Property prices in Turkey rose by the most globally last year, according to data published by the UK-based Knight Frank.
The estate agency’s Global House Price Index, which tracks 55 countries, rose by 3% in 2015, outpacing the 2.3% reported a year earlier.
Turkey topped the ranking, with prices ending 2015 around 18.4% higher, Knight Frank said.
“Increasingly viewed as a safe haven for Middle Eastern investors, Turkey is bridging East and West whilst also seeing strong population growth,” it said in a statement.
The global performance in property prices was generally positive despite concerns over the global economy.
“Forty-three of the 55 housing markets tracked in our Global House Price Index saw prices rise, up from 10 countries in the aftermath of the Lehman’s collapse in Q2 2009,” said Kate Everett-Allen, partner in international residential research at Knight Frank.
Knight Frank ranked Belgium and New Zealand as the least affordable countries when house prices are compared to incomes. Ukraine and Greece saw the weakest housing markets in 2015, recording price falls of 12% and 5% respectively.
Everett-Allen said the outlook for global prices in 2016 is “muted” despite the stronger performance last year.
“We expect the index’s overall rate of growth to be weaker in 2016 than in 2015. The global economy is experiencing a potentially dangerous cocktail of low oil prices, a strong dollar and a continued slowdown in China,” she said.
