Average house prices in global cities grew at their slowest rate since 2015 during the first quarter of this year.

Research by Knight Frank suggests that global urban prices rose by 4% in the year to March 2018, down from 6.4% a year previously.

The world’s best performer is the Indian city of Surat, which recorded growth of 22% over a 12-month period.

When it comes to annual growth, 11 of the top 20 cities are located in Europe. Berlin (14.9%), Rotterdam (14.8%), Budapest 14.4%), Edinburgh (12%), Reykjavik (11.8%) and Porto (11.7%) were some of the top performers.

In the USA, Seattle leads the way with growth of 12.9% thanks to a lack of supply in the face of escalating demand.

Meanwhile, Vancouver remains Canada’s star performer with growth of 15.4%.

“Although the global economy is performing well – the IMF forecasts 3.9% growth in 2018 – increased vigilance on the part of policymakers keen to use macroprudential measures to curb price inflation, along with escalating affordability constraints are keeping a lid on urban price growth, accounting for the index’s weaker performance this quarter,” says Kate Everett-Allen, of Knight Frank’s international residential research team.