Own A House - real estate market news

Lately owners of the sold houses in the Great Britain have started to clean once their property thoroughly, taking out even such “integral” things as kitchen sinks and built-in lamps, or request additional money from the buyers, writes aboutproperty.co.uk. This way sellers try to compensate falling of the prices for real estate.

Surveys carried out by company Convex show, in the first half of 2007 60% of sellers were ready to leave to the future tenants curtains, jalousie and various lamps, 45% were ready abandon refrigerators, deep-freezers and washing machines. In second half of the year, when prices began to fall, only 35% of sellers were ready to include these subjects in the price of the house, and now this figure has decreased to 24%.

Former owners took away the things, which can’t be taken without damaging of the house. For example, according to the rules lamps can be dismantled, only if they do not spoil a ceiling. “Certainly, everything can be taken away, even bulbs,”- say in Convex.

The question about profitability of hotels in Switzerland is not correct. Hotel business is subject to influence of external factors (for example, weather conditions, mood and solvency of the population) which essentially affect fillability, and consequently, profitability of hotels.
Also the big influence on profitability is exerted with professionalism of the manager, organization of the control of hotel’s activity.

If foreign investor does not have experience or special education in hotel and restaurant business, he is not recommended to buy hotel or restaurant in Switzerland.

Inexperienced investors frequently ask: “I want to buy hotel what will be the profitability?” Or: “What are the dues of the hotel in percentage from the turnover?” All these questions are not absolutely, because the sum of annually paid taxes, for example, depends on the art to minimize taxable base by means of various allowances.

Switzerland has the law, which restricts purchase of the ground areas by foreigners-non-residents. It concerns only an inhabited real estate. For example, the foreigner can get no more than 200 sq. m of living space, and no more than 1000 sq. m of the ground area.

There are some restrictions on terms of resale: not earlier than in 5 or 10 years in order to prevent gamble in the market. There could be exception, if the proprietor will prove, that his state of health has worsened or he has got in a difficult financial situation, and that it has happened after the purchase of the real estate.

Annually Switzerland gives out about 1500 quotas - sanctions for real estate purchase by foreigners. These quotas are distributed mainly among the cantons with advanced tourism. A lot of sanctions get cantons of the French Switzerland, German Switzerland and Italian part of Switzerland. Zurich and Geneva are not in the list.

It is connected to the certain timetable. The bank will ask for the personal meeting with the future borrower, during which will ask questions concerning the family status, occupation, size of the annual income.
According to the law, Swiss banks are obliged to check up a source of money resources of the buyer to make sure that the money does not go from the business connected to traffic in arms, drugs, terrorism, etc. Banks check presence of money resources and ask to give the documents, which can confirm the income.

The bank can also ask granting guarantees in the size of about 20 % from cost of the real estate object. It can be any assets of the buyer (money resources on the account, securities, real estate, etc.). The question is, whether the buyer can give such documents. If not, the bank asks to set up a separate account and deposit money for payment of interest on the mortgage credit.

What real estate is chosen in Switzerland?

In 80s Switzerland have experienced so called “Arabian wave”, when Arabian sheikhs bought up a lot of elite real estate on lakesides. Now Switzerland experiences - “Russian wave”, that is the keen demand for real estate from the side of the Russian buyers. In the nearest future experts expect fort the “Chinese wave”. In addition to it, real estate in Switzerland is stably popular among Englishmen and Dutch.

The few have known about advantages of investments into the Swiss commercial real estate. Now the tendency has appreciably changed, and more and more people want to buy commercial real estate (approximately 40 % of all inquiries) which brings guaranteed income, though not fabulous. In fact, investment in real property in Switzerland helps to keep the capital in economically and politically stable country.

At the end of 2007 some large world building companies have declared erection of high-rise buildings. Some of these projects should become the highest buildings in the country.

By 2013 in Seoul, South Korean capital, will be constructed the 150-storied skyscraper 620 m in height. Its total area will make 442 thousand sq. m. At present the highest building in South Korea is 261-meter skyscraper Tower Palace, writes Varianti.lv.

China does not lag behind the neighbors: on December, 25 there began construction of a building which will rise up on 350 meters. Ending of construction is planned for 2013, and the area of a complex will make 458 thousand sq. m. This skyscraper, except for international standard offices, will have modern shopping centers, five-star hotel and elite dwellings.

One more news about construction of a skyscraper has come from the Russian capital: corporation Mirax Group has signed the agreement with the head of Dynamic Architecture architect David Fisher about erection of rotating skyscraper in Moscow. The building will total more than 60 floors.

Most of all office areas in Europe are rented by bankers. The total of office areas occupied with the bank organizations in 15 leading European cities has made 670 thousand square meters for first three quarters of 2007, was informed in the press release of Cushman & Wakefield. It is 10% more, than during the similar period of the previous year.

By the end of September, 2007 banks have rented and have bought 13 percent of the market of office real estate in Europe. In the beginning of the year this parameter was equaled to 8%.

According to EMEA Banking Business Briefing, made by Cushman & Wakefield, Moscow has now joined such traditional centers of business activity, as London, Paris, Frankfurt and Brussels. Two thirds (67 percent) of all office areas rented or got by a bank sector in first three quarters of 2007, are located in these five cities.

Commercial value characterizes a project cost in the market, at that it is necessary to take into account that commercial value is a price for the reasonable buyer who has all necessary information. As a rule, the given cost is applied at transactions of sale and purchase, transfer of object leave as a deposit, evaluation of rent payments, etc.

This cost is also the most important in estimation for the common person. But nobody can give exact information on cost of an apartment. And an excessive price existing in many cities for the present time makes fluctuations of the price even in 1-2 % an essential fluctuation in real money.

Huge value in the creation of real estate price makes the psychological readiness of people to pay this or that money. People in the beginning estimate the prices (look through offers in the market) and only then comparing variants - look for the best one. Thus creation of false prices (strongly overpriced) stimulates people to purchase real estate for a “little bit” overprice.
Summarizing, psychological pressure upon the buyer plays the huge role in formation of the prices for the real estate at present.

Dwellings all over the world will fall in price twice, predicts Dutch professor Pit Aihholts. He has analyzed the prices for houses in Amsterdam for the last 350 years and created a unique index.

Pit Aihholts: «The prices for real estate can do everything, but only within 5-10 years. In the long-term period they move horizontally».

Aihholts has found out, that before the oil crisis of 1979, price varied only in view of inflation. Then real estate has strongly risen in price according to Schiller’s index. And now, according to the calculations, the scientist predicts that the prices will return to the marks of 30-years prescription.

In 2008, in experts’ opinion, tourist trips of Americans will be shorter. And the choice of destination will be determined by proximity to America.

Record-breaking low positions of dollar will affect traveling in 2008. However Americans all the same will travel: according to statistics, 45,8 % of Americans plan to take holiday and to go traveling for the first half-year of 2008.

The last year this parameter made 46,4 %: despite depreciation of the dollar, the number of American tourists has not reduced. The only difference - tourists will search for more budgetary variants.

Popular directions abroad this year for Americans will be Peking, Central America, Italy, East Europe and Lisbon. However the tendency to search for a place of rest in the country grows. Hawaii and national parks became popular as never before.