Sweden was one of the countries where average house prices declined the most in Q4, 2018, according to a report by HSBC. Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg
Sweden was one of the countries where average house prices declined the most in Q4, 2018, according to a report by HSBC. Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg
Sweden was one of the countries where average house prices declined the most in Q4, 2018, according to a report by HSBC. Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg
Sweden was one of the countries where average house prices declined the most in Q4, 2018, according to a report by HSBC. Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg

Global house prices cooled in 2018, says HSBC


  • English
  • Arabic

Global house prices have cooled over the past 18 months, with no indication of an alarming ‘bubble’, according to HSBC.

“For now, global housing markets do not appear to pose any immediate threat to household consumption,” the bank said. “Tight labour markets, positive real wage growth and low interest rates should keep house price growth steady in most countries.”

However, if unemployment rates rise as the global economic outlook sours further, or conversely central banks start tightening more, “housing markets may start to come under more pressure”, it added.

Nominal house prices across the world grew by 4-5 per cent year-on-year on average in the fourth quarter of 2018, following five consecutive years of average price growth, according to the research.

Two countries have seen a sharp correction in house prices in the period. One is Sweden, whose house prices fell by 10 per cent in early 2018. Although Swedish housing prices stabilised by the spring, they have yet to recover with a 2 per cent decline registered in the fourth quarter. “Aside from a collapse in construction, we have not seen the weakness spread to the rest of the economy,” HSBC said.

The second country is Australia, which recorded a 7 per cent decline in house prices in the fourth quarter of last year. “The correction has – at least so far – been orderly, with the low level of unemployment meaning there are few signs of distressed sales, and loan arrears have remained low.”

Turkey is also seeing house prices fall, with a circa 14 per cent year-on-year drop in the last three months of 2018.

US housing data shows valuations remain high, but prices have not bubbled up, and the drop in mortgage rates should provide a cushion, the report added.

Meanwhile, in China, house prices are down in the largest cities, while smaller cities are seeing steadier growth. Housing construction has picked up, which could weigh on prices going forward, HSBC added. However, local governments have scaled back policy tightening seen in 2018, and this could reduce the pace of any slowdown.

House price growth is typically used to gauge the health of an economy, HSBC noted.

“If an economy has a healthy labour market – where unemployment rates are low (and not rising), real wage growth is positive, debt levels are low, interest rates are expected to stay low and house price growth is not too strong, then it is hard to be too concerned about the housing market outlook,” it said. Both Australia and Sweden have such underlying fundamentals, it added.

However, if house prices rise without these fundamentals in place, the trend may be less sustainable. Equally, if house prices start to fall, it will be crucial to monitor the extent of any impact on the broader economy.

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Tales of Yusuf Tadros

Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)

Hoopoe

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
​​​​​​​Scribe

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%3A%20Zywa%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202021%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Nuha%20Hashem%20and%20Alok%20Kumar%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20UAE%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%243m%3Cbr%3ECompany%20valuation%3A%20%2430m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIGHT CARD

Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)

Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)

Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)

Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)

Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)

Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)

Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)

Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)

Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)

Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)