Moody’s Investors Service said U.S. commercial real estate prices fell by 3.7% in April, as distressed prices masked the price recovery seen in larger, higher-quality assets.
The commercial real-estate sector, like its residential counterpart, continues to struggle with slumping demand. April marks the fifth consecutive decline in the Moodys/Real Estate Analytics LLC commercial property price index, though the price recovery that began a year ago among so-called “trophy properties” in the largest markets continued unabated……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Commercial real estate investors are optimistic that a U.S. industry recovery will continue even as the economy shows signs of slowing, according to a report today from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
A lack of new supply and low interest rates are helping to drive investor interest in commercial properties, PwC’s New York-based unit said in its quarterly report. Capitalization rates, which decline when real estate prices increase, fell in 27 of 31 markets surveyed……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The “shadow inventory” of U.S. homes likely to come up for sale soon declined in early 2011 and a measure of house prices unexpectedly rose in April, providing rare cause for optimism in the battered housing market.
Wednesday’s data seemed to be in line with broad expectations that the housing slump could play itself out this year before a gradual recovery gets underway in 2012. But economists cautioned the outlook is still bleak……………………………………….Full Article: Source

About 1.7 million U.S. homes were in the foreclosure process and expected to be put on the market as of April, down 18 percent from the peak, as fewer loans entered delinquency and more distressed homes sold, CoreLogic Inc. said.
The so-called shadow inventory represented a five-month supply at the current sales pace, the Santa Ana, California- based real estate information company, said………………………………………Full Article: Source

It’s been what my grandmother would call “a month of Sundays” (i.e., a long, long time) since we’ve heard of a local housing market that wasn’t in the doldrums. In fact, much of the country is now officially in the double-doldrums, according to the most recent S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which revealed that in the first quarter, national home prices hit a new recession low.
Yes, even lower than they were at their previous 2009 trough. This spring, even real estate markets that had been relatively recession-proof at the beginning of the bust, like those in Minneapolis and Seattle, took dives late in the game, causing the New York Times to doomsay “another season of pain.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Despite its recent economic woes, America still projects a powerful and alluring brand abroad.
The American Dream, a folklore that promises great opportunity and the potential to amass immense wealth for those who work hard, regardless of their start in life, has survived every past American downturn, and no doubt will outlive the Great Recession that began in 2008……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A lot has changed in the last two months. The latest economic data has taken a turn for the slower. The market reacted negatively and analysts are revising down their forecasts for the second half of the year. We wrote about these things two months ago, everything from a drop in the stock market to a sharp correction in commodity prices.
For rational-minded individuals, this market action and negative data shouldn’t come as a huge surprise……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Brazil’s biggest housing lender, Caixa Economica Federal, plans to sell up to $2 billion in mortgage-backed securities this year to institutional investors as part of a plan to modernize the sector and ensure continued growth, the bank’s president said on Wednesday.
The transaction would mark a milestone in the maturity of Brazil’s still-nascent mortgage market, allowing state-run Caixa effectively to offload part of its balance sheet and continue growing lending at a 50 percent-plus annual pace……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The majority of homes bought in Britain are worth less now than they were five years ago, new research suggests. Some 3.5 million properties, or 80pc, bought since 2006 are said to be “underwater”, or worth less than their purchase price, according to a study by Zoopla.co.uk.
But many owners are unwilling to lose money on their original purchases and are setting unrealistic asking prices, the property website said, resulting in them being “stuck” with their homes……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Property prices continued to decline in May, falling by 1.2 per cent compared to April and 12.2 per cent over the year. Nationally, prices have now fallen an average of 41 per cent from the peak recorded in 2007.
The Central Statistics Office said residential property prices in Dublin rose by 0.4 per cent in May, moderating the annual decline to 11.5 per cent……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Housing prices in Paris have steadily risen for the past two years, outstripping both London and New York. And after two years, buyers are getting a little nervous, resulting in a market “stall” as the time it takes to sell a property stretches out to nearly double what it was a year ago.
Calling the flow of money over the past few years “almost euphoric,” Laurent Lakatos, founder of Databiens data and investment firm, notes a significant “pickup in the number of apartments offered at a discount.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Residential property prices in Spain have continued to drop, according to the latest figures published by Knight Frank in its Global House Price Index.
The nation posted an annual decline of 4.6 per cent, with values falling by 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 when compared to the final three months of last year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The number of mortgages issued for Spanish homes in April registered a drop unseen since the end of the housing boom, confirming the weakness of a real-estate market that is penalizing the country’s banks and growth.
The number of new mortgages declined 38.2 percent from a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute said in an e- mailed statement today. That’s the most since April 2009, when buyers pulled out of the real-estate market after the end of the housing boom in 2008……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The EU’s economic recommendations for Denmark have been watered down after gaining support from other member states.
The changes include dropping demands for Denmark to reform its mortgage system and property taxes, which would have meant an end to the property-tax freeze and popular variable-rate home mortgages……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Greece has promised to raise 35 billion euros ($50 billion) from state property by 2015 as part of plans to win more international aid and avoid defaulting on its debt. Like with other bailout conditions, from selling stakes in companies to tax collection, there are complications and delays.
A group of nine domestic banks advising the government must study each property individually to ensure that they are not in litigation or lack permits, topographical studies or restrictions governing their use, Aristotelis Karytinos, general manager of real estate at National Bank of Greece SA said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

There has been a slowdown in real estate transactions in Jeddah despite a number of factors expected to spur the growth of this vital sector.
According to some realtors, the volume of transactions recorded a fall of about 30 percent at present compared to the same period last year. This fall is mainly attributed to a correction taking place in the market after having witnessed exorbitant increases in the prices of real estate and properties over the past few years, according to a report in Al-Eqtisadiah business daily……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Asia’s property IPO market may slow down for the rest of the year as governments move in to cool property prices and equity markets turn sluggish, a senior executive at HSBC said.
“I don’t expect a lot of straight equity to be raised by developers for the remainder of this year if valuations stay where they are,” Jason Kern, managing director and head of real estate and lodging advisory for Asia-Pacific at HSBC, told the Reuters Real Estate and Infrastructure Summit in Singapore……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Growing demand for homes in smaller cities of the country is attracting big national real estate players. Cities like Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow , Nagpur, Surat , Vadodara and Visakhapatnam are expected to add 354 million sq ft of residential development in the next three years.
According to a research report by Crisil Research , large builders like DLF , Unitech , Parsvnath , Omaxe , Ansals and Emaar MGF have already diversified into these cities, with an eye on future growth……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A recent Crisil Research report says the size of the realty market in 10 tier-II cities — Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Surat, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam — adds to Rs 18,000 crore.
Leading the pack is the country’s diamond enclave, Surat, with average yearly sales of 7,400 units and realisation of Rs 4,000 crore. Next is Jaipur, with sales realisation of close to Rs 1,900 crore and sales of 7,500 units……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The impact of the increase in policy rates on Friday will be felt by interest-rate sensitive sectors such as automobile and realty.
In that, the realty sector is likely to get impacted severely due to a possible slowdown in demand from consumers as a sharp increase in property prices coupled with rising borrowing costs would make buying new homes difficult……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China’s property boom is shifting from Beijing and Shanghai as government measures to curb the market haven’t kept prices from rising in secondary cities.
New home prices rose in 67 of 70 cities in May led by smaller centers as developers hold off price cuts, even as existing home prices cool following higher interest rates and down-payment requirements………………………………………Full Article: Source

Following comments made by Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Wang Guangya that the threat of a property bubble in the city needs to be resolved, Chief Executive Donald Tsang and Financial Secretary John Tsang quickly sprung into action.
They dropped hints that the government will pull no punches in its bid to cool down the sizzling property market and speed up the supply of affordable housing for the middle class……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Based on data amassed in May from five property developers — Bumi Serpong Damai, Lippo Karawaci, Summarecon Agung, Ciputra Development and Alam Sutera — there is a persistent strong demand for domestic property products with marketing sales reaching Rp 4.9 trillion (US$568.4 million) year-to-date (ytd), about 38 percent of a total sales target of Rp 13.5 trillion for 2011.
This robust trend is supported by historically low interest rates and the appreciation of the rupiah……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Financial institutions should provide a fact sheet in a standardised format when marketing loans for residential property to consumers, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Wednesday.
It has issued a consultation paper seeking feedback on what exactly the fact sheet should contain. A residential property loan is a long-term financial commitment……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A government-backed inquiry into housing affordability is still relevant despite a fall in housing prices, the inquiry’s chairman says. Murray Sherwin, head of the new Productivity Commission, has released an “issues paper” outlining the areas which the inquiry would explore.
He said housing had a wide influence over many economic drivers including interest rates, exchange rates, city infrastructure and disposable income……………………………………….Full Article: Source

According to a new report by London-based Knight Frank, the global housing market is still in a quagmire in the first quarter of 2011.
Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research at Knight Frank said, “Price growth, while not stalling, has faltered in Q1 2011, pointing to ongoing problems underlying the world’s housing markets. In Q4 2010 overall annual price growth stood at 3.3%. Three months later this shrank to 1.8%……………………………………….Full Article: Source