Housing market

Bank rate rises are always big news and the latest quarter point rise in interest rates to 5 per cent puts interest rates at their highest level for five years. Inflation figures which are hanging round the 2.5% have seen the Bank of England act to keep inflation under control, with a target rate of 2%.   Consumer debt is enormous   Consumers now hold a record 1.3 trillion pounds in debt,...

The rental market is a huge sector in Australia and a shortage of new homes is set to strengthen landlord returns. The ANZ Bank’s latest property report states “shortage of dwellings and the flight of investors from the residential sector are causing a decline in rental vacancies and placing upward pressure on rents”. Research at ipac securities indicates that over the very long term...

Bank rate rises in the UK are looking more likely as economic indications point toward an economy that is producing higher inflation and a housing market that shows no signs of cooling down.   Rightmove property website reports that August rate rises have done nothing to slow the progress of rising UK property prices. Rightmove's House Price Index data showed that the national average asking...

South Florida property prices are becoming beyond the reach of key workers in the sunshine state. New residential towers being built in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are now beyond the reach of teachers or public servants and other key workers. Calls are being made by Florida home owners for State legislators to help by lifting the cap on the Sadowski Trust Fund. The fund is intended to spur...

The Australian Associated Press report that Australian property owners reluctantly believe that two interest rate rises this year will force many to accept lower prices when selling their Australian properties. The survey which comprised of 2,065 respondents was conducted by CoreData in partnership with media website NEWS.com.au.               All the indications...

Prices of UK property increased by 0.8 per cent in August, according to a Nationwide report, creating a "firm" market for people selling a house in the UK.The annual rate of inflation stands at 6.6 per cent higher than last year, representing an increase for the third consecutive month.Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's group economist, pointed out that this is the fastest annual growth rate in UK property...

The market for Portuguese property is still a healthy and popular one, according to the latest research from currency specialist HiFX.Overseas property investors appear to be maintaining their interest in the Iberian country, despite strong competition from established areas such as France and Spain and emerging countries like Bulgaria and Croatia.People from the UK are particularly interested in the...

The New Zealand property market is currently experiencing a period of stability in terms of house prices, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has said.According to the organisation, the national median price for residential property in New Zealand levelled off slightly in July compared to previous increases.Half of the 12 regions in New Zealand experienced reductions in median prices, while...

The popularity of Chinese real estate has been demonstrated by a surge in levels of investment, it has emerged.Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that Chinese property investment reached 941.1 billion yuan (£62.7 billion) in July, an increase of 24 per cent compared to the same month in 2005.Mid-range housing saw an even more marked rise of 29 per cent to an equivalent of £43.8...

The growth in the German property market has led to Colonia Real Estate AG publishing positive results, it has been announced.A second quarter profit of €4.87 million (£3.3 million) was confirmed by the Cologne-based property firm.This is indicative of the recent growth that has taken place in the German property market, as at the same time last year Colonia reported a loss of...