Istanbul ranks third in cities with fastest rising house prices

The only non-Chinese city at the top of the ranking was Turkey’s largest metropolis Istanbul, where house prices rose by 19.6 percent, according to the report. 

Another Turkish city, İzmir, also featured in the top 10, ranking ninth with a 16.7 percent rise in housing prices. 

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen topped the list, with home prices there up 62.5 percent on average over the period, thanks to the city’s expanding technology industry, the survey showed.

Along with Shenzhen in the top five are Shanghai, where prices grew by 30.5 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016, Nanjing (17.8 percent) and Beijing (17.6 percent). 

The Global Residential Cities Index, which is based on official house price data published by either National Statistic Offices or Central Banks, for 150 cities across the world, increased by 4.5 percent overall. 

Seventy-four percent of the cities tracked by the index saw house prices rise in the year to March 2016. The gap between the strongest and weakest performing housing market has expanded from 55 percentage points last quarter to 74, according to the report. 

The rate of growth for China, however, may slow down during the remainder of the year, amid new measures introduced in March in cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai.

“The new rules range from higher down payments for first and second homes, as well as longer residency requirements for non-locals wishing to purchase,” stated the report.


Rising prices in Scandinavia 

Another region enjoying considerable growth, according to the report, is Scandinavia, fueled by a combination of limited new supply, high demand and cheap financing. The cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Oslo and Copenhagen all recorded annual price growth of between 9 percent and 17 percent in the year to March.
In North America, Vancouver continues to lead the way, with a year-to-year growth of 17 percent.

“The data under analysis covered the period to the first quarter of 2016 but looking to the future, all eyes will now be on the U.K.’s decision to leave the EU and the impact it has on property markets, not just in the U.K. but globally,” warned the report.