IPIN Live - Archived posts for August 2010

Dubai Municipality said that it has received very good response form those who came to register into the housing fee system....

Consumer confidence in the British economy improved in August for the first time in five months, a research group has said.

The costly bail-outs handed out at the height of the banking crisis could end up landing the taxpayer a windfall of almost GBP 30bn, new analysis predicts.

Investors looking for a barometer of US economic recovery and stock market health, should pay close attention to the direction of housing prices and credit accessibility...

Real estate prices are on the rise in parts of Riyadh and Jeddah as Saudi Arabia's growing population drives up demand for residential properties...

One day after Germany's business confidence index rose for the third straight month, a new report says the optimism has spread to consumers as well....

Given the current economic climate, with the past 2 years or so having hit the investment property industry rather hard and the media not knowing whether the market is on the up, taking a dive, entering a double dip or stagnating....

After half a year of recession, the local property market is still in need for measures to overcome financial strains...

The number of people looking to buy their first home fell sharply during the past year - as house prices edged lower in August.

Data from Radar Logic's survey of several major cities reinforces the negative turn in US real estate prices and sales.

The Vietnamese-American Hotel and Resort (VAHR) Ltd signed three management agreements yesterday, August 24, with a major hotel operator for the The Ritz Carlton, JW Marriott and Outrigger hotels, all

UK house prices rose by 0.4% month-on-month between June and July, Land Registry figures show.

IPIN advisor Wesly Jay presents an overview of the London hotel market, considering factors such as occupancy rates, regional performance and future demand. Hotel development has long been a popular investment option and with the calling for additional hotel rooms within the 2004 London Plan ongoing demand in this capital city is expected to be significant.

Treasury Holdings-backed property group Real Estate Opportunities (REO) will not pay interest due to a group of its creditors at the end of the month...

With real US GDP growth expected to drop lower in 2011, economists are warning that the stability of housing prices could have a large impact on consumer confidence and the likelihood of deflation...

European debt concerns, stock market worries and increased land supply are all having an effect on the private residential market in Singapore.

According to the latest report from property consultants DTZ, market activity in the country slowed during May and June as a result of a combination of global factors....

Debt-laden Dubai World has raised the prospect of selling previously ring-fenced "crown jewel" assets, such as its ports arm DP World.

Investors in Ireland are considering taking legal action against a number of property journalists for misleading them into purchasing developments that failed to deliver..

In a bid to create housing stock jointly with owners having large tracts of land and to meet the increasing demand for affordable housing in Chennai metropolitan area...

Although proactive developers in Dubai have started using strata consultants to meet the October deadline for registration of owners' associations...

Globally commercial real estate appears to be performing strongly. Interest in the area remains strong and in many markets transaction levels are heading back to the level previously seen during its 2007 peak....

Irish Life is in dispute with a Luxembourg developer over a EUR 170 million property deal that the pensions and investment group believes it is no longer obliged to honour.

Abu Dhabi Finance, the emirate's fastest growing home finance provider, today announced it has signed an agreement with Bloom Properties to offer mortgages...

Stringent government spending cuts and economic uncertainty have had an effect on property markets around the world.

This new age of austerity which many European countries have entered in an attempt to tackle growing national debt has come at a price to developers and the construction industry....

There has been a huge fall in investor confidence in New Zealand, new figures would suggest. According to the annual Nielsen Real Estate Market Report, the number of investors based in the country looking to pour money into real estate has fallen for the first time in years....

A subdued housing market saw the number of mortgages approved for home purchase fall in July for the second month in a row, the British Bankers' Association has said.

Britain faces a "real risk" of being pitched back into recession, a Bank of England interest rate-setter has warned.

Standard and Poor's chief economist expects home prices to be pressured by falling mortgage applications, unemployment and the inventory of foreclosures....

Despite declining US home sales transactions, and rising foreclosure rates nationwide, the Obama administration has stated that the housing market is stabilizing....

Soaring demand for rental accommodation has led to calls for more incentives to encourage buy to let landlords to invest in the market....

Mortgage lending fell by 40 per cent in the second quarter of this year as the number of new mortgages drawn down slumped to 7,827...

Sberbank said Monday that it had acquired a controlling stake in DB Development, a joint venture between Deutsche Bank and Strabag...

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has launched a scathing attack on the coalition government's first 100 days in office...

The phrase "toxic debt" has recently been added to the Oxford Dictionary of English, as the term has increased in popularity within the English language and the financial world. We aim to explain what it is and the impact of it, not just on the property markets at the public level, but right up to how the banks deal with debts and assets that have turned against them....

Bovis Homes has reported a first-half profit compared with a loss in 2009 but warned that Britain's housing market was in a "fragile" state.

It’s not Indians alone who are monitoring the real estate market here. More and more money is being pumped into India’s housing sector from abroad....

Why would you consider taking a commercial mortgage? Well, the idea of purchasing a commercial property is that it must be well suited to the needs of your business. This can be determined by several factors that are taken into consideration...

Vinaconex Xuan Mai Concrete and Construction JSC (XMC) are completing guidelines for selling houses for low-income earners, said Dang Hoang Huy, director of the firm.

The 36 acres of prime land that Godrej Industries owns in Mumbai are finally being developed and the master plan is almost ready...

Commercial real estate is hot property. At least the latest research suggests that an increasing number of property investors are turning to the area looking for reasonable returns.

European real estate in particular appears to be at the forefront of many buyers' minds....

The number of overseas investors searching for homes in the U.S. has skyrocketed 192 percent in the last year, according to recent statistics....

India has won a seven-year legal battle with New York City with a federal appeals court ruling that nations with diplomatic housing do not have to pay city property taxes...

Rightmove Overseas has published insightful statistics on how the British buyer market for overseas property has been transformed by the credit crunch.

The Post Office has introduced a new market-leading two-year fixed rate mortgage, while at the same time reducing the rates it charges on a number of its homeloans by a significant margin.

Dubai-based property developer Nakheel will restart work on at least six mega Dubai projects early next month.

Steady improvements have been made in the Asian real estate investment market during the first half of 2010, a new report shows.

Direct real estate investment in the first six months of the year grew by 136 per cent year-on-year to an estimated USD 30 billion....

With single-family construction starts, and new construction permits dropping in July 2010, economists believe that housing market stabilization may be coming to an end.

Property markets around Europe currently offer real estate investors "lots of potential", it has been suggested...

The next round of the bidding process for parties wanting to move into London's Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games has begun.

Irish people who made a profit on holiday home investments in Spain in recent years could benefit from major windfalls after being overcharged by Spanish tax authorities.

Sales of government-owned land, a key source of nontax revenue, totaled JPY 93.3 billion in fiscal 2009 owing to a shift in policy and reduced demand..

Japan's economy appears to be at turning point. Real gross domestic product for the April-June quarter grew an annualized 0.4 percent from the previous quarter — much lower than the 4.4 percent for January-March....

One of the largest deals on the Russian commercial real estate market has fallen through...

Demand for an affordable cottage for rent outside Moscow jumped by almost 50 percent in July...

Average UK asking prices have fallen 1.7% as sellers outnumber buyers and the seasonal lull takes the heat out of the property market.

The southern bourse-listed Hoa Binh Real Estate Construction and Trading Joint Stock Co (coded HBC) has officially started the construction of foundation parts and basements of Block A under Savico Plaza Hanoi project.

Real estate firm Lodha Developers has raised Rs 500 crore by selling a 10 per cent stake in a project to develop a 117-storey residential tower in Mumbai...

With no end in sight to the skyrocketing Hong Kong real estate prices, market cooling measures are on their way....

Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has been awarded a AED342 million contract by Abu Dhabi's Emirates Tourism Investment (ETI) company to build the Rotana Hotel Tower in Abdali, Jordan.

Landlords looking to jump on the Olympics bandwagon must act fast as property prices in east London are set to increase faster than anywhere else in the capital in the run up to the 2012 games.

The increasing number of expatriates coming to HCM City for working is sending a positive signal to the serviced apartment market...

One of Belfast's landmark city centre buildings on Donegall Place has been sold in a GBP 8.75 million (EUR 10.68 million) deal...

Dubai-based property major Emaar Properties sold assets worth Dh760 million in the second quarter this year, according to company's second quarter financial statement.

Dubai's Deyaar Development is planning to abandon a 372 million U.A.E. dirham (USD 101 million) project...

Property markets in major Asian destinations are preparing themselves for a slower second half to 2010.

An expected increase in housing supply, policy risks and numerous government cooling measures in the markets are expected to be behind the slowdown, which will be in contrast to the first six months of the year....

Barclays Bank has agreed to pay a USD 298m (GBP 190m) fine to settle criminal charges that it broke US economic sanctions.

India's oldest pharmaceutical company Alembic on Friday announced its foray into the real estate sector with the launch of newly formed company Alchemy Real Estate...

Illegal financial deals worth Dh250 million between two top officials of Deyaar has been alleged in a testimony before a Dubai court by an auditor who went through the case.

An overwhelming majority - 91 per cent of those surveyed in the Emirates 24|7 Poll - have shown a marked aversion to investing in International City units...

China has overtaken Japan to become the world's second-largest economy.

Not for the first time this year, a recent residential property report suggests that the global real estate recovery is being led by real estate in the Asia Pacific region.

Meanwhile, tough and testing economic conditions in European and US markets mean that the regions are likely to be faced with a slower rate of recovery....

The number of homes sold in New Zealand has plummeted to a 10-year low for July, with the housing market "stuck in neutral"...

Despite the end of property tax incentives and a possible rise in interest rates, three property associations expect 4 billion baht in sales at the upcoming House & Condo fair to be held in October.

With India's real estate market brimming with new launches, investors need to exercise caution while choosing projects. Leading private equity investor Gaurav Dalmia , founder chairman of realty-focus

VME Group, which has its presence in the real estate market from more than two-decade with focus on infrastructure, especially highway and railway bridges, has now turned its attention on property...

Barclays has rejected Government plans for lending targets which it sees as irrelevant and a potential threat to prudent practice.

The Holy Faith Sisters in Glasnevin in Dublin are among 88 Irish investors suing London-based investment bank Morgan Stanley for up to EUR 6 million...

Developer Union Properties posted a net loss of Dh299 million for the first six months of this year, wider than the Dh198 million it reported for the same period last year.

In its quest to provide better services and be closer to the public, the Dubai Residency Department efficiently looked into the cases of thousands of more people this year.

A lack of information about market prices is one of the major problems faced by international real estate investors looking at property in Eastern Europe today, it has been suggested...

In one way or another, foreign ownership restrictions over real property have always existed in Thailand...

Set for a December launch, a train service connecting London with the French Alps will add to the appeal of a region already favored by luxury travelers and ski enthusiasts...

With US job growth under performing expectations, and productivity dropping, on Tuesday, the Fed announced it would reinvest its profits from mortgage backed securities into long-term Treasury bonds.

New malls which have been already under construction, encompassing more than 550000 sq m of retail area, have been frozen indefinitely...

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) is planning to purchase land at market prices to provide more affordable homes to the economically weak...

The growth of credit for real estate sector is currently at low level; although negotiable lending rate has been lowered...

The Administrative Court in Jeddah has authorized Abdullah Omar Naseef, secretary for the bankruptcy procedures of Fouad Al-Ajhouri, who swindled more than SR1 billion in a major real estate investment scam...

Price of apartments in International City are at their lowest as property owners are selling at prices below the launch price.

While fears of a property bubble forming in China are beginning to recede thanks to a number of government calming measures, many analysts are now turning their attention to the growing Hong Kong market....

The UK's economic recovery is likely to continue but the overall outlook is weaker than three months ago, the Bank of England has said.

The most expensive flat in the world is on the verge of being sold - for GBP 140m.

The owners of many newly-constructed apartment buildings have begun giving away flats on relatively lower rents, but a large number of these buildings still remain unoccupied.

Istithmar, the overseas investment arm of Dubai World, has sold Grand Buildings in London's West End to an unnamed Russian investor...

Fresh doubts about Britain's economic recovery are likely to surface as the Bank of England issues its latest growth forecast.

Highly professional southern real estate firms were heading north, attracted by the residential property market in Hanoi...

There are the first indications that some companies with offices in Dubai are starting to look at shifting staff to Abu Dhabi, according to leasing agents.

Alhind Builders is set to construct what is claimed to be the tallest apartment building in Kerala, complete with two helipads. The 40-storey building forms part of an apartment complex...

The majority of global property markets are experiencing an easing in growth of distressed commercial real estate.

Following a report of the worldwide market by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) it has been claimed that the situation is calming in 85 per cent of the countries surveyed....

Freddie Mac's housing inventory, along with the number of homeowners filing forbearance agreements, increased at substantial rates in the first half of 2010...

One hundred homes that were renovated under the Housing Rehabilitation Programme were yesterday handed back to their owners...

A rush of new homes on the market and a shortage of buyers is causing house prices to fall, a new survey suggests.

Construction on new houses for those who have lost their homes because of wildfires has started in all regions that have fallen victim to the blazes, the Regional Development Ministry said Monday.

Although there are only three days left before Decree 71/2010/ND-CP featuring guidelines for Housing Law takes effect, both management organisations and realty firms are feeling confused...

The HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) is encouraging property developer to look into the segment of apartment for rent...

Australia's residential market appears to be shifting gears after more than a year of steep growth...

Consumer confidence is returning across Europe, according to a new index that tracks "discretionary" spending...

Recent strength in the US apartment sector reflects a rent not own mindset, despite near record housing affordability...

Mortgage fraud quadrupled in value during the first six months of 2010, accounting for more than half of all scams committed against the financial sector.

Property buyers will have to file a civil case to seek judicial remedy, unlike the earlier system of approaching property courts...

The beleaguered construction sector moved closer to leveling off in July, as firms reported the first rise in new business in more than three years.

The needs of first-time buyers and the government schemes supporting them must not be lost in the Comprehensive Spending Review...

Underground Space Development Investment JSC has started work on the underground project for car park, trade service, public activities in Le Van Tam park...

India's biggest real estate deal took place on Friday evening, with the National Textile Corporation (NTC) limited selling eight acres of Bharat Mills at Worli, for a whopping 1505 crore...

Recent growth in US home prices suggests a sustained impetus from the expired tax credit. While experts caution that recovery is uneven...

In recent months there has been a significant shift from lifestyle buyers to serious property investors in Brazil.

Real estate specialist for the region claim that the country is now being seen by potential buyers as an area where substantial growth can be realised....

Tokyo's office vacancy rate fell in July from a record high, according to Miki Shoji Co., a privately held office brokerage. The measure of unoccupied office units fell to 9.1 percent...

Russia's statement on a temporary ban of grain exports from August 15 has rattled the world grain market with grain prices reaching their two-year high...

Saigon Invest Group (SGI), which is the developer of over 20 industrial zones in Vietnam and other real estate projects, late last week broke ground on a 60 billion dong hotel project in Laos.

CapitaMalls Asia Ltd, the retail property unit of Southeast Asia's biggest developer, may seek shopping-centre ventures in Vietnam after expanding in markets including China and India.

India's realty sector is likely to face the problem of plenty with office rental space set to outstrip demand resulting in a further drop in rentals...

Recent analysis suggests that current rental yield levels in the Asia Pacific commercial real estate market are at their lowest levels for quite some time.

While the long-term outlook for the region's property market remains broadly positive it no longer remains the best place for investors to place their cash...

Jordan's Prime Minister Samir Rifai on Wednesday said the government pins hope on Jordanian businesspeople and investors to have the largest share in strategic mega-projects Jordan seeks to implement

Residential oversupply in Dubai is set to peak in 2012 with vacancies estimated at 25 to 28 per cent, Landmark Advisory said today.

Oversupply may not be music to the ears of landlords and developers, but the availability of units will make the UAE a more competitive place to live and work, analysts said.

Figures released by the European Central Bank (ECB) at the end of last month (July) have shown that eurozone mortgage borrowing grew during June at its fastest pace in almost two years.

The statistics would suggest that bank lending across the 16 member states is coming back to life, which is sure to be a boost for the region's property markets....

A deeply uncertain economic outlook means record low interest rates are here to stay - until well into 2011 at least, experts say.

Kuwait's Public Authority for Housing Welfare, or PAHW, plans to construct 80,000 residential units within the next six years...

Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group has kept up the momentum of the British banking recovery, unveiling first-half profits of 1.6bn GBP.

Although 57.1 million EUR has been collected by local authorities from owners of second properties across Ireland, the 200 EUR non-principal private residence (NPPR) tax for 2010 remains outstanding...

All Olympic facilities in Sochi are being built in accordance with the schedule, and some even ahead of it...

Around 61.9 percent of people are buying properties for investment. This figure is based on a survey of almost 500 samples in Hanoi real estate market...

Money raised by realty focused private equity funds tanked to a six year low of USD 7.3 billion across the globe...

Investors are taking advantage of the low prices and plethora of foreclosed property in the US real estate market, with many believing that now is the time to buy.

Many property purchasers in the destination are confident that prices have reached rock bottom and will begin to pick up once again as the economy recovers....

Don-Stroi will reduce the height of one of its high-rise building complexes by 21 meters to comply with Moscow authorities, the developer said Monday.

The IMF expects the Russian economy to grow 4.3% this year and 4.1% next. The forecast is based on rising consumption fueled, among other factors, by the recent increase in pensions.

Hanoi property prices remain toweringly high but the number of transactions has fallen 50 percent...

Saigon Investment Group (SGI) on July 30 kicked off construction on building SGI Lao Hung Hotel in Sam Nua district, Hua Phan province, Laos.

An increased demand and shortages of rural land has ensured that UK farmland has enjoyed significant price growth in recent years.

And with reports suggesting that this increase in value could be anything up to 120 per cent within five years it is no surprise that a number of individuals are now looking to the market to realise an impressive return on investment....

Investors are hoping that Jamaica's real estate market will turn around following signs of economic improvement...

The daughter of a British businessman jailed in Dubai in a bounced cheques case is stepping up her online battle for his freedom after he was handed another three years behind bars.

Real estate company Emaar MGF will soon set off an initial public offering (IPO) process for a third time in as many years, probably at a valuation one-fourth of what it hoped for in 2008.

A severe shortage in the number of new properties being built will underpin the value of the UK's housing stock and prevent a double dip in house prices.

With hostels in Delhi University emptied of their occupants to prepare rooms for the Commonwealth Games, thousands of students are out on the roads scouting for temporary accommodation...

As with any investment vehicle, there are certain risks or variables inherent with property investment. When looking to invest, especially in some of the more traditional forms of property investment, there are a number of "what ifs" that should be asked.....

House prices in Britain will rise by 4% this year - and will continue going up until the end of 2014, according to a group of leading economists.

Although foreclosure rates in the hardest-hit US metro areas fell compared to last year...