Well, one thing 2009 bought is a potentially vast pool of foreclosure property to invest in. So – where is the best foreclosure market to invest in?
The United States? The amount of bank owned property sloshing around is quite stunning. Not including the ongoing devaluation in the commercial sector, the US banks now own an estimated 22 million foreclosures and are likely to add another 7 million to that over the next 2 years. No one really talks about this and industry insiders refer to it as “shadow inventory,” because much of it is not actively for sale. Where do you think all that lovely federal reserve money went? What little that did not make it’s way to a numbered bank account in the Cayman’s went to prop up the banks deemed “too big to fail,” and allow them to keep these TWENTY TWO MILLION residential properties off the market. Much of this “shadow inventory,” is in Nevada, California, Florida and will not appeal to the overseas buyer unless it is within a few hours of an international airport – which much of it is not. The other question is – if it ever gets to the point where these properties are released onto the market – any one holding any stock is going to see that value plummet overnight. Caveat Emptor.
More on Where is the next hot foreclosure market to invest in?
Thinking of buying an investment property in Dubai? Wait and see is our best advice right now. The credit crunch is having a big impact in the UAE, and particularly in Dubai, where many ex-pats went to work in the construction and real estate sector, only to discover they had 30 days to find another job or get out of the country when their job vanished along with the rest of the credit market.
Things do seem to be hotting up in the investment property world, and I don’t mean burning down hot as seen in the recent Australian bushfires. Volatile is the word that comes to mind. As developers and agents try to combat falling prices, we are starting to see some interesting approaches. Most of Manhattan seems to be up for rent at the moment with luxury condominiums in Manhattan completely failing to sell.
As usual, it is hard to sift the genuine information from the press releases coming out of the UAE. To read some stories, anyone would think that the global financial crisis has passed the region by. According to Business 24/7 “Sweet Homes, an Ajman-based developer, said it will not lower selling prices for either of its two projects.”
