Since its low in Q2 2009 the Prime Global Cities Index – which tracks the performance of the top 5% of mainstream housing markets – has been largely subdued, recording average quarterly growth of 0.8%.The buoyant Asian markets kept the index in positive territory up until Q1 2012 when cooling measures and in particular restrictions on second-home ownership, led to a fall of 0.4% in the first quarter of 2012.
That said, Asia and Europe have proved critical to the index’s recovery in the second quarter. Prime prices in Asia rose by 3.4% in the year to June, the equivalent figure in March was -2.5%……………………………………….Full Article: Source

According to new research paper by Ferguson Partners Ltd., a global executive recruitment consultancy, in partnership with the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA), reveals more bullish attitudes about Asia’s real estate prospects for late 2012 and 2013, compared to the slowly recuperating U.S. and lagging European markets.
The findings are based on the feedback from one-on-one interviews with regional industry leaders and global investors, who provided their insights regarding expected capital flows into Asia and their outlooks for regional market performance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Look for the S&P/Case-Shiller index to post a year-over-year decline of 1% when the latest results are released Tuesday, according to estimates from Zillow. That would be the smallest decline in two years, when a short-lived run-up in home prices evaporated after federal home-buyer tax credits expired. Prices have been in negative territory ever since, as housing markets have struggled with a surfeit of homes and anemic demand.
But price declines are easing — and several other indexes are now reporting year-over-year gains — as the supply of homes for sale has fallen sharply. Those inventory declines, coupled with a modest uptick in demand, have helped stabilize home prices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

America’s older generation may have paid their financial dues and time in the labor market, but unfortunately they’re not immune to the housing crisis.
According to a study by AARP, 600,000 homeowners of the over-50 set are in foreclosure, and about 625,000 are at least three months behind on their mortgage payments. Approximately 3.5 million boomers—16%—are underwater on their mortgages and owe more than their home is currently worth………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Your house might be a better investment than you think. At least Wall Street seems to think so. For a while now the conventional wisdom on real estate has been that while home prices might not fall much more, they aren’t likely to go up anytime soon either. The best personal finance advice, then, when it came to buying a house, was to buy as little as possible.
Apparently, though, on Wall Street that common wisdom about home prices is not held by all, or even many. In the past six months or so, a number of investment firms, hedge funds, private equity partnerships and real estate investors have turned into voracious buyers of single-family homes………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Freddie Mac’s July 2012 U.S. economic and housing market outlook provides some interesting insights on the real estate market and, more specifically, the construction industry. In July, the agency increased its second-quarter outlook on housing starts, housing sales, and housing price appreciation. Based on the report, housing starts show the greatest potential for improvement in the next 12 months.
Housing starts are expected to reach an annual rate of 730,000 units for the second quarter. Home sales for single-family units are estimated to reach an annual rate of 4.94 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gloomy economic data continues to pour in, raising the specter of another recession. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index and the ISM Manufacturing Index are two of the latest to disappoint.
Yet the most recent data out of the real estate market keeps surprising to the upside. Yes – the real estate market! Here’s a rundown on the latest developments and, more importantly, the significance for U.S. GDP growth and joblessness should this nascent real estate recovery gain momentum………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Debt-ridden Canadian consumers and a cooling property market are leaving the country’s stalwart banks vulnerable, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has warned, fanning a growing national debate on whether Canada is facing a U.S.-style housing debacle.
While S&P reaffirmed the high ratings of Canada’s biggest banks, it dropped its outlook to “negative” from “stable.” It was a shot across the bow for banks still considered among the healthiest in the world but now facing the risks of a pullback in consumer borrowing and a downturn in a booming housing market – reminiscent of the forces that derailed their U.S. rivals four years ago………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With mortgage approvals at their lowest for 18 months, weakness of demand and high prices contribute to stagnation. Demand for home loans has been weak, but new figures from the Bank of England showed the number of mortgages approved in June was the lowest for 18 months.
It’s unlikely that the weather or the extra bank holiday made that much difference to the 10% year-on-year drop in approvals for home purchases. Instead, the June data simply underscored how one of the driving forces behind growth in the bubble years has stalled. Approvals are currently running at roughly half their monthly average over the past couple of decades………………………………………..Full Article: Source

UK house prices have fallen for the first time in seven months, as the demand for property declines but vendors continue to put their homes on the market. Property analyst Hometrack published a survey today that said that prices across the country fell by 0.1 per cent in July.
The Independent reports that the expected Olympic boost to the London property market has failed to materialise, as the survey showed growth has particularly slowed in London and the south east………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Cyprus residential property market “is reported to be getting a boost from the Far East, as interest from Chinese buyers looking to purchase top end luxury properties in Paphos is increasing”, the Cyprus Property News is reporting.
Sales in Paphos, a popular tourist destination in southwest Cyprus, west of Limassol, have risen by 25% in recent months, the news website reports, quoting property industry experts, including George Leptos of the Paphos-based developers the Leptos Group. Leptos is also head of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce (EVE)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Over 11,000 housing units mostly apartments are scheduled for completion in the remaining part of the year, adding more supply means lower rental values.
“Approximately 2,900 additional residential units were delivered in Abu Dhabi during Q2,” said Abu Dhabi Real Estate Market Overview - Q2 2012’ by Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate investment and advisory firm………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The commercial property market has seen its rental outlook slip again after a short-lived rebound. While investor and occupier demand has fallen on account of slowing economic parameters, rental values are also turning negative.
According to a report by RICS India Commercial Property Survey, sentiment in the Indian real estate market has been adversely affected in the second quarter of the calendar year, as the economic picture in the country continues to remain bleak with the declining value of the rupee and growth forecasts being revised lower, along with a deteriorating global climate. Demand from tenants has slipped in Q2 as compared to Q1, where demand was more buoyant………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s economic slowdown and changes in government policy have had a heavy impact on the country’s property market. Although residential builders have been having a difficult time, the same is not so true for commercial real estate, according to the CEO of one of Beijing’s largest developers.
Zhiang Xin is a self-made billionaire and China’s third-richest woman. She spoke to the BBC’s Philip Hampsheir who asked if she thought China’s property market was heading for a hard or a soft landing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The nation’s commercial property market may inadvertently benefit from the sluggish stock trading as securities houses are selling office buildings in prime locations in Taipei to prop up their financial health.
The divestment plans came after the daily stock turnover dropped to NT$60 billion this month, while securities houses reliant on brokerage business for income need NT$100 billion to break even………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Australian housing market conditions remain in the buyer’s favor, with property values remaining soft and the number of homes for sale continuing at above average levels, a new survey released on Monday by the country’s largest mortgage lender, the Commonwealth Bank found.
The Commonwealth Bank’s Home Buyers Index (HBI) for the three months to May showed affordability had improved in many suburbs across Australia, with Queensland and Tasmania market conditions being well and truly in favor of the buyers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

When Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens says property prices aren’t about to pop, then that’s that. Trouble is, they’re not about to hop, either. What he didn’t say the other day was that property will be a good investment any time soon.
In fact, only six weeks ago he was saying the Reserve had no intention of lifting home prices or seeing another bubble, a message that somehow missed the front page. Property values have apparently stabilised, having fallen an average 5 per cent to 10 per cent from their peak before the GFC, which is far better than the sharemarket has done, as I’m sure you’ve noticed………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Property investors are being urged to share their views as signs emerge of improvement in the housing market. The eighth annual ANZ Property Investment Survey, run in conjunction with the NZ Property Investors’ Federation (NZPIF), will canvass property investors across New Zealand about issues affecting the residential property market and gauges where the sector is heading for the next 12 months.
ANZ’s General Manager Specialist Distribution, Craig Moffat, says: “A slow economic recovery, the upcoming Christchurch rebuild and an ongoing shortage of property, particularly in Auckland, are among factors that will shape the outlook. It will be interesting to see how investors see these issues playing out and what their take is on suggestions in some quarters of a new housing boom.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Foreigners have been making the sad, broken housing market feel better for a little while now—taking her to the movies, telling her how great she looks, buoying her confidence after the fiasco of the housing market crash.
But now those foreign buyers may be going away, writes a Trulia economist in a Forbes column. It was just a fling, and the housing market knew that sooner or later they would have to move on, that a healthy relationship would have to be forged with people who call the United States their primary residence. But stil……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Olympics have failed to bring the expected boost to the London property market, leading to a shock fall in national house prices for the first time this year.
According to Hometrack’s survey, published today, prices slipped 0.1 per cent in July, the first negative index for seven months. Richard Donnell, the director of research at the firm, said: “The housing markets of London and the South East – areas that have supported headline price growth since the beginning of the year – are starting to slow as demand weakens and supply rises.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

U.K. house prices fell in July for the first time this year and may extend their decline as a deepening recession curbs demand for homes, Hometrack Ltd. said.
Values slipped 0.1 percent from June, when they stagnated, the London-based property-research company said in a report today. A measure of demand fell the most in six months. In London, the pace of home-price inflation slowed to 0.1 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

House prices rise 0.9% as number of sales plummet, according to latest figures from Land Registry. House prices rose by just 0.9% in the year to June 2012, but sales of homes worth £1m or more nose-dived by 43% over the same period, according to official figures.
The number of properties sold in England and Wales for more than a £1m in the year to April 2012 fell from 825 to 468, the Land Registry announced in its latest house price index………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Credit Suisse is throwing wide open a competition to lead one of the largest real-estate searches in town. The Swiss bank has sent out a request for proposals to about 10 brokerage firms to lead its search for some 3 million square feet of office space in the city, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
The company has been represented for more than a decade by CBRE Group Inc. The brokerage firm is still in the running to lead the search but Credit Suisse is simply evaluating different options, according to people familiar with the matter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The value of completed construction projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to jump 71 per cent to $79.8 billion (Dh293.11 billion) this year with the commercial property and hotel sectors leading the way, according to a new study.
In 2011, completed construction projects in the GCC were valued at $46.5 billion, according to new research by Ventures ME, commissioned by dmg events. Commercial real estate projects are set to double in value to $15.3 billion this year from $7.7 billion in 2011, with four of the six GCC countries ranking among the top 20 retail destinations, according to the Global Retail Development Index………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Home sale volumes remained stable in the month of May in key cities across the country. According to data from property research firm PropEquity, “Bangalore maintained stable volumes with May 2012 residential sales of 5 million sq ft.” Mumbai saw a slight increase in month-on-month and quarter-on-quarter sales. Gurgaon also saw moderate volumes with 3.6 million sq ft sold in the month.
“The monsoon is typically a lean season for the sector and the next leg of launches is expected in September 2012 when the festive season kicks in. We remain positive on the sector as most of the slowdown is already in current valuations,” said a Religare Institutional Research report on the real estate sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mumbai home prices could rise by 15 to 20 per cent every year over the next five years due to heavy demand from buyers, shows a new study by a unit of ICICI Home Finance.
The study revealed, though residential transactions had been slow, a pick-up had been noted over the previous financial year and prices in Mumbai might continue to see an upward trend over the one-year period and grow in double digits in the next five years, says the report by ICICI Property Services………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Chinese property market, which has been ‘booming’ for the past decade, remains unaffected by the economic crises in the European Union and the US as the development spreads rapidly to its second-tier cities.
“The rapid growth can be observed most clearly in the past two years where the market is truly starting to pick up in these cities,” said Hong Kong Neptune Group sales manager, Ricky Zhang when interviewed before his talk on the Chinese property market here………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore residential property prices may fall 10-15% over the next year, according to a report by financial services group UBS. UBS include government cooling measures, which discourage foreign investment, tightened immigration laws, slowed population growth and general economic uncertainty as reasons for the projected decline.
UBS predicts there to be an oversupply of up to 150,000 houses by 2015 - a factor that further contributes to their pessimistic price projection………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The housing market is continuing to stagnate, with industry sources saying sales volume dropping by 20-50 percent every month compared to the same period last year.
Following the sluggish demand, house prices are falling in the metropolitan area. Prices for apartments in Gangnam, where prices peaked in 2007, have been decreasing steadily since 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Houston is known for many things: Oil, NASA, urban sprawl and business-friendly policies. But the Texas city deserves to be known for something else: coolness. The Bayou City may not be the first place you associate with being hip or trendy. But Houston has something many other major cities don’t: jobs.
With the local economy humming through the recession, Houston enjoyed 2.6% job growth last year and nearly 50,000 Americans flocked there in response — particularly young professionals. In fact, the median age of a Houston resident is a youthful 33………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The explosion of single family rentals-houses bought by real estate investors and rented to a single tenant-is creating a new category of property management companies to serve them. Last year, 1.2 million U.S. properties were acquired for investment purposes, up from 749,000 in 2010, according to RealtyTrac.
This year, the investment boom has continued, with investors accounting for about 20 percent of all home sales. With the vast majority of investors following a “buy and hold” strategy rather than flipping, millions of properties have entered the rental inventory………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sales of new single-family homes fell 8.4% to an annual rate of 350,000 in June following upward revisions to both April and May sales numbers. The level of new home sales in the second quarter (363,000) is above the first quarter mark (352,000) mainly due to the sharp increase in sales recorded in May.
Regionally, sales of new homes dropped in the Northeast (-60%) and South (-8.6%) but advanced in the Midwest (+14.6%) and West (+2.1%)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Prologis Inc., the world’s largest warehouse owner, may sell about $800 million of U.S. properties by the end of 2012 amid growing investor demand for industrial buildings, Co-Chief Executive Officer Hamid Moghadam said.
“It’s more of a seller’s market than a buyer’s market in the U.S.,” Moghadam said in a telephone interview today. “We’re just pushing the timetable.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Canadian home prices hit a third straight record high in June, but a slowdown in the pace of price increases suggested the red-hot housing market is cooling, the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed on Wednesday.
The index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed overall prices climbed 1.2 per cent in June from a month earlier. From a year earlier, the index was up 5.4 per cent, with Montreal rising 4.4 per cent. But it was the seventh straight month in which year-on-year price gains slowed………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Since the revolution in the late 1950s, swapping or bartering homes, a process known in Cuba as permuta, was the only way residents could change their accommodations. Property was government owned and private sales were prohibited.
In November 2011 the law was amended, giving residents the right to buy property freehold, though they can own only one home in the city and a second one in a rural or coastal location for vacations………………………………………..Full Article: Source

According to the latest report from global real estate advisor CBRE, investors in European retail property continue to focus on quality assets, with a number of major High Street transactions taking place in the second quarter of 2012 (Q2 2012).
The deals highlight the strength of demand for core retail as evidence of weakness in secondary retail segments comes to the fore………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The German residential portfolios market is on track to reach a total turnover of EUR 10 bn in 2012, after posting EUR 6.13 bn in transactions in the first six months of the year, according to international real estate advisor Savills. The H1 2012 total is the highest in five years and marks a 75% rise on H1 2011, when investment volume reached EUR 3.5 bn.
Berlin dominated investment activity with over 26,000 residential units sold in the city and its surrounding region in the first half of 2012, accounting for a share of over 22%. Stuttgart and Hamburg follow with a share of 6.2% and 3.5% respectively………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Profits at Spanish banking giant Santander have halved after it made more write-downs against unrecoverable loans secured against property. The bank, which is the eurozone’s biggest, said first-half profits halved to 1.7bn euros ($2.6bn; £1.3bn) in the six months to the end of June.
Write-offs for Spanish property loans were 2.8bn euros. It has written off 6bn euros of the 8.8bn euros that it has been told to write off this year. Profits in the UK rose by 41% to £466m………………………………………..Full Article: Source

South Africa has some interesting new real estate legislation in the pipeline that is destined to have an effect on how investors and property owners operate within the property sector.
Attie Pretorius, director and head of the national real estate practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, says the City of Cape Town recently promulgated a bylaw tailored to regulate the issue of dilapidated and often abandoned buildings that may pose health and safety risks to the public………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Middle-segment house price deflation continued in both nominal and real terms in the second quarter of 2012, according to Absa’s third-quarter 2012 Housing Review. In the affordable and luxury categories, however, nominal house price growth remained in positive territory up to the middle of the year, the Absa housing review shows.
The affordability of housing, as represented by the ratios of house prices and mortgage repayments to household disposable income, improved further up to the first quarter of the year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Despite the continuing supply glut putting downward pressure on prices and mixed analysts views on the health of the emirate’s real estate market, Dubai-based master developer Emaar Properties believes Dubai’s property sector is now on a “growth track.”
“Dubai’s property sector is on a growth track, which was underlined by the overwhelming investor response to the launch of our Panorama at The Views, with the entire lot sold on the very first day of launch,” an Emaar spokesperson said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The biggest shopping mall in Mumbai, one of the world’s most crowded cities, can feel like a pretty lonely place.
Eight months ago, multi-storied Phoenix Market City opened for business in the eastern suburb of Kurla with a total floor area of 1.13 million square feet, the size of about 15 soccer fields. To date, just two-thirds of its 320 stores have been taken up and foot traffic can be thin………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL), a subsidiary of Tata Sons, is raising Rs. 1,400 crore through a non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue to replace debt in a project in Chennai with long-term, cheaper borrowing.
TRIL Infopark Ltd is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) building a 26 acre special economic zone (SEZ) project, Ramanujan IT City, a joint venture development by TRIL, Indian Hotels Co. Ltd and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corp. Ltd………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s property market has shown signs of warming up on expectations that Beijing will loosen monetary policies further, but a recent measure suggests the central government doesn’t want its generous stimulus to flow into the coffers of property developers.
Beijing will send inspection teams to 16 key provinces and cities by the end of this month to ensure real estate tightening policies are strictly enforced by local governments, according to a statement from the State Council………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s real estate market has expanded rapidly, powering the nation’s economic growth, with particularly strong demand in small and medium-sized cities. Meanwhile, price restriction measures are necessary in large cities, where housing prices have exceeded annual incomes tenfold.
In recent years, regional governments have sold land acquired at minimal cost to government-affiliated real estate companies for low prices………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore’s real estate investment market is humming again after a sluggish first half. London-based DTZ Research reports activity is up 48 percent from the first half. Investment increased to S$6.9 billion (US $5.5 billion). REITs led the rally.
That performance compares with first-half investment deals totaling S$11.6 billion (US $9.2 billion), a decrease of 32 per cent, year over year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

New home sales picked up sharply in terms of volume and prices on pent-up demand last quarter, but the trend is slowing this quarter as the shadows over the economic outlook darken, a report showed.
New homes — including both presale projects and newly completed dwellings — totaled 17,575 units nationwide, jumping 40.7 percent from three months earlier and 51.7 percent from a year earlier, a quarterly report by Cathay Real Estate Development Co and National Chengchi University’s Taiwan Real Estate Research Center showed………………………………………..Full Article: Source

There is an overwhelming amount of news and information that bombards us about the housing market but unless it talks about your exact suburb, or area, or in fact refers to your property type and the era you purchased it, this may unwittingly be the opposite of reality.
Why? The basic principals of how property markets behave rarely vary but the intricacies, the local peculiarities, the history and background of an area, even the demographics have a huge impact in making the Australian housing market overall a vastly complex and often contradictory place………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Auckland real estate agents are bringing forward auctions and selling houses without any advertising as the housing market hits a fresh boom. Agents say the buoyant market is driving up sales and they are bringing forward auctions to capitalise on the huge appetite.
And while some buyers accuse agents of “cheerleading” price rises, agents say their responsibility is to get the best price for the seller………………………………………..Full Article: Source

House prices are ridiculously high and the fact that none are being built for people on low incomes is unsustainable, says Finance Minister Bill English. English said housing affordability was “quite a turn-off for young Kiwis”.
“The prices you pay for a house are ridiculous and they look that way to 24-year-olds with lots of student debt and the prospect of better pay in Australia,” he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source