Despite a slight price drop, China is ranked as the world’s hottest residential real estate market.

According to the most recent data from Knight Frank, a 115-year-old London-based consulting company, China remains the world’s hottest residential real estate market, despite Beijing’s attempts to rein in prices and slow growth in the last three years. The firm’s North American affiliate, Newmark Knight Frank, is based in New York City. house and lot for sale

The rankings are based on rises in house prices from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter of 2011.

China is a country that has a
As the world’s second largest economy experiences rapid growth, housing prices in major cities Beijing and Shanghai have risen by more than 110 percent in the last five years.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, a home in Shanghai’s prime areas cost $19,400 per square meter, or $1,800 per square foot, according to Knight Frank results. In Beijing, a similar home costs $1,600 per square foot or $17,400 per square meter.

Shanghai is a Chinese city.

Years of tightening policies have come to an end. In the second half of last year, China’s government began to produce progress. In February, home prices fell for the fifth month in a row, by 0.1 percent.

According to a recent Reuters survey, China’s average home prices are forecast to drop between 10% and 20% in 2012.

Meanwhile, the country’s real estate developers have seen increased sales this year. Vanke, China’s largest developer by revenue, posted a 24 percent increase in March over the same month last year, marking the company’s second consecutive month of development.

China Land Overseas, the country’s largest developer by market value, saw revenue of $1.7 billion in February, up 209% from the same month a year earlier.

Hong Kong is a city in Hong Kong.

According to Knight Frank, as a major global financial hub, the city surpassed London as the world’s most expensive office rental market last year.

The average price of a home in prime areas in the fourth quarter of 2011 was about $47,500 per square meter or $4,400 per square foot, the fourth highest in the world.

Local protests over high prices and foreign buying prompted the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to enact a measure last year requiring buyers whose primary source of income is outside of Hong Kong to pay an additional 10% down payment when purchasing a home.
All of this has resulted in a recent slowdown. According to Knight Frank, housing prices increased by just 11.3 percent in 2011 compared to 20.1 percent in 2010.

According to industry forecasts, rates have increased by a more modest 6.7 percent year to date. According to Knight Frank, sales of luxury homes worth over $1.29 million fell 23.6 percent in February after falling 17.4 percent in January.

Israel is a country in the Middle East
High home prices in Israel sparked a series of demonstrations in 2011, with demonstrators urging the government to intervene to cool the market, according to Knight Frank analysis. Last July, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest a housing crisis and skyrocketing rents. Property prices seem to have risen as a result of the protests. In 2011, they dropped by 1.2 percent.

However, there appears to be a revival in property demand following a rate cut from 3.25 percent to 2.5 percent in February, with new mortgages issued by banks increasing by more than 14 percent in March compared to the previous two months.

Singapore is a city-state in Southeast
In Southeast Asia, Singapore has the most expensive real estate market. According to Knight Frank, the average price of a prime property in the city-state in the fourth quarter of 2011 was $25,600 per square meter or $2,600 per square foot.

According to research firm ECA International, the country was also the third most expensive city in Asia to rent high-end property last year, after Hong Kong and Tokyo. Low interest rates and a recent wave of immigration have fuelled housing demand.

Singapore is a regional financial center with a huge foreign population that is driving up home prices. According to Citigroup, foreigners account for more than one-third of Singapore’s 5.2 million residents and 18 percent of new homes sold in the third quarter of 2011.
According to real estate company DTZ, mainland Chinese buyers make up the largest group of foreign buyers, accounting for 30.6 percent of foreign sales in the third quarter of 2011.
Colombia is a country in South America.
Colombia is the only nation from South America to make the list.

Rapid economic growth, with GDP growth of nearly 6% in 2011 — the highest in four years — has resulted in an increase in home purchases, especially among the growing middle class.
Furthermore, a decade-long military operation against illegal armed groups has made doing business in the country safer, attracting a surge of foreign investment, which has pushed up property prices. In the first quarter of 2012, foreign direct investment increased by more than 30% to $4.2 billion, compared to the same time last year.

According to government statistics, property prices increased by 3.2 percent year over year in 2011, while new home sales increased by 19 percent in the first half of 2011 compared to the same timeframe the previous year.

Taiwan is a country in Taiwan.

Taiwan is one of the most heavily populated countries on the planet. Rapid urbanization has resulted in overcrowding in Taipei, the country’s largest metropolis.

According to Knight Frank, despite housing prices increasing by more than 30% on average between 2006 and 2011, prices in Taiwan fell by 4.1 percent in 2011. Prices have fallen as a result of government tightening steps such as the “luxury levy” enacted last year.

Any investment property sold within two years now faces a 10% levy, which rises to 15% if the property is sold within one year. The tax does not apply to properties that are used by the owners. According to H&B Realty, Taiwan’s largest mortgage broker, the time it takes to sell a home dropped to a six-month low in March, indicating signs of recovery in the housing market.