News - Archive for April 2012

Irish Property Still Falling but Slower

The latest data on Irish house prices shows that the market is still falling, but it also shows that the rate of decline is slowing and possibly even shows that we may be seeing a bottom...

Times are certainly good in many capital cities right now, as wealthy buyers from emerging markets and around the world drive up prices even as the markets around them wither and stagnate...

The changing face of the property market means investors need to continually alter their approach to their investment strategies...

On Wednesday (April 25th), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its preliminary data about the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of the year - and it didn't make for pleasant reading...

A new survey by Money Supermarket has found that 8 million people in the UK are currently priced out of the housing market, with most first time buyers accepting the reality that they will be long-term renters while saving up a sufficient deposit...

Investment Volumes in UK Property Fall

Less money was ploughed into the UK's property market in 2011 than in the previous year, with a new DTZ report revealing investment volumes were down by ten per cent...

Lloyds to Sell Off Irish Loan Portfolio

Lloyds TSB is to auction off a whopping 360 million Euros worth Irish real estate loans, many of which are "impaired". Breaking news of the sale, sources told the press that first round bids were taken by the bank at the end of March...

The driving force behind the annual returns of 9.8 per cent realised on global real estate investment in 2011 is the recovery in the US markets...

Unlisted property funds in the UK returned just 0.7% in the first quarter according to the latest AREF/IPD UK Property Fund Index...

The volume of shopping centre transactions completed in the UK during the first quarter of 2012 fell, compared to the same period in 2011...

Much has been made of the increasing attractiveness of the UK's buy-to-let market, with high residential property prices resulting in a rising number of households entering the private rented sector (PRS), rather than purchasing their own home.

According to new data from CB Richard Ellis European government's offloaded EUR 2.3 billion worth of publicly owned property in 2011, twice as much as 2010, but not the economies you'd immediately expect...

The amount of money invested in European commercial property markets fell by 31 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, compared to the final three months of 2011...

In a recent report into first quarter commercial real estate activity, CB Richard Ellis recorded EUR 24 bn in European real estate transactions in Q1, down 31% quarter on quarter and down 18% compared to Q1 2011...

Average UK Rents Increase

The average cost of renting a UK property increased by five per cent in March, compared to the same month a year earlier...

There is an increasing disparity between the rental market in central London and elsewhere in the UK. According to the latest figures in the HomeLet Rental Index, the average cost of accommodation in the capital stood at GBP 1,156 per month in March...

Chinese house prices fell year on year for the first time since the government crack down began, which is a sign of the continued and deepening progress being made by the campaign to cool the market...

According to the latest report into the student property sector in the UK, it continues to perform very well indeed. According to the CBRE's quarterly market review of the sector (Q1 2012), £1.15 billion was invested in the sector in 2011...

Negative Trends in UK Retail Market

Retail property in the UK has experienced a fall in tenant demand, as well as negative rental expectations. The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) UK Commercial Market Survey...

Jones Lang La Salle have become the latest prominent real estate company to put their weight behind the recovery in the Dubai property market...

The UK was the most liquid hotel investment market in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region during the first quarter of this year, with assets in London accounting for the bulk of the activity...

It would be nice, just once, to come into the office and see some genuinely positive news in the housing market. Sadly, this week the press and all the feeds of PR have failed again to come up with any real stories that could have a positive impact...

The residential market in Germany is predicted to go from strength to strength this year. In a new report, investment giant Savills predict that investment in residential property in Germany will grow from the 4.8 billion Euros...

Alterations to current legislation could significantly improve the landscape for institutional investment in residential property in the UK...

Right now around the world, many capital cities are markets-apart from the countries they represent, and even distanced from the world as a whole; like they have created a new world just for them. Ever since the US sub-prime crisis morphed into the international financial crisis...

Commercial property developers in the UK have put their faith behind the economy's ability to avoid the fated double dip recession, as the Savills Total Commercial Development Activity Index for March rises...

The return generated by central London offices increased to 0.6 per cent in March, rising from the 0.5 per cent recorded in February...

New data from Jones Lang La Salle seems to add weight that global real estate investment is slowing. According to the firm $75 billion was invested in commercial real estate in Q1 2012, which is a 23% contraction...

US Vacancy Rates ''Flat or Declining''

The vacancy rates across all classes of US properties either remained stable or fell slightly during the first quarter of 2012...

UK Property Investment ''Limited''

The level of transactions occurring in the UK's commercial real estate markets has been affected by the weak economy, lack of finance and investor uncertainty...