Vancouver’s luxury housing market has hit bottom.

At one time the world’s hottest upscale housing market, Vancouver sits dead last in real estate consultancy Knight Frank’s new ranking of 45 top-tier real estate markets.

Vancouver earned the bottom slot on the Prime Global Cities Index because luxury home prices were down 14.5 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same time in 2018.

That’s a far cry from the third quarter of 2016, the last time Vancouver topped the list, with prices having surged 31.6 percent annually.

The index monitors price changes in luxury markets around the world. Knight Frank defines luxury properties to be in the top 5 percent in terms of price in a given market.

The only other Canadian city featured in the index fared considerably better. With prices up 3.2 percent annually, Toronto was ranked number 15.

“In Canada, the gap between Toronto (3%) and Vancouver’s performance (-15%) continues to widen with almost 18% percentage points now separating the two cities,” writes Kate Everett-Allen, head of international residential research for Knight Frank.

“Whilst both operate a foreign buyer tax, Vancouver has seen a flurry of additional measures aimed at reducing speculation and curbing price inflation,” she continues.

While Vancouver has been hit particularly hard, luxury markets in general are underperforming. The index leader, Berlin, saw luxury home prices rise 14.1 percent, far shy of Vancouver’s 2016 index-topping growth.

In fact, Knight Frank’s overall index growth has been so slow since early 2009, amid the global financial crisis.

“What’s changed? Although still rising, the rate of wealth creation globally slowed in 2018,” says Everett-Allen.

“The last six months saw political and economic headwinds intensify. In the first quarter of 2019, the threat of a global trade war loomed, uncertainty surrounding Brexit peaked and the IMF projected that 70% of the world’s economies would see a slowdown in growth in 2019.”

Once at The Top, Vancouver Sits Dead Last in This Luxury Housing Market Ranking by Josh Sherman | Livabl