Global house prices increased by just 0.3% on average in the year to the end of March but this hides the significant disparity between world regions, according to Knight Frank.

The firm’s Global House Price index recorded its weakest annual growth for three years, rising by just 0.3% in the year to March 2015. Weighted by a country’s GDP, the index ensures countries such as China and the US have a greater influence than much smaller economies such as Jersey and Malta.

Kate Everett-Allen says: “With some of the larger economies such as Japan, France and crucially China all experiencing housing market slowdowns, this is masking the fact that overall we are seeing more sustainable growth amongst a larger number of countries.

“Around 75% of countries tracked by the index recorded flat or positive annual price growth in Q1 2015, three years earlier this figure was closer to 47.2%. Hong Kong leads the annual rankings this quarter with mainstream prices ending the year nearly 19% higher in March. A lack of supply along with the popularity of smaller apartments due to affordability constraints is behind the acceleration in mainstream prices.

“Russia and the CIS represent the index’s weakest-performing world region with prices down 2.3% year-on-year, with Ukraine’s fall of 15.5% in annual terms having a significant bearing. While prices continue to soften in China (down 6.4% on average year-on-year) the volume of sales rose 7% year-on-year in April on the back of looser monetary policy. The US, on the other hand, recorded 4.1% growth in the year to March but with underlying inflation still rising a rate rise is expected later this year.”