The best half-year in prime property belonged to the cities that could not build

A waterfront that is being manufactured is, by definition, new supply. That makes the finding in this half-year index awkward and worth reading closely.

What the index found

Across the 30 cities tracked by the Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index, published 19 August 2026, prime capital values rose 0.6% in the six months to June and rents rose 1.1%. Sixty per cent of cities were stable or positive.

Who led, and why

Tokyo was the strongest market at 7.0% over six months and 20.4% over the year to June. Cape Town delivered 4.7% as limited prime stock continued to outpace demand; Seoul, 4.1%. Southern Europe — Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Rome — was positive throughout, with Lisbon and Geneva both above 3.0%.

Who did not

Four of the five Chinese cities tracked recorded declines. Dubai, Berlin and Bangkok fell on both values and rents. For the second half of 2026 Savills forecasts a 0.5% average rise across the index, with Dubai the clear outlier at around -10%, attributed to oversupply and geopolitical uncertainty.

The stated rule

Savills’ own summary is that cities combining constrained supply, household wealth creation and sustained international demand outperform, and that those with elevated supply or heightened uncertainty lag. In the same period, prime yields were broadly stable, and the era of synchronised global growth is described as, for now, past.