Tag Archives: middle-east
South Americans top search rankings for property in south Florida
Property in south Florida continues to be popular with buyers from South America topping the list for people from overseas searching for real estate, the latest research shows. Colombia has been the top country of origin for five months in a row and four out of the top five countries are in South America, according to the data from the Miami Association of Realtors. In second place is Venezuela, then Argentina with Israel in fourth place and Brazil in fifth. Georgia registered the most searches of Miami real estate among American states. ‘South Florida is known around the world for embracing all cultures. Foreign born residents love Miami. Their passion is visible in our monthly property searches and in Realtor.com global searches, which continue to show South Florida as the most searched US market by international consumers,’ said Mark Sadek, chairman of the association. Colombian home buyers tied with Argentinians in purchasing the third-most Miami real estate among foreign countries and 10% of all foreign South Florida transactions. Only Venezuela with 13% and Brazil with 12% bought more. Colombians moving to South Florida are often upper middle class families who want to enjoy their prosperity earned in their homeland as professionals and entrepreneurs. Colombians spend the second most on South Florida property among foreign buyers. The $516,000 average purchase price of Colombians tied with Argentina and only trailed Brazil at $766,000. Israel posted the fourth most searches of South Florida real estate in April. It was the country’s highest finish since it took fourth in September 2015. India was sixth for the second consecutive month, while in seventh place was Canada, then the Philippines, Spain and Peru. Georgia, which had been climbing the ranks in recent months and finished second in March, moved ahead of New York for the most South Florida web searches in April 2016. In third place was Texas, followed by California, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, North Caroline and Michigan. The top market for overall international real estate demand: was Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach in Florida, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim in California, then Bellingham in Washington State. South Florida ranked as a top-five market for consumers in eight of the world’s 10 largest regions in April 2016. South Florida finished as the most searched market in four of the regions. Continue reading
More over 50s now renting a home in the UK, research shows
The number of people over 50 living in rented accommodation in the UK has been on the rise over the last five years with a third now renting, new research has found. A third of people aged 50 and over currently live in rented accommodation, up from just over a quarter in 2011, according to the analysis from Saga Home Insurance. The reasons for renting are usually down to a change in family circumstance with more people aged over 50 getting divorced than ever before. Indeed, some 20% of renters over 50 are single ad trying to get back on the housing ladder for a second time. There has been a significant decrease in the number of widowers living in rented accommodation, down by 10% in the last five years, perhaps because they are remarrying or moving in with family. Unexpectedly when it comes to the age of people living in rented accommodation, there has been an increase in the number of people under 70 who are renting, with the biggest increase amongst those aged 50 to 54, while the number of people renting aged over 70 has decreased, this again points to the fact that divorce is creating the demand for renting as silver splitters have to divide the family home. People over 50 living in rented accommodation have around £20,000 worth of contents in their homes but 59% of people over 50 living in rented accommodation do not have home insurance, leaving them potentially facing big bills, should anything happen within their home. ‘Social changes certainly seem to be having an impact on the homes of the over 50s. It is concerning that so many do not have insurance for their belongings, whilst the landlord has responsibility for repairing the building should anything happen, they are not responsible for replacing valued possessions should they for example be damaged by fire or even a significant water leak,’ said Roger Ramsden, chief executive of Saga Services. ‘Without insurance, it is not just people’s own possessions they would have to foot the bill for if they were damaged. Any fixtures and fittings or other items tenants are listed as responsible for in the inventory agreed with the landlord will have to be replaced if they are damaged by tenants, which could add up to a significant sum,’ he added. Continue reading
House sales failures in UK up 9% quarter on quarter
The number of house sales failing to successfully complete in the UK increased in the second quarter of 2016, with more than one in four sales falling through. A house sale fall through rate of 29% was recorded by the latest research from independent home buyer Quick Move, up 9% from the first quarter of the year. The annual year to date fall through rate ended the second quarter of the year at 25.18%, up 3.56% since the end of the first quarter, the data also shows. According to Danny Luke, business manager at Quick Move, the first half of 2016 has been an interesting time for the UK property market. ‘Strong demand and low supply in many areas has led to a strong financial performance, but the market also faced a great deal of uncertainty with stamp duty changes, more challenging conditions for investors, and most recently the European Union referendum. This uncertainty is reflected in the reasons why sales fell through before completion,’ he said. The top reason was a buyer changing their mind, accounting for 47.37% of failed sales, followed by 15.79% due to the seller renegotiating a better offer with a new buyer, the same amount was due to difficulty securing a mortgage and the buyer or seller pulling out of the sale because they felt it wasn't progressing quickly enough while 5.26% was due to legal issues. ‘It seems the uncertainty that has dominated the property market in the last quarter has led to prospective buyers putting in panic offers. It used to be usual to do at least a second viewing, potentially even a third, before making a formal offer on a property, but shortage of supply in some areas, alongside widespread market uncertainty as we drew closer to the referendum, led to many prospective buyers feeling pressure to make offers on a first viewing, fearing that they may miss out if they delay,’ Like explained. ‘Once the dust has settled and the sales start progressing, the cold feet can start to set in, possibly due to nerves about the size of the financial investment and whether they've selected the right property or when surveys highlight potential issues,’ he pointed out. ‘As we move forward in post-Brexit Britain, I would expect to see the market slow, and potentially see the fall through rate continue to rise, as market uncertainty and instability continue,’ he concluded. Continue reading
