Irish residential property asking prices fall another -3.3%

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister to investigate claims of British families in Bansko

European banks faced with €156bn shortfall of funds

Sales of existing properties in the US fall once again

Residential property transactions in Singapore soar +130%

Russia cuts interest rates for 12th time in less than 12 months

Irish residential property asking prices fall another -3.3%

The decline in asking prices for residential properties in Ireland has slowed in Q1 2010 as they dropped just -3.3%, the second successive quarter they have fallen having gone down by -3.5% previously, according to MyHome.

The average asking price nationally is €301,449, whereas 12 months ago it was €342,666, a fall of -27.3% since their peak in Q4 2006. However, prices in Dublin are €355,657 after a fall of -3.9%, making them -15.2% below where they were 12 months ago, meaning they have now fallen by -33.4% since their peak in 2006. However, prices did increase in Dublin City South by +1.1% in Q1 2010.

Angela Keegan, managing director of MyHome, said: “It is also interesting to note that three quarters of first-time buyers are looking to purchase a second hand property while one in five is seeking a newly built home. Nearly half of first time buyers have a preference for a semi-detached home while a further 10% prefer an apartment.”

New homes recorded the largest drop in asking prices in Q1 2010, declining by -4.4% whilst previously owned properties fell -3.2%

Limerick city has the lowest asking prices of any urban area with the average house price in the city at €240,000 whereas in Cork the corresponding price is €289,500 while in Galway it is €275,000.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister to investigate claims of British families in Bansko

British families who have protested in Bansko, Bulgaria, that they were conned out of their properties have been given some hope of a resolution after a formal investigation is to be launched.

Bulgaria ’s Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov is personally coordinating the investigation in conjunction with the Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev.

Tsvetanov said: “This case is generating tension that is unacceptable to us. We need to examine it in detail in order to bring justice and to assure the British citizens that their rights are protected, and they can occupy their property.”

The British group had protested outside the building, the Four Seasons complex in Bansko, where they had purchased their flats because they have been denied access to them for over nine months.

The properties were claimed to have been purchased through the company Rockarch Estates, however Rockarch stated in the Daily Mail that it had been defrauded by a Bulgarian business partner who had access to its accounts and whom it accuses of transferring a number of the flats over to Bulgarian company Zekom.

European banks faced with €156bn shortfall of funds

European banks are faced with a €156bn shortfall of funds which will be required to refinance commercial real-estate debt in the next two years, according DTZ Holdings Plc.

Research from DTZ indicates that €480bn worth of property loans will mature by the end of 2011 and as the value of the properties backing them are below the amount required to refinance the debt, banks will be unable to do so. Half of the shortfall is attributed to the Spain and the UK.

Nigel Almond, real estate strategy researcher for DTZ, said: “European banks have not wanted to and have not been forced to sell loan books at distressed prices. Changes are at hand where both banks and equity investors will come under increased pressure to more urgently find effective solutions.”

The European banks are stuck with the legacy of €1.8trillion of loans given those buying stores, offices and warehouses in the five-year real estate boom that ended in the middle of 2007. With many granted near the market’s peak at over 80% of a buildings value. Prices then fell by around -26% across continental Europe and -44% in the U.K, leaving the majority of borrowers owing more than the value of the buildings.

Sales of existing properties in the US fall once again

Sales of previously owned homes in the US dropped for the third consecutive month in February 2010 as the number of unsold homes increased, according to the National Association of Realtors (NRA).

Existing homes slipped by -0.6% nationally to an annual rate of 5.02 million units in February 2010, down from 5.05 million in January, however they are +7% above the 4.69 million units from February 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said: “Some closings were simply postponed by winter storms, but buyers couldn’t get out to look at homes in some areas and that should negatively impact near-term contract activity. Although sales have been higher than year-ago levels for eight straight months and home prices are much more stable compared to the past few years, the housing recovery is fragile at the moment.”

Home sales had previously leaped upwards in September to November 2009 because of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. Although the tax credit was extended and expanded, sales have remained subdued, increasing concerns that a relapse in the sector which was the main trigger of the worst US recession since the 1930s.

Vicki Cox Golder, NAR president and owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates, said: “If home buyers want this tax credit there is literally no time to waste. Most buyers spend several months looking at a dozen homes before they make a contract offer, but less than six weeks are left before the April 30 2010 contract deadline. If you’re sure about the kind of home you want and the neighbourhood where you’d like to live, you need to begin working with a realtor now to help you find what you want, negotiate on your behalf and ensure that you meet the necessary deadlines, including loan qualification.”

Residential property transactions in Singapore soar +130%

Transactions for both new and resale properties in Singapore went up a staggering +130% in 2009, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority and DTZ Research.

There was an increase of +144% in private property transactions between Singaporeans as opposed to foreign real estate investors with 23,516 transactions in 2009 compared to just 9,649 in 2008. The number of purchases by foreigners, including expats, increased by +114% in 2009 to 6,798 compared to 3,176 in 2008.

Singaporeans accounted for +76% of all purchases with foreigners and expats making up about 22% with the rest going to companies and others buyers.

Purchasers from overseas were mainly from Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India, with the number of Chinese and Indian nationals buying property showing a steep rise. Of the total transactions by foreigners in 1999 there was just 6.6% but in 2009 that had increased to 27.3%.
 
Experts said the rising number of purchases by foreigners could also be due to home prices being more attractive in Singapore than in cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The Russian central bank has cut its interest rates in March for the 12 th time since April 2010, lowering it from 8.5% to a record low of 8.25%. It had previously been 13% in March 2009 and has seen falls every month since then.

It has also reduced its repurchase rate charged on one and seven day central bank loans to 7.25% from 7.5%. It last cut its rates in February by a quarter-point. The bank has also reintroduced overnight deposit operations at the rate of 2.75%.

The bank is lowering borrowing costs as signs appear that a recovery has lost momentum following a record contraction in 2009. Industrial production expanded at a slower pace in February 2010 and bank loans continued to shrink even as lending conditions eased last quarter. Unemployment and slack demand for credit are holding back a rebound, according to Andrei Kostin, head of VTB Group, Russia’s second-largest bank.

The economy expanded by an annual +3.9% in February 2010 but shrank a seasonally adjusted -0.9% on a monthly basis according to deputy economy minister, Andrei Klepach, growth is set to pick up in April however.