Think the UK is expensive? Hong Kong tops global house price rankings – while prices have fallen the most in Ukraine
If you thought UK house prices were rising at an unmanageable level, spare a thought for the residents of Hong Kong, where prices have jumped 18.7 per cent in the past year, according to Knight Frank's latest global house price index.
Turkey is next, with a year-on-year rise of 18.6 per cent, while prices in Ireland have jumped 16.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the UK is at number 19 in the rankings, with a 5.9 per cent price rise in the past year. Hardly worth noting, really…
Not surprisingly, Ukraine came bottom of the rankings, with prices falling 15.5 per cent, followed by Cyprus, which fell 8.2 per cent. Greece was also low, with prices falling 6.1 per cent in the past year.
And it looks like China's "cooling measures" are continuing apace – prices in the state have fallen 6.4 per cent in the past year.
Globally, house prices increased just 0.3 per cent over the year, although Knight Frank pointed out that prices rose in three quarters of the countries it tracks, up from 47 per cent three years ago.
But a "two-speed Europe" is becoming evident, with Cyprus, Greece, France and Italy among the 10 weakest performers, while Turkey, Ireland, Luxembourg and Estonia are all in the top five.
