MADRID | The Corner | Once again markets have embraced optimism about China, leaving fears of a hard landing and a credit crisis that dominated in 1Q behind. As Barclays analysts pointed out on Thursday, the onshore equity market has risen 6% in the past two weeks, with the low-valuation bank and property sectors advancing more than 10%.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The evolution of the UK’s real estate market is one of the major risks assessed by the BoE in recent months. In fact, the demand has gained great traction since 2013, backed by better credit lending conditions, the increase of confidence and the oficial program Help to Buy.
MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | As the Spanish property sector becomes fashionable again, we set our eyes in one of the most-commented moves these days: listed developer and owner Colonial’s €1.26m capital increase and €1bn debt restructuring. President of GBS Finanzas Pedro Gómez de Baeza managed to form a complex puzzle including the entrance of billionaire industrialist Juan Miguel Villar Mir with a 24.4% stake. Mr Gómez de Baeza joins us to talk about an “extremely challenging” operation that began in 2008 and only bore fruit at the third attempt, but also shows a changing trend.
BEIJING | By Andy Xie via Caixin | The quality of China’s GDP growth is rising with falling property prices. The economy is diverting resources away from wasteful bubble activities to productive ones. While growth is slowing, it reflects shrinking of the bad GDP. Two-thirds of the economy is still expanding steadily. More importantly, China is experiencing a labor shortage due to a shrinking of working-age population and steady economic expansion. The economy is in a strong position to absorb the fallout of a deflating property bubble.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The wretched Spanish housing market has been giving timid but solid signs of recovery. Last data point to an investment increase of 60% to €4 bn which will mainly be led by international investors, as appraisers at Spanish Tinsa reported. Meanwhile, midcap Colonial symbolizes the falling as well as the revival of national property sector thanks to a new debt refinancing contract signed partly with sovereign funds and a capital increase entered by foreign investors.
MADRID | By The Corner Team | Spanish real state sector stands at its adjustment final stage is an oft-repeated mantra in the country’s analysts firms. After five years of hard recession, some signs of slow recovery are increasingly growing. Last outstanding figure is year-on-year upturn of +59.2% in properties’ selling and buying in January, as reported by Spain’s General Council of Notaries. National housing market would become an attractive investment opportunity again in 2014.
MADRID | By Carlos Díaz Güell | Despite the Spanish residencial housing market weakness, main offer and demand variables are seemingly beginning to stabilize, pointing that real state starts and sales will reach a minimum level in 2013.
NEW YORK | By Junheng Li at Forbes via Caixin | The assumption that China’s housing market is out of control ignores many facts, most importantly that homeowners are not deeply indebted.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The number of foreigners who bought a house in Spain grew by 17% in 2012 reaching to 2008’s levels. For instance, 45% of houses in the eastern coast province of Alicante were acquired by outside investors.
Despite the continued uncertainty in the Eurozone, total real estate investment volumes grew in 2012 with €118bn invested, up from €112 recorded in 2011.