China’s real estate is on fire: luxury homes in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are gaining value faster than anywhere in the world – while prices dip in New York, London and Dubai
- Luxury homes are gaining value at the fastest rate since 2017 and Asia is leading the charge, with Shanghai, Guangzhou and Seoul all in the world’s top five
- Meanwhile high-end homes in New York, Paris, Dubai, London and Hong Kong all lost value, according to Knight Frank’s quarterly track of 46 key global cities
A new report released by global property consultancy Knight Frank found that the price of prime real-estate – or the top 5 per cent of the market value-wise – rose by an average of 4.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2021. That marks the biggest quarterly increase since Q4 2017.
Three Chinese cities led the ranking: Shenzhen registered a 19 per cent price increase year over year, while Shanghai and Guangzhou each registered 16 per cent price increases in the same time frame. Seoul came in at No 5 on the ranking with a 14 per cent change.
“Despite the introduction of stricter curbs on China new home sales in January 2021, buyers’ enthusiasm continues to persist as the low inventory stoked a fear of missing out among homebuyers,” Victoria Garrett, head of APAC residential for Knight Frank, said in a press release.
The only non-Asian city to rank among the top five cities is Vancouver (No 4 on the ranking), where prime real estate prices increased by 15 per cent annually. The highest price change among American cities was in Los Angeles (No 8), where prices rose by 12.6 per cent from Q1 2020 to Q1 2021.
Other cities saw prices soften in this same time frame, according to the report. Notably, New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Dubai and London each saw a dip in their prime real estate prices. Among the 46 global cities tracked by Knight Frank, New York City saw the biggest price dip: Prices fell by 5.8 per cent year over year.
From fishing village to unaffordable metropolis
Thirty years ago, Shenzhen was a fishing village.