JANUARY 2012 |
www.opp.org.uk
BUSINESS
FUNDING ANALYSIS | 27
suggests that the US property market might be due to turn the corner in the second part of 2012. Although excess supply and negative momentum have been two the main drivers behind the slow recovery of the property market, research suggests (using normal conventional measures) that the property market may have over- corrected.
From a foreign buyer perspective,
mortgage fi nance in the USA has now started to become more widely available with second home and investment fi nance now available at cheaper levels than previously. Currently, foreign investors can secure a mortgage in excess of $50,000 on a 15-year fi xed-rate term on an interest rate of just 3.875%, needing just a 25% deposit. The sentiment within the currency markets has swung from despair to hope as the old year ends and the new one begins. There was much gloom during the early part of November as it appeared that both Italy and Spain were to be dragged under by the contagion spreading from the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis. But, thankfully, the region was brought back from the brink of disaster. Optimism grew as the month
progressed that the Eurozone’s leading political fi gures, Merkel and Sarkozy, would demand greater fi scal change and accountability from all 17 single currency nations. Perhaps they can ensure the survival of the beleaguered euro after all. The GBP/€ rate did briefl y
spike higher but did not manage to breach the €1.18 level, only to fall back as the UK’s own economic
plight worsened, seeing a low close to 1.1550. The UK economy is now clearly on the slide with manufacturers suffering from depressed orders, shoppers suffering from squeezed disposable income, and - most worryingly of all - unemployment up to a record 15-year high with 8.3% of the workforce out of work. Sterling suffered a similar fate against the US$ having retreated
from a high of $1.61 to fall back to $1.55 as the greenback continues to remains attractive for investors concerned with fi nding a safe haven for their liquid assets. The antipodean currencies also traded
erratically during this period, partly on Eurozone risk sentiment, but also greatly infl uenced by China’s economic slowdown dampening demand for their natural resources.
Flag waving | by Spain’s newly elected conservative party, Partido Popular, means the re-introduction of mortgage tax relief Top 10 Countries By Highest Loan To Value (LTV) Country & Position
1 Poland - Portugal - Spain - France 2 India
- Australia
- New Zealand - Italy
- United Kingdom 3 USA
LTV Available
100% 100% 100% 100% 80% 80% 80% 80% 80% 75%
Monthly chart change
- - - - - - - - - -
Leading Mortgage Rates By Most Popular Countries
5.65% 3.25% 3.69% 2.09% 4.25% 3.22% 2.09% 2.09% 3.96% 4.06%
Source: OMF & Moneycorp
SPAIN USA
FRANCE IRELAND ITALY
PORTUGAL CYPRUS
CARIBBEAN POLAND
AUSTRALIA
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