Six million property owners in the UK fear their home could end up being repossessed while millions more are anxious that they will end up in a negative equity situation this year, research shows.

A report from consumer watchdog Which? Indicates that almost two thirds of people fear either they or their partner could lose their job during the current recession and more than four in ten are anxious this could make them unable to cover their mortgage.

Meanwhile, 4.2 million people are worried that they could end up in negative equity, almost a quarter of all those who have mortgages and 73% feel the government should be doing more to help them out.

‘It’s dreadful that six million people fear losing the roof over their heads,’ said Which? personal finance campaigner Doug Taylor.

‘With people spending sleepless nights worrying about job losses and repossessions, the industry needs to demonstrate that it wants to win back the trust of the British public by fully embracing government initiatives,’ he added.

The Which? Report calls for a statutory ban on 100% mortgages after its research found that three quarters of people want them banned. It also wants robust protection against people losing their homes because of unsecured debt and for the government to force lenders to become part of the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme if they fail to join voluntarily.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders predict as many as 75,000 repossessions in the UK this year although this has been described by others as optimistic. According to the Financial Services Authority 2.5 million people will end up in negative equity by the end of this year.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Buyer interest in the UK’s property market is increasing across the country with London and the south of England leading the way, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) UK housing market survey.

Buyer enthusiasm which began growing in January continued to grow in February with interest in London at a high not seen for more than two years. This means that interest in the property market has now increased for four consecutive months and reflects both the drop in asking prices and continued interest rate cuts, according to RICS.

As house prices fall, those with finance are looking to pick up bargains. However, this pent up demand has not yet translated into sales. The average number of transactions per agency over the last three months is now at 9.5, a slight drop from 9.8 in November, and the lowest figure since the survey began in 1978.

The balance of surveyors reporting house price falls increased slightly in February with 78.3% more chartered surveyors indicating a fall than rise in house prices, from 76.6% in January.

Family homes remain in demand but flats are proving harder to sell in many areas as first-time buyers are struggling to gain a foothold on the property ladder. Despite depressing repossessions data, the net balance of surveyors reporting new instructions to sell remains in negative territory indicating that supply is very tight. In the current market, a lack of mortgage finance and weak economic conditions are restricting the ability of many to consider the option of entering the market.

However, surveyors remain optimistic that sales will pick up in the coming months as 11% more chartered surveyors expect sales to increase in the coming three months than in January.

Source: www.property-investor-news.com

As massive increase in complaints against property lettings agents in the last year is expected to continue as those who can’t sell put them out to rent instead.

The latest figures from Christopher Hamer, the Ombudsman for Estate Agents, shows a massive 200% annual increase in letting related complaints.

It highlights the need for the public to be acutely aware of rapid changes in the property letting industry, Hamer says in his latest report to the industry.

‘Lettings agents still only join the OEA on a voluntary basis and it is therefore satisfying to see so many firms opening up access to my scheme for their customers. Those firms will be operating in accordance with the standards laid down in the OEA’s Code of Practice,’ he added.

‘The Ombudsman’s report illustrates a dangerous phenomenon that should be of concern to anyone letting, or thinking of letting their property. As properties fail to sell, we have seen a sizeable increase in the number of new, and sometimes reluctant, landlords entering the market,’ said Ian Wilson, Managing Director of Martin & Co.

‘These are the very people who need protecting from the unscrupulous, uneducated or inexperienced letting agent who claims to be able to represent their best interests,’ there is also a corresponding increase in the number of estate agents entering the lettings arena as a way of bolstering their dwindling sales revenues and this has potentially disastrous consequences. Not only is the continual service role of the letting agent surprisingly different to the quick fix function of an estate agent, but there are also over 100 pieces of letting related legislation in which to be conversant.

Source: www.propertywire.com

European property investors involved in a major development in Dubai are asking the authorities to step in amid claims that no work has been carried out for more than two years.

They bought units in the Jumeirah Waves Business Towers project in Jumeirah Village South, a commercial development project that comprises three identical towers, and want a refund and compensation as there has been no significant work for almost two and a half years.

They also claim that they do not believe that the lack of construction work is anything to do with the global economic downturn.

The group of investors wants the government, Real Estate Regulatory Agency and master Developer of the JVS project, Nakheel, to intervene in the dispute with project developer High Rise Properties.

They warn that a protracted conflict could potentially hurt overall investor confidence in Dubai and ultimately deliver a negative impact on Dubai and the United Arab Emirates’ investment landscape.

‘It has been more than two years since our group and other investors have purchased units in the JWBT development but until now the project area is still undeveloped and the developer has remained elusive and unable to give us a reasonable time table for the development,’ said Richard Moore, group spokesman.

‘There is certainly a breakdown in transparency and accountability somewhere and we urge the concerned government authorities in Dubai, mainly RERA and Nakheel, to step in and resolve this problem before it gets out of hand and negatively affects investor confidence in Dubai,’ he added.

The property investors say they are fed up with excuses and promises. ‘It is not just the money that we have invested in this project that’s at stake here, this kind of attitude by a developer will certainly cause further damage to the reputation of Dubai’s real estate sector at a time when the industry is supposed to be consolidating its forces and building its image to limit the ill-effects of the global financial crisis,’ he continued.

Source: www.propertywire.com

Dubai’s property market has taken a beating but could emerge from the economic crisis stronger and more transparent, leading legal and financial experts have predicted.

New laws and regulations, both at Dubai government and at federal level, will emerge in the coming few months establishing more clearly the rights of property owners. In addition, the Dubai Land Department is developing one of the most sophisticated and transparent online property transaction systems.

Dubai would become a better place to live when the price of property and levels of rent fell to levels affordable for the vast bulk of the population living and working in the UAE. “While there is a slowdown in the market, there remains a substantial growth pattern across most of the region – which is something many other parts of the world will struggle to achieve. On a regional and global level, it will be those companies that carefully plan in the down market which will recover fastest and further post-recession.”

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/

A new attitude of honesty is creeping into the Dubai property market as developers begin to open up publicly about the devastating effects of the real estate downturn.

Just six months ago large companies were continuing to talk up the property market and even talking about recovery in the first quarter of 2009. They would strenuously deny there were going to be job cuts, mergers or the need to cancel major projects.

Now they are responding more honestly to questions and admitting that they are facing severe problems in terms of selling current projects and funding future developments.

Leading the way is Dubai’ second largest property developer Deyaar. Last month it admitted that it would put at least a quarter of projects on hold, now it has confirmed that it may have to consider merging with another company.

It is a change from last October when Deyaar and Dubai’s Union Properties denied that they were in merger talks. ‘There is definitely more openess in terms of discussing sensitive issues,’ said one journalist in Dubai who did not wish to be named. ‘Six months ago it was all denial, now questions are answered with a degree of more honesty,’ he added.

Developers are also publicly acknowledging that prices in some areas have fallen by 50% since their peak last year.

Source: www.propertywire.com

The third largest property developer in Dubai is seeking a government bailout for its Formula 1 theme park as it cannot secure funding to finish the project.

Union Properties has stopped work on the $460 million Park due to the global financial crisis and the lack of lending.

Now it says it if it fails to receive government cash or raise cash through a bonds issue it may cancel the project.

The state of affairs where a major property company cannot raise finance to finish a project despite expecting to return to profit in the first quarter of this year is a sign of deepening problems in Dubai’s economy where lack of liquidity is stifling enterprise.

The real estate sector has been badly hit. Residential real estate prices have fallen by an average of 25% since a peak in September according to Morgan and $263 billion of projects have been cancelled or put on hold.

Last week the Dubai government announced a $20 billion sovereign bond programme to support the economy. Nasser al-Shaikh, director-general of Dubai’s department of finance said real estate companies would be among the main beneficiaries of state aid.

The developer received a licence in November 2006 to develop F1 themed parks with rides, museums, a library and restaurants. Union borrowed $680 million to build part of the park and said in June 2007 it would need more loans.

Source www.propertywire.com

Over 23,000 four and five star hotel rooms are expected to be completed in Bangkok, Singapore, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Kuala Lumpur by the end of 2012, according to a new report published by CBRE Hotels.

“The nature of demand for hotels is notoriously volatile, with factors impacting demand as varied as they are unpredictable,” said Mr. Robert McIntosh, Executive Director, CBRE Hotels Asia. “Conversely, forecasting market supply is somewhat easier, despite some uncertainty in construction timeframes.”

The actual number of rooms to be added is greatest in Singapore. Although the increase in Hanoi is high in percentage terms it is not substantial in terms of the total number of rooms.

Singapore will experience the largest number of addition hotel rooms of the five cities, with nearly 10,000 four and five star rooms expected to open by the end of 2012. Assuming all projects proceed, this represents a 39 percent increase in supply over a relatively short period of time.

Hotel supply in Bangkok is expected to increase significantly, with over 6,000 four and five star hotels rooms set to enter the market by the end of 2012. This represents an increase of 26 percent bringing the total supply of four and five star hotels in the city to over 31,000 rooms.

In Vietnam, the existing supply of four and five star hotels in key cities is relatively small compared to other markets. In Hanoi, new four and five star hotel supply is expected to total nearly 3,000 rooms representing an increase of 75 percent. Whilst this appears high, the market is growing from a relatively small base of just under 4,000 rooms (Singapore and Bangkok have over 30,000 four and five star rooms each). In Ho Chi Minh City, existing supply of four and five star hotel rooms is expected to increase by 38 percent to reach a total supply of over 7,000 rooms by the end of 2012.

The addition of new supply to these cities is essential in promoting further development of the tourism industry and to ensure capacity exists to accommodate future growth of visitor arrivals. This is particularly important in Ho Chi Minh City which currently suffers from a shortage of supply.

Finally, the hotel market in Kuala Lumpur will experience a modest increase in hotel rooms to the end of 2012, with the market set to increase by just ten percent to reach 20,400 hotel rooms. While average room rates and occupancy levels are less than those in Singapore, the relatively small increase in supply is unlikely to pose a significant challenge to the market in the next couple of years but it should help boost total tourism revenues.

House prices in the UK are set to decline on average 13-15% during 2009, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest Residential Market Forecast, with the greatest falls expected in London.

The forecast also predicts that prices will fall by a further 1-3% in 2010, with the bottom of the market due to be Q3 or Q4 of that year before recovering by 4-6% in 2011. During 2012 and 2013 Jones Lang LaSalle expects growth to accelerate by a further 8-10%, while peak Q3 2007 levels will not recover until the end of 2015.

James Thomas, Head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Residential Investment team, commented: “There are however some signs that the market is improving, with the Halifax reporting that prices rose in January and with the RICS claiming that buyer enquiries are increasing. The cut in interest rates and the consequential benefit for affordability will also have played their part in improving perceived market conditions.

However we do not believe these traits will be sustained or sufficiently outweigh the increasing burden of higher unemployment, the greater financial caution by consumers, the difficulties in borrowing and the inevitable increase in housing availability.

During 2009 prime central London prices are expected to be hit sharply with declines of between 16-20%. The first half of the year will prove particularly weak as annual price falls approach 25%, however declines will start to ease towards the end of the year. Greater London witnessed among the highest falls in price across the UK during Q4 2008 (6% compared to the 5.1% average) and they will continue to decline faster during 2009, with annual falls of up to 17%. However, during 2010 house prices will start to rise again from Q3 in both prime central and greater London, and by the year end could increase by 2%.

James Thomas concluded: “We had already built in a very weak housing market in 2009 but the deeper recession this year than previously anticipated does not imply that the housing market will be overly sensitive and fall at an even faster rate. We maintain our view that the housing market’s biggest hit will have been 2008 rather than 2009, both in terms of price falls and turnover. However, we still expect 2009 to be a very poor and troublesome one for the UK housing market. On a more positive note, the three monthly trend in house price falls has already begun to ease and when this becomes a more established trend over the next few months it should signal that the bottom of the market is in sight.”
Source www.propertywire.com