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Australia Babcock expands property interests in WA Babcock & Brown Residential Land Partners (BLP) has expanded its footprint in Western Australia, acquiring a 50 per cent interest in PRM Property Holdings Pty Ltd for $12.8 million. PRM Property Holdings has joint venture interests in four residential land sub-division projects, with three located in Perth and one in Dongara in Western Australia. BLP managing director Michael Balkin said the PRM Holdings acquisition delivers considerable scale and further portfolio diversity. Australia Millions added to surplus thanks to property, jobs A much stronger than expected property market, along with a buoyant NSW economy, has prompted the State Government to raise the forecast budget surplus for 2007-08 and for future years. Much of the extra funds will be used to reduce railway sector debt. The mid-year budget review, released yesterday, disclosed the 2007-08 surplus is forecast to reach $506 million, up from $376 million forecast when the state budget was released mid-year. It is projected to reach $730 million in 2009-10. Renewed interest in the property market was signalled by a $34 million rise in the provision for the first-home buyers grant, as home buyers take advantage of lower prices. The Treasurer, Michael Costa, said property prices in the outer suburbs were still weak and strong in the inner city and eastern suburbs. "The problem with the property market is it's almost a three-tier market: recovery, and in fact a mini boom, in some of the eastern suburbs, inner west; the outer west is still stagnant, and then you've got the issues with the rental market that is also feeling pressures," he said. Australia Property hot spots for 2008 Brisbane's burgeoning property market is tipped to enjoy similar growth next year, and one of the city's leading property analysts has revealed his hot spot picks for 2008. Most people want to buy in an area before it booms, so it's no surprise Michael Matusik from Matusik Property Insights is asked so often to identify the next big property movers. Redbank Plains has undergone enormous change in recent years, with the explosion of the near-by Springfield development and planned infrastructure projects. A new university and shopping centre have also added to the convenience of the area, which is located about 25km west of Brisbane. In due course, the Springfield CBD is set to rival Parramatta when it comes to commercial office space, Mr Matusik said. "Buy an established, detached house on the largest-sized allotment you can afford," he said. Dubai Property delays could continue Delays taking place in the completion of residential property projects in Dubai this year will continue in 2008, while a price correction is most likely in 2009 when supply will exceed demand, according to a new market report. There will be increased supply of property next year but it will be absorbed by pent-up demand between 2005 and 2007. "We believe that the delay in property handovers seen in 2007 will likely continue over the next 12 to 18 months," investment bank EFG Hermes said in its UAE outlook report for 2008. Real estate prices are forecast to rise by five to 10 per cent next year, and likely to peak in the second half of the year as a rising supply of property units becomes available. Tamweel is expecting about 50,000 units of supply against a demand of 54,000 units next year in Dubai, taking the aggregate shortage to 24,000 units. "We expect prices will begin declining in 2009 once supply peaks, with a cumulative decline of 15 per cent to 20 per cent between 2009 and 2011," EFG said. USA First American LoanPerformance Releases October 2007 House Price Index - Home Prices Depreciate in 21 States over the Past Year, But Patterns Vary Significantly at Local First American LoanPerformance, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies and a leader in residential mortgage data and analytics for the mortgage industry and Wall Street, today announced the release of its October 2007 LoanPerformance Home Price Index (HPI). The LoanPerformance HPI provides a comprehensive set of monthly home price indices and median sales prices covering 7,451 ZIP codes, 956 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) and 662 counties located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The indices, which are the most comprehensive available in the industry, are reported to clients five weeks after each month ends. "The real estate market continues to exhibit ongoing declines in a number of key residential property markets. This latest LoanPerformance HPI release reveals that 21 states now show a negative home price appreciation over the past 12 months," said Damien Weldon, vice president, collateral and prepayment analytics for First American LoanPerformance. "The overall picture continues to be mixed, however. Some states, such as New York and Vermont for example, actually show an increase in year-over-year home price appreciation compared with last month's LoanPerformance HPI release." China Daily Property prices plunge 9.9% in Guangzhou Guangzhou's property prices plunged 9.9 percent in November from the previous month, the first significant fall in several years. The average cost of a new residential property in Guangzhou was 10,433 yuan ($1,413) per sqm in November, 1,141 yuan lower than the October price, according to a report given to the government inspection team yesterday. "We haven't seen falling prices in the past couple of years - the property market's been red-hot and prices have been going up," said Xie Xiaodan, director of the Guangzhou land and housing administration. The city's average residential apartment price hit a record high of 11,574 yuan per sqm in October, an 81.3 percent increase from the previous year, according to official statistics. Ireland Don't get burned by house in sun Sun, sea, sand and a whole lot of trouble. For some Irish investors, owning a residential foreign property has turned into a nightmare scenario. Tales abound of misleading promotional material, slumping market values, and legal battles. Dublin-based solicitor Tom McGrath has seen it all. "The fundamental problem is that this is an unregulated business," he says. "There's been a lot of people selling stuff who haven't been completely upfront." Mr McGrath says he generally has two types of clients that come to him for help in relation to foreign property acquisitions: those seeking advice before they sign on the bottom line, and those who are "trying to pick up the pieces" of a contract gone wrong. USA Foreign home buyers finding bargains in the U.S. As value of dollar falls against pound, euro, prices across the pond become even more attractive to Europeans. But now Europeans are buying something else as well: houses. The sheer speed of the dollar's decline against major foreign currencies has been instrumental in sparking recent interest. The pound has jumped 34 percent against the dollar in the past five years, including 10 percent in the past 12 months. The euro has made even bigger strides, rising 47 percent since 2002. So investors in Europe have more purchasing power in the U.S. market and so are increasingly looking for property deals on the other side of the pond. Adding to the appeal is the fact that the U.S. housing market has been hit hard by the credit crisis, which has made properties even more attractive for Europeans stunned by sky-high house prices in their home countries. USA Housing slump helps long time builder to retire Randy Wade took a lot of time to think before he gathered his employees in a parking lot in October and announced that his business, R.D. Wade Builder, would cease building on Jan. 31. Wade isn’t the spontaneous type, said builder Randy Rinehart of Rinehart Custom Homes Ltd. “Knowing the man as I do, one of the things that he does is a great deal of thinking about decisions like this,” Rinehart said. “At one time, he used to have an easy chair in his van and he would go out in the country and open the doors of the van and write down his thoughts and think about decisions.” But after 42 years, Wade has decided to hang up his hard hat. The builder has been on a reduced schedule for a year and a half as the market has changed. “[The market] brought us to a point where it seemed like it was time to retire,” Wade said. “It didn’t look like it made any sense to hang on and regenerate those things.” Nigeria Gov Warns Landlords Against Housing Cultists Governor Chibuike Amaechi has warned that any landlord, who provides accommodation to secret cult members, will be prosecuted. Amaechi issued the warning in Port Harcourt on Monday at a thanksgiving service, organised in his honour at Corpus Christi Cathedral. He said any landlord, who failed to report a cult member under the state Cultism Law, was liable to five years imprisonment on conviction. The governor observed that the public seemed to be unaware of the provisions of this law passed by the State House of Assembly when he was the speaker. He wondered why security men often failed to apprehend law breakers. "I will implement the law which says that if a secret cult member lives in your house, and you don't report him to the police, if you are found guilty, you will go for five years imprisonment," Amaechi stressed. Canada Green Building: Peer, market pressure expected to drive conversions With a growing number of buildings in Ottawa being built to LEED standards or being retrofitted to meet BOMA's GO GREEN certification, the pressure is increasing for other landlords of existing buildings to follow suit. "Once you're outed as a greenie, there's a lot of people that follow," said Richard Williams, a LEED-accredited vice-president at architecture firm HOK Canada. Mr. Williams kicked off an HOK-organized panel discussion on sustainable development, a panel and social event put on to celebrate HOK's tenth year of doing business in Canada, last week at the National Gallery. New buildings are more and more likely to meet some sort of "green" standard these days, and that fact is trumpeted with plaques and advertisements. It's what's in vogue now, and likely for the long term, the panel agreed. As a result, the pressure is increasing on existing buildings to quickly refurbish aspects of their operation to keep up with the Jones', said Nadia Orawski, a senior consultant with Deloitte Consulting LLP in New York and one of the panellists. India Tenants are ready to pay more When capital values are in the affordable range in residential properties, rental values grow only marginally. But when the capital values become unaffordable to the end users, they go for rental accommodation which in turn triggers demand and therefore rise in values. Take the case of property values in Noida in the Delhi NCR region. Along the proposed Metro route property prices have shown a downward trend. However, rental values have hardened or even escalated in these areas. Two reasons for this say analysts. The buyer is not sure that after the metro route is commissioned he will get better values for the property. For those seeking rental accommodations, it is important to pick up rental property in those areas which will become accessible in the medium to long term. If they wait too long, these may not be available and they may either have to go further away from the transit corridor or pay more for the same property. Why tenants are more certain of the future demand while buyers are not, you may ask. Because the tenant has less on stake than a buyer who needs to put in a much higher level of investment. And tenants read the rental markets closely as they have to keep on switching properties while buyers only read real estate markets when they have decided to buy. Therefore though the capital prices of residential real estate in some sectors of Noida have come down by 5-10 per cent in the past three months, the rental values have shot up between 5-15 per cent at the same locations. Singapore Govt measures will prevent runaway prices in residential mass market Property consultants say the government looks to be trying to prevent prices in the residential mass market from rising too sharply by putting 8 suburban sites on the Confirmed List for its Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the next 6 months. They do not expect to see fierce bidding for these sites, although they say there is niche appeal. Mass market properties are expected to provide most of the momentum in the residential sector next year, replacing the influence high-end properties have had in 2007. And in anticipation, the government is releasing eight suburban sites on the Confirmed List for its land sales programme in the first half of 2008. Canada Tenants tell of rents plight Minh Le's halting English was difficult at best to understand, but the tears that welled in the corners of his eyes spoke volumes. The city man was among a group of inner-city residents who protested their rent increases at the legislature yesterday, with some seeing hikes as high as 60%, beginning in March. "We need help because we lived in that apartment for a long time and it's a very old apartment, but they are raising the rent a lot. "Many of us rent out other rooms to try and live over there because we don't have a lot of money to rent or to move out. We can't afford this. We are labourers, old people." Many in the building are seniors or on fixed incomes and assistance, noted Edmonton Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman, and have seen rents increase from $500 to more than $800. She said their case demonstrates the need for effective rent controls. Ireland Rental market cools down as more properties are available for lettings THE recent rise in rents appears to be easing, possibly because owners and builders of apartments are having to let them out because they cannot sell them. So say economists at AIB Global Treasury in their latest bulletin on the housing market. Analysis of the Daft.ie property website shows that rents have slowed noticeably in recent months. AIB say the earlier 12pc growth is was probably due to a shortage of rented accommodation, as new apartments remained unsold and demand increased. Qatar Agents hit as owners deal with tenants DOHA • Real estate agencies say they are losing business as an increasing number of property owners now prefer to deal with potential tenants directly through newspaper advertisements. The agencies survive on commissions which normally range from one to two month's rent if a tenancy agreement is for a longer period. In some cases, the commission is calculated at the rate of one or two per cent of a year's total rental. Property brokers say they had a gala time before the housing shortage began a few years ago pushing the rents skywards. An increasing number of property owners now want to contact potential tenants directly and they refuse to even talk to brokers, said a real estate agent, Osama Othman. The irony is, the owners are blaming real estate brokerage companies for the rent hike. "Isn't it strange," he said. "We are losing business." Australian Rental crisis worsens as interest rate rises bite There may be only one thing worse than being “mortgage-stressed” through ever-rising interest rates. You could be one of the many people who inherits the interest rate payments second-hand – through rent. The rental crisis on the Coast is now more pronounced than ever, as some landlords are forced to hike up rents as they struggle to keep their own heads above water. According to the 2006 census, 29,326 homes on the Coast were rental properties, and those living within them are forking out a lot more money to stay there than they did just a year ago. Ray White Mooloolaba property management associate Karen Stehr said the real estate market was not slowing down as Christmas approached, and the office was receiving 130 inquiries daily via email, phone and walk-in business. “For each property that becomes available to rent, we are holding only one ‘open house’ and of late, we are receiving at least 10 applications on each premise,” she said. USA Rental property owner has history of violations The owner of a Uniondale rental house, where heating and ventilation problems forced the relocation of 18 tenants this week, has a history of housing violations going back nearly a decade in both Hempstead Town, village and North Hempstead. Neville Anthony, who lives in Belle Terre, is well-known among town building officials throughout Nassau as a repeat offender of renting homes illegally, town and county officials said. The plumbing problems at the Uniondale house, which was evacuated Monday night, are expected to be repaired sometime Friday. Before tenants move back in, Keyspan must test for gas leaks and the town must re-inspect, officials said. Anthony owns at least 22 rental houses -- primarily multi-family homes -- in Westbury, Uniondale and Hempstead Village. Since 1999, he's been cited for renting without a permit at least 26 times on 13 of the homes. Other violations found in his homes include illegal apartments built without permits and overcrowding, often with government subsidized tenants. USA US for sale:
Foreigners snap up property London — Thanks to a weak dollar, Americans have grown used to seeing Europeans on shopping sprees in the States, grabbing up cheap Levis, cheap iPods and enough cheap luggage to carry it all home in. But now Europeans are buying something else as well — houses. The sheer speed of the dollar's decline against major foreign currencies has been instrumental in sparking recent interest. The British pound has jumped 34 percent against the dollar compared with five years ago, including 10 percent in the past 12 months. The euro has made even bigger strides, rising 47 percent since 2002. As a result, European investors have more purchasing power in the U.S. market and so are increasingly on the lookout for dream property deals on this side of the pond. Adding to the appeal is the fact that the U.S. housing market has been hit hard by the credit crisis, which has made properties even more attractive for Europeans stunned by sky-high house prices in their home countries. New Zealand Rents to rise as housing boom dies Rents are expected to rise 6 per cent a year for the next five years, but high interest rates have killed the house price boom after a five-year run, Westpac says. Rents would need to rise 34 per cent to bring them in line with house prices in terms of landlords' returns, and that process could take five years, Westpac says. With an end to spectacular capital gains, landlords will no longer be happy to get a paltry 4 per cent yield on a property when mortgage interest rates are above 9 per cent. "The numbers just do not stack up for landlords," Westpac says in its latest report on housing. Rents have been subdued for years, rising at just 2.2 per cent a year in the past four years, but Westpac expected them to rise to 6 per cent a year and stay high. USA Rental vacancies rising to '06 levels Apartment vacancies in the San Diego region have risen over the past year as average rental rates have decreased, the San Diego County Apartment Association reports in a study to be released today. The twice-yearly survey of local landlords and property managers also found that the average weighted monthly rent for all types of units was $1,168 compared with $1,142 six months ago and $1,237 a year ago. There was a year-over-year average rent decrease of nearly 5.6 percent. “Now some of those units are being absorbed and rented out, so we are seeing the market begin to normalize,” Miller said. The effect of homeowners displaced by the recent wildfires is considered negligible. Vacancies could decline in the months ahead as the ongoing spike in foreclosures forces more homeowners to return to the market as renters, Miller said. Canada Tenant and landlord in court In a case that is rallying smoker's rights groups one year after Quebec banned smoking in public places, a Montreal landlord is going to court to overturn a July rental board's ruling in favour of a smoking tenant. This summer the Regie du logement ruled pack-a-day smoker Sandra Fowler could keep puffing away on the second-floor of her building despite complaints by owner Olesia Koretski. She lives below Fowler and said that smoke was entering her apartment and aggravating her asthma. Koretski was also worried about the effect the second-hand smoke could have on the unborn child she was carrying. Central to Fowler's success in the ruling was that a non-smoking clause was not included in her lease. The board ruled that Koretski's argument that the initial application form that Fowler filled out - stating that smokers and people with pets were not welcome to apply - was not enough to oblige Fowler to butt out when inside. Fowler was also allowed to keep pets. The case returns to court Friday a year after Fowler received a letter advising her the landlord had lodged a complaint with the rental board. VietnamAsia Property Report HCMC developer returns payments Spain Big bill for Spanish property owners A TAX bill of up to €650 million could be facing thousands of Irish people who own property in Spain. It is estimated that close to 100,000 Irish people own a Spanish property on which local taxes and rates are payable. Up to 50% of these property owners, however, do not pay the required taxes, according to Dublin-based IFG mortgages. Irish names are now beginning to appear on newspapers and local authority websites which is part of a campaign by the Spanish government to name and shame those who have failed to pay taxes. Paul Connolly of IFG said: “It appears to be only a matter of time before thousands of Irish property owners are faced with significant tax penalties. Whidbey Island Life The Best and Worst Islands: A Scorecard It's no secret that people love islands. But sometimes, we can love them to death. When tourism overkill strikes, the end result is not such a nice place. National Geographic Traveler and its National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations conducted the fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey, aided by George Washington University. A panel of 522 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship donated time to review conditions in 111 selected islands and archipelagos. Whidbey Island wasn't in the mix, but Washington's San Juan Islands and British Columbia's Salt Spring Island were included in the survey. China China's Property Developers Rush to Spend Lofty Prices and Few Plots Drive Race to Grab Land, But Is Market Overheating? HONG KONG -- The Chinese real-estate market has been suped up for years. But lately it has been going into overdrive. Chinese property developers are racing to fill their war chests -- and empty them again -- as competition for the best remaining land intensifies and real-estate prices soar in China's booming cities. Even as the Chinese government moves to restrict bank lending to property developers, companies are finding ample sources of capital through bond issuance and stock listings in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Pan Shiyi, left, and Zhang Xin, the husband-wife tycoons who founded SOHO China, which spent $300 million of its recently raised $1.65 billion on two high-end properties in Beijing. The capital infusion is sparking an industry consolidation as the more powerful developers devour their smaller rivals. For example, Beijing-based SOHO China spent $300 million of its recently raised $1.65 billion on two high-end properties in Beijing and in the process swallowed the two developers that owned them -- Beijing Yeli Real Properties Development Co. and Beijing Millennium Real The Age Waterfront property goes boom out West Australand auction yields $78 million for 28 blocks of landYES 7, Kevin, we know — Western Australia cannot be the land of milk and honey forever. But if record sales of the only undeveloped waterfront land in an Australian capital city are any indication, the state is still very much lapping up the luxuries the resources sector is providing. While Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd last week cautioned WA about its reliance on mining, the sector's wealthy benefactors and their accountants reportedly turned out in droves to grab almost $80 million in residential land south of Perth.The sale by Australand of 28 lots at Port Coogee on an artificial peninsula is believed to be the highest value achieved for a single-project auction in Australia. The highest price paid was $3.9 million for a 509-square-metre block on the corner of the peninsula with views of Rottnest Island and Fremantle Harbour. USA KEY WEST, Fla.—The sights and sounds at Schooner Wharf drip with Key West attitude: Sunburned tourists lounge near a marina, savoring drinks alongside locals wearing tank tops and sandals. A singer warbles, "I'd rather be here, drinking a beer, than freezing my a-- off up north." Different sounds emerge from behind the bar known as "The last little piece of Old Key West"—the sound of bulldozers working on a 32-unit luxury gated community. Pre-construction prices for spacious three-bedroom suites start at $1.87 million. The Harbor House development will attract an upscale clientele seeking an island lifestyle. But its exclusivity clearly upsets some people here. Just read the writing scrawled on a retaining wall: Newly built homes designed after Key West-style architecture are for sale at the Angler's Reef resort in Islamorada, Fla, on Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The Florida Keys are at a crossroads, beset by shortages of high-paying jobs and affordable housing, rising property taxes and insurance, and environmental concerns. Yet the move to "upscale" the Keys is gaining steam, a sign of growth that's commonly experienced by tourism-dependent communities. Such growth is leaving many Keys residents feeling priced out or ignored. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) The Florida Keys are at a crossroads, beset by shortages of high-paying jobs and affordable housing, rising property taxes and insurance, and environmental concerns. Yet the move to "upscale" the Keys is gaining steam, a sign of growth that's commonly experienced by tourism-dependent communities. Such growth is leaving many Keys residents feeling priced out or ignored. USA Knickerbockers win ‘slam dunk’ case against landlord Tenants of Knickerbocker Village declared final victory last week after an appellate court ruled unanimously that the property will stay in its affordable housing program. Reaffirming a previous ruling, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court decided Oct. 30 that the 12 buildings between Monroe and Catherine Sts., with 1,590 apartments, would stay under a limited-dividend program to keep rents affordable. “This is a slam dunk,” said Bob Wilson, 67, a longtime tenant and former co-chairperson of the Tenants Association. “That is about as strong an affirmation that you could ask for.” The owners of Knickerbocker Village had been trying for five
years to privatize the property, which is the last remaining
building in Manhattan under a 1926 affordable housing law. USA Drop in property values widespread Property assessments in every Oakland County community declined this year, according to a preliminary study released Thursday. The drop had been predicted. State equalized values -- generally set at about half the market value -- declined from as little as 0.56% in Sylvan Lake to as much as 7.17% in Rochester. "For a couple of years, the market has been slow," said Deputy County Executive Phil Bertolini. "Now we're beginning to see the real effect in our assessment numbers." Similar numbers weren't available from Wayne County. Macomb County's equalization director Steve Mellen said he expects overall residential SEVs to drop by about 6.5% for a total of $2.5 billion. Oakland's numbers were based on a review of residential property sales through Sept. 30. Equalization Director David Hieber said he doesn't expect the numbers to change much through the end of the year. USA Landlords take notice Understandably, Muskogee landlords, like any other businessmen or women, want a minimum of government regulation. Earlier this week, landlords attended a City Council meeting and raised issues with the city’s proposed Landlord Responsibility Ordinance. The proposed law would require landlords to be licensed and it would establish minimum standards for rental property. Landlords contended that the city already has building codes and appearance laws. They also complained that landlord licensing fees would increase rent rates. Landlords are correct that if all the new ordinance does is mimic code and appearance laws already in place, the responsibility ordinance is not needed. Muskogee also does not need more ordinances on the books if they are not enforceable. But Muskogee has a problem with a large percentage of houses deteriorating within its original town site. Landlords have a lot to do with that because many of those homes are rented, and some renters rent because they don’t want to be responsible for the upkeep of a house. USA Home prices are holding steady so far in Rochester area, NY state Beth Prince-Bradbury knew that a move from Webster to the New York City suburb of Clarkstown in Rockland County would be costly. But she didn't realize how great the gap in housing prices would be. She and her husband, Jason, sold their 1,400-square-foot home for $150,000 last month and moved downstate with 1-year-old son Jason Patrick for her new job as director of program evaluation for the Clarkstown Central School District. When they looked at houses, they were stung by sticker shock. "The disparity is severe," Prince-Bradbury said, estimating that her Webster house would cost $500,000 in Clarkstown. New York is home to some of the priciest real estate in the
country as well as some of the most affordable. Median selling
prices of existing single-family houses ranged in the first half
of 2007 from $55,000 in Allegany County to $675,000 in Westchester
County. Australia Housing shortage 'until end of decade' AUSTRALIA'S chronic housing shortage will continue for at least another two years because of record low affordability, a survey says. The Housing Industry Association's (HIA) National Outlook shows a shortfall between the number of new dwellings being built this financial year and the "underlying requirement'' of almost 20,000 dwellings. Over 2004/2005 to 2009/2010, demand will have exceeded supply by 77,600 dwellings. This is roughly half a year's worth of new dwellings - 1,016,000 required dwellings versus 938,400 actual. HIA chief economist Harley Dale said record low housing affordability was delaying a recovery in residential housing. "If the affordability crisis is left unchecked then the shortage of housing stock will extend through to the end of the decade,'' Mr Dale said in a statement today. Asia Asia a 'safe haven' for property buyers amid sub prime rout: LaSalle Asia provides a "safe haven" for property investors as returns decline on U.S. and European assets because of subprime mortgage losses, said Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., the world's second largest commercial real estate broker. "The region could be a beneficiary of the fallout as investors reallocate funds from the U.S. and Europe toward Asia Pacific in search of higher growth opportunities on a risk- adjusted basis," Jane Murray, Asia Pacific head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said Tuesday in an e-mailed report. The world's biggest banks and securities firms wrote down US$45 billion of assets this year and cut 10,000 jobs because of the collapse of the market for mortgages made to borrowers with poor credit. Commercial real estate transactions fell in the U.K. and the U.S. after defaults on subprime pushed up borrowing costs, creating turmoil in financial markets. Global direct real estate investment in Asia gained 14 percent to US$54 billion in the first half of the year, compared with the year-earlier period, LaSalle said in the report. Asian deals are about a third of the volumes in the Americas or Europe. Vietnam Thanhnien News 5 November 2007 Vietnam drafts property tax law to curb prices Vietnam is drafting a real estate ownership tax law to curb skyrocketing property prices and speculation amid scenes of people queuing overnight to join lotteries for apartments, property dealers said. They said overall property prices have gone up about 50 percent since the beginning of the year, mainly because investors diverted money from the stock market into property. Speculation in land and equities in the emerging market economy is becoming a concern for policy makers and economists who want to avoid market bubbles and sustain Vietnam's high growth rates for years to come. "In some areas in Hanoi and HCMC, especially in the luxury condominium sector, prices have tripled in the past year alone," Nguyen Xuan Dao, chief executive of property developer Vietnam Property Inc said. USA Bankruptcy Law Backfires as
“Be careful what you wish for,'' Westbrook said. “They
wanted to make sure that people kept paying their credit cards,
and what they're getting is more foreclosures.'' South Africa Business Day 6 November 2007 Foreigners still buying up properties DESPITE the proposed moratorium on foreigners buying land in
SA, non-residents continue to snap up prime South African properties,
say tax analysts. In June, Land Affairs Minister Lulama Xingwana announced that
her department was considering drafting laws to limit foreign
ownership of land in SA. The minister cited escalating property
prices in certain areas as the main reason. USA Residential property values raise tax base WORCESTER— The city’s total tax base increased by 65 percent between fiscal 2003 and 2007, fuelled largely by a $4.4 billion rise in residential property values, according to a survey released by The Research Bureau’s Center for Community Performance Management. That $4.4 billion represents a 74-percent increase in residential values, the survey points out, which far exceeds the $541 million, 32 percent, increase in commercial and industrial values over the same period. The imbalance between the two categories has a significant effect on the city’s budget, the survey notes, because residential property owners generally require municipal services and other expenditures that surpass the revenues generated by residential property taxes. “A tax base that is weighted heavily in the direction of one property type or the other is particularly vulnerable to changes in economic circumstances,” according to the survey. “In particular, if the composition of a community’s tax base shifts heavily toward residential property, homeowners will be faced with higher tax bills in order to make up for tax revenues once generated by commercial-industrial properties.” Oman Rents eating into Omani pay cheques: Survey Times News Service MUSCAT — Forty-two per cent of Oman’s residents have witnessed a rental increase of 20 per cent or more, according to a survey commissioned by Bayt.com. Over 8,500 respondents from across the region participated in the online survey, which was conducted by the market research leader YouGovSiraj in association with Bayt.com, throughout September. Oman, Qatar and the UAE experienced the largest hikes, with 42 per cent, 32 per cent and 23 per cent of tenants, respectively, shouldering increases of 20 per cent or more. The survey examined the financial implications of the utilities, car financing and company benefits. Across the region the research findings consistently show that housing expenses continue to make the largest dent in regional salaries. Elsewhere in the AGCC, just nine per cent of Bahraini residents have witnessed a 20 per cent increase or more, with the majority of respondents reporting no increase at all. Some 34 per cent of Saudis say they experienced no increase in their rent either. Australia Asian property under the microscope: AEW There is more to running a global property portfolio than just buying REIT shares as you have to be involved on the ground and be an active player to identify the right deals inside nuance-filled regional markets, according to a Singapore property expert. “It’s not just about investing into property shares or acquiring a development, but about operating the building. Even then, acquiring something is one thing but operating it is something else. “This approach doesn’t always suite investment banking mentalities,” said Peter Wittendorp, managing director of AEW Asia which has recently become available to Australian investors through Apostle Asset Management. Meanwhile Singapore is fast becoming a property investment regional hub and this presents big opportunities for investors who can identify the right deals. South Africa South Africa: Landlord's Boot for THE Johannesburg deeds office will be evicted from its inner-city
office building later this month after it failed to come to terms
with its landlord, ApexHi Properties, over a lease agreement. ApexHi said this eviction order followed an urgent application made by the national public works department to the court, after ApexHi locked the deeds office out of the premises on November 1, one month after the lease for the space had expired. ApexHi said "landlords around the country" would "celebrate" the judgment because it "was made clear that the property rights of landlords in the private sector" would be protected. Herschel Jawitz, CE of Jawitz Properties, said that if the deeds office was evicted it would be "severely disruptive for the entire property industry including home owners, banks and the receiver of revenue". Jawitz said the biggest effect would be a "developing backlog regarding the transfer of ownership of property".
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