The Prime Global Cities Index is a valuation-based index tracking the movement in prime residential prices in local currency across 40+ cities worldwide using data from our global research network.

The Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index is still registering prime price growth despite the pandemic. A surge in demand post-lockdown as luxury homeowners re-evaluate where they want to be and the type of property they want to live in has boosted sales and
supported luxury prices across several key markets.

The index increased by 1.6% in the year to Q3 2020 with 62% of cities continuing to see prime prices increase year-on-year. That said, the percentage of cities registering annual price declines is creeping up, from 23% at the end of 2019 to 38% in Q3 2020.

Auckland (13%) leads the index, but what is notable is the resilience of a number of cities including Manila (10%), Seoul (7%), the Swiss cities of Zurich (7%) and Geneva (6%), Stockholm (5%) as well as the recovery of Chinese cities such as Shenzhen (9%) and Shanghai (6%).

It is perhaps not surprising that traditional safe havens, countries that are considered to have handled the pandemic efficiently or applied a lighter touch, plus those markets that are already witnessing an economic rebound have moved higher in the rankings. With travel restrictions in place across much of the world this demand remains primarily domestic in nature.