Sales of newly constructed home in the U.S. fell unexpectedly in December, according to statistic from the Department if Commerce. The decline was 7.6 percent at an annual rate of 342 000 sold homes.

At the same time revised the sales in November up to 370 000 homes. Analysts had expected that December figure would fall to 370 000 after the preliminary November sales at 355 000 dwellings.

For throughout 2009, was it a collapse in sales of newly constructed homes in the U.S. at 22.9 per cent to a record low of 374 000. Many buyer in U.S. has looking and buying foreclosures instead to really low prices who has infect of the sale of new constructed homes.

Related articles; This years best and worst housing markets in the world.

Dubai financial crisis affect Marbella properties market

A property Marbella is not for the Spanish banks

U.S. house sales figures are worse than expected

The house prices in 20 metropolitan areas around the United States.

The worlds largest real estate crash league

House prices in Dubai market has foundered in the past year and in the Baltics, it is also bad. In Central Europe and in Israel has the prices are rising.

It is the UK valuation firm Knight Frank, which has produced a summary of the global housing market. The company has looked into the prices of houses between the third quarter of 2009 and the same period last year.

Overall, the world’s housing markets have recovered over the past year and more than two thirds of the 42 countries that Knight Frank unit has experienced price increases over the last three months. Despite this, the average price levels are lower in 60 percent of the country than they were a year ago:

“House prices will now rise in a clear majority of the countries included in the study. This can be compared with the second quarter, when prices rose in 50 percent of the countries,” says Liam Bailey, head of house analysis at Knight Frank.

Most of all has the prices raised in Israel. Here has the prices going up an average of 14 percent. Although Malta and Alpine countries Switzerland and Austria have seen sharp increases in house prices over the past year. During the last quarter, have the housing market in Singapore increased strongest and climbed by over 15 percent.

Sweden is among the countries in the minus column. The Swedish house prices have dropped, with 0.4 percent during the past year. This puts Sweden in the middle of the table.

Dubai has the worst problem. Prices have almost halves in the Emirate over twelve months.   With this place Dubai itself at the bottom of the list, before the two Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania and Bulgaria.

Knight Frank also notes that several countries in Europe have not yet seen rising house prices during a single quarter after the credit crisis. These include Spain Ireland and Denmark.

Footnote. Knight Frank house price index is compiled using official data from each county’s statistical agency.

Related articles;

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/05/30/us-house-sales-figures-are-worse-than-expected/

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/05/27/the-worlds-largest-real-estate-crash-league/

A couple of weeks ago come news that Dubai World, which is behind Dubai’s extravagant construction of artificial islands and giant skyscrapers, suspend payments in six months.

Because of the massive State interference in the company has data led to speculation that the Dubai state should halt payments, or at least that the state is unable to guarantee Dubai World’s commitment.  The conglomerate Dubai World has asked for debt restructuring and extension of credit from lenders to May 2010.

More problems, Nakheel, a property development company owned by Dubai World, reported during its first six months of its fiscal year broken a loss of 13.4 billion dirhams. This corresponds to a loss of 3.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week had Dubai World talks with a number of banks to restructure 26 billion dollars in debt, which includes a bond for 3.5 billion U.S. dollars issued by Nakheel. The bond will expire on 14 December. The government of Dubai announced that it will pay 4.1 billion U.S. dollars to cover the liabilities of property developer Nakheel.

Every week come new information about the finance crisis in Dubai, and in this new finance crisis are all the banks in the world involved in.  Every bank around the world has borrowed out money to Dubai spectacular building companies and the other building project in Dubai like The World islands, Waterfront, the subway, the ski slope, Palm Deira, Maritime City and many more fantasy project. Now have the banks understand there that they maybe don’t going to get the money back. The rich oil states around Dubai are not willing to pay the bill; they are going too asked for debt restructuring and extension of credit.

The affect are, that our mortgage in Spain and Europe is going to be higher and no new mortgage to clients. So here in Marbella and the rest of Spain, it’s going to be more apartments and villas for sale on the market to lower prices, the banks have to take over more properties which they must sell to any prices, so the prices is going down more.

Related articles;

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/12/02/a-property-in-marbella-is-not-for-the-spanish-banks/

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/05/27/the-worlds-largest-real-estate-crash-league/

The Spanish banks have starting to set up real estate companies and try to sell there huge stock of properties they have to take over in this economic crisis. But the bank is bank, not a real estate company, they are so wrong in what they do, they are sitting in Madrid or Barcelona and they don’t know understanding way it is so high prices of villas and apartments in Marbella.  I read this good article in OPP about the problem. (OPP – overseas properties professional)

Spanish Banks should be better Estate agents

Demonized by agents for keeping prices artificially high to avoid losses, or making it harder for agents to access distressed deals, many now feel that Spanish banks must become better estate agents if the market is to recover.

Ian Waudby, chairman of investment consultancy Crest Group International, observes that the companies set up by banks are slowly making it easier for foreign buyers and agents to access stock; but he stressed that buyers need a quicker response from these companies and a faster sales process.

“The properties need to be packaged with mortgages,” he told OPP. “The websites aren’t bad but if you try to make an offer you won’t hear anything back. CAM is the most organized at the moment but by the middle of next year they’ll all be offering the same thing.”

The price is wrong

Discounting is central to the current bank-owned property stalemate, with agents saying they’re either not big enough or only available for too short a period of time – Banesto, for example, is offering 40% discounts but only for November.

“There isn’t enough desirable Spanish property at the distressed prices that people want,” said Inez Rix, owner of Direct Auctions. “The demand is there but even if people see their ideal property they aren’t prepared to pay for it if it isn’t cheap.

“We don’t bother with the banks because their prices are higher than those of the private sellers and they also charge high legal fees. If they’d knock €20,000 off their prices we’d sell their property right away – they are keeping prices artificially high and are being extremely unrealistic.”

Mortgage obstacle

Mortgages are still a major barrier, with banks either reserving the best products for their own stock or not making them available at all. “It’s hard to get mortgages still and bank-owned properties need cash buyers,” said Bob Callan of prime Marbella agent Callan Developments. “A lot of people expect a bargain from the bank but can often get a better deal from an individual distressed seller.”

Pro-active banks that price realistically will see more profit than those who wait out the market, according to Rix. “I think the market will force them to lower prices eventually,” she said. “Everything’s about two years behind what it should be and I expect they’re sitting on an awful lot of stock. The big banks such as Santander could probably sit on it for 20 or 30 years but the smaller ones can’t. There aren’t enough buyers at the moment and they may have to bite the bullet and get rid of their properties.”

Most agents OPP spoke to agree that the sooner the banks bite the bullet, the sooner the Spanish homes market will recover.

Michael Walsh, a freelance journalist and expert in Legal and Property matters from Southern Comfit, Write a fantastic article for the Spanish news about the huge problem with all the properties who have been build over the last teen years and who have let the builder to build so many apartments with no buyer. Is it the greedy banks, investors for quick cash or Town Halls for more money? We who live here in Marbella have seen all these Marbella apartments and villas been build, we have wonder many time, who is going to live in all those properties, where from is the people coming from and what are the people going to work, here is no industries or fabrics. My opinion is; the bank is sitting in the skit up to there ear. Read this article and get your own opinion about it.

Are high street estate agencies history?

Few of us would think of walking into a bank rather than an estate agent when looking for a new home. Not doing so could be a mistake. Spain’s banks, including savings banks known as cajas, have more properties on their books than do the estate agents and are looking for buyers.

Who’s counting? The banks themselves are not sure as their portfolios of saleable properties are being added to by the day. This year is likely to see 74,000 repossessions as hard-pressed borrowers hand in their keys.

One expert told El Mundo; “The banks’ stock of repossessions is growing fast and is expected to keep on doing so.” It seems harsh to label the banks as foolish in their past lending criteria for it takes two to tango. Builders and buyers alike overstretched themselves and did their bidding with crossed fingers.

BANKS LEFT HOLDING THE BABY

The glut in unsold homes is the collateral damage caused by economic implosion. The banks are simply left holding the baby; their dilemma now is what to do with the unsold stock?

This has been divided into two categories: A and B. Into the first category falls the swathes of recently or almost completed good quality urbanisations, many of which are standing empty with no buyer in sight, perhaps for years ahead.

Reckoned to make up 70 per cent of banks’ unwanted stock these properties are going for a song. Many are sold on as investments rather than homes. Recently formed in-house property divisions have been created by banks to clear stock through a series of discounted and preferential terms.

THE FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE

The category B portfolio is not insignificant either for this is made up of the bulk of the 74,000 repossessions likely to take place in 2009 alone. Add to these unwanted hostages the €9 billion of bad debts owed by former mortgage holders and the banks are left with a massive headache. This is made more problematic by this category’s variable values and locations. It is hopelessly fragmented.

Spanish banking giant Banco Santander is selling many of its properties to employees, not to mention other consortiums and groups such as Telefonica. These offer considerable discounts and incentives to staff; often with 100 per cent mortgages taken out over 40 years. Others are setting up what can best be described as their own estate agencies.

STAFF INCENTIVES

Michael McLaughlin of Southern Comfit International, says, “It is probably the banks’ most formidable administrative challenge in their history. The rule books are being created and re-written by the day. This fallout from the recession is presenting challenges but opportunities too; for buyers.”

He says: “Despite ten years reputation in sales we are now generating more income from property rentals than from sales. We are urgently looking for registered home owners seeking to attract tenants.”

Some ‘distressed’ properties are being sold at discounts of up to 50 per cent. The difficulty is: 50 per cent of what, when property values are still plummeting? The priority has to be market stabilization, customer confidence, and a return to measured more sensible lending than in the past.

Boom and bust in the housing market will no longer be an acceptable option for the emerging generations. Banks’ with lending criteria best described as slipshod, will be viewed with suspicion; not the least by their shareholders. Hopefully the current malaise will be looked back upon as unique and most unwelcome phenomena.

The Sales of new one-family houses in the U.S. rose by 0.3 percent in April compared with the month before, to an adjusted annual rate of 352,000 units, shows statistics from the Department of Commerce.

Analysts had expected an annual rate of 360,000 units in April, which would mean an increase of 1.1 percent compared with March month provisional figure. March figure was revised to an annual rate 351,000 units (356,000).

The availability of new home for sales fell to 297,000 in April compared with the revised 310,000 the previous month (311,000). “House layer” is enough to cover sales in the 10.1 months, compared with the revised 10.6 months the previous month (10.7).

The house prices in 20 metropolitan areas around the United States fell 18.7 percent in March compared to the same month in 2008, according to S & P / Case Schiller index. Compared with February, prices fell by 2.2 percent in March.

The largest price falls in March 2009, compared with March 2008, reported with Phoenix -36.0 percent, Las Vegas, -31.2 percent and San Francisco, -30.1 percent.

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Lowest price falls reported from Denver, -5.5 percent, Dallas, Boston and -5.6 percent, -8.0 percent.

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In New York fell the prices with 11.8 percent in March, compared to the same month in 2008. In Los Angeles fell the prices with 22.3 percent and in Chicago was the price drop of 18.6 percent.

S & P / Case Schiller index based on repeat sales and give therefore a more accurate picture of price trends than indicated in the context of sales statistics for existing homes. The limited sample size could lead to the index overstates price increases in prices as compared to the broader measure of progress for the American house prices.

The Property market in Dubai leads the current financial crisis league. Nowhere has real estate values plummeted as steep as in the previously booming Persian Gulf coast. House prices dived in Dubai by 32 percent during the last twelve months. The properties prices on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah (Dubai Palm Island) outside Dubai is now down to its lowest level in three years. It costs only 2.450 dollar/square meter to buy a house among the luxury villas, hotels and shops on the palm-shaped island.

It is 60 percent less than for only six months ago and the lowest square meter prices in three years. Meanwhile, rents in the area has lost a third in the spring since March. Previous twelve-month period was a red-hot market, where the prices rose by 48 percent. This means that Dubai in a year has gone from being the world’s fastest growing real estate market to the world’s second worst. Only depressed Latvia house prices fell more.

Shortly thereafter came the U.S. and the UK with house price falls of around 18 percent.

The much smaller list of markets with rising property prices, top the report with Israel, which increased by 11 percent during the period. Deuce and three in the list is the Czech Republic and tax paradise Jersey in the English Channel.