Home sales have soared internationally since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, with 80% of cities analyzed seeing an increase in deals in the first half of 2021 compared to the same time period in 2019, according to a report Thursday from Savills.
Global investment in residential properties totaled $136 billion in the first half of the year, up 35% compared to the same time period in 2020, the report said. That’s the first time global investment in the residential sector has surpassed investment in offices since Savills began tracking the data in 2007, the firm noted.
The report, which looked at deals over $2.5 million in 15 cities, generally compared 2021 numbers to 2019 because data for the first half of 2020 was skewed by economic shutdowns in many areas.
“The pandemic has sent shockwaves through residential property markets across the globe,” Kelcie Sellers, world research analyst at Savills, said in the report. “Both transactions and price growth have defied economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by company work-from-home policies and lifestyle moves, as many reconsidered how they want to use their home, and where they want to live.”
Of the cities analyzed, Singapore registered the most significant recovery in residential transactions, with deals seeing a 90% annual rise in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same time in 2019, the data showed. Seoul followed, with about 80% more deals in the first half of the year compared to 2019, and Beijing ranked third with about 50% more transactions.
London fared the best of European cities, with a rise of around 45% in transaction volume in the first half of the year compared to the same time in 2019, the data showed. In the U.S., the number of deals in Miami rose nearly 40%, to their highest level since the global financial crisis that began in 2008.
Only three cities saw negative growth. Sydney had the weakest recovery, with roughly 45% less sales volume between January and June, compared to the same time in 2019, the report found. Tokyo saw about 24% fewer deals, while Paris registered a drop of about 15% in transactions.
Overall, recovery is set to remain positive for the residential sector.
“With record-low interest rates likely to remain in many regions, transaction volumes will be supported in the near-term,” Ms. Sellers said. “Looking further ahead, as economies continue the process of returning to normal and cities evolve back to being centers for work, we will see another wave of buyers return to the market. In addition to this, the continued lessening of restrictions around travel will also boost transaction volumes in global cities.”