Around the world, many property markets are seeing rapid growth that is both creating new financial opportunities for business owners and property developers, and putting a strain on long term residents. With the population in major cities like NYC officially at the point where they cannot support any more new arrivals, we will continue to see a spillover to smaller cities. With these details in mind, here are some of the fastest growing cities in the world.
Boise, Idaho
In 2018, Forbes called Boise the fastest growing city in the US, and for good reason. As one of the smallest states in the US, Idaho’s biggest city, Boise, had a population of around 185,000 in the year 2000. Fast forward to current day, and the city is having growing pains from the unexpected population boom now nearing 250,000. Boise has never had the proper infrastructure in place to support this growing population, and there are fears from residents that they may soon be “priced out.” So what factors are leading this change in Boise?
Geographically, Idaho is close to the west coast, where cities like Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, and San Francisco, CA have exploded with new residents. The common thread connecting all of these places is, first and foremost, the tech scene, which attracts skilled workers from around the globe. After Google opened a new office in Portland, the city’s already burgeoning tech sector saw massive expansion, and as a result long time residents were priced out and forced to sell their homes to escape the soaring property taxes. Boise is similarly struggling to keep up with the growing demand for homes and business, and as a result, the property values are reaching unseen heights.
Singapore
Singapore is one of the wealthiest nations globally, and their property market has exploded in recent years. Their penchant for building new and exciting exhibits, coupled with a booming economy, has led to some historic highs around the country. From boutique apartments, to art museums, Singapore has it all, and is now even aiming to become a go-to destination for gaming with the recent launch of the lavish Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay casinos.
It’s well known that Singapore has one of the most expensive housing markets on the planet, and it’s only getting more expensive every year. There are many luxury apartment buildings being developed that take the land that was once occupied by personal houses. Many developers come from different countries and invest into the market here.
Similar to areas like NYC or London, all of these factors create a stranglehold on available property, encouraging the buying up of anything that is available, and holding the going rates regardless if that property sits vacant or not. Second only to Hong Kong, the property market here is astronomical.
Da Nang, Vietnam
Da Nang is a gorgeous coastal beach city that has access to the South China Sea. The Vietnamese government has had great success in turning several areas of Vietnam into major tourist destinations, like Phu Quoc island for instance. Da Nang property values have skyrocketed in recent years, with many stories of long time residents selling their family homes to developers for massive profits. Tourism here is expanding rapidly, drawing huge numbers from areas like Japan, South Korean, Australia, Russia, China and other countries.
The main factors driving the property bubble in Da Nang is the rush to cram as many hotels, short term apartments, and expensive resorts as possible into one area. The city is being bombarded with enterprise, not only from real estate developers, but also restaurant and bar entrepreneurs, and a growing entertainment sector. There are many malls, clubs and tourist attractions, like Sun World, that are providing entertainment to the growing tourism market.
Cork, Ireland
Ireland is expected to have a population increase of 1 million people by the year 2040, with many smaller cities growing rapidly. Cork is one of those cities that is already experiencing massive growth, coupled with many new developments and regeneration of their famous main street.
The government has already introduced rent caps in some areas to protect tenants, and this has led to new plans for more housing developments to meet the demands of the growing population. With cities like Dublin going from 1 million in the year 2000 to an expected 1.5 million in the year 2035, smaller cities around the country will be changed dramatically.
