Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s real estate market saw a negative performance in the first quarter of 2018, after the kingdom’s property prices come among the world’s worst performing, according to Knight Frank’s recent report.

Knight Frank's Global House Price Index showed that property prices in the biggest Middle Eastern economy declined 0.2% over the past 12 months.

Saudi Arabia ranked the 51st among 57 states covered by the index, Arabian Business reported, citing Knight Frank’s data.

The London-based residential and commercial property consultancy further noted that price decline rate in the GCC nation has accelerated over the past three and six months by 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

In the year ended March 2018, global property prices went up by 4.8% on average, it added.

House prices are on the rise in 86% of the 57 countries tracked by the index, Knight Franks said, adding that only 9% of the markets tracked saw more than a 10% price growth, down from 18% in the year before.

“Europe’s recovery is now well underway, closer analysis confirms 11 of the 15 strongest-performing housing markets globally were in Europe at the end of March,” head of international residential research at Knight Frank Kate Everett-Allen commented