As a small property investor, I always keep an eye on what is going on in the news, particularly what is being reported as “news” by the so-called professional news suppliers. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the newspapers are attempting to “talk the market up,” in an effort to re-inflate the property bubble that allowed their advertisers to keep paying their bills. But – reading between the lines and comparing the actual news stories with the spin tells a very different story.
Numis Securities, a City investment bank, expects amateur buy-to-let landlords to begin “panic selling,” their investment properties as house values continue to decline in the UK, causing the average home value to fall below £100,000. Their recent report stated:
More on British Property Prices could fall another 55 percent
I have just finished reading through the great Barack Obama’s fix for the foreclosure mess in the USA which will magically mend the world’s housing woes. NOT!
For those of you expecting a quick fix to the financial crisis, sorry to disappoint, but this is just another $275 billion of US taxpayer’s money pissed down the toilet. Ignoring the fact that the whole mess started by lending cheap money to people who could not afford to make the payments and doing more of the same is just…………. Not even sure I know what word to use actually. If any individual acted the way the governments and banks are doing, I guarantee they would be behind bars this very minute.
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.
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.
More on British Property Prices continue to decline and Aviva Freezes withdrawals from Fund
According to the Financial Times, house sales are set to fall to a record low next year, with less than 700,000 homes expected to change hands. This equates to households in the UK moving just once every 31 years.
House prices in the UK are still falling, and at ever increasing rates. Prices fell 2.6% in November and are now 16.1% lower than last year. Realistically, this will continue despite the government’s ridiculous attempts to keep prices artificially high. Gordon Brown knows as much about economics as my pet goldfish.
More on Property Prices in the UK Continue falling – And They Need to Fall More
News from around the world regarding property values and markets. No one could possibly disagree that a major correction is going on across the world. With property prices falling almost as fast as they rose over the last few years, the real question is – when is the time to get back in? Our own feeling is that the government bailouts are going to fail to revitalize the world’s economies and devalue currency already in circulation. We expect real values to continue to decline for the foreseeable future.
