India has occupied a prominent position among the global housing markets, surpassing top markets of United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. According to Knight Frank’s latest Global House Price Index of Q1 2025, India is positioned has positioned as one of the leading residential markets globally, showcasing an annual house price increase of 7.7% in nominal terms and 4.2% in real terms. India, with this achievement, is ranked 15th among 55 international markets monitored by the Knight Frank. The results underscore the persistent momentum in India’s housing sector, bolstered by strong domestic demand, enhancing macroeconomic conditions, and a gradual reduction in borrowing costs. On a quarterly basis, residential prices in India rose by 2.9%, indicating ongoing buyer confidence.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, is upbeat about India’s housing market.  “India’s residential market continues to benefit from strong end-user demand, rising incomes, and renewed investor interest. The positive price momentum reflects the strength of our housing sector, even in the face of global economic uncertainty. As interest rates stabilize further, we expect demand to remain healthy, particularly in mid- and premium housing segments, he says.”

 The weighted average annual price growth in the first quarter of this year, across basket of 55 global housing markets picked up to 2.3%, up from 1.7% in the last quarter of 2024, although the rate sits below the long-run trend rate of 5.1%. While this uptick reflects easing borrowing costs following recent policy rate cuts globally, further growth will likely depend on additional policy easing through the rest of 2025. 

 The majority of the global markets (87%), according to Knight Frank Report, saw positive annual growth, with Turkey, North Macedonia, and Portugal topping the global rankings. At the other end, Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR recorded the steepest annual declines.

 According to Liam Bailey, Global Research Head, Knight Frank, global house-price growth has rebounded modestly above its long-run trend on the back of early rate cuts, but real affordability remains stretched. He believes that further policy easing this year will be needed to sustain growth at or above trend.