The latest data from Knight Frank reveals that prices of houses for sale in the 56 countries analyzed have accelerated again, having increased by 3.3% in the last 12 months to June. Portugal is the 16th country where houses have become more expensive.
The vast majority of the 56 countries that make up Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index recorded increases in house prices over the past year ending in the second quarter of 2024. Homes for sale have become 1.9% more expensive in the last three months alone. “This highlights the overall strengthening of the sector, with 74% of markets recording price increases over the past three months, the highest rate in two years,” read a statement sent to newsrooms.
“Falling interest rates are supporting rising house prices around the world,” concludes Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank. However, “the pace of this growth will be limited by the pace of central bank activity, but also by the intervention of governments which, as we can see in China, Hong Kong and Poland, is becoming a political area much more active,” he adds, noting that “regulators are trying to improve access to markets and increase the volume of housing construction.”
Data from Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index shows that house prices increased the most in Turkey last year (+46.4%). But as the Turkish economy is experiencing “a second cycle of high inflation, prices are falling by around 14% per year in real terms, adjusted for inflation”, they further analyze.
Poland (+18%), followed by Bulgaria (+15.1%), Taiwan (11.9%) and North Macedonia (+11.5%) complete the top 5 with the highest increases in real estate prices around the world. In the case of Poland and Bulgaria, the consultancy admits that the significant growth in housing costs “reflects the demographic increase in these two countries and the demand for housing.”
Portugal is in the top 20 countries where housing prices are increasing the most, occupying 16th place, ahead of countries like Singapore, Brazil, Spain, Japan or the United States. In Portugal, the price of houses for sale increased on average by 6.6% in one year, by 5.3% in six months and by 2.4% in the last three months.
“This price growth in Portugal shows that the national market remains attractive for foreign investment and that our economic stability is showing positive signs in the market,” said Francisco Quintela, founding partner of Quintela + Penalva, Knight Frank’s partner in Portugal .
Although ranked 23rd, the United States continues to experience “strong growth” in house prices, with an annual increase of 5.5%. “Some of this growth is due to falling mortgage rates, but most of it is the result of increased demand and limited supply of housing. (….) However, rates need to fall further for the sales volume is starting to normalize,” analyze Knight Frank experts.
At the bottom of the list are the 13 countries where houses for sale have become cheaper over the past year. Hong Kong tops the list of countries where prices have fallen the most (12.7% in one year), followed by Luxembourg (10.9%).
