New Real Estate Development Growth by Country — April 2026

Tracking new residential real estate development activity across emerging and frontier markets gives foreign investors a data-based starting point for market selection. This monthly ranking aggregates the latest available figures on construction sector growth, housing starts, building permits, and residential market volume across 15 countries - including the core Bektu markets and key Asia-Pacific comparisons. Where specific "new development starts" data is unavailable, we use the closest published proxy: construction permits growth, overall construction output growth, or residential market volume change.

Ranked: New Residential Development Growth by Country

| Rank | Country | Growth Rate | Metric Used | Period |

|------|---------|-------------|-------------|--------|

| 1 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | +24.0% | Residential market transaction volume (Tbilisi) | Q1 2026 YoY |

| 2 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | +18.5% | Residential building permits value | 9M 2025 YoY |

| 3 | 🇦🇱 Albania | +18.0% | Residential construction & housing price growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 4 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | +15.4% | Construction volume (new housing output) | Full-year 2025 |

| 5 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | +11.4% | Overall construction sector growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 6 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | +9.7% | Real estate transfers growth (gov't forecast) | 2026 projection |

| 7 | 🇮🇳 India | +8.1% | Construction industry output growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 8 | 🇦🇺 Australia | +8.0% | New dwelling commencements | Q4 2025 YoY |

| 9 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | +8.0% | Construction industry output growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 10 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | +7.5% | Construction industry growth | 2026 forecast |

| 11 | 🇯🇵 Japan (Fukuoka) | +5.8% | Regional residential construction growth | 2025 YoY |

| 12 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | +5.3% | Construction output growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 13 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | +5.2% | Construction sector output growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 14 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | +4.8% | Construction industry output growth | Full-year 2025 |

| 15 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia (Bali) | +4.7% | Residential real estate market CAGR | 2025-2030 forecast |

Analysis

Bektu Markets: Where the Action Is

Among the six core Bektu markets - Nigeria, Kenya, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, and Albania - Albania stands out as the clearest high-growth story this period. With residential construction and housing prices growing roughly 18% in 2025, the country is punching well above its weight for a small European frontier market. The drivers are familiar: EU accession momentum, coastal tourism development, and Tirana's ongoing urban transformation are pulling in foreign buyers and local developers alike. Vietnam remains a solid mid-tier performer at 8% construction growth, with Hanoi posting a five-year high in new apartment supply in 2025 - though the HCMC market has been more cautious. Kenya's headline 7.5% construction growth figure is a 2026 forecast that follows a modest 2.9% in 2025, suggesting the market is expected to accelerate rather than that it already has. Nigeria, meanwhile, is grinding along at 5.3% construction growth - a number that understates demand pressure, given the country's estimated 20-million-unit housing deficit. The gap between what is needed and what is being built remains enormous.

Notable Movers

Georgia and the Philippines both recorded growth rates in the high teens, separating themselves from the pack. Georgia's Tbilisi residential market reached a record $941 million in transaction volume in Q1 2026, a 24% year-over-year surge driven by the completion of major construction projects and continued foreign buyer interest. Construction permits in Georgia climbed 17% in the first half of 2025, indicating the pipeline will sustain supply growth into 2026. The Philippines posted 18.5% growth in the value of residential building permits over the first three quarters of 2025, underpinned by the government's 4PH social housing program targeting one million units annually. Kazakhstan's 15.4% construction volume growth is also notable: the country commissioned over 20 million square meters of housing in 2025, exceeding its presidential program targets for the third consecutive year. Indonesia and Taiwan are the relative laggards. Bali is actively cooling after two years of rapid post-pandemic villa construction, and Taiwan's residential permit issuance fell 2.6% through the first nine months of 2025, weighed down by the central bank's selective credit controls.