Turkey leads in house price increases worldwide: Report

Turkey in increases in house prices on global scale led by a huge margin at the end of the first quarter this year, according to real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank's Global House Price Index.

Turkey was ranked first in the index with an annual increase of 132.8% and a quarterly increase of 22.2% in local currency terms, a phenomenal growth largely a consequence of rampant inflation.

It was followed by by North Macedonia, with an annual increase of 18.8% and quarterly increase of 1.3%, Croatia with 17.3% and 4.7% respectively, Hungary with 16.6% and -2.2%, Lithuania with 15.3% and 8.2%, Greece with 14.5% and 4%.

Among euro zone countries, Spain saw an annual increase of 3.1%, France 2.7%, Italy 1.1%, Germany -1%.

House prices in the United States rose by 0.7% in the past 12 months, while they dropped by 3.1% in the United Kingdom and by 6.9% in Canada.

Three largest cities of Turkey also led among cities worldwide, with prices rising annually by 135.3% in capital Ankara, 133% in Izmir and 127.3% in Istanbul.

The three Turkish cities were followed by Croation capital Zagreb with an annual increase of 22.5%, Hungarian capital Budapest with 20.2%, North Macedonian capital Skopje with 18.8%, and Israeli-Palestinian city Jerusalem with 18.4%.