Jim Barnaby
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Article
End of the Crunch Show
Up until today it had not seemed to be a good week for news emanating from the Bank of England. nnFirstly, we had the news that in March the number of mortgages approved had dropped from 72,000 in February to just 64,000. Then yesterday brought governor Mervyn King's declaration before members of parliament that the recent £50 billion bond scheme announced last month was not an attempt to provide an immediate boost to the mortgage industry, even if this was hoped to be a
May 6, 2008
Article
Boom Amid The Billion
As the second largest country by population in the world, India was always likely to make an enormous impact if it ever began to punch its weight economically. Now this appears to be happening, with rapid industrial and technological advancement, economic liberalisation and an influx of foreign investment, many of those looking to buy investment property will look at both the India commercial property and India residential property sectors.nnIn the latter case, the potential
March 6, 2008
Article
Housing Rises On Rate-cutters' Radar
Earlier this week many were surprised to hear Bank of England monetary policy committee (MPC) member Tim Besley indicate an apparent shift in his position on interest rate cuts. Known to be a rate-cut opposing hawk, he seemed to soften his stance by telling the Institute for Fiscal Studies that a "balanced" assessment was needed by the MPC when making decisions about whether to cut or hold interest rates. For those hoping to see the property market boosted by mortgage interes
February 25, 2008
Article
Broker Expectations Rise
In a period when the property market has seen falling prices, restricted credit and one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the land having first to go begging to the Bank of England to stay afloat and now be nationalised, some might expect that buy-to-let investors should concentrate purely on riding out the storm in the hope that by taking a long-term view their investments will bear fruit in years to come.nnNot so, it seems. Today Alliance & Leicester stated that the expect
February 21, 2008
Article
Recovery - But How Soon?
The last week has, as usual, seen some mixed news about the property market. In between predictions of further falls in house prices have been forecasts of recovery. Mixed news from the Bank of England in its quarterly inflation report may only have added to the uncertainty some could be forgiven for feeling just now.nnAn example of this lack of clarity has emerged from a poll over house prices held by Headline Property. Asked the question of whether house prices will go on f
February 21, 2008
Article
Interest In Portugal Growing
As the Spanish market has taken a few hits in recent times, many investors have been looking around for alternatives. While some have found new places to go to in Spain and some have ventured into the unknown territory of emerging markets, others have found the country next door to be of great interest.nnEvidence of this growing interest has emerged from the moveichannel.com, which has noted that the country has moved rapidly up its "top of the props" chart of the most popula
February 16, 2008
Article
Swiss Ski Property On A Roll
While the lightening afternoon skies may make many investors think ahead towards summer and dream of places with sun kissed-beaches, many have not forgotten that it is still, despite the floral evidence to the contrary in Britain, winter. nnUp on high Alpine slopes, of course, the situation is a bit different. Last year's exceptionally mild winter has been avoided and the ski slopes are covered in winter sports fanatics again. nnJust as importantly, the Swiss ski resorts prop
February 15, 2008
Article
City Living Prospects 'Still Strong'
Of all the claims made about the state of the property investment market, one of the most common is that the city living trend in regional cities is grinding to a halt. While more and more apartments have been built in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds, these have now reached the point of oversupply, it has frequently been claimed, with falling prices and lack of demand cited as evidence. nnNot so, developer Urban Splash believes. Speaking to TheBusin
February 15, 2008
Article
Cape Verde's Commercial Promise
Much has been made of the growth in the property market in the Cape Verde islands. With prices growing, new developments rising up, tourist numbers increasing and infrastructure improvements to support this including a number of new airports served by new air routes, the place appears to be soaring.nnYet for all the considerable promise of the increasingly popular islands, the nearest tropical archipelago to Britain, there is also the Cape Verde commercial property sector. Wh
February 13, 2008
Article
Be Selective, Investors In Germany Advised
When it comes to property investment, Germany appears to represent a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, it is a well-known fact that the country does not have the sort of property-owning culture that the UK does. Less than half of Germans own their own homes, which means that the rental market is large at any time and larger still in areas of very low homeownership such as Berlin.nnAt the same time, the country has not seen the sort of housing booms which have occurred in o
February 12, 2008
Article
Bouncebackability Test Comes Now
Those looking at the possibilities of investing in property in UK will be concerned with many issues. One will be the economy as a whole, with some doom-mongers still predicting that Britain will catch America's cold and plunge into recession. Others may take a more subtle view, that a major economic downturn will be avoided but there will be a slump in the property market.nnYet for those with an optimistic view of the future, a number of green shoots may be appearing. Firstl
February 12, 2008
Article
Thinking High And Long
Those looking at overseas property investments in areas such as the Swiss Alps property may have a somewhat more complex choice to make than in days of yore. Where once it was a matter of finding attractive chalets in a snowy location for the winter, much has changed.nnFor one thing, the spectre of global warming has come to the fore. Figures from the Swiss Association of Winter Sports Resorts Property has shown that the winter season in the Alps has receded by 12 days since
February 11, 2008