The average price of luxury homes in the world’s key cities fell by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2013 although the annual rate remained positive at 3.6%, according to the latest data from Knight Frank.
Cities in Europe remain the weakest performers, recording a fall of 2.3% on average, while Jakarta (up 38.1%) was the strongest performing prime residential market. Continue reading
* The Knight Frank Global House Price Index rose by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2012 and by 4.3% in the last 12 months;
* Hong Kong recorded the largest rise, here mainstream prices rose by 23.6% in 2012;
* Greece recorded the largest fall in mainstream prices for the second consecutive quarter, declining by 13.2% on average in 2012;
* Analysis by world region shows house prices in South America experienced the strongest growth in 2012, an increase of 8.4% on average;
* Mainstream property prices in Asia Pacific rose faster in 2012 than in 2011, increasing by 6.7% on average compared to Continue reading
"This is the result of a marked divergence in the performance of commercial property since the bottom of the cycle in 2009, based on preferences for location, asset size and income quality. The scale and severity of this bifurcation has surprised some investors. However, the changing landscape of flows, yields and innovation also presents attractive opportunities for longer-term investors.
"Let us first consider the polarisation of real estate performance. For example, best quality shopping centres in the UK have increased in value by 22% in the last three years, while poorer centres have experienced a fall of 10%.
"Similarly in the US smaller Continue reading
1. Cost of living
Australia was one of the very few countries to be relatively unscathed after the Global Financial Crisis. This has meant that the country has managed to get a reputation of being a very expensive country to live in. This is primarily due to the value of the local currency, the Australian Dollar which is now around parity with the US Dollar. This means for foreign investors it’s more expensive than ever before. In addition the cost of groceries has jumped up significantly as well.
2. Capital Cities are expensive
Australia boasts 5 of the top 50 unaffordable Continue reading
Africa’s “mega-cities” such as Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Lusaka and Dar es Salaam are increasingly becoming the drivers of its economic growth and, as a result, are attracting growing interest from occupiers, developers and investors.
In the retail sector, the increasing wealth and sophistication of African consumers is leading to rising demand for modern retail formats and western-style shopping centres.
Countries such as Zambia, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria have seen a wave of retail construction activity in recent years which has delivered the first generation of modern shopping malls to many major cities.
The construction of further, and larger, shopping centres can be expected, as Continue reading
Kevin White, Head of UK Financial Planning at deVere United Kingdom, said: "The statutory residence test aims to remove any grey areas when determining someone’s residence status for tax purposes in the UK. Existing rules, to a large extent, depend on cases decided by the courts.
"Currently, anyone who is in the UK for 183 days or more in any one tax year, or more than 90 days on average per tax year over four years, will be classified as a UK resident, and someone who spends no time in the UK is unlikely to be resident.
"However, the new SRT, which will Continue reading
During 2012, the price of new housing fell in all the autonomous communities and in all capitals of province. The biggest descents, by communities corresponded to Navarra (-12.6%), La Rioja (-11.6%), and Castilla-La Mancha (-10.2%), the only regions where the price contraction exceeded two digits. The smaller descents, were recorded in País Vasco (-4.1%), Canarias (-5.2%), Galicia (-5,6%) y Asturias (-5.7%).
Regarding capitals of province, the lowest drop in the price of new hosing was observed in Pamplona (-12.6%), Albacete (-12.3%), Logroño (-11.6%) y Soria (-11.2%). According to the Property Valuation Society, the average price of new housing dropped in 2012 more Continue reading
The Eurozone’s 17 member states have on average seen prices fall by 1.8% in the 12 months to September. Other world regions such as South America and Asia Pacific have seen growth of 9.8% and 4.2% respectively.
Greece has now pushed Ireland off the bottom slot – where it has resided for five consecutive quarters – by recording an average price fall of 11.7% in the last year. Ireland, by comparison, has seen its rate of decline improve, up from -14.3% a year ago to -9.6%.
Despite positive data from the US – prices are 3.6% higher than in the third quarter of Continue reading
The performance of prime rents across global cities is intrinsically linked to employment, business confidence and recruitment.
At the top end of the world’s rental markets corporate demand is increasingly influential, accounting for up to 85% of prime rental demand in some cities.
As in the prime sales market, it is those cities that generate strong foreign demand that have seen the strongest uplift in rents since the global recession hit in 2008.
Prime rents in London, New York and Hong Kong have risen by 25.7%, 23.9% and 35.6% respectively since their recessional lows.
While the latest results show prime rents continue to push higher Continue reading
The pound to euro exchange rate has increased the most over the past six months, largely as a result of the on-going euro zone crisis. It is up 5.7%, giving buyers with a £125,000 budget €8,563 more to spend. This will particularly grant those looking in Cyprus and Portugal higher purchase power, as purchase taxes are comparatively low. Currently Costa Blanca, Spain, offers the most space for money in Europe.
James Yerkess, HSBC Head of FX, said: "There is a huge discrepancy in the size of property that UK buyers can purchase on the same budget in some of the most popular Continue reading
