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
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Thursday, 21 January 2010
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.
http://globalprpertynews.blogspot.com
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.
http://globalprpertynews.blogspot.com
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
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.”
http://globalpropertyneww.blogspot.com
“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.”
http://globalpropertyneww.blogspot.com
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
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”.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
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.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
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.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
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.
http://globalpropertynews.blogspot.com
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