Asia Property Prices Soars While Europe Slips

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Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia were the strongest performing property markets in the world through the first part of 2010, while Europe continued to struggle with the economic tide.

Ireland was the worst performing market, posting a 16 percent drop in prices from a year earlier, compared to a 34 percent jump for Singapore, according to inflation-adjusted data tracked by the Global Property Guide.

While the U.K., Finland and Norway posted nominal gains, Bulgaria (-10 percent), Russia (-8 percent) and Spain (-5 percent) were among the worst performers over the past year.

The United Arab Emirates, led by Dubai, posted a 6 percent increase, according to the GPG's data. However, "the emirate's recovery may be short-lived, as house prices fell by 4.17 percent during the last quarter," the report notes.

Although the actual percentage of price increases and decreases reported by the Global Property Guide are open to debate, the numbers do provide an interesting barometer of pricing trends.

If nothing else, the latest report shows signs of stabilization. Eighteen of the 36 countries tracked posted increases, a similar ratio to last quarter's report. And 30 countries saw "larger price increases, or less severe declines, than last year," according to GPG.

 

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