Tag Archives: british
Property sales in UK down 1.7%, says latest seasonally adjusted figures
Property sales in the UK fell by 1.7% between July and August but were 8.4% higher than a year ago, according to the latest seasonally adjust figures from HMRC. There were 99,930 residential and 9,090 non-residential transactions. The data also shows that since the beginning of the 2013/2014 financial year there has been a general month on month increase in transactions for the seasonally adjusted data. In February 2014 there was a gradual decrease followed by a flattening out of transaction numbers. July 2014 and August 2014 have seen new peaks for recent non-seasonally adjusted Transactions to their highest level since November 2007. According to Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, after a stirring start to the year, the UK property market has calmed, and trading conditions are beginning to look reassuringly more familiar again. ‘Steep house price growth during the first three months has softened to a steadier and more sustainable upward slant, as demand is finally being matched by an encouraging amount of new housing stock on the market,’ he said. ‘The volume of house sales dipped in the month to August 2014, but if we look at the figures through a longer term lens, there has still been a healthy step forward compared to the same point last year,’ he explained. ‘The market may have wound down for summer as it recovered from the adjustment of tighter lending regulation coming into force, but there’s still plenty of gas left in the tank. We expect sales to move up a gear in the autumn, as calmer competition for available homes boosts the confidence of home buyers and pedals the wheels of activity,’ he added. Meanwhile, the latest figures from the British Banking Association show that gross mortgage lending of £11.1 billion was 15% higher than in August last year. But gross mortgage lending in August remains below the £11.3 billion per month average of the last six months. The overall mortgage stock continues to rise in response to stronger demand and is 1.4% higher than a year earlier and sustained growth in business lending is beginning to be seen in the manufacturing, retail and wholesale sectors. Overall net business lending to non-financial companies was £1.5 billion in August, up from minus £0.9 billion in July. According to Duncan Kreeger, director of lender West One Loans, property market activity will remain muted unless lenders do something active about it. ‘High street banks have lent in the same way to the same customers against very similar properties for the last hundred years. In the 21st century, we shouldn’t expect old ways of doing things to power a red blooded recovery,’ he said. ‘Lending must be about getting homes on to the market as well as simply getting them off the market. In other words lenders will solve the biggest problem for the property industry by increasing supply, as well as demand,’ he pointed out. ‘Alternative finance is… Continue reading
Canadian prices expected to rise 5.9% this year but only 0.7% in 2015
The national average home price in Canada is now projected to rise by 5.9% to $405,000 in 2014 and a further 0.7% in 2015, according to the latest forecast. The Canadian Real Estate Association is also predicting similar price gains in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario while increases of just below 3% are forecast for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador is forecast to see average home price rise by about 1% this year, while Quebec is forecast to see an increase half that size. Prices are forecast to be flat in New Brunswick and fall by almost 2% in Nova Scotia. Alberta and Manitoba are forecast to post average price gains of almost 2% in 2015, followed closely followed by Ontario at 1.3%. Average prices in other provinces are forecast to remain stable, edging up by less than 1%. The CREA outlook report points out that an extraordinarily bleak winter delayed the start to the spring home buying season earlier this year. This deferral boosted activity in May and June as properties were snapped up after finally hitting the market, particularly in markets with a shortage of listings. Although this boost was and still is expected to be transitory, sales have yet to show signs of cooling as activity strengthened slightly further over the summer. The increase reflects continuing strength in home sales among large urban markets that initially drove the spring rebound together with gains in markets where activity had previously struggled to gain traction. Lowered mortgage interest rates supported this trend. Sales are now forecast to reach 475,000 units in 2014, representing an increase of 3.8% compared to 2013. This is upwardly revised from CREA’s forecast of 463,400 sales published in June, and reflects stronger than expected sales in recent months. Even so, sales activity is expected to peak in the third quarter as the impact of a deferred spring dissipates and continuing home price increases erode housing affordability. This would place activity in 2014 slightly above but still broadly in line with its 10 year average. Despite periods of monthly volatility since the recession of 2008/2009, annual activity has remained stable within a fairly narrow range around its 10 year average. This stability contrasts sharply to the rapid growth in sales in the early 2000s prior to the recession. British Columbia is forecast to post the largest year on year increase in activity at 11.9% followed closely by Alberta at 7.7%. Demand in both of these provinces is currently running at multi-year highs. Activity in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick is expected to come in roughly in line with 2013 levels, with sales increases ranging between 1% and 2% in the first three provinces and edging lower by about 1% lower sales in the latter two provinces. Continue reading
Heart of Sharjah in tentative World Heritage Sites list
Heart of Sharjah in tentative World Heritage Sites list Staff Reporter / 2 March 2014 Once listed as the Unesco World Heritage Site, the international organisation will protect the site and help with maintenance when needed. The Heart of Sharjah has been registered in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah announced on Saturday. Shaikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq, has formed a task force to nominate the Heart of Sharjah to be included on the list of World Heritage Sites. The file will be evaluated by the Unesco’s bodies, which will conduct a number of visits and assessments over a period of two years before recommending whether to inscribe the landmarks on the list. According to the selection criteria, the nominated site must be a place of outstanding natural importance such as a forest, mountain, island or man made structures of cultural significance such as buildings or a city. Once listed as the Unesco World Heritage Site, the international organisation will protect the site and help with maintenance when needed. Shaikha Bodour was thrilled with the achievement, which occurred prior to the launch of the official celebrations of Sharjah Islamic Cultural Capital 2014. “The Heart of Sharjah has a multitude of historical and heritage sites which have outstanding historical value, as Sharjah served as a point of convergence of civilisations, a transit road for trade caravans on sea and land, and a meeting point between people and tribes. We will work to add this area of rich heritage to the list of World Heritage Sites to introduce the significant value of the UAE’s history to the world.” Abdullah Mohammed Al Owais, Board Member of the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities, said the listing demonstrates the historical value of the UAE and will help boost heritage tourism in the country. The Heart of Sharjah is located in the old part of Sharjah. According to historical sources, this location contributed to the development of trade. Al Edrissy — an 11th century geographer — stated that there was a port in the existing location of Sharjah. Sharjah contains two components that have often characterised the existence of settlements in the Arabian Gulf. First, it is located in protected entrance of the sea, locally called ‘Al Khor’. Second, fresh water exists at relatively shallow depth. Historical sources show that as early as 1756 AD there were three locations on the coast between Al Katif (Qutif in Saudi Arabia) and Sir (Ras Al Khaimah), which are Al Ajir, Qatar and Sharjah. These locations contained few residences from which the Basra dates and rice were brought to the Arabs of the desert by the pearl divers. Sharjah was completely devastated by the British in 1820 AD, but it revived more rapidly than other ports in the Emirates area. It was then an important air-station connecting the West with India. Heart of Sharjah contains architectural buildings and religious structures like mosques and markets that bear witness to city’s development and evolution through time. Shurooq is developing the Heart of Sharjah, in what is considered as the first and largest ever heritage development in the region. Seeking to reflect what Sharjah was like over half a century ago, the project will restore and revamp the city’s traditional areas to create a tourist and trade destination with contemporary artistic touches, yet retain the feel of the 1950s. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the first of five phases is already underway, and Shurooq has set up a joint committee comprising representatives from leading governmental and private bodies to oversee the implementation of this first phase. The National Council of Tourism and Antiquities has nominated seven Emirati sites for entry on the tentative list of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. The nominated places included three sites from Sharjah (Sir Bu Nair Island, the Cultural Landscape of the Central Region – Mleiha– and Heart of Sharjah), one site from Abu Dhabi (Settlement and Cementery of Umm an-Nar Island), Khor Dubai, Ed-Dur Site in Umm Al Quwain and Al Bidya Mosque in Fujairah. The addition of new sites to the list contributes to highlighting the rich heritage of the UAE, which dates back to hundreds of years. In 2011, Al Ain City became the first UAE site to be listed by Unesco as World Heritage. In the same year, the organisation approved to study the file of the ancient Sharjah and the emirate’s bid for registration on the tentative list of the World Heritage Sites, an achievement which is realised after two years of dedicated efforts. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
