..:: MOST PROPERTIES ::..

Market News for overseas property buyers. We search International Business Press for the best and the most relevant news on the hottest investment destinations.

Moscow Region residential – demand and take up is stronger than in the capital

Moscow Region residential – demand and take up is stronger than in the capital
- According to the latest research into the Moscow Region primary market from Incom
Realty, as of the end of September, there were 667 projects in the active phase of
being sold. The volume of property on sale in the Moscow Region primary market
continues to increase, with a 7.7% rise recorded for September. Nevertheless, prices
continue to show considerable strength, with average primary residential market prices
in Moscow Region gaining about 3.1% in September and YtD residential prices up
27.5%.
- It seems that demand is increasingly moving out of Moscow into the suburbs where
average mass-market prices are between $2,000/m2 and $3,370/m2. The lowest end
of the market is showing faster price dynamics than higher-priced properties. Demand
is particularly strong in the areas further out of Moscow where it is still possible for
first-time buyers to buy a 70-80 m2 apartment for about $150,000 per unit.
- Meanwhile, although there is some softening in prices in city of Moscow, selling prices
remain almost flat with small weekly fluctuations.

Renaissance Capital / 2008-10-28 16:06:54

Middle East will Outperform All Other Regions

Real Estate Markets of the Middle East will Outperform All Other Regions says Jones Lang LaSalle in its first Investor Sentiment Survey, in association with Cityscape

07 Oct 2008

Middle Eastern real estate markets expected to significantly outperform all other regions
Middle East expected to be one of the regions least impacted by global credit squeeze
Investors remain bullish on UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar

The real estate markets of the Middle East will outperform all other regions, according to findings from the Investor Sentiment Survey, an in depth study of real estate professionals market views conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle in association with Cityscape Dubai, the world's largest real estate conference and exhibition. The report also reveals that almost half of all respondents believe UAE will offer the best performing real estate market in the Middle East over the next 1 - 2 years, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be the next best performer.

Pooling the views of a sample of over 350 developers, sovereign wealth funds and high net worth investors, the survey is the first of its kind conducted in the region. Jones Lang LaSalle is the world's leading real estate advisory firm and was recently recognised by Euromoney Magazine - Liquid Real Estate awards as UAE Property Advisory Firm of the Year at a prestigious ceremony in London.

"This report is not only the first of its kind undertaken in the region, it will provide a critical benchmark as we look to evaluate this vital sector in the coming months and years," said Blair Hagkull, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle, MENA

"Sentiment is a critical component when considering the health of any market. It is an important barometer, a key assessment criteria for any investor and the ideal gauge for considering future prosperity. We are thrilled to be releasing this report, conducted in association with Cityscape at Cityscape Dubai 2008. It is planned that this new benchmark for the health of the regional real estate market will be repeated."

The 2008 Investor Sentiment Survey was undertaken in the aftermath of the collapse of US Investment Bank, Lehman Brothers and is thus the most up-to-date and relevant source on investor sentiment in the MENA region.

Key findings of the report include:

Middle Eastern real estate markets are expected to significantly outperform all other regions

Over 50% of the respondents believe the real estate markets in the Middle East will see the strongest performance of any region worldwide over the next 1-2 years.
Asia Pacific, driven by India and China also has a strong outlook with more than 20% of respondents believing it will be the best performing region.
Investors are least positive towards Western European real estate markets, with only 3% expecting this to be the strongest performing region.
Most Middle Eastern investors do not believe the US and European markets will witness a major improvement in performance in the short term.

The Middle East is expected to be one of the regions least affected by current global economic conditions. Affects most obviously felt in North America but this could also provide most opportunities for value purchases over the next 12 -24 months.

There is a clear inverse relationship between strongest performing real estate markets and those economies expected to be most impacted by current global economic environment.
Investors suggest emerging markets in MENA, Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe will be least affected by economic crisis.
Conversely North America is felt to be most seriously impacted by global economic environment (57%).

Middle Eastern investors are well positioned to take advantage of difficult conditions elsewhere. Now is a good time for Middle Eastern investors to export capital through purchase of overseas assets

Almost half the respondents (45%) suggested Middle Eastern investors stand to benefit the most through their ability to export capital.

While confidence towards the Middle East is higher than elsewhere, the region is not totally sheltered from the chill winds of the global economic environment.

Less than 20% of investors felt that the current economic situation was having a significant impact on real estate markets across the Middle East.
Over 40% of investors suggest the current global economic environment is having little or no impact on their approach towards real estate investment in the Middle East.

Mixed views on future conditions in global capital markets, with no clear consensus on whether economic conditions are close to 'bottoming out'

Over 60% of investors are optimistic that global capital markets will either remain the same or improve over the next 1 - 2 years.

Investors remain bullish towards the UAE, which is expected to show the best performance over the short to medium term. Saudi Arabia offers strong potential as this large and rapidly growing market continues to open up and offer new opportunities. Qatar is expected to offer strong performance, building upon its reputation as the next emerging GCC real estate market

Almost 50% believe UAE will offer the best performing real estate market over the next 1 - 2 years. Further analysis shows that investors are particularly confident about the future performance of the Abu Dhabi market.

Almost a quarter believe that Saudi Arabia will offer strongest performing real estate markets, driven by large and rapidly urbanising population and new legislation which is opening up of real estate market. Qatar emerges as the best performing GCC market (exc. KSA/UAE), with less investors expecting Bahrain, Kuwait or Oman real estate markets to perform the most strongly.

Commenting on the survey's findings, Ian Ohan, Head, Investment Transactions, MENA at Jones Lang LaSalle said: "The Gulf Region offers strong relative international value with active buyers in the region generally looking to transact at 8 - 8.5% yields for prime commercial operating assets and slightly higher for hospitality product. This is consistent with recent market evidence, however will likely bow to upward pressure as the cost of debt rises.

"Maturing markets is the key theme here. Asset pricing in the region is increasingly being underpinned by cash flow valuation reflecting a shift from development-led to capital-based real estate markets. We are anticipating greater transaction activity as sellers' value expectations begin to more closely resemble income valuations as debt markets tighten and speculative exit opportunities decline."

"Investors are looking for strong capital growth in Abu Dhabi, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, reflecting their robust economic potential and more nascent stages in the real estate cycle. The issue of market transparency is high on the agenda of investors. This is being aggressively addressed through sustained government initiatives including the enacting of international best-practice legislation and the enforcement of strong corporate governance initiatives."

Source: Cityscape Intelligence

Investor Sentiment Survey / 2008-10-13 11:39:43

Prospects for Poland's Construction Sector

The construction market is among the most rapidly developing sectors of the Polish economy, with 15.4-percent growth in 2007, reaching almost zl.127 billion. The growth of construction and assembly output is a lasting trend and this year could close with only a slightly lower growth rate. The prospects for the following years look very promising, though some dangers loom as well.

After the Polish construction sector's tough time at the start of the decade, 2005 marked the start of vigorous and stable growth in the sector. Of course the most important event influencing the situation was Poland's European Union accession. After a period of revival, signs of which were already visible in 2003 (just before accession), 2005 and especially the second half of 2006 saw a boom in the construction market. Ever since, construction companies have been signing a growing number of contracts and reporting better financial results. The main question is how long the growth rate can be maintained and what potential to increase production capacity construction companies actually have.

Based on observations of market trends and analyses of the major factors affecting the construction market, we predict stable growth on the Polish construction market.

In 2008, the growth rate should be about 14 percent, with construction and assembly output at companies employing more than nine people growing by about 16 percent.

In 2009 the growth rate will weaken considerably; we estimate that construction and assembly output will grow by about 8 percent. This will be the cumulative effect of negative trends-a correction after three years of rapid growth, decreased activity on the developer housing market, continuing delays in the completion of large infrastructure projects. In 2010 (mainly thanks to acceleration in infrastructure investments as well as a continued good market situation in the commercial real estate market and increased activity of housing developers) the construction market will again report double-digit growth-we predict a 15-percent increase in construction and assembly production.

Importantly, all the construction market's segments will grow. The housing market has a record number of developer projects in progress, and new ones are starting all the time. Although there are signals that developers are refraining from commencing projects for which they already have all the necessary permits, we do not think this will cause the volume of housing construction to decrease; the growth will only slow down.

In non-residential construction, there is visible growth in the activity of developers building office projects. About 1.5 million sq m of modern warehouse and logistics space is currently being built, and 2.6 million sq m of modern retail and service space will find its way to the market by the end of 2010. Combined with investors' increased activity on the hotel market, this means that this year and subsequent years will see maintained stable growth in the incomes of companies operating in the non-residential construction segment.

Civil engineering construction will remain a key segment of Poland's construction market in the coming years. EU funds included in the budget for 2007-2013 are a unique opportunity for Poland to carry out huge infrastructure projects involving transport and environmental protection. Together with Poland's share, more than 85 billion euros has been reserved, most of which will be designated for this kind of projects.

Analyzing the future of the Polish construction sector, one must not forget the dangers that could disturb the development trends and slow down the predicted growth. In our view, the greatest barriers at present include the danger of a decrease in cement production or a drastic increase in the prices of this material.

The Warsaw Voice / 2008-10-04 11:54:37

Ernst Young ranks Poland as the best investment destination in Europe

Poland has been ranked to most attractive destination for new foreign investment in Europe in the newest European Attractiveness Survey prepared by Ernst & Young.

Poland placed second in the job-creation ranking and in 7th place in the foreign direct investment ranking.

Despite retaining its position as an active player, Europe is slowly losing its historical attractiveness leadership. This refers mainly to Western Europe where a shift from production projects to business services may be observed.

Still, Eastern and Central Europe are expanding more dynamically. Among the investors surveyed by E&Y, Poland scored tops in Europe as a potential investment location (18%) leaving behind, among others, Germany (16%), Russia (12%), France (11%), Romania (10%) and the UK (9%).

Poland also has a very high job-creation rate. Last year, due to new foreign investment projects, 18,399 new workplaces were created, which gives Poland 2nd place in Europe, after the UK. In terms of number of foreign investments, Poland was in the 7th position in Europe with 146 projects realized in 2007.

from Warsaw Voice

ErnstYoung / 2008-06-10 12:13:51

World's happiest places

Forbes published a list of the World's Happiest Places. There are some surprises.

Forbes.com / 2008-06-09 21:01:48

US pending home sales move higher in April

NEW YORK - Pending home sales unexpectedly increased in April to the highest reading since October, an industry group said Monday, but they remain more than 13 percent below a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors' seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose to 88.2 from a March reading of 83.0, the lowest since the index was started in 2001. The index stood at 101.5 in April 2007.

Wall Street economists polled by Thomson/IFR had predicted the index would remain steady at 83.

A reading of 100 is equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001.

The April index in the West climbed 8.3 percent from March and is 4 percent higher than a year ago. In the Midwest, the index jumped 13 percent, but is still lower than in 2007. The South posted a 4.6 percent gain, while the Northeast index declined 1.9 percent.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun noted that pending sales contracts have ticked up in areas with the largest price declines such as Detroit and Las Vegas.

"Bargain hunters have entered the market en masse," he said. "Sharp price reductions are leading to a quicker discovery of price equilibrium points."

Yun forecasts that the median price of an existing home will drop 8.4 percent in the first half of the year before stabilizing. In 2009, prices will rise 4.4 percent to $213,900, he predicts.

Existing home sales this year are expected to total 5.40 million and then increase to 5.74 million next year, Yun said.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Associated Press / 2008-06-09 20:30:40

Poland still very attractive investment destination

GPF prepares to invest EUR 250 million

Griffin Property Finance (GPF), the first mezzanine real-estate investment fund on the domestic market, announced plans to spend 250 million in Poland and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

"We are interested in projects, which already have confirmed support from banks, but we can also help with those at the initial stage of buying land. We want to cooperate with large and medium sized developers from CEE. Our main area of interest is Poland, but we are following the footsteps of our clients who also have projects in other countries," declared GPF's senior partner, Helmut Fischer. GPF's capital comes from one of the largest governmental funds from the Persian Gulf as well as financial institutions from Western Europe. The value of a single investment project of the company ranges between 2-50 million. It was revealed that several letters of intent have been signed with developers worth between 100-150 million, but no names were disclosed.

By Warsaw Business Journal

http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=40663

www.wbj.com / 2008-05-12 21:19:00

Bulgarian property on-line.

We are pleased to introduce a set of property in Bulgaria. Browse the Most Properties website, find your new place to live!

MP sales / 2008-04-06 23:11:52

11,000 off your property price

MP Sales / 2008-04-06 21:01:13