Vancouver home prices’ 24.5 per cent average price hike in 2015 topped a list of 100 global cities “by some margin,” according to the 2016 Knight Frank Wealth Report.
The gain easily topped the 14.8 per cent residential property price rise in Sydney, Australia and the 14.4 per cent increase in Shanghai, China.
Istanbul, Turkey homes rose in value 13 per cent whereas the increase was 12 per cent in Munich, Germany and 11.9 per cent in Melbourne, Australia.
The report noted that 10 cities saw double-digit-percent increases.
“A lack of supply, coupled with foreign demand, spurred on by a weaker Canadian dollar explain the city’s stellar performance,” the report noted.
It added that Vancouver is enduring the lowest level of inventory in 25 years.
“The number of multifamily developments along the major transportation routes is rising but this is not enough to make up for the lack of prime market supply,” said Kevin Skipworth of Knight Frank’s partner Dexter Associates in the report.
On average, the value of the world’s leading residential property markets rose on average by 1.8 per cent in 2015, according to the report’s Prime International Residential Index. That’s down slightly from a 2 per cent average rise in 2014.
The biggest losers were oil-dependent Lagos, Nigeria, where prices fell 20 per cent and in Buenos Aires, where prices were down 8 per cent. All changes in home values cited in the report were in local currencies.
Of the 34 cities where real estate prices fell, 22 were in Europe.
Munich, Amsterdam, Monaco and Berlin were Europe’s standout performers, recording price growth of 12 per cent, 10 per cent, 10 per cent and 9 per cent respectively in 2015, the report said.
Within North America, San Francisco came second with a 10.9 per cent home price increase. Toronto, with an 8 per cent increase was third in North America. Then came Miami (6.4 per cent), Los Angeles (4.7 per cent) and Boston (3.8 per cent).’’
Curiously, the report did not include Vancouver in a chart showing what US$1 million will buy in 20 selected cities.
Monaco topped that list as the world’s priciest city on a per-metre basis as US$1 million will only buy 17 metres in that sovereign city-state. The next expensive places to buy real estate based on how much living space you can buy were Hong Kong (20 metres), London (22 metres) and New York (27 metres).
For more business news go to biv.com
