Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
In Britain, if you want to sell your home, an estate agent will list the property, find a buyer, help you negotiate a deal and guide you through the transaction, all for a commission of 2-3% of the sale price. In America, realtors provide the same services for roughly double the fee.
The internet has squelched inefficient middlemen in other industries, from insurance brokers to travel agents. Why not American realtors? Although scores of discount brokers and for-sale-by-owner websites have sprouted up, traditional full-service realtors have somehow maintained their market share of 80% without reducing fees………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
A “major portion” of small commercial-property deals in the U.S. have fallen through because of stricter lending standards, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.
While the commercial real estate market showed signs of recovery in 2011, credit tightened in the past year for small businesses, the group said today in a report. Two out of three agents helping clients buy properties for less than $2 million said the purchases were scuttled because of a lack of capital, according to the survey………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
Based on the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) annual Commercial Real Estate 2012 Lending Survey, U.S. commercial real estate markets showed signs of recovery in 2011; commercial lending standards have tightened in the past year for small businesses and scuttled a major portion of contracted transactions for smaller properties.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is a significant split in commercial lending depending on value. “This is very much a tale of two markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
New housing data shows some signs that the real estate market has finally bottomed out. With current mortgage rates already near all-time lows and the government tapped out, this would be welcome news. But the question is: Will this prove to be the true turning point for housing — or another false bottom leading to further depths?
The meaning of economic statistics is often in the eye of the beholder, and it’s no different with the latest housing statistics………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
The US real estate market is slipping back into recession. The number of second home purchase contracts has decreased. There is a fall in a new homes being put up for sale as well.
Banks don’t rush out to issue loans, even despite the fact that prices fell by more than fifty percent in many areas. In some cities, real estate has dropped in price to the point where one can buy a house for just a few thousand US dollars. At the same time, analysts predicted that housing will start to rise in price next year, for the first time in 7 years………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
European property sales fell to the lowest level in 18 months in the first quarter as reduced debt funding and concerns about slowing growth deterred investors, according to Real Capital Analytics.
Sales of commercial real estate, hotels, development sites and apartment blocks fell 28pc from a year earlier to 1,506 properties, according to data released by the New York-based researcher. By value, sales dropped 19pc to €28.4bn, the least since the third quarter of 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
House prices have now fallen 11.8pc since they reached their peak in October 2007. The figures show that house prices dipped 0.2pc in April, leaving them down 0.9pc on last year, and the building society said that it expected housing market activity to “remain subdued” with prices showing little growth or a small dip over the next twelve months.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said that recent softness in housing market figures has been affected by the expiry of the Government’s stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers in late March. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
House prices rise and fall – often in the same month – depending on which property index you read. Here we explain why this happens and how each one is compiled.
Every month a number of organisations publish house price indices, each based on a different set of data. Sometimes the findings agree, sometimes they conflict. When we report on these figures we explain what they are showing, but we thought it would be useful to give a comprehensive guide to the main indices………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
‘It was a good day,’ said the man who bought Ireland’s first derelict ‘ghost estate’ at auction since the country suffered Europe’s heaviest property crash.
The Northern Ireland developer, who wanted to remain anonymous, paid 122,500 euros ($161,100) for three unfinished houses and a four-acre plot of land in County Cavan in the north of the country on Thursday, telling Reuters he believes the market has hit the bottom………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
France faces a property slump of Anglo-Saxon proportions as the frothiest boom in French history finally tips over, threatening the country with an economic shock just as austerity hits.
“It is a gigantic bubble, all the more dangerous as it is spread across France,” said Pierre Sabatier, from the consultancy PrimeView………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
Switzerland’s housing market shows increasing signs of a bubble, according to UBS’s real estate index, as the central bank keeps money cheap to deter investors from seeking safety in Swiss francs.
A quarter of Switzerland’s population live in areas where house prices are at risk of overheating, the index showed………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
The boom in Switzerland’s property market extended into the first quarter, driven by record low mortgage rates and the ongoing influx of cash-rich migrants, and is set to enter the risk zone of a market monitoring index this quarter.
The Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index climbed to 0.95 in the first three months of 2012, compared with 0.80 in the previous three months, and is now just below the level of 1.0, which is considered the threshold for risk emergence in the housing market, said UBS AG, UBS which compiled the index………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
Spain will set rules in the coming weeks allowing banks to offload real estate, whose valuations on lenders’ books are in line with market prices, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said.
De Guindos said the plan will be voluntary and each bank may set up its own vehicle into which it can transfer real estate assets that have already been written down. He said provisioning levels of 80 percent for land and 65 percent for unfinished property were sufficient, allowing banks to offload the assets without generating additional losses………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
According to Savills’ latest research on the Sweden investment market the gap between yields for prime and secondary properties is set to continue to widen as a result of strong investor demand for prime and the challenges to obtain debt for secondary properties.
The international real estate advisor states that the most notable gap can currently be seen in the retail warehouse and logistics segments where yield spreads have increased to 100 basis points between prime and secondary yields………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
Slovak residential property prices fell by the least in six quarters as the euro-area country’s economy weathers the slowdown among its richer peers, the central bank said.
The average price for residential property declined to 1,235 euros ($1,625) per square meter (10.8 square feet) in the first three months of 2012 from 1,236 euros in the fourth quarter of last year, the Bratislava, Slovakia-based Narodna Banka Slovenska said on its website. Prices fell 2.3 percent on the year………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
DTZ has released its latest update on Qatar’s real estate market, which predicts a positive outlook as a result of demand for all types of real estate.
Mark Proudley, author of the report and Associate Director at DTZ, said, “Demand can be attributed to Qatar’s strong economic performance - driven by high energy prices and the Government’s investment plans as part of the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011 - 2016 and in preparation for FIFA 2022 World Cup which is expected to reach $64 billion between now and the event.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Q1 Asia Pacific Office Index Report that monitors grade “A” net effective rents in 27 key markets in Asia Pacific, found that in the first quarter, compared to Q4 2011, rents increased in 13 markets, were static in three markets and declined in 11 markets.
Aggregate rental growth across the region in Q1 2012 averaged just 0.2 percent quarter on quarter, slowing further from 0.9 percent in the previous quarter………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
There is bad news for prospective home buyers who have been waiting for a price correction to take place to book their dream homes. A report released by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global leading real estate services firm, noted that residential rates in the city have once again begun to grow steadily after a prolonged phase of stagnation.
The report said that property prices in Mumbai have gone up by 3.2 per cent in the last three months. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 04 May 2012 by Laxman | Email |Print
New research has showed China’s home prices dropped slightly in April from the previous month as well as from a year ago, indicating the country’s property market is cooling at a stable pace.
The China Index Academy (CIA) released its April home prices report on Wednesday, showing the average home price in 100 cities dropped 0.34 percent from March to 8,711 yuan (1,383 U.S. dollars) per square meter. The price is also down 0.71 percent from April of last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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