Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has emerged as the new luxury real estate hotspot, boasting the fastest-growing high-end property prices in the world, according to a report from Knight Frank. In the year ending September, luxury home prices in Manila surged by 21.2%, outpacing all other cities included in the analysis. This impressive performance is attributed to strong domestic and foreign investments in the city’s real estate market.
Dubai, which had experienced rapid luxury real estate growth during the early stages of the pandemic, was relegated to second place in the ranking with annual growth of 15.9%. However, in the third quarter, price gains in Dubai slowed, increasing by just 0.7% from July to September.
Shanghai, Mumbai, and Madrid rounded out the top five cities with the fastest appreciating luxury property markets. The average price growth across all 46 cities in the analysis increased by 2.1% in the year ending September, surpassing gains recorded in the previous two quarters.
While 67% of the markets saw prices rise over the year, only 63% witnessed an increase over the quarter, indicating lingering uncertainty. The potential for further interest rate hikes was cited as a key factor contributing to this uncertainty.
On the other end of the spectrum, U.S. cities primarily occupied the lower rankings, with San Francisco experiencing the worst annual performance, suffering a 9.7% price drop. New York and Los Angeles also reported declines, with prices falling by 4% and 1.9%, respectively.
The report suggests that while there is an overall improvement in average annual house price growth, it is important to acknowledge the challenges presented by higher interest rates. Investors may need to work harder to identify opportunities for outperformance in order to achieve their target returns.
