Savills scales back international property presence

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Savills is scaling back its international property presence
this month, as the Euro debt crisis continues to plague businesses as well as
property buyers.

The international agent will reduce its presence in various
countries across the continent in response to financial concerns, as some
European markets fail to provide a return on their real estate.

“Peripheral countries” scaled back

The company will focus on its main markets of Germany,
France, Poland and Sweden, reports This Is London, and “peripheral countries”
will see Savills’ services scaled back, while London continues to offer the
company respite.

Indeed, a report today from Easyroommate.co.uk found that UK
rents are the
highest in Western Europe, with London’s average of £520 per month the most
expensive on the continent. The soaring house prices and increasing rental
rates are turning the UK, and London, into the ideal buy to let market, as
buyers have nowhere else to turn.

“Flatsharers in the UK face much higher bills at the
end of the month than their European counterparts,” comments Jonathan Moore,
director of Easyroommate.co.uk. The combination of unaffordably high house
prices with the ongoing lending crunch in the UK is leaving hundreds of
thousands of frustrated buyers dependent on rental accommodation.”

City lettings are quiet at present, but Savills is confident
that a new wave of stock will attract overseas interest as foreign investment drives
London’s property market – the UK capital has long been seen as a safe haven
for real estate in contrast to other European economies.

2011 “in line with expectations”

The company is still expecting to hit its targets for the
year, and remains pragmatic about the wider markets.

“We do see a reduction in volumes in some regional pipelines
but any short term risk in our principal commercial markets is more related to
the timing of completions than to a lack of underlying activity.

“We currently anticipate that, provided macro-economic concerns do not
cause a material delay in transactions, our performance for the full year will
be in line with expectations.”