Top cities for high-end homes have this in common

CNBC

By Robert Frank

Video: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/03/top-cities-for-high-end-homes-have-this-in-common.html

The luxury real estate market is slowing worldwide, with weakness in Europe and Russia weighing on prices, according to a new report. But as Chinese investors continue to seek investments outside of their home country, cities drawing interest from these buyers are outperforming the broader market.

The Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index, which measures the market for the top 5 percent of real estate prices in 34 major cities, increased by just 1.9 percent in the first nine months of 2015.

That marks a deceleration from 7 percent growth during the first nine months of2013 and 4 percent for the first nine months of 2014. And while the index is still 34 percent above the low it hit during the financial crisis in 2009, “its annual rate of growth has slowed significantly,” according to the report.

The top city for luxury real estate over the past year is Vancouver, where prices surged 20.4 percent through September, according to the report. Supply of high-end homes is tight there, down 32 percent from the previous year. The city is also getting a boost from foreign buyers, many from China.

The No. 2-ranked city was Sydney, which has also been popular among Chinese buyers. It saw price growth of 13.7 percent, helped by the weak Australian dollar and strong local economy.