For this considering investing in real estate in the US, the figures seem “interesting,” at the moment and another drop in pending home sales does not point to bottom being reached any time soon. According to Mike Larson, real estate and interest rate analyst at Weiss Research:
Existing home sales figures for May were just released. Here’s a recap:
* Existing home sales fell 2.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million in May from 5.79 million in April. That was far worse than forecasts for a sales rate of 6.12 million, and comes on the heels of a 8% gain a month earlier.
For those who managed to avoid losing their shirt in the Spanish property market, or investing in Dubai’s real estate bubble, another possibility seems to be floating on the horizon – maybe. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday urged the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction to expedite the drafting of new rules that would permit foreign ownership of property in Cambodia.
More on Cambodia consider new laws for foreign property investors
The U.S. real estate market is either showing signs of recovery or continues to melt down to new and ever more frightening lows, depending on what you read and who is writing it.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price index released data for the first quarter of 2009 this week showing that overall home prices in the U.S. fell by an average of 19.1%, the largest drop in a single quarter in the 21-year history of the index itself.
Just as it appeared that new construction starts for personal residences were beginning to stabilize in the U.S. (as evidenced by very small increases In March and April as opposed to severe decreases in the 12 months before that), commercial real estate starts plunged in both months, taking new housing construction for April to an historic low.
With more financially distressed property on the market than you can shake a stick at, real estate auctions seem to be the best way of moving excess inventory, and will hopefully give some idea as to current market prices in the UAE. At the moment it is anyone’s guess. Sherwoods are organizing an auction of some 50 properties in the UAE in June. Their press release is below:
If you are looking to buy investment properties in the United States you might want to consider narrowing your focus to a niche segment of the U.S. real estate market. The ‘kit home’ was an outgrowth of the Arts & Crafts aesthetic movement of the late 1800s and early part of the 20th century.
More on Buying Arts & Crafts Kit Homes As Investment Properties
Dubai’s lack of transparency is causing potential investors to pull out of the market in droves. Foreign investors withdrew as much as $57 billion from UAE banks in October. The plan of producing press release after press release claiming unreasonable strength in the Dubai property market is backfiring dramatically. When faced with conflicting reports about the state of the market and no true figures, many are chosing to ignore Dubai as an investment completely.
More on Buying Property in Dubai – Confusion and lack of Transparency an Issue
Some time ago, we suggested that Dubai’s property bubble was about to burst. A recent Dow Jones report suggest that time has come. A six-year real estate boom in Dubai that spurred a $475 billion building frenzy has ended, according to agents who say sales are collapsing amid fears that the global economic downturn will hit the sheikdom.
