a city that also ranks high on this list), Amsterdam, and Brussels have all been attracting financial institutions looking to make the move.
They also reported that Americans are lead the pack as foreign buyers, with 12% of foreign real-estate purchases being made by Americans, with Italian buyers following at 11%.
Global Property Guide reports that the housing market in Spain has boomed, mostly driven by foreign buyers, consisting largely of Britons, French, Germans, Italians, Swedes, and Belgians. Madrid is the third-most expensive housing market in Spain, with real-estate costs averaging about $3,276 per square meter.
Live Mint reports that the rising home prices in India have begun to slow, with housing costs specifically predicted to fall in Delhi. In addition, analysts told Live Mint that Delhi currently has an overvalued housing market.
However, the government has tried to revamp the housing market by announcing it would cut taxes on residential properties that are currently under construction.
"House prices will only see moderate changes because of the uncertainty surrounding the general elections, present liquidity crisis, and relatively slower sales," Anuj Puri, chairman at Anarock Property Consultants, said.
UBS reported that Zurich has one of the most overvalued housing markets in the world.
The Swiss city had the lowest rental rate of any of the cities in the report and has negative interest rates, which are said to be driving investors to accept and buy property at their current levels.
According to UBS, Geneva also has one of the most overvalued housing markets in the world; however, this city's market is still well-supported, and the city remains a popular destination, especially because of its relative political stability.
DW reports that home prices in Germany have risen, but mixed with low interest rates, this has garnered interest in those looking to buy a home in the country. DW reports that interest rates fell from 4.33% to 1.65% in nearly a decade, with Berlin becoming the world's fastest growing real-estate market.
However, because of this large boom and rising costs, many are finding themselves priced out of the market.
"It's striking — Germany is one of Europe's wealthiest nations, but we have very low homeownership rates," housing specialist Pekka Sanger from the German Economic Institute told DW. "We saw an increase in the number of first-time homebuyers in 2011 when there was a similarly-low interest rate, but this time, the cost of a deposit has risen and taken ownership out of the range of what most younger people can afford."
As result, there has been a high rental demand, according to DW.
Global Property Guide reports that in downtown Manila, apartments cost about $3,952 per square meter. The Philippines has reported strong economic growth, with housing prices increasing over the past few years.
South China Morning Post reports that the property market in Taiwan is rising again, largely due to the fact that many factories are moving back to the country as the trade war with China continues.
"We see a lot of manufacturers or companies that are retreating partially or moving back some of their factory activity from China," Ricky Huang, general manager at Savills Taiwan, told SCMP. "They want to relocate back to Taiwan, so this boosts the transaction of industrial and office property."
The Financial Times reports that Frankfurt is one of the cities benefiting from institutions leaving the UK amid Brexit. FT reports that as of January, nearly 25 UK-based banks have moved from London to Frankfurt.
