THAILAND PROPERTY PRICES FALL

We hear plenty about Asia's ascendancy on the global stage, about the growing power of China and the vibrancy of Tiger economies. However, it is not all good news for Asia, because some countries are struggling, most notably Thailand.

New research from website, The Global Property Guide, shows residential property prices fell in Thailand faster than anywhere else in the world in the third quarter of 2010, down 10.25 per cent quarter-on-quarter, wiping price rises earlier in the year and exacerbating a collapse in values during 2009.

Strength in the Thai economy has been sapped by political strife and falling numbers of tourists visiting the country. In particular, demand for holiday homes is weak. On the positive side, those tourists who do brave street protests and airport sit-ins can enjoy having sandy beaches like this one on the island of Koh Samui (pictured here) almost to themselves.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

HUNGARY FOR GOOD PROPERTY INVESTMENT

Hungary is Europe's best investment opportunity says website, the Global Property Guide. Why? It has the continent's second lowest property prices, averaging USD1,683 per square metre, and its third highest rental yields – 8.11 per cent, states the website's report Hungary: Housing Market Reaches Bottom?

Bizarrely, this happy state of affairs is down to “incompetent government” the report says. A government subsidised housing boom in the early noughties has imploded leaving rich pickings at the bottom of the market cycle for foreign investors.

“Hungary is an investment opportunity,” says the report, “Not because buyers have made a lot of money out of Hungarian residential property. They have not, though the rents can be good, but rather, Hungary’s crisis gives buyers an opportunity”.

A resurgent economy, falling interest rates and renewed confidence will spur an upturn in the housing market the website's analysts consider.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

WHERE'S CHINA'S RICH ARE INVESTING

Having rapidly established themselves as big spending property investors in many Asia-Pacific locations over the past couple of years, the Chinese are appearing in measurable numbers in many western cities. London, New York and Paris are targets. They also like some provincial locations, including Cambridge (for studying) and Cote d'Azur (holiday homes).

A link to my Financial Times article below shows what, where and why the Chinese are buying.

This market is huge. China has 475,000 inviduals with assets worth USD1 million or more, that's the fourth largest national group of HNWIs in the world, wealth managers, the Scorpio Partnership, reveals. Despite China's tight capital controls many Chinese HNWIs squirrel money overseas, much of it into property, an asset with which the Chinese have great affinity.

We can expect more Chinese money to pour into the world's property markets over the next few years. Professional Property Services forecasts they will be the world's biggest property investors by 2020.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4cf60cf2-ed17-11df-8cc9-00144feab49a.html#axzz15LZ7fQxy

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

GLOBAL PROPERTY RECOVERY "SUSTAINABLE"

Singapore tops the Knight Frank Global Price Index, registering a 37 per cent leap in property values in the twelve months to the end of second quarter, 2010. China occupies second place and Hong Kong (pictured here) third in the table of 49 countries.

Among 15 nations recording price falls, all but one are European. That odd man out is Japan where prices dropped 4.4 per cent.

Latvia has risen like the legendry pheonix from the ashes. The Baltic state is ranked fourth on the index, registering an 18 per cent surge in prices over the past 12 months. It was badly burned in the property market inferno of 2008. Prices in neighbouring Lithuania and Estonia continue to fall. Finland is the only other European country in the top ten.

Britain and other European nations dominate positions 11 to 20, all registering respectable increases of between 5 to 9 per cent. The only non-European nation in that group is Dubai where prices are up 5.2 per cent, a modest recovery following a halving in values in the emirate during the slump.

Knight Frank's head of residential research, Liam Bailey, says “There is a sense that the headline grabbing double digit price changes that almost became the norm in 2008 and 2009 are lessening in scale and number. Prices are beginning to return to something close to a 'sustainable' level.”

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

SPANISH DEVELOPERS CUT PRICES....AGAIN

They are still slashing prices in Spain. Developer, Taylor Wimpey de Espana, is knocking off 50 per cent on some “remaining stock”.

In a bid to gee up the market, the developer claims it is “offering the last chance to purchase completed homes in hot locations across Spain”, emphasising that sales in August 2010 were 30 per cent higher than twelve months previous.

Spain's troubles are far from over – prices are still falling, down -3.7 per cent over twelve months Knight Frank reports.

The economy, the foundation for any housing market, remains troubled. Spain may re-enter recession, because of government austerity cuts and suffer “a decade of deflation, stagnation and sky high unemployment” while its trade balance is restored to equilbrium warns consultancy, Capital Economics.

Spain may withdraw from the Eurozone, a move that would not be welcomed by owners of Spanish homes, especially those from overseas. Re-adopting the peseta could devalue Spanish property in international currency terms, because it is likely to be worth less than the Euro.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

CUBAN PROPERTY LAW RELAXED

The Cuban government is making it easier for foreigners to own property on its island. A new law extending lease lengths from 50 years to 99 years has been welcomed by international developers building leisure communities on the island, because it will make buying a home in Cuba more enticing they say.

Attracting golfers, a tried and tested source of year-round demand for holiday accommodation in many parts of the world, will be key to sustaining Cuba's emerging leisure resort sector.

The first hotel, golf course and holiday homes complex under construction, The Carbonera Club, will be completed in 2011 by its British developer, Esencia Hotels and Resorts. The USD300 scheme near Varadero includes 800 apartments, 100 villas and an 18-hole golf course.

Among other developers arriving on the island, Canadian firm, Leisure Canada, plans to build two leisure resorts. Cuba's Ministry of Tourism wants ten more golf courses created to draw holidaymakers and holiday home buyers.

http//globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

TURKEY'S PROPERTY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

Turkey is flavour of the year for property pundits. The latest report to praise its economy, government and property market comes from the Global Property Guide.

Citing its rapid economic recovery following the credit crunch, the financial prudence of its government and its booming tourism industry The Global Property Guide website states enthusiastically “We believe Turkey offers an exceptional opportunity for property investors” in its report, Turkey: Europe's Best Residential Property Investment?.

Some encouraging stats: GDP is forecast to grow 5 per cent in 2010, inflation is 5.7 per cent, its lowest level in 39 years, and interest rates are down to 10 per cent – they were 60 per cent seven years ago. Turkey's liberalised mortgage market is expanding, so that could help raise property values, and, unlike some other places in the world, banks are keen to lend.

Much focus is on Turkey's commercial hub, Istanbul, where rental yields reach 6.35 per cent for 75 metre-square flats in Bakirkoy district. International designer developer, yoo, has launched its first apartment scheme (pictured above) in the city.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

GLOBAL PROPERTY MARKET FORECAST

The global housing recovery will continue in 2011 estate agency Knight Frank reports. It's Global Residential Market Forecast 2011 shows property prices rose rapidly in Hong Kong and Singapore, steadily in China and Australia, but fell in many western markets, in 2010. However, this east-west divide will narrow in 2011.

Price rises in the Asia-Pacific region will slow to more sustainable levels the agency says, while in the United States and European states like Britain, Switzerland, Monaco, Latvia and Lithuania prices will stop falling and even edge up slightly next year.

Some European states will continue to lag, notably Spain and Ireland where prices will fall, though less sharply than this year. Irish prices are already 31 per cent below their 2006 peak, and ongoing economic contraction means there is little cash to go round for home-buying. The Spanish housing market will be drained of cash by Madrid's deficit-busting austerity measures.

SEE GLOBAL PROPERTY MARKET FORECAST 2011, ALSO IN THE WORLD SECTION OF THIS BLOG, FOR THE LATEST PREDICTIONS - 03/01/11



http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

OVERSEAS BUYERS DOMINATE LONDON MARKET

Seven out of ten buyers of central London homes priced at GBP5 million or more come from overseas estate agency, Knight Frank, reveals. Russians, Americans and Italians are the three biggest groups of overseas buyers.

With the Pound down by 28 per cent against US Dollar-pegged currencies since March 2008, London property prices are still relatively cheap for Saudis, Emiraties, Hong Kongers and others, despite a revival in the British capital's housing market over the past year.

With the Pound down against a range of other currencies, including the Euro, buyers from 51 countries have piled in to central London this year. New arrivals include Chinese and Vietnamese.

Demand for multi-million pound homes at new developments like The Lancasters, in Bayswater, and One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, are dominated by foreign buyers. New apartment blocks around Canary Wharf, including Pan Peninsula, are popular with investors from the Far East.

Even in suburban districts, like Richmond, 40 per cent of buyers of homes valued GBP2 million or more, come from overseas.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

MANHATTAN PROPERTY MARKET UP

The United States housing market has taken a tumble since Tax Credits on home purchases were withdrawn in April, but Manhattan's luxury homes market is enjoying a boom.

Prices for Manhattan homes valued at USD2 million or more are rising, because Wall Street bonuses and earnings are on the up, Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers reveal. In any case, buyers of luxury homes don't need tax credits, so its withdrawal is relatively unimportant.

But don't get too excited, Manhattan's luxury homes market is not problem-free. Overpricing of new build homes means the stock of these properties is equivalent to seven years of expected take up Miller Samuel reports. Another negative, mortgages remain scarce.

Meanwhile the rest of the US housing market is on course for a double dip in prices following the withdrawal of tax credits. Prices will drop 5 per cent nationally in 2010, consultancy, Capital Economics, forecasts.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

HONG KONG'S EXPENSIVE HOMES

Hong Kong has the most expensive street on the planet. A Financial News survey found that Severn Road in Hong Kong's most salubrious district, The Peak, has the world's most priciest homes, averaging USD70,000 per square meter, a whopping 74 per cent rise on this time last year.

The Hong Kong address has knocked last year's top location, Monaco's Avenue Princesse Grace, down into fourth place. Homes cost USD64,000 per square meter on the Monaco street, half what they were twelve months ago.

The principality is one of the biggest victims of a downturn in the international market for billionaire homes - values have dropped 15 per cent globally. Exceptions to the rule have been London and New York where prices have risen 15 per cent. This has helped London's Kensington Gardens and New York's Fifth Avenue move into joint second place with sales prices on both streets averaging USD65,000 per square meter.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

AUSTRALIA BARS OVERSEAS INVESTORS

Australians say too many property investors are coming over to their country and pushing up property prices out of reach of ordinary Aussies. In response, Canberra is tightening investment laws.

Nearly 5000 property purchases worth USD14.9 billion were made by foreigners in 2009, with Victoria attracting most investment, followed by Queensland and New South Wales. Singaporeans led the foreign investor pack followed by Americans and Britons in 2008/09.

UAE buyers had been the third biggest group of foreign buyers in 2007/08 before Dubai's debt crisis broke. Britons and Americans were the biggest buyers in that year.

Eighty per cent of foreign investment last year went into brand new flats and houses, 20 per cent into existing homes. From now on, the approval process will be more stringent and foreigners who leave Australia must sell their homes. Critics want tighter curbs, so if you want to buy a place down-under do so fast before more restrictions come in.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

MALAYSIA CUTS PROPERTY TAXES

The Malaysian government has made capital gains tax rules less onerous for foreign investors - they now only pay this levy if they sell a property within five years of purchase. Estate agents have welcomed the change saying it would draw more long-term, overseas investors to the country's property market.

In a separate move, Malaysia's Foreign Investment Committee is planning to deregulate investment guidelines to make it easier for overseas purchasers to come to the country.

Malaysia has steadily opened its doors to foreigners over the past decade. It runs a Malaysia My Second Home programme which allows non-Malaysians to buy a property and take up residency for up to ten years in the country. Foreigners can buy any property valued at M$250,000 or more, and can own up to two homes.

Analysts say Malaysia has made these changes, because it fears its own property market will be eclipsed by that in resurgent Singapore.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

ASIAN BUYERS TARGET LONDON NEW BUILD

East Asian investors have bought one-fifth of all new build homes sold in central London over the past twelve months an estate agency's report reveals. Combined, investors from Hong Kong, the mainland, Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of East Asia bought about 1,500of the 7,579 new homes sold in the British capital's 11 central boroughs during the year to March, according to Knight Frank's International Project Marketing 2010.

Their combined £761 million investment has encouraged developers to raise sales prices, according to Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank. "There are three times as many Asian buyers as there were this time last year, but even that could be understating it," Bailey said. "Most buy homes for their children studying in Britain and then rent them out afterwards."

Six out of 10 buyers of central London new-build homes were owner-occupiers, the remainder investors, the report says. Half of investors were from East Asia (Hong Kong, the mainland, Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of East Asia), 37% from Britain, and the remainder from the rest of the world, including other parts of Asia such as India, with 3.3%, and the Middle East, with 3.5%.

Hong Kong and mainland buyers were the biggest group of overseas investors - 11% of the total.

Not only are East Asian buyers becoming more numerous, they are spending more money. They now bid on properties with asking prices of between £500,000 to £600,000, on average, compared to £200,000 two years ago, Bailey said.

A combination of the increased wealth of Asian buyers and a favourable exchange rate had increased their spending power, he said. These factors - and the relatively low price of London homes for dollar-denominated buyers, compared to two years ago following falls in the value of sterling - encouraged them to invest.

"But the key determining factor is currency. Price falls and currency falls combined mean that prices are presently 30 to 35% below the peak of the market in late 2007 and early 2008."

Asian buyers dominate demand at some residential projects.

Housebuilder Barratt Homes said 25% of its London homes were being bought by Hong Kong, mainland and Singaporean purchasers.

At Pan Peninsula, a twin tower development near Canary Wharf, East Asian investors have bought 110 apartments. At NEO Bankside, a development of 197 apartments near the Tate Modern art gallery, 30% of sales have been made to East Asian investors to date.

Hong Kong and other East Asian buyers are also making a strong impact on the top end of the market according to Ed Lewis, head of new London homes for Savills.

Lewis said his firm sold 27 central London new-built homes priced at £5 million or above in the past four months, and nine of the buyers came from Hong Kong, the mainland and Singapore.

Russell Hunt, managing director of London-based buyers agency, Property Hunt, said 60% of his clients were Asians and Asia-based British expatriates. "Quite a few investors are sitting on the fence asking the question 'should I buy now or wait for the sterling to weaken a bit more?'," he said.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot

SINGAPORE'S PROPERTY BOOM

Singapore wants more foreigners to live there, a policy that is bound to buoy up property prices for years to come. Today, one in five of Singapore's 4.7 million residents are not Singaporean, and its government wants to expand the population by one-third over the next 40 to 50 years, mainly by immigration.

Estate agency, DTZ, says 40 per cent of luxury home buyers come from overseas, with numbers from India and China growing particularly strongly, because they are drawn to Singapore's mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures. By increasing immigration levels the government wants to bring in new talent and expand the local market for goods and services to boost the economy.

Foreigners are allowed to buy condominium units on Singapore island and property with land on Sentosa Island. Most condo units are on 99-year leases. Singapore banks will lend 70 per cent of a property's purchase price.

http://globalpropertyguide.blogspot.com

GLOBAL PROPERTY RECOVERY

The global housing bust is over. Website, Global Property Guide’s latest survey of official house price statistics shows home prices rose in 29 out of 36 countries during the year to April 2010.

In countries where prices continued to fall, like Switzerland, Croatia, Slovakia and The Netherlands, rates of decline slowed. And fewer countries were in severe crisis - only Ireland, Bulgaria and Thailand show no signs of recovery the website says, each country suffering double digit falls.

The website's statistics are inflation adjusted to give a more realistic picture than that available from nominal price changes, the data preferred by estate agents.

Hong Kong topped the website's list of high risers, enjoying a 27 per cent increase in home values. The website says eastern Europe's slump is easing, but warns a possible bubble is forming in east Asian markets where huge Chinese investment is driving up prices.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

THAI HOLIDAY HOMES MARKET DOWN

Thailand's political turmoil is bad for its property market. Estate agency, Savills, says it is property management arm has received requests from residents to beef up security at premises in central Bangkok following anti-government protests last month, when the Red Shirts fought running battles with the police.

The estate agency says images of political street violence broadcast around the world has put off potential holiday home buyers from overseas from coming to popular resorts like Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui.

The agency insists the political situation is better than the media makes out, that violence is localised. It says the market for homes bought by Thais is “performing exceedingly well”.

However, the agency concedes hotel occupancy levels are likely to fall, because of the violence. This means anybody looking to let out their holiday home will find tenants tougher to find. Oh well, at least there will be more room on the beach.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

VOLCANO HALVES HOLIDAY HOME SALES

That pesky Icelandic volcano, the name of which nobody can pronounce and which spewed ash over Europe until yesterday, was not only bad for airlines, travel agents and their customers, but for estate agents selling European holiday homes and investment properties.

European estate agents estimate sales to overseas buyers were slashed by half, during the volcano's six week eruption. ProVenture Property, a company that sources German homes for investors had sales delayed when buyers could not fly over from Britain, because of the air-flight ban. The company's property viewings were down by one-third.

European train and ferry passenger numbers have boomed since the volcano crisis started, so homes close to ports and train stations may be popular with buyers now!

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

US HOUSING MARKET RECOVERY

United States mortgagor, Fannie Mae, may want an additional USD8.4 billion government loan as its losses grow and home loans continue to go bad, but some powerful figures consider the worst is over for the housing market.

The Sage of Omaha, the world's most successful investor, Warren Buffett, says that “within a year or so, residential housing problems (in the US) should be largely behind us”. Others feel the same. John Paulson, the hedge fund manager, says property prices in battered California will begin to rise this year, setting the stage for a wider recovery.

Following Buffet's advice that investors ought to get greedy when others are fearful, the dearth of home buyers in the market means bargains are available for those who look hard enough. Property marketers, Experience International, says homes can be bought for up to 72 per cent below recent selling prices in Florida. Do you feel lucky?

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

PHILIPPINES RETIREMENT HOMES

This month's elections in the Philippines may have been the most violent ever, but that did not put off investors from buying into its holiday resorts in growing numbers. Indeed, confidence that the new government will handle the economy well is strong, and that could encourage more investors to come to the archipelago.

Foreign demand for second homes in the Philippines is partly boosted by an influx of retirees. The Philippine Retirement Authority is expanding its marketing campaign to persuade more foreigners to live out their days in the country where they can enjoy “the good life at an affordable cost”.

Foreign retirees need a deposit of USD10,000 and a monthly pension of USD800 per month, or a USD50,000 deposit, to qualify for the scheme. You do not even need to be “old”, because it is open to anyone aged 35 years or above. The retirement programme has been running for 25 years, so is well established.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

SAFE HAVEN BRITAIN

So is Britain a safe haven or a banana republic? Britain's huge budget deficit is heading towards 12 per cent, just one percentage point short of the Greek total, and this scares Britain's bankers, currency traders and tabloid newspaper editors, but it has not fazed the Greeks.

The number of Greeks buying central London homes has doubled over the past 12 months estate agency, Knight Frank, says. Six per cent of buyers of London homes valued at £2million or more are Greeks trying to get their money out of their own imploding economy. Germans, Italians and others from the troubled Euro-zone are piling in behind them.

Wealthy Chinese families are making their presence felt at London estate agents office for the first time. They are buying homes, so their children can be educated in British schools and “enjoy a better way of life” they tell estate agents. Somebody should tell London's Sterling-bashing currency traders.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

GREEK PROPERTY CRASH?

In theory, Greek property prices ought to plummet thanks to the austerity measures brought in to erode the country's debt mountain – higher taxes, lower wages, smaller pensions and fewer jobs mean less money to spend on flats and houses. But this is Greece we are talking about, so it is not that simple. The Greek housing market may do relatively well over the next few years, because it may be saved by a white knight in the form of the country's "black economy".

The Greek government says the black economy accounts for one quarter of the nation's GDP. You can be sure persons employed in this sector pay little tax and rarely cut their own wages, so they may have the means to prop up Greek property values. Indeed, they may be the only Greeks able to afford a home over the next year or two.... or three.

So who are these people that beaver away so productively in the black economy? According to the government, which has included their output in official GDP figures since 2006 to make the nation's budget deficit seem smaller, they include prostitutes, money launderers and cigarette smugglers. Estate agents won't care one jot.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

US DISTRESSED HOME SALES

Already half of homes sold in the United States are repossessions. This proportion looks likely to rise.

The London-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says the US would have had the fastest rate of increase in distressed property sales in the world in the first three months of 2010. Specialist property funds are hoovering many of them up in the expectation of selling them for a profit later. They may need to be patient. Rising repossession rates will contribute to US house prices falling 5 per cent in 2010 consultancy, Capital Economics, says.

There is some relief from the misery - The Wealth Report, published by Citi and Knight Frank, says New York has overtaken London to become the world's most successful city based on economic activity, political power, and the role of its media and educational institutions. That must be good news for the Big Apple's housing market.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

CHINA PROPERTY BUBBLE?

It's boom and bust all at once in China. The world's three fastest growing housing markets are all in the Middle Kingdom according to Knight Frank. Prices leapt 52 per cent in Shanghai, 47 per cent in Beijing and 40 per cent in Hong Kong in 2009, growth that was way ahead of everywhere else.

China's economic boom is enabling millions of Chinese to get a foot on the property ladder, and ongoing migration from the countryside to the cities will ensure demand remains high in the cities for years to come.

But, there is another story – in late 2009 distressed property sales were growing faster in China than anywhere else in the world figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surevyors (RICS) show. China's earlier speculative bubbles may have caught out buyers who over-borrowed it seems.

Hong Kong has experienced many housing market bubbles over the years, so its authorities are restricting mortgage lending to stop another forming – worryingly, prices continue to rise.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

FALKLANDS ISLANDS HOT PROPERTY?

Will there be a land grab in the Falkland Islands? Geologists believe up to 60 billion barrels of oil lie underneath its coastal waters in the South Atlantic. To put that into context one of the world's largest reserves, Saudi Arabia's Ghawar oilfield, has 80 billion barrels. That dwarfs the 5 billion barrels in the North Sea's largest field, Fortis.

Already the Falkland's capital, Port Stanley, is filling up with oilmen and equipment for exploratory drilling. If the Falklands do become the islands of black gold, then its property market may surge as the demand for accommodation from oil workers rises, and others come down to sell them goods and services.

Investors might be inspired to buy property, but it's possible Argentina might try to get there first. There are property-based investment opportunities for entrepreneurs too. For those tempted by life in one of the world's remotest spots, a Falklands bed and breakfast property, Darwin House, is on the market for GBP300,000.Even if not much oil is found all the publicity might help the island's small tourism industry.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

US HOUSING MARKET DOUBLE DIP

The United States housing market will have a double-dip downturn consultancy, Capital Economics, says. Surging supply, falling demand and limited credit mean the upturn in prices during the autumn and winter will end when government tax credits are withdrawn this spring.

Ironically, past price falls and current low interest rates mean house prices are affordable once again, but demand is limited, because few households are willing to take on new mortgages, preferring to pay off debt instead.

Prices rose 8 per cent from their lows during the recent recovery, but will drop 5 per cent in the second downturn. A fading economic revival and continued high unemployment mean up to five million homes will be foreclosed over the next couple of years says the consultancy.

The good news, is that a second downturn won't trigger a financial crisis, unlike the first property market collapse, and price reductions may tempt buyers, underpinning a more sustained recovery later.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

ONLINE PROPERTY AUCTIONS GROW

It is getting easier to buy a home from the comfort of your armchair with a laptop or even a smart phone. Property auctions are growing in number and becoming more computer-friendly.

Marbella-based Direct Auctions, has launched a Portuguese auction service to supplement its Spanish auctions, in which buyers can look at properties and make bids online before the auction date.

In Britain, property valuations website, Zoopla.co.uk, has launched online auctions for homes, that run for four days at a time. The first 150 homes were auctioned in February since when auctions will be held once or twice a month.

The idea for online property auctions has blown in from the United States where auctioneer, REDC, sells about 1,000 homes this way each month.

The advantage for buyers is they can purchase from “motivated sellers” with no chance of being gazumped Zoopla says. For sellers, it can mean a speedy sale.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

EGYPTIAN HOLIDAY HOMES BOOST

In Egypt, estate agents are hoping a new airport terminal at Hurghada on the Red Sea coast, will boost visitor numbers, pushing up the demand for holiday homes. The new 92,000 square metre terminal will increase capacity from 6.7 million to 7.5 million passengers at the airport. Completion is scheduled for 2011.

“The announcement of the new terminal is encouraging for property owners who will enjoy greater access to their own homes as well as capitalising on the opportunity to generate rental income from additional visitors to the area," says Steven Worboys of property company, Experience International.

His company is offering studio apartments for sale from GBP21,000 in Hurghada. Alternatively, potential holiday home buyers can investigate El Gouna (pictured above), an upmarket new town, a 20 minute drive up the coast, which has a number of swanky holiday homes overlooking lagoons.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

INVESTING IN HOTELS

Alongside the rise in exotic forms of holiday home ownership, like fractional and leaseback, over the past decade has been growing interest in hotel room investment. Guest rooms and apartments can be purchased at apart-hotels, which are also known as condo-hotels.

A guest room or apartment owned by an investor at an apart-hotel is let out to visitors, cleaned and maintained in the same way as a guest room at a conventional hotel. The apart-hotel and investor share the proceeds of letting out these rooms, and, in some cases, rental returns are guaranteed for a period. An investor can use their guest room for part of the year, although a hotel operator may charge for this.

Conjured up in the United States, the apart-hotel concept has spread across the world. Apart-hotels are found in cities and holiday resorts.

Lucy Russell, managing director of buyer agency, Quintessentially Estates, said
apart-hotel investment was strongest in financial centres like London, Hong Kong and New York where it appealed to visiting businessmen.

“If you are in a city on a regular basis and you would normally be in a hotel room I think it works out quite well and is financially viable,” she said, “If you are looking at it as a long term investment, then I am not sure if it is the best route to take. You may be better off buying an individual unit somewhere.”

However, hotel rooms and apartments could be less expensive to buy than a one bedroom flat, so they attracted some investors she said.

“I think also people are much more transient than they used to be,” she added, “so things like hotel investments are more popular than they would have been five years ago.”

Charles Weston-Baker, director at estate agency, Savills, advised buyers to take professional advice before investing in apart-hotels.

“The model can be good,” he said, “but like all property it is dependent on location. It needs to be somewhere with high occupancy rates.”

On the popular Philippines holiday island of Borocay, marketing for the Continent Fairways apart-hotel, is underway. Fifty-six guest apartments are offered at prices starting from USD110,035. The developer, Paradisya Land, guarantees investors a 14.2 per cent rental return for at least one year.

The apart-hotel is being built in the grounds of the Fairways and Bluewater Golf and Country club where there is an 18-hole golf course which investors and hotel guests can use.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

ARISTOCRATS BUILDING PROPERTY EMPIRES

There may be few hereditary peers in the House of Lords these days, but don't let that fool you into thinking they are finished. They may not be shaping Britain politically any more, but as landowners and property developers they are enjoying a revival in fortunes and making a growing impact on the country's economy and built environment.

A lengthening list of Europe's princes and counts are getting stuck into property development too. The massive property portfolios of middle eastern royalty are famous, even if huge debt burdens weigh heavily on some of them.

If you want to read more about how royals and aristocrats are building new property empires, and what it means for the rest of us, then read my investigative report for the Financial Times.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/300924ae-0b94-11df-8232-00144feabdc0.html

TAIWAN PROPERTY PRICES TO RISE

Peace and prosperity go hand in hand. As relations between China and Taiwan thaw, so the value of homes on the island, which is officially considered a “renegade province” by Beijing, are expected to rise.

While war between mainland and island has been more in the mind than on the battlefield since the Communists took power in Beijing more than 60 years ago, it has stifled business relations between them. That is set to change. An Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement is expected to be signed by China and Taiwan this year that will raise levels of confidence, trade and investment. This will push up Taiwan's property prices by 15 per cent in 2010 the Global Property Guide forecasts.

In Taiwan's capital, Taipei, property prices are forecast to rise 50 per cent over the next three to five years. When obstacles to investment by individual mainlanders are removed, prices may rise higher.

http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com

PIRATES DRIVE UP NAIROBI HOME PRICES

In London, first-time buyers complain about bonus-spending bankers and free-spending foreigners pushing up the value of homes. In Hong Kong, the middle classes blame an influx of mainland Chinese buyers for pricing them out of the market. In Nairobi, Kenyans say Somali pirates are inflating the city's house prices.

Kidnapping and holding for ransom yachtsmen and merchant shipping crews is good business for Somalia's seafaring criminals who have made more than USD100 million from these activities in the last two years, London-based think tank Chatham House reports. And their income is rising sharply. Ransom payments doubled over the twelve months to January 2010, from an average of USD1 million per vessel to USD2million, the think tank says.

Kenya shares a long border with Somalia and has a large Somali community, so smuggling money into the country for laundering through its property market is relatively easy. Result, property prices have trebled in Nairobi over the past five years.

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LONDON LETTINGS "BOOMING AGAIN"

Central London's residential lettings market is booming again a leading lettings agent says. Rents are rising in des res districts like Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Kensington as tenant demand surges.

“There has been a fundamental change in the lettings market since this time last year," says Lucy Morton, head of lettings at estate agency, W A Ellis, "Tenants are no longer moving to different properties for a 'better deal', they are renewing their current contract."

Reductions in rent have almost disappeared on renewals, options are generally being adhered to, and most rents are up 3 per cent year on year, she says.

"Due to the market dropping severely, by around 25 per cent, between October 2008 and January 2009, tenants were negotiating a 25 per cent decrease in their rent last year, or moving to find more space for their money, so there was a huge re-shuffle in the market," she says.

“This January we are seeing a surge of enquiries for properties right across the market from one bedroom to five bedrooms at £20,000 per week," she adds, "The lettings market is booming again and landlords can be confident that their tenants will not be looking around for better deals as they are not there now.”

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AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MARKET "STRONG"

Australia was spared the worst of the economic crisis, and its property market is now one of the world's strongest. Unlike banks in many other countries like Britain, Ireland and the United States, Australia's financial institutions did not take on large amounts of sub-prime debt, and the country has avoided recession.

Following a modest 1.3 per cent rise in 2008, property values surged 6.25 per cent in 2009, making Australia's housing market the second strongest of 27 surveyed by the Global Property Guide in late 2009.

Rising interest rates won't make it less buoyant estate agents say, because they had been expected.

The best value for money can be found in the country's top suburbs they say, especially those in Sydney. Prices did fall in some of that city's suburbs over the past couple of years, which means they have ground to make up on locations that fared better during the economic “emergency”.

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US HOUSING MARKET "RECOVERY"

The United States housing market is finely balanced, and the old adage “lies, damn lies and statistics” applies very well to its current situation. In nominal terms, property prices rose 1.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2009, the first rise in several years, but, when inflation is factored in, they fell 0.5 per cent over that period. So, which way from here?

The government's tax credit scheme for home buyers and the drop in mortgage rates to below 5 per cent mean prices will continue to rise says consultancy, Capital Economics. With home sales at a two and a half year high and 35 per cent above January 2009's trough, some fret that another bubble is forming, but the consultancy is sanguine, pointing out that sales levels remain well below their long term average.

Backing up the housing recovery has been a bounce-back in the economy. After its longest recession since the 1930s, GDP grew 2.8 per in the third quarter of 2009.

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TURKISH PROPERTY, A "BUYERS MARKET"

The Turkish government hopes love will make its country one of the world's top five tourist destinations by the 2023. If they succeed, this could be good news for holiday home buyers there.

Turkey is being plugged as a top honeymoon destination by its tourism industry which is hoping to benefit from huge investment in the country's infrastructure: new airports, roads, golf courses, marinas and hotels are being built in coastal areas which estate agents say will appeal to second home buyers as much as to tourists. The plan seems to be working, because 24 million tourists visited Turkey in 2009, a 2 per cent increase on 2008, despite the world's economic problems.

Already 74,000 foreigners own property in Turkey, and estate agents say more may be tempted to join them, because the country's housing sector is a “buyers market” following a drop in property prices from their peak in 2007. Tipped hotspot, Dalaman, because of new international flights.

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