- Residential property accounts for over three quarters of global real estate value.
- Rising inflation and interest rates tempered the market in 2022, leading to a fall in values.
- Australia's property market recently returned to the A$10 trillion mark.
Real estate across the globe hit US$379.7 trillion in 2022, according to Savills World Research. Comprising residential and commercial real estate, and agricultural land, this equates to approximately A$591 trillion.
While the total value of real estate slipped 2.8% from 2021’s $US390.5 trillion, it remains 18.7% up on pre-Covid (2019) levels.
It comes as little surprise, then, that real estate remains the world’s most significant store of wealth.
“Despite upheavals in the markets, and some speculation about the future of some sectors, real estate as a whole continues to be the largest concentration of wealth in the world,” said the head of Savills World Research, Paul Tostevin.
“Residential property dominates, and between 2019-2022 its value grew 21.1% – only outperformed by gold – as it benefited from ultralow interest rates over this period, coupled with a focus on the home in many countries during lockdowns.
“It’s clear that given the underdeveloped nature of real estate in some locations on a long-term basis growth will continue as more stock is added around the world.”
Paul Tostevin, Savills
Residential property accounted for over three quarters (76%) of global property value, worth US$287.6 trillion in 2022 (A$450 trillion). Homes across the globe were worth US$292.2 trillion (A$455 trillion) in 2021, with the latest figures representing a 1.6% fall in value.
Commercial property was worth just over an eighth (13%) of the total real estate market value at US$50.8 trillion (A$80 trillion); in 2021, the commercial property market was worth US$51.7 trillion (A$80.6 trillion).
Agricultural land comprised the remaining 11% of the world’s real estate value, at US$41.3 trillion (A$64 trillion), down from 2021’s US$46.6 trillion (A$73 trillion).
Which country has the most valuable property market?
- China,
- United States of America,
- Japan,
- Germany,
- United Kingdom,
- France,
- Canada,
- South Korea,
- Brazil, and
- Australia.
The People’s Republic of China made up just over a quarter (26%) of the world’s real estate value, as of 2022. This comprises both residential and commercial real estate.
The United States of America accounted for 19% of the total global real estate value.
Top 10 countries by real estate value
Despite only being home to 17% of the world’s population, Europe and North America accounted for nearly half (47%) of the world’s total property value. Starkly contrasting this is the Asia Pacific, excluding China, which comprised 37% of the world’s population and only 17% of global real estate value.
Distribution of global real estate value
Ranking ahead of more populous nations, Canada and Australia were notably in the top ten, recording incredible levels of real estate price growth in recent years.
Australia’s residential market hit A$10 trillion in value in June 2022, before values dipped due to inflation and soaring interest rates. The Australian property market quickly recovered, seeing values turn around and reprise its A$10 trillion value in June this year.
Total value of dwelling stock, Australia
The drivers behind Australian house prices and the market’s value included a floor under prices, and indeed significant growth, due to a lack of supply, and a growth in the number of Australian homes.
How does property compare to stock markets and other investments?
To recap, global real estate was valued at US$379.7 trillion in 2022, with residential comprising US$287.6 trillion.
Global equities were valued at almost a quarter of global real estate value, worth $US98.9 trillion, according to Savills.
Debt securities were about a third of the value of real estate, coming in at US$129.8 trillion.
Starkly, Savills highlighted that the value of all the gold ever mined was US$12.2 trillion, a mere 3% of the value of global real estate.
