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Global Housing Prices Slowing Down

Even top-ranking New Zealand and Hong Kong saw rate of price growth cool

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Iceland has seen the strongest price growth of any country tracked by Knight Frank, with prices up 20.4% year-over-year.

Universal Images Group
Iceland has seen the strongest price growth of any country tracked by Knight Frank, with prices up 20.4% year-over-year.
Universal Images Group

The world’s housing markets are facing a general slowdown but very few have actually slipped into negative growth, according to a Knight Frank report Tuesday.

Housing prices around the world increased 5.1% year-over-year in the three months ending in September, the slowest growth rate since the second quarter of 2016, according to the report. Only seven of the 56 countries tracked in the firm’s Global House Price Index, however, saw negative price growth.

More:Regional Cities Set to Lead House Price Gains in the U.K.

"Thirteen of the 15 strongest performing housing markets around the world registered a slowdown in their rate of annual growth in the year to September," said Kate Everett-Allen of Knight Frank’s international residential research.

For instance, Iceland, the world’s strongest performer, saw its incredibly fast-paced growth slow to 20.4% in the third quarter of this year, down from 23.2% last quarter. The Nordic island has led Knight Frank’s rankings for four consecutive quarters amid a shortage of new supply.

Other regions at the top of rankings for price growth include Hong Kong, with 17.5% growth year-over-year in the third quarter and the Czech Republic, with prices up 13.2%.

Hong Kong stood out as an example of slowing growth, as prices nudged up only 1.7% in the three months ending in September. The city’s government introduced

More:Australian Property Prices Remain Flat in November

New Zealand, previously one of the most accelerated housing markets on the list, dropped out of the top 10 last quarter, slipping from 10th to 27th place. Housing prices there grew just 5.2% over the last year thanks to tighter lending conditions and plans to ban foreigners from the market beginning in 2018.

Knight Frank added Saudi Arabia to the list for the first time. The kingdom, which is in the midst of an anti-corruption purge and has suffered in recent years from the collapse of oil prices, made its debut at the near-bottom of the list. Saudi Arabia is second only to the Ukraine in terms of negative growth, with housing prices falling 5.4% year over year. Ukraine logged negative growth of 6.7%.

In the U.S., housing prices increased 6.2% over the year, a reflection of an improving economy. While in the U.K., housing prices saw a slight dip to 2.6% growth.