It looks nasty for the UK housing market 14 Sep 2010 A bear market in UK residential property is looming. Onethird of the country's estate agents say prices are falling, new mortgage advances are depressed, and firsttime buyers cannot find finance. The British faith in houses as a store of wealth is about to be severely tested.
Arnault makes a small deal of his reputation 13 Sep 2010 The owner of French luxury powerhouse LVMH insists he won't sell his small stake in property website SeLoger to Axel Springer. True, the German publisher's offer may be a bit low. But for Arnault, the fight is about much more than that.
Spain’s housing bubble only half deflated 10 Sep 2010 House prices have held up and are now only 12 pct down from the peak. Volumes in the second quarter were up 25 pct yearonyear. Cheap money and a dash to avoid July's VAT hike explain the surge. But the full force of latent threats to housing's recovery could be felt next year.
Even the good part of Fannie and Freddie is bad 27 Aug 2010 A federal report on the U.S. mortgage giants shows it was guarantees, not portfolios of home loans and securities, which caused the bulk of $226 bln of losses to date. Yet guarantees in some form are a sacred cow in the American mortgage debate. Slaughter shouldn t be ruled out.
U.S. house sales decline brings double dip closer 24 Aug 2010 The plunge in existing home sales in July owes much to the expiry of a home buyers' tax credit. But real house prices are still as high as in 2000, so their tentative recovery is vulnerable to another significant leg down. That in turn could bring a second recessionary downturn.
Government guarantees won’t die with GSEs 18 Aug 2010 Bond guru Bill Gross warned on Tuesday that without government guarantees, only mortgage bonds backed by supersafe loans would interest him. He frets too much. It may be Fannie and Freddie's funeral, but housing support from D.C. will live on. The key question is how much.
Fannie, Freddie in danger of prolonged survival 13 Aug 2010 Whatever the future of U.S. housing finance, the two discredited institutions need to go. But with a key Aug. 17 conference on their future coming in the runup to November elections, common sense and taxpayers interests may once again lose out to political temptation.
UK housing set for overdue correction 10 Aug 2010 Surveyors have found house prices lower for the first time in a year. Sellers who previously held back are emerging while buyers, fearing a worse economy, are wary. The UK's postbubble correction was arrested last year. But a substantial fall in prices still looks likely.
China property crackdown stokes hard-landing worry 5 Aug 2010 Beijing seems serious about curbing property excesses. The banking regulator ordered banks to test the impact of a 50 percent fall in house prices. A sharp drop in price will be hurtful, unless Beijing can pull off a lowcost housing scheme to keep construction going.
U.S. housing finance can work without government 4 Aug 2010 It's close to an article of faith that Uncle Sam's guarantee is needed to ensure mortgage availability. But today's system absolves lenders of responsibility, while the UK example shows the private sector can do the job. The goal should be for D.C. to exit the home loan business.
U.S. should shun hair-of-the-dog housing plan 4 Aug 2010 One Wall Street idea to boost growth is for the government to loosen rules so millions more Americans can refinance mortgages, thereby freeing up cash for spending. A desperate Washington might be tempted but it's too reminiscent of how the economy first fell into trouble.
Further U.S. house price fall may set banks back 27 Jul 2010 The 4.6 pct yearly rise in May's CaseShiller house price index was driven by the Federal homebuyer subsidy. Still up 47.3 pct from 2000, prices look set for a further drop, as jobs are scarce and confidence falling. That will test the limits of last year's bank stress tests.
Commercial property still at risk from bond slump 20 Jul 2010 UK property firm Capital & Regional has extended a 1 bln pound bond, one of several recent workouts in Europe's 150 bln euro CMBS market. But negative equity and conflicts between creditors will complicate future restructurings. A wave of asset sales still looks likely.
Fannie, Freddie stocks at last slip into obscurity 16 Jun 2010 The U.S. mortgage giants will delist from the NYSE under watchdog orders. Both are on intravenous bailouts, yet are still worth around $1 bln each. In the penny stock market, that may change though the government fiction that they are private companies almost certainly won t.
California still showing the way on U.S. housing 25 May 2010 A key index of U.S. home prices dipped in March. But Californian cities, among the hardest hit by the credit crunch, posted gains. Yearonyear, they have appreciated far faster than the 2.3 percent seen nationally. The Golden State could pull the rest of the country along.
UK house prices still in shark-infested waters 24 May 2010 The new government wants to jack up capital gains tax, which could prompt the wealthy to dump second homes. Public spending cuts could push up unemployment, dampening demand. Wealthy Greeks and bankers may keep London afloat. But average UK house prices could end the year down.
British Land surge hasn’t helped UK banks’ assets 18 May 2010 The UK commercial property company's assets soared 13.5 pct in value last year. The rise has raised hopes that RBS and Lloyds will be able to sell down their 100 bln pounds of exposure. But the chasm in quality between the best stock and the banks' holdings will hold them back.
Pulled Chinese IPO sign of troubled times 6 May 2010 Swire has abandoned its $3 billion property listing. The Hong Kong conglomerate was not a desperate seller, and investors may have balked at the price, especially as China is trying to cool real estate fever. But fearful markets Chinese and global look like the real culprit.
Fannie, Freddie bailout plays like Greek tragedy 6 May 2010 The U.S. has now blown $136.5 billion keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac alive. That puts it on par with Greece s latest bailout. Yet, Washington policymakers continue to dither on what to do with the failed housing giants, ensuring the price tag will be far higher.
California hints at broader U.S. housing recovery 4 May 2010 Its residential property market was the canary in the coalmine that signaled the start of the bust. Now, housing in the Golden State looks on the way to a healthy rebound. It could be an early sign that a wider national upturn will soon take hold.