IPIN Live - Archived posts for May 2011

Invested stock increased by four per cent in 2010, indicating that European property markets have finally turned the corner. The growth, as reported in DTZ's flagship Money into Property 2011 report....

Despite growing evidence to the contrary, Global Property Guide's (GPG) latest house price survey suggests that property values around the world are falling, with the situation expected to get even worse...

A maturing property market buoyed by strong economic growth makes investing in Swedish real estate a viable option for international buyers...

A recent increase in sales of commercial property loan securities in the US has led to some experts feeling cautiously optimistic. It is thought that the increase could have far reaching benefits, including strengthening bank balance-sheets...

The listed property trusts in Australia have bounced back from the global financial crisis and have managed to not only match, but also better the equities market...

Competition between international and domestic buyers in central London is helping to create the "ideal environment" for sellers, research from Cluttons has found...

Transparency in the Egyptian property market is to be increased through the creation of a new committee which aims to deal with a string of legal challenges to sales of state land to developers...

The London property market is booming. Recent indices have suggested that as the rest of the UK's real estate sector stagnates and splutters toward recovery, the English capital is racing ahead in terms of sales, stability and capital growth...

The latest Global Commercial Property Survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (UK) is positive on the prospects for growth in many global markets...

Uncertainty in a number of commodities markets has pushed property once again to the forefront of investors' minds...

A new survey has highlighted a growing trend of potential foreign property owners buying for holidays, rather than as an investment....

Sales of residential property in Singapore soared again in April, with activity up 29 per cent, new figures show. Local agents report that 1,788 home sales were recorded over the course of the month...

The global real estate market has been given an upbeat forecast, with both developed and emerging markets said to be offering investors the potential to collect healthy returns...

Commercial property prices in the US fell to a post-recession low during March, with sales of financially-distressed assets having a negative impact on the market...

A new report has highlighted the popularity of the US as a property investment destination for foreign buyers. International purchases shot up USD 16 billion this year...

Recent research has suggested that the European hotel industry is showing steady signs of growth in the wake of the global economic crisis...

The level of debt secured against UK commercial property has fallen from in excess of GBP 300 billion to about GBP 293 billion in 2010...

A youthful demographic and projected strong GDP growth will help the property sector in GCC nations rebuild following a period of inactivity and decline...

Confidence among property investors is climbing, with shares in UK-listed property companies returning strong results over the past year....

More corporate hiring and a more optimistic view of the business environment in Asia Pacific has underpinned the office leasing market over the first three months of 2011...

Price increases and a rise in new developments act as proof that residential real estate markets in Baltic and Eastern European markets are recovering...

Investor sentiment surrounding the US real estate market appears to be low. More than half of property owners and renters in the country (54 per cent) believe that the sector will not fully recover until at least 2014....

A proposed 20 per cent tax on second homes in France has sparked concern among potential property buyers and investors in recent days...

Demand from international investors is helping to keep the London property market buoyant, with asking prices in the capital six per cent higher in the first three months of 2011 compared with the 2010 quarterly average....

The Canadian city is benefiting from its tight supply of quality inventory, as well as the region's affluence...

Buy to Let has been haunting the UK press with much gusto in recent months for many reasons. Mortgage lenders have been citing a rise in lending and subsequently new mortgage products in a bid to "cope" with rising demand in the arena...

Canadian-based real estate investors were among the most active in the world during the first three months of 2011, a new study by Jones Lang LaSalle has revealed...

Institutional investors have overtaken publicly-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) as the largest buyers of US office buildings in the first three months of the year...

Prime central London properties have risen in value by GBP 767 every day over the past year, research from Knight Frank has found...

Opportunities still exist in Europe for investors looking to increase their exposure to foreign real estate. However, rental growth and active management are expected to be key components to success...

The European commercial property investment scene has begun to take an increasing share of the limelight as it finds its recovery legs...

Despite UK commercial property values rising 0.1 per cent in April, the market's rebound from the global financial crisis has slowed, Reuters reported...

Growing demand for retail property has become the primary driver of the European commercial property market, new research has found. CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has reported that first-quarter commercial property investment was 32 per cent higher in 2011 than at the same point of last year....

The recovery is severely fragmented, with some countries seeing capital growth, some seeing incomes increase, and almost all seeing rents either stagnant or falling. One thing that is nearly constant however is a strong growth in investment returns...

Investors looking to take advantage of the burgeoning student accommodation sector have been told to look towards regional cities ahead of London in order to achieve the best returns...

The positive 1st quarter growth enjoyed by REITs was surprising to many, given the slightly negative returns in March. The FTSE NAREIT All Equity Index fell 1.28% on the month, and the All REITs Index fell 1.38%. This was against a 0.04% increase in the S and P 500.

Regional student housing is the best property sector in the UK to invest in. This is according to the latest survey from Knight Frank, which revealed that the sector outperformed all other property asset classes in the year to December 2010....

Investment in buy to let properties appears to be holding up in the UK, according to recent comments from one mortgage expert...

Home sales transaction value among homes in China fell by 21 per cent over the course of April according to the latest statistics from the government, which suggested that the measures to tackle risks of asset bubbles have taken effect...

There are still some "exciting investment opportunities" to be had in the commercial property sector. This is according to Rob Martin, head of research and strategy at Legal and General Property...

British property buyers are finding that the falling value of sterling is having a profound impact on their incomes...

Property investors have been told that location should not be their primary reason for making a purchase. Instead, buyers have been told to focus on income, illiquidity and transaction costs, the Financial Times Advisor reports....

An increasing number of countries are beginning to break free of their Central and Eastern European (CEE) tag and stand alone as worthwhile investment destinations...

Britain's buy-to-let sector has been experiencing a turnaround in fortunes of late, with landlords taking advantage of a drop in house values and low interest rates...

The exponential growth of the middle classes in a number of emerging markets around the world makes them the ideal place for foreign property investment, it has been claimed...

Commercial real estate in Germany is successfully luring real estate investors back to the market. Property consultancy Savills revealed that EUR 5.53 billion of commercial property changed hands in Germany in the first three months of 2011....

As the Chinese government introduces further measures designed to cool the country's buoyant residential market, a growing number of investors are looking at the opportunities available to them in the commercial sector....

Russian real estate buyers searching for the best returns are increasingly focusing their efforts on European property, it has been claimed...

After more than 10 years since the infamous BRICs Report by Jim O'Neil of Goldman Sachs – the latest "next big thing" to invest in according to one research house is MINT...

While the traditionally strong property markets of Latin America and Asia are performing well, emerging markets are continuing to post further improvements....

Investors will find plenty of opportunities to invest in property in India this year, it has been claimed. Writing for the Property Report website, Anuj Puri, chairman and country head of Jones Lang LaSalle India, has highlighted the enormous growth potential that the country boasts....

Recent growth seen in the Swedish property market over the past year will be sustained through 2011 thanks to the nation's positive economic outlook and market performance...

Modest growth has been forecast for the European office market in the coming year, analysts have suggested in the latest European Office Property Market report from King Sturge...

London continues to be the leading light in the UK's commercial real estate revival, with new figures showing that investment in the sector increased by 34 per cent year-on-year in the first three months of 2011...

Globally, commercial markets are beginning to attract investment once again. Rics Global Commercial Property Survey for the first quarter has revealed that many investors appear increasingly bullish towards market prospects....

As various reports suggest that commercial markets around the world are beginning to see an upturn in activity, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has revealed that direct commercial real estate investment in the UK reached GBP 8 billion in the first three months of 2011....

As international investors become more risk averse, many buyers are finding that the UK commercial market is increasingly attractive. Savills claims that global investors have been showing a lot more interest in the asset class in recent months, with prime property proving the most popular purchase....

Some USD 440 billion is expected to be transacted across global real estate markets this year, according to the latest forecast by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). If reached, the figure will be the highest amount reached since 2007....

Current global economic conditions mean that it is highly unlikely that there will be any significant improvements in the property market in the near future. This is the opinion of Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank....

London has emerged as one of the most lucrative cities for those considering making a hotel investment, the latest data suggests. Looking at the trivago Hotel Price Index, buyers will note that the metropolis remains one of Europe's best bets as hotel rates in the capital rose by ten per cent in the last month alone....

As builders and developers battle it out to secure the best spaces in London, prices have steadily crept up over the last year. Savills notes that land values in the centre of the capital have seen double-digit growth in the past six months....

Demand for real estate within Europe remains high, with Jones Lang LaSalle reporting that the first three months of the year saw transactions climb 48 per cent compared to the same period of 2010...

The number of million pound home sales in the UK has risen at its fastest rate since 2006, according to research by Lloyds TSB. According to the organisation, there were 7,185 million-plus transactions in 2010, up 54 per cent on the previous year....

Over the past two years, a growing number of investors have been looking to add property in Switzerland to their portfolios. The nation has seen a 174 per cent jump in the number of searches for residential real estate over the period....

After a couple of jolly busy weeks, what with the barrage of Easter egg hunts, followed by a series of Royal knees-ups, and of course hunting down Osama Bin Laden, there has been little space in the news for anything really relating to property at all...

Commercial property transactions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reached EUR 1.85 billion in the first three months of the year, according to a recent report from property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle....