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Published on Leave a comment on Consider Portugal Investment

Property confidence increases in Portugal 

People interested in investing in European property should consider Portuguese property after research showed that property confidence in the country had improved.

The RICS/Ci Portuguese Housing Market Survey revealed that both the National Activity and National Confidence indices improve in July and weakening demand remains the main factor weighing down on Portuguese prices. This weakening demand is one reason why Portuguese property could be available at knock-down prices.

stride.co.uk 

Published on Leave a comment on Economic Report on Spain

Spain's National Institute of Statistics says Spain to become an exporting country 

Spain’s economy slowed down this year, in the wake of growing market worries over a sovereign debt crisis, the official National Institute of Statistics (INE) said Friday. In the April-June period, the economy grew 0.2 per cent over the prior Quarter, when the Country registered 0.4 per cent growth.

The INE attributed the slowdown mainly to contracting domestic consumption in the Country, partly due to Spain’s towering unemployment.

Spain currently has over 4 million people out of work and boasts an unemployment rate of over 20 per cent.

But the fall was offset partly by an improved performance in the export market, which benefited from an 8.4 per cent rise in exports, coupled with a 1.7 per cent fall in imports on lack of demand in Spain.

livetradingnews.com

Published on Leave a comment on China: Property Ownership Information to be Released

Officials are building a database to be shared among 40 chinese cities

"First, records about properties and their ownership would be sorted out and put into the database. Then information about earlier sales of properties will go online" - an official from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said.

Analysis of these records will show the money flow from one city to another.

"This information-sharing system, which is a dream we have pursued for a long time, will play a positive role in controlling property bubble" - Gu Yunchang, vice-president of China Real Estate Association.

chinadaily.com.cn

Published on Leave a comment on Housing Worker Kills Giant Rat

A huge rat has been speared to death by a pitchfork at a sprawling New York housing project

08 26 Agosto Rata Gigante - Housing Worker Kills Giant Rat

Jose Rivera, a Housing Authority worker, was clearing a rat hole at the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn when three of these massive rats popped out.

He was only able to nab one. It appears to be almost three feet long, including the tail, is covered in white fur and looks well-fed.

Mr Rivera, 48, said: 'I hit it one time and it was still moving'.

dailymail.co.uk

Published on Leave a comment on Euro Zone’s Poorest Face Rising Home Foreclosures

Property market to be boost by the selling of public debt

"While a survey of the property market reveals global investors' growing appetite for repossessed homes, it also shows that Europe's poorest countries are worst off as they face rising repossessions while investment falls away.

The countries in the eye of the EU's economic storm – Ireland, Spain and Portugal and Italy – have "the highest net balance reading for likely forced selling," the survey conducted by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reads.

In a worsening investment climate this is not good news for the EU's periphery".

euractiv.com

Published on Leave a comment on House Hunting in Germany

795 thousand euros for a two-bedroom one-and-a-half-bath apartment

Two bedroom appartment in Germany - House Hunting in Germany

"This two-bedroom one-and-a-half-bath apartment is on the second floor of a 1906 manor house on Elbchaussee, an Elbe riverfront thoroughfare known for its regal villas and impressive gardens. The three-story white house is in Othmarschen, a wealthy residential district a 15-minute drive from the city center of Hamburg.

The house has six units, accessed via a grand marble staircase with wrought iron railings. The apartment, with 1,367 square feet of space, has high ceilings, pitch-pine floors, distinctive moldings, numerous windows and three terraces".

nytimes.com

Published on Leave a comment on Brad Pitt’s Malibu Home for Sale

9 million euros for a Malibu House with private beach included

25 agosto Brad Pitts home - Brad Pitt's Malibu Home for Sale

Brad Pitt sells his splendid Californian mansion for 9 million euros. Pitt bought the house after his divorce settlement with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston in 2005.

Published on Leave a comment on A Prewar Manhattan Apartment

Simplicity can be soulful

“This is all about balancing youthful instincts with the trappings of success,” says architect Lee F. Mindel describing the transformation he oversaw for his clients, a Manhattan real-estate developer and his entrepreneur wife, who would be hosting dinners for their high-powered colleagues and friends. “The greatest form of grandeur for me is spaces that don’t constrict, that give you options.”

Check images at architecturaldigest.com

Published on Leave a comment on Will Smith’s Malibu Home

Will Smith shows his dream house of Malibu

The Smith clan show their luxurious home in Malibu. Jada is currently starring in HawthoRNe on TNT; Will’s next film, due in May 2012, is Men in Black III.

Stephen Samuelson designed an adobe-style residence full of intimate spaces, organic forms and hadcrafted details.

architecturaldigest.com

Published on Leave a comment on Spain cuts Property Tax

Spain has announced plans to try to tackle the severe problems facing its housing market

The Spanish Government has decided to try to create more demand for new properties by cutting IVA (VAT) from 8 to 4 per cent thus saving a property purchaser a sizeable €8,000 on a €200,000 purchase.

Spain's economy was plunged into recession following the collapse of its once-buoyant property sector.

The government is also hoping that building projects will help create jobs and cut the unemployment rate, which is one of the highest in the eurozone.

A reduction in tax paid on new properties and incredibly low prices are set to boost the Spanish property market, according to real estate professionals.

The 50 per cent reduction in VAT is applicable until 31st December 2011 and has been widely welcomed by the property industry.

bbc.co.uk