'Fragile recovery'
Photo: Gadi Kabalo
Israel 3rd in world in real estate price rise
According to real estate price index Knight Frank, Israel sees 21.3% spike in property prices in 2009. Hong Kong sees sharpest increase with 30% higher prices. Real estate prices in Latvia drop 50%
The global commercial real estate market saw a recovery in 2009, but not everyone was included. According to the home price index of real estate company Knight Frank, prices in Hong Kong increased 30%, while prices in Latvia sunk a whopping 50%.
As a number of areas enjoyed "impressive growth," overall the last year's rebound was deemed "fragile," as prices throughout the world dropped by 4%. In the last quarter of 2009, prices in nearly half of the 47 countries in the index fell. In the US, for instance, prices increased by nearly 3% in the second half of 2009, but fell by 0.6% in the last quarter.
The strongest growth was listed in Pacific Asia, with an average price increase of 8%, which resulted from a high level of liquidity pumped into the economy by the Chinese government's incentives system.
The Australian economy also managed to gain from China's quick recovery from the global recession and saw a 13.6% increase in housing prices in 2009 with a particularly strong showing of 5.2% increase in the last quarter.
The Israeli real estate market also performed nicely and is placed third in housing price increases. A strong push to invest in real estate instead of stocks helped the 21.3% price increase throughout 2009. According to The Jewish Chronicle, 50% of houses in Israel were purchased as an investment.
