Irish house prices are now rising at the third fastest pace in the world, according to a new global survey, which puts price growth in Ireland behind only Iceland and Hong Kong.
According to the Global Property Guide, the five strongest global housing markets in the second quarter of 2017, based on year-on-year growth, were: Iceland (+21.3%), Hong Kong (+19.3%), Ireland (+13.5%), Canada (+13.1%), and Romania (+8.9%). Conversely, the biggest declines were found in Puerto Rico (-9.6%), Russia (-7.6%), Qatar (-6.3%), Macedonia (-6.0%), and Egypt (-5.3%).
Property prices in Iceland, which struggled in the aftermath of the financial crisis, are roaring ahead, “ amidst spectacular economic growth”, the survey finds, with growth rates at 2005 levels.
“This surge is attributable to strong demand, coupled with limited housing supply, especially in the capital city of Reykjavik,” the survey authors find.
“Robust economic growth” is behind Ireland’s continued price hike, with prices rising on a quarterly basis by more than 4 per cent.
Despite the introduction of macro prudential rules in Ireland in 2015, price growth has continued unabated, with Governor of the Central Bank Philip Lane attributing much of the growth to the omni presence of cash buyers.
However, the survey also finds that the global housing boom appears now to be losing momentum, with most of the Middle East, Latin America, New Zealand, and some parts of Asia, experiencing either house price falls or a deceleration of house price rises.
Indeed during the second quarter, only 16 of the world’s housing markets for which figures are available showed stronger upward momentum, while 26 housing markets showed weaker momentum, according to the research.
Across Europe, price growth was strong, although as the survey notes, the “momentum is weaker”. Six of the ten strongest housing markets in the global survey are in Europe and house prices have risen in 18 of the 22 European housing markets for which figures were available during the year to the second quarter of 2017. However, only 10 European housing markets showed stronger upward momentum during Q2 2017, while the 12 markets showed weaker momentum.
In the US, the pace of price-rises remains steady amidst bullish homebuilder sentiment, while Canada, with annual growth of some 13 per cent, “is in the middle of a house price boom” the survey finds.
