Bulgaria growth 'off the scale'

Bulgaria topped the table for house price growth in 2007…

Figures to the end of September showed Bulgarian house prices rose by 30.6%. Bulgaria pipped the Chinese city of Shanghai, which saw 27.9% growth in the first 10 months of 2007.

The UK's 9.7% growth put it at 14th in the Global Property Guide list, compiled using the latest available figures from 42 countries.

House price growth – Top 5

1. Bulgaria - 30.6%

2. China (Shanghai) - 27.9%

3. Singapore - 27.6%

4. Estonia (Tallinn) - 23.4%

5. Lithuania - 13.6%
Source: Global Property Guide

Depending on which measure is taken, US house prices fell 5.1% or 3.5% or rose 1.8%. The first of those measures puts the US at the bottom of the list while the second means it is slightly better than Ireland, where prices fell by 4.7%.

The figures are taken in local currency terms without adjusting for inflation. When inflation is taken into account, Singapore comes out on top.