Moscow residential property prices grew second-fastest among the world’s ten largest cities in the first half of 2012, according to the latest World Cities Review published on Monday by the UK-based real estate services firm Savills.

Only Hong Kong had faster residential price growth, the Savills review said.

“During the first half of 2012, the value of Hong Kong’s properties grew by 7.4 percent. This constitutes the highest growth in any of our 10 global cities. Mainstream residential prices are at record levels due to strong local demand. The easing of mortgage availability has helped to underpin the market,” the review says.

Hong Kong is followed by Moscow and Sydney, Australia, with residential value growth of 5.5 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.

Price growth in these three cities, well in excess of the average index of 1.2 percent, has been down to local demand, the review says.

“The cities that have seen the strongest performance in their residential markets have been buoyed by domestic demand (Hong Kong, Moscow and Sydney) rather than international buyers and investors,” Savills said.

Meanwhile, international capital appears to be retreating to the “core” of established world cities with long-term investment credentials – namely London and New York, where real estate demonstrated stable growth of 2.8 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

The largest residential price fall was registered in Paris where it fell 3.4 percent in the first six months of the year.

“The [eurozone] crisis has discouraged some overseas investors, who are reluctant to put money into euro-denominated assets. In addition, the appointment of François Hollande as the president has brought a change in policy toward the wealthy,” the survey says, adding further price falls there seem inevitable.