Coming towards the end of 2008, news from property markets around the world seems to be more of the same. So what is end-2008 looking like, and what to look forward to in 2009?
More on Property Market News and a look forward to 2009 for British Property Investors
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.
Another British property consultant, Jones Lang LaSalle, announced the fact that it would be making redundancies this year. A spokesman stated:
In light of the current challenging financial and economic climate, the company has taken the difficult but necessary decision to make 60 to 80 redundancies affecting employees based in England.
No surprise really, and according to homemove back in April, a third of British estate agents could be forced to close.
Money.co.uk reported this week on the £1 house. Previously valued at £80,000, the North Norfolk home is likely to be washed into the sea at any minute. The owner apparently took the government’s word for it when she was told that the encroaching coastline would be kept at bay when she purchased the property back in 1987
More on UK House Market Falls Dramatically – The One Pound House
Lev Leviev has just paid a record amount for a new home in the U.K. – $70 million
Leviev, an Israeli diamond billionaire, apparently plans to settle in London to avoid paying taxes in his adopted home country. Which is a little strange when you consider the amount of Brits avoiding their British income tax burden by setting up shop in Monaco or the Middle East.
British company modcell is attempting to create more “green,” housing with the use of straw cladding panels in construction and has created a new project – The BaleHaus – A domestic “carbon bank.” It seems a practical approach to us, but whether this idea takes off and is as environmentally friendly as it appears remains to be seen, and according to their website:
CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest advisory group on property. Has released a disturbing new report on the state of UK property values. UK commercial property values fell by 4.1 per cent in November in the most rapid correction ever seen in the sector. The total return from the sector – which includes rental income – was a 3.7 % fall for the month.
If forty million dollars seems like a high price for a single condo in Manhattan, that’s probably because it is.
We recently reported that Sun Microsystem founder Bill Joy has put his luxury Manhattan condo on the market, without ever having moved in. Should the asking price be achieved, it will mean a profit of $20 million. Although it is unlikley to sell at that price – that is a staggering sum of money.
