World's 10 hottest real estate markets

Brokerage firm Kim Eng Securities points out that the residential property prices in India have risen by 33 per cent in Greater Noida, 30 per cent each in Noida, Gurgaon, and Mumbai and 35 per cent in Chennai over a period of one year ended June 2012.

This rise in prices is also reflected globally. Over the past five years, real estate prices have recorded huge gains.

According to CNBC's report based on a research by global real estate consultancy Knight Frank, which ranks countries according to highest average growth in housing prices from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the same period in 2011, here are the world's hottest real estate markets.

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Switzerland

Ranking: 10

5-year price growth: 27.5 per cent

Average prices for mid-range homes in Switzerland have risen by more than a fifth in real terms over the past four years. According to UBS, the metropolitan areas of Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne have experienced the sharpest residential price rises in Switzerland, and remain the areas most threatened by overheating, it said.

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Malaysia

Ranking: 9

5-year price growth: 28.5 per cent

As per Knight Frank study, home prices rose 6.6 percent year on the year, in the third quarter of last year.

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Norway

Ranking: 7

5-year price growth: 28.7 per cent

After Switzerland, Norway is the only other European country to make the list of the world's hottest housing markets, according to CNBC report.

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Canada

Ranking: 7

5-year price growth: 28.7 per cent

According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association, prices for townhouse and apartment units continue to see more modest gains, rising 2.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively on a year-over-year basis in July 2012.

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Taiwan

Ranking: 6

5-year price growth: 30.1 per cent

The national average house prices soared by 8.2 per cent y-o-y to Q2 2011, as per Sinyi Realty -- Taiwan's biggest real estate brokerage. On a quarterly basis, house prices rose by 3 per cent over the same period, according to an article published in Globalpropertyguide.com.

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Colombia

Ranking: 5

5-year price growth: 39.4 per cent

It is the only South American nation to make it to the list. According to Global property guide, there has been some upward movement in some places in terms of prices. Also, rent has not moved strongly, but there has been some slight downward pressure on rents in some locations.

Across the Bogota districts that we cover, gross rental yields range from 6.5 to 9.6 per cent, with most yields being around 7 to 8 per cent.

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Singapore

Ranking: 4

5-year price growth: 50.5 per cent

Singapore housing prices have grown steadily since records were kept in 1966. However, the time series exhibits considerable volatility. 1985 - 1989, 1997 - 2000, 2001 - 2002, and 2008 - 2009 being notable bear markets with drawdowns of 25 – 30 per cent, as reported by Hedged.biz.

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Israel

Ranking: 3

5-year price growth: 54.5 per cent

Home prices in Israel's 16 biggest cities climbed 1 per cent in the second quarter of 2012, in annualised terms. Compared with the first quarter, the increase was 1.9 per cent, the Government Assessors Office said.

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Hong Kong

Ranking: 2

5-year price growth: 93.7 per cent

Hong Kong home prices have risen about 8 per cent this year, extending gains since the beginning of 2009.

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China

Ranking: 1

5-year price growth: 110.9 per cent

The National Bureau of Statistics of China show that new home prices in 49 of 70 major cities rose in July.