Global housing markets continued their slow post-crisis recovery in 2017 with real residential property prices rising 2% year over year driven by advanced economies, according to the Bank for International Settlements.
By the end of 2017, residential property prices were 7% above the pre-crisis level.
Average prices grew faster among advanced economies overall, with Canada's 2017 growth rate of 5% in nominal terms the stand-out performance. There was more moderate growth in Australia, the U.S and the euro area, where a price fall in Italy was countered by strong growth in Germany, Ireland and Spain.
In Ireland, Italy and Spain, prices remained 24% to 33% below the pre-crisis levels. Germany has seen prices rise 22% in that time.
There was slight growth in Japan and the U.K. in 2017, despite a retreat in the U.K.'s dominant London market. But real prices were still 3% to 7% below their 2007 levels in the euro area, U.K and U.S.
In emerging market economies, prices increased by 4% in nominal terms and 1% in real terms last year, with a "significant deceleration" in China and India and sharp falls in prices in both Russia and Brazil.
BIS noted that real residential property prices in emerging market economies are 16% above pre-crisis levels. Prices have almost doubled since the crisis in India and are close to 50% higher in Brazil, despite economic turbulence derailing house prices more recently. However, in Russia, house prices are 50% lower than in 2007.
