London To Lead Prime Global Markets in 2021

London is being tipped to see one of the highest rates of house price growth in the world this year, according to a comparison of international indices.

Abode2 has studied analysis of prime real estate values across 18 global destinations in 2020 – and predictions for 2021 – and concludes that the average price of a 43 square metre property is set to tick upwards by a 1.8% on an annual basis and hit £717,429 by the end of December.

Average prime prices in three of the markets – Monaco (£2.07m), Hong Kong (£1.3m) and London (£1m) – will remain in seven digits this year, according to the research, with Geneva (£905,550), New York (£891,505), Singapore (£880,395), Paris (£747,595), Los Angeles (£727,387) and Sydney (£725,037) all sitting above the average figure. Inflation is expected to be highest in Berlin and Sydney, with annual uplifts of 5% forecast for 2021; Miami (4.5%), Shanghai (4%) and London (3.5%) are also tipped to see strong growth.

The global prime market has, of course, been impacted by ongoing travel restrictions preventing many international buyers from transacting as they may have otherwise. As a result, annual appreciation in real estate values is forecast to climb slightly across many cities, although some are expected to see a stronger performance than others.

However, the very top end of any global property market performance is based very much around quality over quantity and so, as the world does start to reopen, months of pandemic restrictions are sure to yield to increased demand as many look to regain lost time.

According to Knight Frank’s latest data meanwhile, urban house prices around the world are rising at their fastest rate since 2007, with nearly one in three (29%) of the 150 cities tracked by its Global Cities Index recording double-digit annual property price inflation. 43 of the 150 cities have seen prices escalate by more than 10% over the last year, with five above 25%.