The prices of prime residential property in Taipei have fallen faster over the past year than in any major global city with the exception of Tokyo and Moscow, real-estate consultants Knight Frank said.
The average luxury home price in 39 cities in the world covered by the Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index rose 4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year from a year earlier after an 3.8 percent year-on-year increase in the third quarter.
However, luxury home prices in Taipei fell 8 percent from a year earlier, only better than Tokyo (down 8.8 percent) and Moscow (down 11.2 percent).
Taipei rose two notches in the rankings from the third quarter, when luxury home prices fell 8.9 percent from a year earlier, Knight Frank said.
The decline in prices in Taipei eased in part because Taiwanese businesspeople in China are moving funds back to Taiwan and investing them in property to avoid China’s crackdown on tax evasion by foreign investors, Knight Frank research associate director of Andy Huang (黃舒衛) said.
Huang said the sale prices of some luxury homes in Taipei’s downtown area have shown signs of rebounding.
The index was compiled from government statistics, including data from central banks of the nations where the cities are located, Knight Frank said.
In Taipei, a luxury home was defined as a residence costing at least NT$80 million (US$2.61 million), but it was defined differently in other nations.
In the latest index, 25 cities saw their luxury home prices increase and 12 saw prices fall, with prices in two cities unchanged.
Shanghai took the top spot after luxury home prices there rose 27.4 percent year-on-year, ahead of Beijing (up 26.8 percent) and Guangzhou (up 26.6 percent).
Kate Everett-Allen, a director of Knight Frank’s international operations, said that although Chinese authorities have taken action to rein in skyrocketing home prices, only second-tier cities felt the pinch.
First-tier cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou still saw prime home prices increase sharply, she said.
Rounding out the top 10 in the rankings were Seoul (up 16.6 percent), Toronto (up 15.1 percent), Vancouver (14.5 percent), Sydney (up 9.3 percent), Melbourne (up 8.8 percent), Berlin (up 8.7 percent) and Cape Town (up 8.3 percent).
London ranked 35th after the price of residential property fell 6.3 amid lingering concerns over a move by the UK to start the Brexit process.
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