New international airport to be built in Huelva, Spain
The Spanish Ministry of Development has given the go-ahead to build a new airport in the city of Huelva, over 30 years after the idea was first conceived.
Talks officially began in 1999 to give the capital city of the south westerly Spanish province its own International Airport. The 350 hectare airport is expected to cost around €150m.
The new airport should boost both tourism and real estate opportunities in and around the city. The Huelva province, which includes the western Costa de la Luz and borders the Portuguese Algarve, has already experienced substantial growth in visitor numbers but could previously only be accessed by flying to Faro airport, in Portugal, or Seville airport, which is over an hour away from key resorts such as El Rompido and Nuevo Portil. An international airport at Huelva will reduce driving time to as little as 15 minutes, and could be fully operational by 2012.
The existing 700 metre runway will be replaced by a 2,400 metre runway for intercontinental flights which would see an estimated 1.5m passengers pass through within the first decade of operation. There will also be a chance for budget airlines from across Europe to begin flying to Huelva, which will further assist the region’s growth.
Properties within the Huelva region start from €55,000 for an inland apartment to €190,000 for a two-bed apartment within 100 metres of the beach in Nuevo Portil.
Eurozone inflation rises to 14-year high
Inflation in the Eurozone has reached a 14-year high of 3.2%, strengthening the European Central Bank’s case for resisting interest rate cuts even as the region’s growth slows.
Despite sharp cuts by the Federal Reserve in the US, the ECB is expected to leave its interest rate unchanged at 4% next week. Rising inflation is being caused by higher fuel and food prices, which are affecting the European economy for longer than the ECB anticipated.
However, economic confidence in the region is at its lowest level since early 2006, according to the European Commission, with some economists believing there is a significant chance of the EU falling into a recession over the next two years and that there will be two quarter percentage point cuts in ECB interest rates later this year.
Estate agents predict house price rebound in Sweden
Estate agents in Sweden believe that the recent dip in house prices will be brief. The market is expected to rebound in the first quarter of this year, a new survey by Statistics Sweden (SCB) shows. Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö are forecast to experience the strongest rebound in prices.
The market weakened faster than expected in the fourth quarter of 2007 according to new figures compiled by Swedish mortgage lender (SBAB). The falling prices represent the most negative trend since the estate agent barometer began in 2005.
However, SCB said that 31% of estate agents in its survey had forecast rising apartment prices in the first quarter while 28% forecast an increase in the price of houses. Most estate agents with a positive outlook predicted however that gains will be modest.
The difference between offer price and sales price is expected to begin increasing again, (in Sweden properties are always sold at above the asking price) and sales will start to be concluded faster as buyers return.
The survey by SCB interviewed 200 estate agents in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö and was commissioned by mortgage lender SBAB
Construction industry leading recruitment in Romania
The construction sector remains the leading recruiter in Romania, hiring 50,000 more workers for various projects in 2008. Retail will recruit 40,000 more people, with more than 20 proposed malls set to open this year. Meanwhile Nokia’s investment in a factory in Jucu, Cluj County, will create at least 15,000 new jobs.
From all of the countries analysed , Romania was named the EU construction industry leader in terms of growth in the sector between November 2006 and November 2007, according to data provided by European statistics institute, Eurostat. In November 2007, the volume of constructed buildings increased year-on-year by 32.6%.
Worldwide News
BA to launch daily direct flights to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro
British Airways will launch daily flights to Buenos Aires and non-stop to Rio de Janeiro, starting from next winter.
Starting on 26 October, BA is increasing its London Heathrow to Buenos Aires flights from four per week to a daily service and will start flying non-stop from Heathrow to Rio, instead of via Sao Paulo, cutting more than two hours off the flight time.
BA’s commercial director, Robert Boyle, stated: “ South America is a growing market for us as demand for business and leisure travel increases. We’re responding to that demand by providing more flights to Buenos Aires and non-stop services to Rio.
“Rio is traditionally a leisure destination but business travel to the city, particularly in the energy sector, is rising. Non-stop flights mean more available seats on the route and faster flight times.”
China says FDI rose to $83bn in 2007
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose by 14% last year to $83bn, despite the government’s efforts to slow the boom in spending on real estate and other assets, according to data reported on the Chinese Commerce Ministry website.
In Beijing, the government is trying to slow investment in real estate and in industries such as car manufacturing, where factory supplies are starting to exceed demand. Regulators worry that the investment boom may cause a debt crisis if projects fail and companies default on loans.
But investors are racing to cash in on the rapid growth in China’s consumer spending, demand for housing and export-driven manufacturing industries.
Hong Kong property market booming thanks to falling US interest rates
Property prices in Hong Kong are being fuelled by its currency peg with the US Dollar, which allows local banks to track the falling interest rates in the US. As the Fed has recently cut interest rates to just 3%, local banks have already slashed mortgage rates by 1% in the past two weeks.
Real Hong Kong mortgage rates are now negative, below the rate of inflation at 3.8% and it has become cheaper to buy than rent, analysts say.
New housing supply in the next three years is forecast to be around 50% of what was delivered during the 1990s boom, and interest rates could fall further while inflation heads above 4%, economists say. Hong Kong’s GDP has grown on average by 7% a year over the past four years.
However, there are concerns that if the market rises by around 50% this year it could pose a risk for an economy that saw property prices crash by 65% when the last bubble burst. But Nicholas Kwan, Asian head of research at Standard Chartered Bank, reportedly said: “Property prices are still 35-40% below their peak in 1997, so even if they rise by 30-40%, prices would only be what they were 10 years ago. It's hard to argue that would be a bubble.”
Hong Kong home prices began falling after the 1997 Asian economic crisis. They were then hit again by the bursting of the dot.com bubble and again in 2003 with the outbreak of the SARS respiratory disease. Since then they have surged by 80% in the last four years.
Planning consent granted for €3.5bn development in Cape Verde
Casa Group’s proposals for Sao Francisco - a €3.5bn development on the Cape Verde island of Santiago - have been approved by Cape Verde Investments, the government department that deals with planning applications for tourism-led development projects in Cape Verde.
The project proposes the creation of seven distinct resorts clustered around a parkland reserve with coastal areas. The site itself comprises a total of 6,626 acres and stretches along 5km of coastline between Sao Francisco and Sao Tome Bays.
The resort will be 8km from Cape Verde’s capital, Praia, and 5km from the international airport and will take around 10 years to complete.
The first phase - Porta Mofina – will be 124 acres and cost €430m to develop. Porta Mofina will consist of 2,000 residential units, shops, restaurants, and a 200-room four-star hotel, plus a 130-room five star hotel.
Construction is expected to start in mid-2008.
Ferenc Ebozue, CEO at Casa Group plc reportedly said: “Sao Francisco will be the largest development in Cape Verde with a planned 23,000 residential units it will generate a community on the island, becoming a new coastal settlement rather than just another tourist resort.”
