
According to a Knight Frank LLP Global House Price Index on the June quarter, Malta beats Hong Kong as the territory or country with the highest residential price gains. The study tracked price movements in the property market among 57 countries and compared data from the same quarter in 2017.
Housing prices in Malta rose by 17% in the June quarter when compared to the previous year. With a combination of supply, the sturdy economy which grew by 6.6%, and the growing tech industry, the demand for housing in Malta has progressed.
In the survey, Hong Kong came in second with a price increase of 16%. The world’s least-affordable housing market has led the rankings for 10 occurrences since 2009, but it’s predicted to cool in the upcoming months due to rising interest rates. Hong Kong has seen a range of property market cooling measures being introduced over the past few months in order to correct the property market by 2019.
Latvia, Slovenia and Hungary all form part of the top five in which they registered double-digit price growth.
The Malta Stock Exchange tweeted that good economic policies have created a strong economy and, in turn, a strong real estate market.
However, it was also seen that the average Maltese wage remained static between 2017 and 2018 at €1,379 pre-tax, leaving Maltese wages the 16th highest out of the 28 EU countries. So although Malta beats Hong Kong in terms of property price gains, this new information raises further concern among people who are finding it increasingly challenging to purchase residential property.