Despite slowdown, India real estate mkt remained resilient in 2019: Report

Despite wealth growth and record low interest rates in most advanced economies, the economic slowdown has weighed on prime property prices across the globe, according to Knight Frank's Prime International Residential Index (PIRI 100).

PIRI 100 tracked the movement of luxury residential prices in 100 cities and second home markets globally in 2019. The survey -- part of the Wealth Report 2020 -- shows that Frankfurt and Lisbon top the PIRI list with an annual price change of 10.3 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively.

Seoul and Taipei are now Asia's frontrunners with annual growth of almost 8.9 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively. Hong Kong (plus 2.9 per cent) surprised on the upside in 2019 with a mortgage cap reduction and three interest rate reductions mitigating some of the impact of the political volatility.

Singapore (plus 1.2 per cent) is firmly back in the spotlight as New Delhi registered 4.7 per cent annual growth followed by Bengaluru (2.1 per cent) while Mumbai saw a tepid growth of 0.5 per cent.

"Supported by low-interest rates, prime residential markets in the Asia Pacific were able to weather market volatility in 2019," said Victoria Garrett, Head of Residential for the Asia Pacific at Knight Frank.

In Seoul, a lack of prime residential supply within the city coupled with strong demand and easy access to credit has significantly bolstered the performance of its prime residential market.

While in Taipei, prime residential prices were up similarly due to a lack of available supply and higher demand from cross-border investors seeking to diversify their risks.

When it comes to luxury properties, Monaco remains the world's most expensive city where one million dollars can buy you a mere 16.4 square metres of space.

Comparatively in Mumbai, you can buy 102.2 square metres (about the size of a decent two-bedroom flat in the city).

"While prime property prices have stayed stable in the past five years, the relative stability of Indian rupee still allows investors and end-users to buy more prime real estate in India today compared to 2015," said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India.

"At minus 1 per cent for 2020, prime property price growth in Mumbai is expected to face challenges as the current economic slowdown will continue to influence market liquidity," he said in a statement.