Residential property prices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi fell by around 5 percent during 2018, putting both cities in the bottom 10 performers in the world, according to new research.

The Knight Frank Global Residential Cities Index for Q4 2018, which tracks mainstream residential prices across 150 cities, placed Dubai 142nd and Abu Dhabi 144th.

It said prices in Dubai had fallen by 5 percent in the 12 months to Q4 while values in neighbouring Abu Dhabi dropped slightly faster by 5.3 percent in the same period.

The global list was propped up by the Italian city of Turin where prices fell by 13.2 percent while Sydney, Stockholm, Aberdeen, Melbourne and Genoa also saw values drop faster than the UAE cities.

London, a popular choice for real estate investments by investors from the Gulf region, also saw prices fall in 2018 but by just 0.7 percent.

The list was topped by Budapest which registered price growth of 23 percent in 2018.

Overall however, Knight Frank said the global slowdown continues. Some 79 perceny of countries saw prices increase in 2018, down from 87 perceny in 2017 and the index grew by 4.3 percent in 2018, down from 4.5 percent in the previous quarter.

The report said: “Major world cities including London, Dubai, Sydney, Moscow, Auckland and Geneva all saw mainstream prices decline in 2018 but by comparison in a number of cases, the prime segment edged higher.

“With geopolitical issues clouding the world stage, and the era of cheap finance coming to a close, we expect the index’s performance to weaken further in 2019, although the Federal Reserve’s decision to halt rate rises in 2019 may soften the blow for a number of emerging markets.”

In Asia, Hong Kong lost ground, falling 36 rankings in the final quarter of 2018 while Latin American cities are rising up the rankings – Bogota, Santiago, Mexico City and Lima all saw annual growth above 6 percent.

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