Keeping a tab on expat home values is a tough call, so an international property consultant has stepped in with a regular snapshot of prime prices in cities around the world.
Vancouver, on Canada’s west coast leads the rakings of 37 cities with a huge price hike of 36.4% in the year to the end of June 2016.
But expats need to find more cash than locals if they want to buy a home as the British Columbia provincial government has slapped a 15% surcharge on property bought by expats.
Vancouver house prices have topped prime house price growth ratings for five months in a row.
Australasia tops rankings
According to the Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index, the top performing property market for the second quarter of 2016 was Australasia, with two cities in the top six. Average prime property prices in the region were up 11% in the year.
Hong Kong was the worst performer – or alternatively the place with the cheapest prime housing – with values dropping 8% due to worries about supply and a slowing local economy.
Knight Frank also pointed out that prices were buoyant in the top 10 cities despite most imposing surcharges or other taxes on foreign buyers in a bid to hold back prices.
Prime Global House Prices
| City | 12 month change | 6 month change | 3 month change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 36.4% | 22.2% | 13.4% |
| Shanghai | 22.5% | 15.7% | 5.9% |
| Cape Town | 16.1% | 5.6% | 3.0% |
| Toronto | 12.6% | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| Melbourne | 11.0% | 2.5% | 1.8% |
| Sydney | 10.2% | 5.7% | 4.6% |
| Tokyo | 9.2% | 11.3% | 3.8% |
| Guangzhou | 8.8% | 6.1% | 4.5% |
| Singapore | 7.9% | 1.5% | 0.2% |
| Seoul | 7.0% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Beijing | 6.4% | 3.8% | 1.6% |
| Bangkok | 5.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Dublin | 4.9% | 1.9% | 0.5% |
| San Fransisco | 4.9% | 4.2% | 1.2% |
| Miami | 4.3% | 2.9% | 2.2% |
| Jakarta | 3.9% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Tel Aviv | 3.5% | 3.3% | 1.5% |
| Los Angeles | 3.1% | 3.0% | 1.3% |
| Monaco | 2.8% | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Mumbai | 2.6% | 2.1% | 0.3% |
| Zurich | 2.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Nairobi | 2.1% | 1.3% | -0.2% |
| Edinburgh | 2.0% | 2.1% | 1.4% |
| Bengaluru | 1.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Geneva | 0.7% | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| Rome | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Madrid | -0.2% | -1.8% | -0.9% |
| Vienna | -0.4% | -1.0% | -1.0% |
| New York | -0.5% | -0.4% | 0.1% |
| London | -0.6% | -0.3% | -0.3% |
| Milan | -1.9% | -1.9% | -0.7% |
| Kuala Lumpur | -2.2% | -2.0% | -0.7% |
| Paris | -2.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Delhi | -4.9% | -4.9% | -4.3% |
| Moscow# | -5.2% | -8.9% | 1.8% |
| Taipai | -7.7% | -4.9% | -1.9% |
| Hong Kong | -8.4% | -3.8% | -1.8% |
Source: Knight Frank
