Florida Mortgages Now Better

International buyers could well be the key to kick starting the Florida property market and a recent alliance may be evidence of this. Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty has joined forces with British Home Loans Florida. The Florida based international mortgage brokerage company specializes in arranging financing for British, European and other 'Foreign National' homebuyers in the U.S. The two companies working together are set to make Florida mortgages for overseas buyers more competitive

Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, said British Home Loans and its affiliates will provide foreign national financing for U.K. and European buyers here in the U.S. through several British and American lenders including Lloyds TSB Bank.

“We anticipate this new alliance will lead to a steady stream of, not only British, but also International and domestic U.S. investor buyers for the various product groups represented by Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty,” said Soderstrom.
Soderstrom said Stirling Sotheby’s International will market a wide range of Florida properties to British Home Loans' clients through Stirling Sotheby’s Global Gallery in downtown Orlando and its auction services group.

“Under our new alliance, British Home Loans will pre-qualify all interested prospects prior to directing them to Stirling Sotheby’s,” Soderstrom said.
"Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty will also conduct home-buying seminars in the U.K. in conjunction with British Home Loans," Soderstrom added.
“With the British pound, Canadian dollar and the Euro continuing to trade at record highs, British and International buyers are finding tremendous value in U.S. luxury vacation and resort homes,” said Soderstrom, “and Orlando ranks as one of the most desirable locations for Florida home buyers from the U.K.”

British Home Loans Florida is well positioned in the U.K. and Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty brings a very recognizable brand to their market. We will offer them a wider range of property types including single family, vacation, second and retirement home opportunities,” he said. “We feel this is a very powerful alliance that will benefit not only both organizations but also the consumer.”

In a previous new report Lee Weaver, Director of Operation at British Homes Loans Florida said “Now is the perfect time to buy”, notes Weaver, “with property values dipping and the pound continuing to trade at a 26-year high against the dollar, a strong buyers market has emerged once again for British investors in the ‘Sunshine State’ - especially when combined with highly motivated builders and individual sellers.

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source: homesgofast.com

Australian Property Highs and Lows

The Australian property market has shown signs of slowing according to a report by Bloomberg News. The surprise report is based on Australian mortgage approvals that have fallen for a second month running. The cause appears to be the hike in Australian interest rates which are now at an 11 year high. This is in contrast to the building industry that are experiencing strength with housing construction rising 1.4 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months. In fact this increase contributed 0.1 percentage point in the quarter to gross domestic product, which rose 1 percent.

The Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today that the number of loans granted to build or buy houses and apartments fell 0.7 percent to 62,509 from September, when they slipped a revised 2 percent. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 1 percent increase.

Today's report ``adds to the uncertainty over a further hike'' early next year, said Su-Lin Ong, fixed-income strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Sydney. ``This is the first back-to-back monthly decline in 12 months,'' and echoes declines that followed three rate increases last year.

Housing affordability dropped to the lowest level on record in the third quarter, according to an index compiled last month by Commonwealth Bank and the Housing Industry Association. Almost one- third of the average first-home buyer's income is spent on mortgage repayments.

The nation's economy, now in its 16th straight year of expansion, is benefiting from rising Chinese demand for commodities that is prompting companies such as Rio Tinto Group to boost hiring. Australia's job-vacancy advertisements rose 0.7 percent in November, according to an Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. report released in Melbourne today.

The Gold Coast still remains popular for overseas investor with overseas property portal Homesgofast.com reporting increased interest in the Australian property hot spot. CEO Nicholas Marr ‘ Overseas property investors particularly like the Gold Coast owing to its strong tenant demand not only from Australians but also from visitors to the region. The Gold Coast appears to be growing fast with an increase in population all this makes the area an attractive proposition for foreign buyers’

The Zone is one such development causing a flurry of activity from international buyers. This off the plan development on the central Gold Coast is in the exclusive suburb of Mermaid Beach. Within walking distance beaches & restaurants minutes to Pacific Fair, Jupiters Casino, & Convention Centre. Learn more here
Gold Coast property for sale

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source: homesgofast.com

Italian Property Helped by High Speed Trains

Property in France experienced it when the TGV was rolled out; now Italian property is experiencing a piece-by-piece real estate surge as its own high speed train system is put into place. This is also referred to as the Ryan Air effect, whereby values rise as budget airlines arrive. This is due to the ease of getting to property that was once considered in the middle of nowhere – or at least hard to get to.

The Italian high speed train service is known as the TAV in Italy, which stands for treno ad alta velocità, or, more generically, ES Itallia for Euro Star Italy. The high speed route from Rome to Naples is nearly complete and portions of the route from Turin to Milan are also open. Another line from Milan to Rome is scheduled to open in early 2009.

The state train company, Trenitalia, has train service throughout Italy to all major cities currently. The high speed trains can run, and currently do, on several of the main line tracks, but at reduced speeds not approaching their 300 kph maximum. When the new lines are complete, they will be able to whisk passengers between the major cities throughout the country.

With the new lines and service, new stations are being built and old ones renovated. Trenitalia is investing €2.5 billion in new stations for Bologna, Naples and Florence and renovations in Milan, Rome and Turin. According to Carlo de Vito, who oversees the 2,400 stations throughout the country for Trenitalia, the changes can have a considerable impact: "A new station near the center of a big city makes that area more appealing to the middle class willing to commute, and the same will happen with the high-speed train.” He adds that “"When we open a new station there is a 30 to 40 percent rise in real estate values in just a few years."

While property in Italy in major cities is improving, some see the most potential for cities that currently don’t have the access of the big ones. One such city is Genoa, the end of a planned Milan-Genoa line. These cities don’t have the easy and relatively inexpensive access that the larger ones do. The new train service, much like new low-fair air service, can help newcomers get to the city and discover its charms and, more importantly, its real estate.

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source: homesgofast.com

UK House Prices Fell in November

UK house prices fell for the third consecutive month in November according to data released by Halifax. According to the UK’s largest mortgage lender, home prices fell by 1.1% for the month, following declines of .5% in October and .6% in September. The rate of housing price increases for the full year had fallen to 6.3% through November. That’s down from a high of 11.4% in August and 8.9% in October. The housing news has been highlighted in major media outlets recently, including the BBC and The Guardian.

The average home price for the UK now stands at £194,896, down from £199,600 in August. The housing market is typically slower at this time of the year, and sellers may want to note the results from a year ago. Last December saw a fall in housing prices of 1.3%, but that was followed by eight months of growth.

The chief economist from Halifax, Martin Ellis, believes that the short supply of housing throughout the country and a sound UK economy should prevent a market crash. "Strong market fundamentals, a structural housing supply shortage and pent-up demand from a large number of potential first-time buyers will support house prices, preventing a sustained and significant fall," he said.

Mirroring the news from Halifax, Nationwide building society reported a .8% drop in housing prices in November, its largest fall in 12 years. The weak housing news has helped to prod the Bank of England to cut interest rates by .25% to 5.5%. This should help buyers by providing lower interest rates for their mortgages.

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source: homesgofast.com

US Dollar Update by Moneycorp

The Pound remains strong against the US Dollar despite some falls last week. It peaked just short of $2.07 on Monday and again on Tuesday before dropping sharply. It touched a low of $2.02 on Thursday and has spent its time since then climbing laborious back above $2.03.

The Monetary Policy Committee’s interest rate decision overshadowed Sterling’s whole week. Initially it just looked as though investors were clearing the decks in preparation for the Thursday announcement. As the week progressed it became obvious that there was a wholesale offloading of anything resembling a long Sterling position. The bale-out climaxed on Wednesday when the Halifax released its November House Price Index. It marked the third consecutive monthly price fall and completed a series of similarly negative from other researchers. Investors looked at the Halifax figure, extrapolated it into 12.5 per cent annual drop and came to the conclusion that the MPC would have no option but to cut the Bank Rate.
On Thursday that fear was realised. Fortunately for the Pound, so much pre-emptive selling had gone on that the bears had run out of ammunition. A burst of volatility threatened to push Sterling down through long term support against the Euro but calm quickly returned.

For the US Dollar the focus was on Friday’s employment report. On the first Friday of every month the change in Non-farm Payrolls is hugely important to investors’ outlook for the US economy. A strong rise in payrolls means that businesses are optimistic about future demand. A weak figure points to reduced optimism and a fall in payrolls is very bad indeed. Last week the consensus among economists was for a rise of around 80,000. Private employment agency ADP surprised everyone (as it often does) on Friday with an estimate that payrolls would rise by double the forecast number. Although not entirely plausible, the ADP paper heightened expectations to such an extent that when the official report showed a decent 94,000 increase the market was vaguely disappointed.

With only a couple of weeks to go before the Christmas break things ought to calm down as investors tidy up for the year-end. On one hand this ought to reduce investors’ appetite for pushing currencies around. On the other, the reduced liquidity could magnify such moves as do take place. An optimist would say that Sterling has taken a full dose of punishment and should be allowed to recover. But that’s optimists for you: Buyers of the Dollar should still protect themselves with a stop order.

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source: homesgofast.com