Australia ranks in top 10 for price growth
A global index of house prices has identified Australia as the seventh fastest growing market in the world.
The analysis by Knight Frank highlights Dubai as the world’s top performer, with prices in the city-state rising by 27.7 per cent over the past 12 months.
China, Estonia, Turkey and Taiwan rounded out the five strongest markets.
Australian prices changed 10.9 per cent over the year, putting it ahead of the United States, with 10.3 per cent, and New Zealand with 9.2 per cent.
Of the 54 countries tracked by the survey, southern Europe performed the least well, with Greece, Cyprus and Croatia all experiencing a price drop.
According to Knight Frank spokesperson Kate Everett-Allen, markets around the globe are facing favourable conditions.
“For the first time since 2008, no single country tracked by the Global House Price Index has recorded an annual price fall in excess of 10 per cent,” she said.
She predicted property markets would continue to strengthen in the second quarter of 2014, but the outcome would depend heavily on fiscal policy in each country.
“All eyes will remain on central banks, in particular the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. The issue is not when interest rates rise but the speed and extent to which they do,” she said.