The latest data from Knight Frank reveals that the prices of homes for sale in the 56 countries analysed have accelerated again, having risen by 3.3% in the last 12 months to June. Portugal was the 16th country where houses became more expensive.

The vast majority of the 56 countries that make up Knight Frank's Global House Price Index recorded increases in house prices in the last year ending in the second quarter of 2024. And homes for sale have become 1.9% more expensive in just the last three months. “This fact points to the global strengthening of the sector, with 74% of markets registering price increases in the last three months, the highest in two years”, reads a statement sent to newsrooms.

“Lower interest rates are supporting rising house prices around the world,” concludes Liam Bailey, global director of research at Knight Frank. Still, “the pace of this growth will be limited by the pace of central bank activity, but also by government intervention, which, as can be seen in China, Hong Kong and Poland, is becoming a much more active policy area,” he adds, noting that “regulators are trying to improve access to markets and increase the volume of home construction.”

Data from Knight Frank's Global House Price Index shows that it is in Turkey where housing prices have grown the most in the last year (+46.4%). But as the Turkish economy is experiencing “a second round of high inflation, prices are falling by around 14% per year in real terms, adjusted for inflation”, they further analyse.

Completing the top 5 of the biggest house price rises worldwide is Poland (+18%), followed by Bulgaria (+15.1%), Taiwan (+11.9%) and North Macedonia (+11. 5%). In the case of Poland and Bulgaria, the consultancy admits that the significant growth in housing costs “reflects the demographic increase in these two countries and the demand for houses”.

Portugal is in the top 20 of countries where house prices rise the most, occupying 16th place, ahead of countries such as Singapore, Brazil, Spain, Japan or the USA. In Portugal, the price of houses for sale grew, on average, 6.6% in one year, 5.3% in six months and 2.4% in the last three months.

“This price growth in Portugal shows that the national market remains attractive for foreign investments and that our economic stability gives positive signs about the market”, said Francisco Quintela, founding partner of Quintela + Penalva, Knight Frank's partner in Portugal.

Although ranked 23rd, the US continues to see “strong growth” in home prices, with an annual increase of 5.5%. “Some of this growth is due to falling mortgage rates, but most of it results from increased demand and limited supply of housing. (….) However, rates need to fall much further for sales volumes to begin to normalise”, they analyze from Knight Frank.

At the end of the list are the 13 countries where homes for sale became cheaper in the last year. Hong Kong leads the countries where prices fell the most (12.7% in one year), followed by Luxembourg (10.9%).