In brief

British law firm Irwin Mitchell is organising a legal challenge to Valencia’s notorious ‘land grab’ law. Working with the Spanish ‘No to Urban Abuses’ campaign, Abusos Urbanistico No, the firm is registering ‘land law victims’ for a planned challenge before the European Human Rights Court.

The laws, which were originally intended to prevent individuals holding up planned community projects, have been much criticised by the EU which is unimpressed with revisions that extended the period for consultation on proposed development plans. The law was the subject of a December resolution by the European Parliament calling for change. A major complaint is that the law has been used by Spanish developers to take over privately owned property.

Irwin Mitchell expects to represent a group of about 30 property owners who say their human rights have been abused by effective confiscation or intended confiscation of their properties.

Abusos Urbanistico No, whose president is former Canadian spook Charles Svoboda, is inviting registration through its website www.abusos-no.org. The organisation, based in Alicante, lists as its objectives, making authorities ‘aware of the nature and size of the problems affecting property owners’. It also gives advice on how property owners should respond to planning notices.

Meanwhile the supreme court in Valencia has rejected a challenge by a by British couple to a planning order that meant loss of part of their garden and a £30,000 bill for ‘improved infrastructure’ resulting from the development. Their objection based on admitted mistakes in the planning procedure, was ruled out of time because it had not been not lodged with the court within two months of the town hall notifying the couple that permission had been granted for the development.

Californian house prices hit a £302,300 average in April, some 10.2 per cent up on a year ago. However, the number of house sales went down by 21.4 per cent, the California Association of Realtors has reported.

‘Sales fell this year compared with April 2005 when they hit the second highest monthly pace on record. Concerns about the likelihood of future interest rate increases continue to influence the market’, said CAR president Vince Malta. ‘While still near their historic lows, mortgage interest rates are at their highest level since June 2002 for fixed rate mortgages, and August 2001 for adjustable rate mortgages’.

California’s experience was in line with the national picture painted by US estate agents. ‘Existing home sales eased in April on the heels of a two month rebound’, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales – including single family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – slipped 2.0 per cent.

'Our leading indicator for pending home sales was trending lower, and our forecast model is showing a modest decline for the second quarter with sales levelling out before rising in the fourth quarter’, said NAR chief economist David Lereah.

The national median existing home price for all housing types was £119,900 in April, up 4.2 per cent from April 2005.

The price of new homes in New Zeland may rise following the first major review of the building code since it was introduced in 1991. Building Issues Minister Clayton Cosgrove said the review would change permitted construction materials and building methods so as to address problems such as leaky homes and unqualified builders. As a result building costs will increase, he conceded.

A request for a £2,400 weekly payment from Norm Carey, the boss of failed Australian property company Westpoint, has investors who lost life savings in his failed property schemes. Carey’s application to the federal court claims he needs the money to fund his lifestyle and pay legal fees relating to the February collapse of his empire. The court had ordered Carey’s assets to be frozen while the property group's collapse is investigated. Federal Court Justice Robert French refused Carey’s request saying he could not escape the thought he may well have access to funds from an undisclosed source.

China's State Council has issued a dictum that aims to bring down soaring house prices by increasing the supply of affordable housing. The order requires local governments to include provision of affordable housing in the five year plan and publish affordable housing construction plans by September. From 1 June, 70 per cent of new residential housing projects will have to comprise of homes smaller than 90 square meters.