Prime canadian property sales on the up
Sotheby’s International Realty reveals that in the 12 months to June 2013, sales of Canadian homes worth CAN$1 million and over have climbed significantly.
Calgary led the charge, with transactions for single-family homes rising 10 per cent, followed closely by Montreal, where luxury deals increased 6 per cent. Toronto saw prestige transactions rose 5 per cent.
For townhouses worth at least CAN$1 million, the increase was even bigger: Calgary recorded a staggering surge of 73 per cent, followed by Toronto’s rise of 21 per cent. Sales fell 8 per cent in Vancouver and Montreal. Indeed, Vancouver saw luxury sales decline for both property types, while sales for luxury condos fell in all areas.
The uptick has largely been attributed to Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern buyers, who were looking for high-end real estate overseas.
“I'm seeing a lot of foreign names on showings of all of my listings,” Elli Davis, a Sales Representative from Royal LePage, Toronto, told the Huffington Post. “More foreign names than not.”
Sotheby's President and Chief Executive Ross McCredie added: “In examining the performance of the high-end market, we feel confident that Canada’s largest urban centres remain in exceptional positions heading into fall, with healthy market fundamentals from Coast to Coast.”
Sotheby’s report added that the performance of Canada’s high-end sector “reflected a year of recalibration and overall strength” for the market. McCredie continued: “They're not first-time homebuyers. They've seen cycles before. Most of our clients remember what it was like in the early 80s and the early 90s, when you had major corrections, so they're not going into these markets blindly.”
Other property investment news this week:
Is investor confidence in Brazil falling?
Investor confidence in Brazil may be dipping, according to reports.
Bloomberg says that confidence is being eroded by continuing inflation and sluggish economic growth, while Robert Shilller, creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, has warned that a price bubble could be on the way.
Indeed, property prices in Brazil have soared considerably in recent years. In Rio de Janeiro, prices have leapt 225 per cent since 2008, enough for Shiller to forecast a bubble.
Speaking at an event in Campos do Jordao, Shiller commente: “Why would prices double in five years?” What could account for that other than excitement? The prices go up every month. They always go up.”
European Parliament outlines rules for home buyers
The European Parliament has outlined rules to help limit the risk for buyers of property.
The rules are still being fine-tuned by MEPs before they are implemented across the EU, but the regulations will include mortgages on residential property, for example making it more flexible for buyers to repay their loans early and making the return of collateral (i.e. the property itself) a satisfactory form of repayment for the loan, if this has been agreed in the contract.
For more details, visit Cyprus Property News.