INDUSTRY
06 | INDUSTRY Market news
NEWS IN BRIEF Spain goes stagnant
www.opp.org.uk | JUNE 2010 Cautious welcome to Cuba By STEPHEN HARRIS
CARIBBEAN agents have given a cautious welcome to Cuba’s plans to allow foreigners to build residential tourist resorts in the country. The communist island announced
HOUSE prices in Spain are still falling as the promising sales growth at the start of year becomes more sluggish. Prices fell by 4.6% year-on-year in April, with the Mediterranean coast reporting the biggest drop of 5.2%, according to valuation fi rm Tinsa. Sales rose in March by 8.2% year-on-year, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). But sales fell 6% compared to the previous month.
Dubai shows early recovery
PRICES in Dubai have risen annually for the fi rst time in a year – but more falls may follow, say analysts. Values rose 2% year-on-year in the fi rst quarter, according to the Colliers International Dubai house price index. Too many properties and a lack of mortgages could drag thing down again though.
Cyprus foreign sales stall
PROPERTY sales in Cyprus increased year-on-year for the sixth month in a row in April – but overseas agents continued to struggle. A total of 675 of homes were sold, up 12% compared to the same period in 2009 but down 15% on the previous month, according to offi cial fi gures. But only 127 properties went to foreigners – 4% up on the 122 recorded in April 2009 and down 25% compared to March this year.
Poland is coming back
THE residential property sector in Poland is recovering as new units come onstream and the banks ease tight lending restrictions, a new report shows. In Poland’s main cities of Warsaw, Krakow and Poznan, the number of residential units launched for sale in line with the number sold says the REAS Q1 2010 report.
Banks to back rescue plan
THE five biggest mortgage lenders in Miami are set to join a scheme to help prevent a further glut of foreclosures on the market. The banks are in talks with
Miami’s Realtor association, RAMB, which hopes its ShortSaleSolutions programme launched last month will reduce the number of repossessions by speeding up distressed sales.
Speed sales The plan would limit the time banks took to agree to a short sale – where a house is sold for less than the mortgage value. Unlike the national short sale
ITALY’S BIGGEST BERTH
ITALY has the top three most expensive marinas in the world and a night’s mooring can cost up to €2,900, according to Wealth Bulletin. The Italian resorts of Capri, Porto Cervo and Portofi no topped the website’s fi rst annual survey of the most expensive resorts in the world for berthing a super-yacht
plan introduced at the end of last year – Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives – RAMB’s scheme is open to investor owners as well as residents and gives lenders access to the local Multiple Listing Service to speed up the appraisal process. “When someone submits an offer
for a short sale it can be weeks or months before they fi nd out if they are successful,” said RAMB’s CEO, Teresa Kinney. “But banks know their inactivity on
these offers is costing them money. The faster they can get a loan to perform, the fewer foreclosures there will be.”
UK REPOS DOWN
LOW interest rates and support from mortgage lenders helped the number of homes repossessed in the UK to fall below 10,000 in the fi rst three months of the year. The Council of Mortgage Lenders said 9,800 properties were repossessed in the fi rst quarter, compared with 10,600 in the previous quarter and 13,200 in Q1 2009.
Banks repossessed over 52,000 South Florida homes in the fi rst quarter 2010
OZ TIGHTENS RULES
AUSTRALIA is trying to clamp down on an infl ux of Asian buyers thought to be driving up the country’s house prices. The government has reimposed tough rules last that were lifted in 2008 that say temporary residents need permission to buy homes and overseas investors can only buy new properties.
last month that overseas fi rms would be permitted to develop golf courses, marinas and other real estate projects in hope of attracting more foreign tourists. Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero
said the country was in advanced talks with “several potential foreign partners,” speaking at Cuba’s annual International Tourism Fair last month. He added that the number of tourists
visiting Cuba could exceed 2.5 million in 2010, following a 3.5% rise last year 2009 to 2.43 million.
Diffi cult sell Agents said the move would create opportunities but investors would be wary of Cuba’s political system – and
Cuba hopes foreign resort development will increase tourist numbers above 2.5m
its bureaucracy could make the selling process diffi cult. Foreigners are also likely to be offered mid to long-term leases rather than freehold ownership. “Cuba is a phenomenal destination but
they’re not yet allowing full ownership,” said Walter Zephirin, managing director of 7th Heaven Properties. “Many clients may not want to under
the current political regime if they don’t think their investment is secure The market on Margarita Island [part of
Venezuela], for example, was doing very well and then went dead because of the political situation.”
Ethical questions Feona Gray, partner at Caribbean Property International, said: “Buyers aren’t used to leasehold in the Caribbean – even apartments are freehold.” She added that there were ethical
issues in selling property to foreigners when locals were not allowed to buy.
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