House prices around the world increased in most countries last year, according to the latest statistics from the International Monetary Fund.
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Prices are tracked in 64 countries – with home values going up in 51.
Leading the table were Qatar (up 15.5%); New Zealand (15%) and Hong Kong (14.1%)
Other nations with double-digit rises were Sweden (13.7%), Hungary (10.9%) and Turkey (10.5%).
The nations with the largest drops were The Ukraine (-33.3%), the United Arab Emirates (-14.3%) and Russia (-13.4%).
Popular expat destinations such as the USA (+5.9%), Australia (+9%) and India (+8.6%) all saw price rises.
House values outstrip incomes and rents
In the UK, the figure was a 5.5% increase. Spain saw prices go up 4.9%, while Cyprus was treading water at 0.8%. Expats in France saw prices fall by 1.29%.
The latest IMF data also shows house price rises have outstripped incomes and rents in many countries.
The report also highlights house prices in several commodity producing countries.
The IMF concluded although commodity prices worldwide do not appear to influence house prices, they do impact on regions within some countries.
In Australia, house prices in Perth, a centre for mining and petroleum, are declining while those in the rest of the country have risen.
The same pattern is emerging in the oil producing regions of Canada – around Calgary and Edmonton – and Norway, around Stavanger.
IMF Global Housing Watch – April 2016
| Country | Change (%) |
| Ukraine | -33.36 |
| United Arab Emirates | -14.29 |
| Russia | -13.41 |
| Brazil | -9.18 |
| Latvia | -7.39 |
| Greece | -4.93 |
| Taiwan | -4.40 |
| Singapore | -3.63 |
| Morocco | -2.88 |
| Italy | -2.45 |
| China | -1.75 |
| Indonesia | -1.54 |
| France | -1.29 |
| Croatia | -0.76 |
| Chile | -0.34 |
| South Africa | -0.12 |
| Belgium | 0.03 |
| Finland | 0.34 |
| Cyprus | 0.83 |
| Vietnam | 0.84 |
| Poland | 1.16 |
| Macedonia | 1.28 |
| Slovenia | 1.58 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1.84 |
| Norway | 2.03 |
| Bulgaria | 2.16 |
| Malaysia | 2.31 |
| Kazakhstan | 2.54 |
| Japan | 2.65 |
| Portugal | 2.68 |
| Austria | 3.00 |
| Malta | 3.23 |
| Korea | 3.26 |
| Thailand | 3.31 |
| Czech Republic | 3.35 |
| Switzerland | 3.40 |
| Netherlands | 3.65 |
| Serbia | 3.83 |
| Luxembourg | 3.89 |
| Peru | 3.93 |
| Germany | 4.22 |
| Colombia | 4.30 |
| Estonia | 4.47 |
| Canada | 4.49 |
| Spain | 4.92 |
| Philippines | 5.13 |
| Romania | 5.50 |
| Mexico | 5.51 |
| United Kingdom | 5.58 |
| United States | 5.92 |
| Lithuania | 5.97 |
| Slovak Republic | 6.30 |
| Denmark | 6.66 |
| Iceland | 6.98 |
| Israel | 7.37 |
| India | 8.61 |
| Australia | 9.03 |
| Ireland | 9.05 |
| Turkey | 10.48 |
| Hungary | 10.92 |
| Sweden | 13.74 |
| Hong Kong SAR | 14.18 |
| New Zealand | 14.59 |
| Qatar | 15.50 |
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