The Global Property Guide asked:


Rents have moved up much less than prices in China over the past few years. As a result, in 5 cities in China – Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen – gross rental yields are now a modest 4.42%, based on a sample of high-end used apartments (www.globalpropertyguide.com).

Shanghai’s gross rental yields average only 3.74%. These are lowest gross rental yields in our China sample, but then Shanghai is the only city where apartment selling prices have apparently not dropped, according to the China Real Estate Index System (CREIS) and eHomeday. Shanghai residential asking prices average US$2,742 per square metre (sq. m.).

Beijing apartments earn slightly higher gross rental incomes of around 4.21%. These are the country’s most expensive apartments, with an average offer price of average US$2,977 per sq. m. for the high-end used apartments in our sample.

Chengdu also has rather low gross rental yields, an average of 3.88%. Chengdu apartments are the cheapest among the five cities, at US$1,060 per sq. m.

The highest rental yields are in Shenzhen, where apartments in our sample earn gross rental yields of 5.69%. The high-end used apartments in Shenzhen cost an average of US$ 1,780 per sq. m.

Guangzhou apartments earn mid-range gross rental yields of 5.41%. Our sample of Guangzhou apartment prices averages around US$1,577 per sq. m.

BACKGROUND IDEA – RENTAL YIELD

What does “gross rental yield” mean? It’s very similar to the Price / Earnings (P/E) ratio in the stock market. Just as share prices have a P/E range, house prices tend to fluctuate around a rental yield range, research shows.

The gross rental yield is the annual rental earnings / the value of the property.

So if the rent is US$5,000 and the property is worth US$100,000, the yield is 5%.

Our rule-of-thumb is that a gross rental yield of 6% to 7% means a housing market is ‘fairly valued’, though importantly, developing country housing markets usually have higher yields than developed, because of structural issues discouraging housing purchase such as the difficulty of getting mortgage finance.

Where yields (and rental costs) are comparatively low:

· People will prefer to rent, rather than to buy

· Investors are unlikely to ‘buy-to-let’

· Rents will tend rise faster than prices

Conclusion: No turnaround in China’s residential prices likely soon.

When the Chinese housing market was roaring ahead, rents moved up much less than prices. With the current market downturn, rents have dropped together with property prices (though slightly less). Gross rental yields now average a modest 4.42%.

Why are Chinese rental yields so low? Prices in China surged till September 2007, and then paused – and have not substantially dropped since then, according to CREIS, which uses a hedonic methodology (eHomeday arrives at closely similar results).

How far do gross rental yields need to rise in China? China’s gross rental yields of 4.42% are lower than would be expected in a developing economy. They are low, also, compared to other economies with similar income-per-capita.

We conclude that until one of two events occurs – more residential price falls, or substantial increases in rents – residential prices are unlikely to begin a sustained recovery in urban China.

The Chinese government has taken steps to support the market, such as temporarily suspending the business tax for residential property transfers, and encouraging cities to permit foreign purchases. China’s economy remains relatively strong, because of prompt government measures. Consumption spending is strong, restaurants are full, optimism remains high.

However, gross rental yields are still too low. Therefore, it is unlikely that there will be a convincing upturn in Chinese residential prices soon, the Global Property Guide believes.

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Daniel Wallace asked:


Buying property in Thailand is an increasingly popular move by foreigners. Whether it is as an investment in a holiday rental home, a place to retire to, or simply as a retreat as they look to escape the weather, the rat race or the high cost of living in the West, Thai property is becoming highly sought after.

Although subject to strict controls, it is relatively easy to buy property in Thailand, although as there are no mortgage deals for non Thai citizens you must be able to buy the property outright. Also, technically, it is not the land you will own but the property itself, although possession of the land is assured by virtue of the fact that the property obviously occupies the land. Furthermore, it is not impossible to own freehold land if you fall within certain conditions.

But what with the cheap cost of houses, stunning locations, tropical views, and wide range of property available, it is clear why buying property in Thailand is a popular idea.

Different locations are sought after for different reasons. For example Phuket, with its beautiful scenery and idyllic setting, is a popular place to buy for those looking for an investment within the tourism industry. The northern areas of Thailand are perhaps more popular with those buying to live, such as in beautiful Chaing Mai, as the climate can be a little cooler. Those preferring property in a more vibrant part of Thailand often choose Bangkok or Pattaya and use their homes for holidaying or as a festive retreat. And with the opening up of international airports at many of the established tourist resorts, such as Hua Hin for example, this has made property in Thailand even more desirable.

There are also various types of property one can buy; whether you want a six bedroom mansion complete with swimming pool, Jacuzzi and landscaped gardens, or perhaps a villa in the countryside, or a simple bungalow a stone’s throw from a white sandy beach, all can be found within Thailand. Condominiums are a popular property to buy in Thailand, and also the easiest and simplest to buy. Similarly, you can find a property with Western influences and all modern conveniences, or else perhaps a property with more traditional Thai architecture.

Thailand, with its diverse scenery and locations also enables you to choose whether you want to live within close proximity to shopping, public transport, sporting facilities and a thriving expatriate community, or perhaps somewhere a little more rural and remote. Whichever type of property in Thailand you are searching for, and for whatever budget or need, there are plenty of options to buy in this beautiful country.

Ukbiz asked:


Savills’ November index of commercial development activity shows 13th monthly fall in a row

The UK commercial property sector continued to deteriorate at an increasingly rapid rate last month, new research by Savills has shown.

Its Total Commercial Development Activity Index fell in November for the 13th month in a row, with the rate of decline slightly steeper than in October.

As the credit crunch began to bite, weakening occupier demand led to a new series-record decline in development activity.

Almost 58% of respondents to Savills commercial property survey reported a drop in activity, compared with just 7% signalling a rise.

The index showed a resulting net balance of -50.3% in November, down from -49.7% in October.

The fastest reduction of activity was in private new build. Office development was particularly hard hit. For the fifth time in 2008, however, the least marked fall in activity was shown by refurbishment.

November’s survey also found widespread pessimism about the three-month outlook for activity, with the degree of negative sentiment the lowest since the survey began in March 2003.

Commercial developers said they remained concerned over the extent to which lower central bank rates can alleviate the downturn in the sector over the near term as a result of continued lack of credit availability, and a reluctance of clients to commit to new projects.

Commenting on the November survey, Mat Oakley, head of Savills’ commercial research department, said the negative outlook was surprising: “This month’s survey was surprising in the fact that developers’ expectations for the future continued to slide.

“While the lack of debt available is clearly a dragging factor on the market, we expected that November’s 150bp cut in the base rate might give developers some confidence that the downturn in occupier demand would be shorter and less deep than it could have been,” he added.

About UK Business Property

Whilst there are more than 20 portals covering residential property in the UK the commercial property market remains relatively unserved, with no site having a majority share of the total available commercial property listed. The internet has taken a significantly greater share of all advertising spend each year as it continues to prove that it is the most effective medium for advertisers to reach their audience.

Traditional estate agency methods remain quite successful in reaching the local market around a property, but do not capture leads from the national and international markets at all well. With increasing mobility of populations and business in the global village, it makes sense to expose commercial properties as efficiently as possible to the whole market. In 2006 there were 6 million searches (based on figures from Yahoo Search) made on the internet in the UK for commercial property of all types. Many of these searches will be fruitless as major search engines do not expose many of the available properties at present.

UK Business Property aims to change this by offering commercial agents important incentives to bring all their properties to the whole market. By linking to UKBP agents will bring more traffic to their websites. For agents who do not yet have a fully featured search on their website UKBP offers it’s advanced search functions free of charge, in an easy to implement solution. The advantage is that you keep your visitors on your site and build your brand in your local market, while receiving leads from a national and international audience.

UKBP is committed to supporting agents, with advantageous Agency Terms and a profitable opening offer to it’s Founder Members, who Register and upload their properties before 28th February 2007.

Parmdeep Vadesha asked:


The chief goals of any property investment are appreciation, cash flow and tax savings. Rental property investment is the only property investment that provides you all these three benefits at the same time.

The main rental property categories consist of single family rental properties, multi-unit residential rental properties, commercial rental properties and holiday homes. The first category includes long term single family renting, the second category includes apartments, buildings for multiple families while the last category includes shopping centers, office buildings etc. for a long tem renting purpose. Here are other points to consider with real property investments:

1) Methods like repossessions, ugly homes, and probate homes are useful for buying property. Lease purchases can be extremely useful which help you to leverage investment money and reach a positive cash flow from renting. Buying fixer upper homes or repossessions can help to reduce investment money and improve cash flow and appreciation.

2) One cannot expect a considerable cash flow from property with one tenant. In this case, the main goal is to cover the mortgage and current expenses.

3) Research on a potential rental home should include significant financial planning for years ahead, like expenses of property management, repairing, vacancy, emergency etc.

4) The apartment and the 2-4 unit homes are the main classes of the multi-unit residential property investments.

5) With apartment investments the main profit comes from the rental cash flow. A lease to purchase option and leveraging investment money is quite useful in this case. The most significant factors in this case are the financial evaluation and property management. With a steady cash flow from a number of tenants, it is possible to hire a manager for the property management. It helps to increase the cash flow and the value of the apartment building. Underestimation may damage the investment and lead to loss.

6) Commercial properties investments include office buildings, retail shopping centres, industrial properties and the like. The market value of these properties is decided on the cash flow (net rental income). The main objective of rental in these cases is to generate enough cash to exceed the cost of mortgage, insurance, maintenance, future improvements. This is not an easy task to handle. It requires analysis of many things. But if done properly it could prove to be lucrative. Changes in the economic conditions usually have a pronounced impact on these types of real estate investments than on residential property investments. And as office buildings and industrial properties are more susceptible to these changes, it is wise to keep extra capital to support those investments if something does not go as expected. In this case, a money-leveraging approach (lease to purchase option) is very useful.

7) A holiday home can be used in two ways. It can be a property home or an investment property. This category includes resort properties, mountain homes, or beach homes. With holiday rentals, the main profit comes from the appreciation. Cash flow generated from renting is usually used for current expenses like property management, mortgage and insurance. These are short-term rentals and require intensive maintenance.

Alliance asked:


Foreign buyers are getting immensely attracted towards the purchase of commercial property in India. India has seen an amazing amount of spurt in the growth of commercial property in the recent years with enhanced industrial growth. India is following the global trend of a heightened industrialization. There has also been an increase in the world demand for commercial properties due to globalization which makes it easy to set up industries anywhere in the world.   There has also been an increase in the commercial property investment due to the income stability in this sector as compared to the stock market. A large number of foreign commercial investors are bringing huge bucks with them in this country for investment in commercial property.

 

Finding a lucrative commercial property in India has to be done keeping the cost and the legalities involved. It is very important to buy commercial property from legalized brokers and developers. You will have to make sure that you are getting ownership of important documents like Title Ownership Documents. You should also ensure that you are getting a stamp duty on the property from a local court that you are purchasing.

 

For this it is very necessary that your seller possesses documents like Agreement to Sell Conveyance Deed, Gift Deed, Exchange of Property, Power of Attorney, Partition Deed and Lease Transfer. With the help of an online real estate consultant, you can easily locate a commercial property according to your needs and budgets in the most desirable locations. You can easily buy a commercial building in the industrial areas of Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Mohali, Delhi, Faridabad, Mohan Nagar, Panchkula and Ludhiana. You get an amazing opportunity to easily find a commercial property in these places with facilities like fully-equipped multistoried commercial buildings built by the most advanced builders. These commercial properties are built in areas that are equipped with great amenities like elevators, escalators, 100% power backup, two screens multiplexes, high tech security with centrally monitored offices with webcams and personal security guards, advanced firefighting systems and centrally air-conditioned offices.

 

All these commercial properties are located in townships developed especially for the purpose of industrial development by the government. They are also located in the vicinity of the Highways to facilitate commutation by the users. These commercial properties can be easily located with the help of an online real estate consultant and you are also ensured a timely possession.

Property asked:


The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has finally decided to change with the times. In a major pro-people move, it has decided to make property transactions in the city hassle-free by allowing mutual sale and purchase of dwelling units by allottees. Until now, the transfer of CHB flats in Chandigarh was based on the general power of attorney, a system rife with defects and legal complications.

But all that is now passé, with the board of directors of CHB deciding on February 20 to make their flat transfer policy people-friendly and transparent. The new move will benefit a substantial number of about 50,000 owners/allottees of CHB dwelling units in the city, and will change the way property transactions are carried out in the region. Most importantly, it will offer relief to people whose properties have been lying blocked for years due to legal wrangles.

The CHB, ever since it came into existence in 1971, has been a witness to countless problems posed by GPA transfer policy. Due to stringent laws governing the sale and purchase of residential property in Chandigarh , a majority of allottees had resorted to sale through general power of attorney.

Since initially the CHB did not recognise GPA, property transaction through this system led to several complications including legal battles between the original allottees and buyers on the one hand and original allottees and the CHB on the other. This often led to blackmailing by allottees or their legal heirs who found it convenient to extract money from interested buyers of residential property. This was besides the hefty premium which buyers paid to allottees/sellers.

The practice naturally allowed property dealers to mushroom and make hay as they negotiated deals between various parties and charged heavily in the guise of completing endless formalities besides charging their commission. The GPA transfer system had bred corruption in the ranks of CHB, particularly in public-dealing branches.

Keeping in mind these complication, the CHB had, in 2001, come out with a policy to regularise GPA sale by fixing charges for the transfer of property by original allottees besides also fixing terms and conditions like clearance of dues, retention of original structure of the dwelling unit, respect for building bylaws etc. The regularisation of GPA, however, helped little, with buyers of residential units continuing to face harassment.

The new mutual transfer policy will bring buyers and sellers face to face for the first time and eliminate the role of middlemen like property dealers. The move will also end the nexus between property dealers and officials by allowing genuine buyers and sellers to own property in a legal way.

Besides, it is expected to bring revenue to Chandigarh Administration as transactions would involve the payment of stamp duty and other prescribed charges. Until now, stamp duty worth crores was being evaded in the name of large scale sale and purchase of CHB flats through GPA. The new policy will protect the financial interests of Chandigarh Administration besides being people-friendly.

Meanwhile, the board had said GPAs taken to date would be acceptable till the time the new policy came into effect. It has added, however, that people would eventually have to own property on the terms and conditions specified in the mutual transfer policy.

Further in a bid to curb speculation, the CHB has categorically said that GPA holders will no longer be eligible to apply for flats in any of its residential project schemes. Residential property, say board officials, must go to the shelter-less people. The board has meanwhile also allowed transfer of residential property in Chandigarh on the basis of one surety. Earlier two sureties were required.

Matthieu Cany asked:


The Sextant Properties toolbar is a new tool that gives you access to the most useful web pages for your French property search: latest news, forum posts and weather all available on your web browser and best of all it’s completely FREE!

As well as keeping you up to date with what’s going on in France our toolbar has plenty of other fab things:

* Weather for your current location (you can change it to your future location in France).

* Watch live TV news in English from France24

* A Google search bar so you can search the web straight from your browser.

* Webpage Translation – just click the translate button and you can translate text or webpages.

* You can use gadgets such as Metric converter, Suduko…

* Uninstalls in seconds in the unlikely event that you decide you don’t like it

The Sextant Properties toolbar is available for both Internet Explorer & FireFox – click here to download.



The Sextant Properties service is also free of charge for the buyer. Our aim is to help buyers finding their dream home in France. We help them from the beginning until the end of the buying process. Sextant Properties is member of NAEA and we respect their quality guidelines. We do our best to provide quality work with up to date properties and select them among the portfolio of our 160 partner offices in France.

Dale Campbell asked:


Britons are continuing to look for property for sale in Spain. The love affair with Spain started in the 1960’s with the onset of mass tourism, and properties for sale were purchased mainly along the ‘Costas.’ In recent years, for a variety of reasons, Britons are purchasing properties further inland.

In the late 1990s, several factors made it even more appealing to own property in holiday ‘destination countries’, such as Spain: the sustained strength of the pound has been a dominant factor, and consequently the prospect of borrowing money to buy a holiday property in a Spanish resort had become much more enticing. In a survey of people looking for property for sale in Spain, most people stated the value of the pound was their major influence for purchasing a property in Spain. Additional factors for buying property for sale in Spain is: many UK homeowners have seen their homes increase in value, so they have released some of the equity to buy rental properties and holiday homes in Spain; low cost European flights and convenient flight connections; a warm climate; good healthcare system; the relaxed way of life; and last but not least the lower cost of living.

There are a number of different motives for buying a property for sale in Spain, and they include: a second home for retirement; a financial investment; or because an individual has simply fallen in love with a region and can envisage taking most or all their holidays there every year.

A UK survey of people buying property for sale in Spain found: the majority of respondents purchased their Spanish property from a UK based estate agent, the underlying reason for the purchase of Spanish property was as a holiday home. The major source of information was from friends and family, and the main source of advice was from estate agents. “Post family” and “empty nesters” were the main purchasers of properties in Spain and most of the respondents who were satisfied with their purchase had sought advice and conducted an information search before they bought their Spanish property.

Moneynetinternational, a financial website, states a quarter of the applications it receives for international mortgages are for properties for sale in Spain. Barclays has said that ‘‘around 40% of all new houses built on the Spanish Costas were bought by British people’’.

The Spanish property market slowed down in 2007 and it has become a ‘buyers’ market. So property developers have reduced their prices, increased the specifications of properties, added incentives such as furniture packs, and subsidised mortgages. Private sellers were accepting offers 5 -10% below the asking price.

When buying a property in Spain, property buyers should consider that Spain has its own taxes, laws and buying procedures, different paperwork, estate agents fees, mortgage restrictions and the practical process of buying a property are different in Spain than in the UK.

Listed below are some useful Spanish words when buying a property in Spain:

Abogado ” Spanish Lawyer.

Arras ” down payment, deposit.

Escritura ” deeds.

Hipoteca ” mortgage.

Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles ” yearly property tax.

Piso ” flat.

Se vende ” for sale.

Although the property market has slowed down in Spain, experts forecast that buyers who are prepared to hold their investment for at least 5 years will reap good returns as the market picks-up. Best buys for 2008 are likely to be in Costa Calida, Costa Azahar, and Costa Brava and the most popular place is still Costa Blanca. Excellent bargains are likely in Costa del Sol, as the market recovers from illegal building and building scams.

Buying a property for sale in Spain is a big undertaking, so ensure you get the right help and advice before you buy, and you’ll join the many Brits who have successfully bought a property in Spain.

Mark Russell asked:


There are three good reasons (Particularly is your base currency is £ sterling) why, if you are considering buying property in France, you should act now.

Interest Rates

Interest rates in the UK are falling and if you have spare cash it will be eaten away by inflation as real rates of return fall.

Rising French property prices/Falling UK property prices

Property prices are forecast to rise across France in 2008 by an average of 5% but in the Limousin house prices (Which are the lowest in France) will rise faster than this as they are starting from a lower base. The flip side of this is that if you have money invested in UK property, it is forecast to fall in value in 2008 and has started to do so even now.

Currency movements

The pound is weakening against the Euro as interest rates in the UK fall. They are forecast to fall further during 2008 as the Bank of England attempt to stimulate the UK economy.

All the above factors point to one solid conclusion – now is the time to buy your French property – waiting will cost you money. So make 2008 the year you buy your house in the Limousin and take the first step by contacting us now – You won’t be disappointed.

Olliver Kennedy asked:


If you’re looking to make money from delinquent tax properties, there are several ways to do it. First, get clear on why you want to get involved with tax delinquent properties in the first place. There are two basic ways to make money by attending tax sales: interest on tax liens that you can purchase, whose owners end up paying you off, or by acquiring the properties directly at rock-bottom prices.

If you’re interested in earning an above market interest rate on your money, consider going with tax liens. Half or so of the states in the US sell tax liens to recoup back taxes on delinquent properties. After you buy a lien, the owner of the property (and other parties with an interest) will have a certain period of time, called the redemption period, to pay of the lien with interest and reimbursement for your legal fees.

If you don’t really want to end up with property and are just looking for the interest, buy liens on nice properties in good areas. Most of the time, the lien will be bid up close to retail value, but usually you do end up getting the stated interest rate on the entire amount of your investment. By investing in nicer properties, you’re almost guaranteed to earn your interest. Over 95% of properties in the best condition and highest value end up being redeemed. If you are going to invest this way, just make sure you don’t overpay for the lien in the rare event the lien doesn’t get redeemed. In that case, you would apply for a deed after the redemption period and become the owner of the property for what you paid for the lien.

If you’re looking to acquire property, you may attend a tax deed sale, where deed/immediate ownership of the properties are offered. Here you will be bidding against many other people and the price often reaches near market value. You may have to bid on low-end properties just to have a chance at getting one. Also, you’ll probably need to hire an attorney to wade through all the legal work that goes along with acquiring property this way (same with a lien, as well).

Does this mean it’s hard to get tax delinquent property for cheap? Not at all. If you’re looking to acquire property easily and/or make lump sums of cash fast, the way to do that is to buy tax delinquent properties from the owners, without going to the auctions/sales, before they are lost to the lien holder or sold at deed sale at the end of the redemption period… a process I fondly refer to as “deedgrabbing.” Now, you won’t need to wait to get your property, and forget all the research needed to buy tax liens or tax deeds. Just see who is about to lose their property to tax sale, and contact them a month or less before! Most of the delinquent tax properties that have made it that close to the sale/auction are free and clear, because mortgage companies will pay off taxes for homes with mortgages rather than lose their interest in the property. And at this point, often the owners simply don’t want the properties anymore, or can’t afford the upkeep and responsibility. You can easily buy these properties, and immediately resell for huge profits- or keep them as rentals, and start to build your real estate empire!