Warsaw is voted best European city for investment and business

Bulgarian Government agrees to raise property tax

Spanish property prices continue falling

HK residential market could be in danger of a price bubble

Property prices in NZ are -1.1% below 2008

Legal battles in US over property transactions increase

Warsaw is voted best European city for investment and business

Warsaw, Poland, can expect the biggest influx of companies and business in the next five years while London is the best business city in Europe, according to the 20th annual European Cities Monitor by Cushman and Wakefield (C&W).

Warsaw knocked last year’s top city, Moscow, into second place as 36 of companies named Warsaw as the European city in which they intended to next expand, up from 28 in 2008. Some 35 companies named Moscow, down from 44 in 2008.

Birmingham was named as the best performing city this year, moving up seven places to be named as the 14th best European city for business. However, London remains at the top for the best business city in Europe which it has held every year since the survey started in 1990. Paris and Frankfurt, again, ranked second and third.

In addition, the monitor now features a special analysis of the performance of cities since 1990 and all of the key central and eastern European (CEE) cities have seen increases in their position, most buoyed by membership of the European Union. Prague and Warsaw have seen the biggest rise moving to 21 st and 23 rd respectively from their positions at the bottom of the ranking in 1990. The Spanish cities of Barcelona and Madrid have also performed especially well coming in at 4 th and 6 th. In 1990, neither even made the top ten.

Barcelona’s hosting of the 1992 Olympic Games boosted its position the following year when it rose by three places and first entered the top ten. It has remained within the top ten ever since. Similarly, Manchester’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2002 saw it rise from 19 th to 13 th in 2003 and now it is 16 th.

Warsaw ranks high among European capitals in terms of cost of qualified staff, low cost and availability of office space and a positive business climate created by government.

Throughout the recent market turmoil, Poland has maintained a positive gross domestic product (GDP) growth and forecasts indicate that this will continue into 2010. This in turn will provide favourable conditions for a rapid market recovery in the real estate sector during next year.

The survey is regarded as a barometer to predict how cities in Europe will perform in key markets such as real estate. Those at the top end are likely to see rises in interest in property investment as well as big deals.

Bulgarian Government agrees to raise property tax

The Bulgarian Government has agreed to a proposal to raise the maximum property tax rate from 0.2% to 0.25% of the property appraisal.

Furthermore, the property transaction tax cap rises from 2.6% to 3%, but this may not entail higher payments as they are set by city councils, which are concerned such a step might drag down collection. In addition, the threshold for properties exempt from taxation will be lowered to a property appraisal of 1680 leva from the current 2520 leva.

The aim is to increase revenue of small municipalities where appraisals are low and many property owners pay no property taxes.

Spanish property prices continue falling

House prices in Spain fell by an annual -7.8% in the third quarter of this year, after a record -8.2% decrease in the second quarter, according to the Spanish Housing Ministry.

Quarterly, prices fell by -0.9% in Q3 from the second quarter, compared to a -1.9% drop in the second quarter from Q1.

According to private surveyors Tinsa’s data, annual property prices fell of -8.3% in September compared to a -8.9% decrease in August.

HK residential market could be in danger of a price bubble

The Hong Kong Government believes the residential property market is in danger from a price bubble, according to Donald Tsang, the city’s chief executive, and may even release more land to deflate prices.

‘The relatively small number of residential units completed and the record prices attained in certain transactions this year have caused concern about the supply of flats, difficulty in purchasing a home, and the possibility of a property bubble,’ Tsang told the Legislative Council. ‘The Government will closely monitor market changes in the coming months. When necessary, we will fine-tune land supply arrangements with a view to quickening the pace of bringing readily available residential sites to the market.’

Demand for property has surged this year, particularly for luxury units, putting pressure on the government to free up more land, which it tightly controls. The Government has not held any residential land sales for around 18 months. The Government is Hong Kong’s biggest provider of land and has altered supply to support or depress prices.
 
Tsang also announced policy changes aimed at promoting the redevelopment of old industrial buildings, which have fallen into disuse as companies use cheaper factories in China instead.

Property prices in NZ are -1.1% below 2008

Property prices in New Zealand remained -1.1% below September 2008 prices according to QV, New Zealand’s largest property information company.

Property prices peaked in late 2007 and remained -7.1% below that in September 2008 but improving market conditions have strengthened prices by +2.7% in the last five months.

Average sale prices in Wellington were $436,633 in the month, out-ranking Auckland and Christchurch by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively. Some areas reported surge in sales and listing but strong competition among buyers is being experienced in some areas where there is a shortage of listing.
 
A geographic breakdown showed that Auckland values are now +0.6% above last year, and Wellington are up by +1.1%, Christchurch +0.4% more and Dunedin’s property prices have increased by +2.2.
 
Tauranga is still -1.8% below last year’s pric but has improved rapidly over recent months. Hamilton is the only main centre to drop back slightly and is now -0.9% below last year. Values in many provincial centers including Whangarei, New Plymouth and Palmerston North continued to fluctuate in September.

Legal battles in US over property transactions increase

The number of legal battles over property transactions is increasing in the US with unhappy buyers and sellers more willing to take brokers to court, according to a new survey, Legal Scan, by the National Association of Realtors.

The report showed that disputes over disclosure of a property’s condition are the most common cause of lawsuits. According to the report, cases that are adjudicated tend to come down in favour of the defendant and a handful of agents and brokers either don’t know the law or don’t care to follow it.

Overall, the number of disputes has grown since the last report in 2007 and a significant number of survey respondents, some 45%, think this trend is likely to continue. Water intrusion and the mould problems that often follow are a major issue and disputes concerning structural defects are also extremely common. Septic and sewer systems and square footage measurements and descriptions also generate more than their fair share of legal problems.

More disputes are appearing when the seller is a bank and their numbers have increased in line with the growth in foreclosures.