Prices in the Seoul luxury property market have risen more than anywhere else in the world, according to first quarter research from property group Knight Frank.

With 24.7 per cent annual growth, the Korean capital overtook the Chinese city of Guangzhou for the top spot, with the prime Gangnam neighbourhood seeing strong speculative activity.

Knight Frank’s report (pdf) noted that Gangnam, known as the “Beverly Hills” of Seoul, is “still seeing strong speculative activity,” helping boost luxury-home prices in the city overall

South Africa’s coastal Cape Town came in second spot, with prices ending the year to March 19.3 per cent higher.

Overall, the Asia Pacific region was the strongest performer, with cities like Sydney, Hong Kong and Beijing all seeing considerable price increases in the luxury market.

In Europe, Berlin saw the biggest price hike, with Paris, Madrid and Edinburgh all performing well - prime residential prices in the Scottish capital accelerated 7.7 per cent in the 12 months to March 2018.

London, however, slipped down to 35th spot with house prices dropping 1.1 per cent over the last year.

The Knight Frank index saw an increase of 4.8 per cent in the global luxury market overall, a slight dip from the 4.9 per cent recorded last December, in line with a generally weakening international property market.

Source : cityam.com