Prices for investment properties in Bulgaria continue falling, with no end in sight at the moment. Particularly hard hit are the summer resorts of Sveti Vlas and Slunchev Briag (Sunny Beach), the largest summer resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea. In those luxury resorts, prices have fallen to such an extent that currently there are brand new three-bedroom “luxury” flats on offer for 70 000 euros. A similar fate has befallen the Alpine ski resort of Bansko, where new, completed modern apartments in ‘key locations’ are being offered for 70 000 euros.
One thing about the global downturn that could be considered positive is the amount of scams and cons coming to light, and the small property investor has certainly been prey to many. In a booming economy, many of these were written off and the injured parties pleas for assistance were ignored.
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I hear rumour that a few brave aussie property investors are eyeing up the US market where there are some very cheap residential property investment opportunities at the moment. Forget a mortgage, houses can be had for under $10,000 in Detroit – that’s credit card country. Even allowing for the currently lousy A$ rate that’s around A$16,000 – for a whole house, and yes including land!
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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.
Optimism – or Denial? Indian real estate magnate Niranajan Hiranandani does not expect property prices, which have dropped by about 25% in the past year, to decline any further. “Rates have fallen by about 10-25 per cent over the past year-and-a-half. I do not expect rates to fall any further. So, I think people should start buying homes now,” Hiranandani Constructions Managing Director Niranjan Hiranandani said last week.
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Western Australia’s first home buyers now get the best deal on stamp duty compared to the rest of Australia.
Western Australians first home buyers don’t pay any sales tax on properties valued up to $500,000. Based on an average sale price first home buyers are eligible for grants of a net total $15,740 or 5.4% of the average house price in the state.
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The Abu Dhabi Real Estate and Investment Show has been hit hard by the global downturn. Exhibitors showcasing their latest projects said yesterday that they are finding buyers hard to come by. The sales staff just about outnumbered the visitors at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center on the opening day.
Norwich Union, who recently changed their name to “Aviva,” have put a freeze on investor withdrawals from their “Norwich Union Unit-Linked property fund.” The excuse they have given is that they do not have any money and want to liquidate some of their assets by selling some of the property into what has to be the worst commercial property market in the last twenty years. Good luck getting your money back if you “invested.” any money in this one.
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According to the French National Federation of Real Estate (la Fédération nationale de l’immobilier or Fnaim) prices are expected to fall all over France in 2009. No surprises here, but the spokesman, René Pallincourt, was typically upbeat, suggesting that prices had only fallen 3.1% in 2008, and would only fall another 10% in 2009.
Singapore’s official private home price index slid 5.7% in Q4 2008 over the preceding quarter. For full-year 2008, the index fell 4.3%, reversing a 31.2% increase during 2007. This is the Singapore real estate market‘s worst performance since Q4 1998 and property consultants are predicting a further decline of 10-20% in 2009, with luxury homes continuing to be the worst hit, as in 2008, this sector having seen the biggest increases over 2006/7..
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