House prices in Dubai suffered the biggest fall among global property markets in the first quarter as a result of the economic crisis, according to a study by a British real estate brokerage.

 'On a quarterly basis, the most dramatic fall in prices were recorded by Dubai (40 per cent) and Singapore (16.2 per cent),' Knight Frank said in the study released on Tuesday.

The prices in the seaside emirate, home to man-made palm-tree shaped islands, fell 32 per cent year-on-year in the 12 months ending March 31, it said.

Dubai had been the best performer quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2008. The emirate's once-booming property sector is suffering a sharp slowdown which has led to project cancellations worth billions of dollars and jobs being slashed.

The quarterly fall figure compared to a 41 per cent decline reported recently by property consultant Colliers.

'Prices could reach a point where buyers and investors think the market is good value, but I think a lot of people will also look elsewhere in the region,' Nick Barnes, the firm's head of international research, told Reuters.

Dubai was the second-worst performer year-on-year after Latvia, where prices fell 36 per cent, figures showed.

Singapore was the third-worst performer, with prices falling by nearly 24 percent, followed by the U.S. and Britain where prices declined 16.9 percent and 16.5 percent respectively.

Israel's property market was the best-performing year-on-year, rising 10.9 percent, followed by the Czech Republic and Jersey, which gained 9.9 percent and 6.9 percent, the company said.-Reuters