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Eurovision Song Contest Winner Ukraine Comes in Last in This Contest

For real estate prices, Lithuania, of all participating countries, is No. 1

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Jamala, who represented the Ukraine, won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Jamala, who represented the Ukraine, won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday
Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Ukraine may have won Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest with Jamala’s “1944,” but it occupies the bottom slot when it comes to house price growth for countries in the contest. Property prices in Ukraine on average slipped 10.5% in the year to March and lie 58% below their peak in 2008, according to new research by Knight Frank, the global real estate consultancy.

MORE: What You Get for $3 Million at This London Luxury Nursing Home Instead, its analysis of the 26 finalists of the competition showed that Lithuania, which only ranked ninth in the song contest, topped the house price rankings, with the average cost of a home up 10.5% on an annual basis.

Knight Frank Research

Malta also saw prices accelerate by 10% in the last year, but the island came a mediocre twelfth in the Eurovision Song Contest, which began life in the mid-1950s as a way to reunite Europe after the second world war. Only Australia, which was allowed to join in 2015 as an exception as part of the contest’s 60th anniversary, saw a correlation between its singing prowess and housing market performance. It came in second with 511 points and house prices there are nudging annual growth of 9%. Low interest rates, an improving economy and falling unemployment are fueling demand. No country scored the dreaded “nil points,” although Germany came last out of the 26 finalists with only 11 points. This is in contrast to its housing market where prices are rising at an annual rate of 5.4%. Famous past competitors include the group Abba, which represented Sweden back in 1974 and Celine Dion, who sang for Switzerland in 1988.

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