Articles on RealEstate&CoUK - p4

Malaysia has a large number of investors due to the culture of saving in the south-east Asian nation. According to Angie Ng, deputy editor of the Malaysian Star, the country has one of the highest savings rates in the world, amounting to 32 per cent of the gross national product.

House prices will fall just 3% more before stabilizing, giving an overall fall of 33% from their peak in the middle of 2006, based on median forecasts, it shows.
About a third of economist polled, 13 out of the 41 that took part, said that they believe a trough has already been reached.

House prices will plunge by 12.2% this year and fall a further 4.6% next year before stabilising in 2011 with a 1.1% rise, according to research from the National Housing Federation. 
The forecast comes despite surveys showing a modest rebound in house prices in recent months. Last week, Nationwide said prices had increased for the third consecutive month, posting the biggest gain since February 2007. 

In today’s shaky market, investors are keen to snap up a stable investment and leaseback could provide that for them – they buy the property and hand it over to the developer for a fixed term, who then rents it out on behalf of the client for an agreed return.
The downside is that, often leaseback schemes don’t offer any personal usage - so if a buyer was purchasing a holiday home rather than an investment property, the idea of leaseback may not suit them.

The authors conclude that, whilst property prices in some towns and cities might drop by as much as 20% in 2009, in other cases prices could remain stable over the year. Those places that appear to be in the best position to resist the present property crisis were Toulouse, Nantes, Strasbourg, Cannes, Nice, Montpellier and Caen.
By contrast, those likely to suffer most were Brive, Périgueux, Vesou and Rodez.

“Italy's exquisite cultural patrimony, evocative countryside and ‘made in Italy’ craftsmanship all combine to preserve the value of Italian real property,” Donald J. Carroll, Esq.—special counsel to and member of Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati in Rome and vice co-chair of the ABA Committee on International Investment in Real Estate—said in an e-mail interview.