London Tops The Property Hit Parade For Serious Investors

London came out top of the international property pops for commercial real estate investment according the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE). Nearly 200 members, who together own property worth $842 billion internationally were asked to rate investing in cities and countries.

In the city stakes London' easily came out top, a massive 31 points ahead of second-place Washington, and 40 points in front of third placed New York. London's great leap forward was dramatic – in 2008 it only rated a close second.

AFIRE investors saw prices having already bottomed in London, while in the US further declines were expected before prices turned up. Or as James Fetgatter, AFIRE chief executive, put it :

"London currently offers investors the advantage of a "re-priced" market."

On a country basis, despite the possible price dip to come, the United States with 44 per cent was again voted "most stable and secure real estate investment environment."

Germany came second with 21 percent of the vote, reminiscent of a forgotten Eurovision song contest...

"The financial crisis of the past year has obviously affected investors' perceptions of U.S. real estate as 'stable and secure,'" said Fetgatter. "However, it is also apparent that opportunity lies within this instability since the U.S., along with the UK, show substantially higher scoring for expected capital appreciation."

While just over half said the United States - where prices are off more than 40 per cent from all time highs - would likely afford best price appreciation going forward, the UK came a creditable second, perhaps surprisingly beating China, which has had a roaring 2009.

The type of property most favoured by investors was housing estates and flats, with other more business-oriented construction and property seen as somewhat less rewarding. It would appear the pro's are once again expecting housing to lead the recovery in 2010.

Meanwhile data released by Rightmove this week showed UK housing up for the year, in line with reports from the Halifax and Nationwide.

View property in the UK

View global property news

Post a Comment about 'London Tops The Property Hit Parade For Serious Investors' Here >

Cyprus Property Sales to Foreigners Increasing

Foreign buys of property in Cyprus saw a shock increase last month, up from 117 the month before to 158.

This is not the first time sales have risen on the month, nor is it the highest number of monthly sales this year, but what is significant is the size of the increase at this time of year when sales traditionally slide off.

It is highly unlikely to be a pure coincidence that this rise in sales against the season comes as the government and Cypriot legal institutions have been working hard to resolve the problems over Cyprus title deeds and have begun to make some headway. Firstly with Cypriot lawyers revealing how buyers could cut out the middleman and get their own deeds from the land registry, and more recently with the Cypriot government enacting legislation to allow them to do this without going through the courts.

It is also no coincidence that Cyprus should start to benefit from the recent increases in British demand for overseas property.

Cyprus has been named as the site of the second Euro Disney world, which will boost tourism to the region surrounding the chosen site massively.

The Cyprus government also gave permission to build 14 new golf courses on the island; permission was granted last year and construction has started on one of the courses. Golf represents a massive portion of why Brits choose Cyprus property and new courses can only boost tourism and the property market.

View property for sale in Cyprus

Post a Comment about 'Cyprus Property Sales to Foreigners Increasing' Here >

UK Commercial Property Posts Record Monthly Increase In November

A respected barometer of UK property prices, the CB Richard Ellis Monthly Index (CBRE), came in at a figure that must have startled most observers, many of whom were warning that commercial property was going to be 'the next shoe to drop'.

Completely confounding the pessimists, the investment returns on British commercial property surged in November by the biggest amount since records began nine years ago.

The monthly rise in mean value of 2.7 percent was the fifth straight increase in a row according to the CBRE.

Values have been from a depressed level since July, when they hit a low of negative 44 percent compared with the bubble heights reached in mid-2007. However since then the rebound has been sustained and steady, with this months figures suggesting accelerating growth.

"The strength and depth of current investor demand seems destined to lead to a continuation of the very strong returns seen in recent months into next year," said David Wylie, head of Economics and Forecasting at CBRE.

Nevertheless there are still plenty of investors worried that Britain's commercial property market, second in Europe only to that of Germany, may not be able to sustain its present rate of growth. Concern is rising that a short-lived sector recovery is in store if values rise too far ahead of the general economy and rents .

"However, the prospect of more significant increases in supply coming through, and the generally weak rental growth outlook, may act as a brake on the strength of the recent recovery," David added.

Retail warehouses, up 4 percent, and shopping centres, up 3.9 percent, led the November surge. On the negative side, the ongoing decline in average rental values continued, with rents falling by 0.3 percent in November. However the rate of decline was lower than in October, suggesting rents may be stabilising.

Though rental income was down 9.3 percent from a year ago, a CBRE consultant pointed out that total return on sector investment, taking into account rental income and capital growth, managed to rise to a record 3.4 percent for the month of November.

Last week the major UK mortgage lender Nationwide reported that British domestic property also rose last month - by 0.5 percent.

View property in the UK

View overseas properties for sale

Post a Comment about 'UK Commercial Property Posts Record Monthly Increase In November' Here >

Montenegro to Benefiit Most from Visa Free Travel Extension

The EU has agreed that residents of Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia should be permitted to travel visa-free throughout the EU, after the European Commission suggested it last month. Visa-restrictions for the three will be lifted on December 19th.

The EU has kept visa-restrictions in place for Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it is hoped that visa-free travel can be extended to them in due course, when they have met the necessary requirements as part of the EC roadmap.

All three nations will undoubtedly see economic benefits from the move, through increased tourism and easier trade with EU nations. However, Montenegro is likely to see the biggest benefit.

Serbia and Macedonia are both landlocked, and now that it is not a visa job, residents from both countries, will undoubtedly make trips to the gorgeous Montenegrin coast. The same goes for residents of all EU countries.

Montenegro is known as one of the most beautiful places in the world, and with some of the best beaches in Europe. So much so that it attracted the likes of Prince Charles and singer Lulu in its heyday during the 80s. EU members being allowed to holiday in Montenegro visa-free will undoubtedly boost tourism significantly.

It will also boost foreign property investment in the country. Montenegro had grown into a highly popular destination among foreign property buyers in 2006 and 2007, but demand has plummeted during the downturn. Now that things are beginning to recover, the fact that people can travel to Montenegro for an inspection trip without having to go to the hassle of obtaining the correct visa, will undoubtedly assist in increased activity in the property market.

View property for sale in Montenegro

Post a Comment about 'Montenegro to Benefiit Most from Visa Free Travel Extension' Here >

Canada Biggest Jump in New Home Prices Since Jan08

New data released yesterday (Thursday) by the federal agency Statistics Canada (Statscan) showed new home prices rising in September faster than at any time since the beginning of 2008. The positive reading of 0.5 percent surprised market observers and is yet another in a string of recent indicators reflecting on the country's strong housing market.

As a result the year-on-year decline in prices eased from 3.1 percent in August to 2.7 percent in September.

Vancouver and Ottawa-Gatineau lead the way with 1.4 percent and 1 percent rises respectively while Windsor, Ontario recorded the biggest decline. Statscan said the jump in the new housing price index was largely due to improving market conditions and consumer confidence.

n the same month permits for housing construction jumped 9.4 percent and the federal housing agency CMHC is looking for a 26 percent rise next year in Toronto.Stewart Hall, markets strategist at HSBC Canada said sales were above pre-crisis peak levels, citing pent-up demand and rock-bottom interest rates as market drivers. Writing to clients he reported "Real estate has been the economic surprise of 2009....Today's new home price data seems to be pointing to an inflection point."

Thomson Reuters noted that the 0.5 percent rise beat the forecast of every single one of 15 analysts polled.

However housing market buoyancy is not yet reflected in other sectors of the economy, with some recent data questioning a wider economic recovery, and throwing into doubt the Bank of Canada's prediction of 2 percent annual growth in the third quarter.

Exports are expected to be weak, and a second Thomson Reuters poll is predicting a merchandise trade deficit of C$1.75 billion in September. We will soon see if the trade figures, due out later today, will follow housing and surprise to the upside. Even weakness in this sector could add to house-buying momentum if it persuades the Canadian Central Bank to delay interest rate rises.

View property in Canada

View overseas property news

Post a Comment about 'Canada Biggest Jump in New Home Prices Since Jan08' Here >