Saturday, November 1, 2008

Northern Ireland House Prices Rise By 600 GBP Per Week!

The latest quarterly price index compiled by the University of Ulster shows that the average price of a home was ?153,868, an increase of ?31,000 since last year. Detached houses are experiencing the greatest price rise, showing an average of ?237,749 - an increase of almost 30%.

Belfast has also seen the average house price rising by 23.6%, however Lisburn saw the greatest price hike with the average increasing by 44% The report, which was produce in association with the Housing Executive and the Bank of Ireland, covered 2200 transactions reported by 108 estate agents` firms. Terraced and town houses saw an increase of 29% with semi-detached houses rising by 23% and bungalows rising more steadily by 19.7%. Detached bungalows also failed to match the growth of the rest of the market with a rate of 11.9% reaching an average of ?184,045. Apartment prices continued to show a variable performance over time, rising by 19.2%. In Belfast, the overall average price of a home was ?145,051, whereas South Belfast remained the strongest performing area in the city.

All property types in Lisburn experienced rampant rates of increase. Prices in Craigavon and Armagh also saw a 39% annual rise while Londonderry and Strabane experiencing significant growth at more than 30%. The number of properties with a value of less than ?100,000 also appear to disappearing, with only a fifth of the sales (20%) in the ?50,000 to ?100,000 bracket. Louise Brown, one of the authors of the study, along with Professors Alistair Adair and Stanley McGreal, said it was difficult to see how the growth rate of 25% across Northern Ireland could continue. She said: Having said that, the 25% growth in this survey is not a one-off - it's very comparable with the rates of increase during the second half of 2005. These are boom conditions that appear to be the result of strong investment activity, relatively cheap borrowing costs and an undersupply of properties. Despite the housing boom, the average cost of a house in Northern Ireland is ?30,000 lower than those south of the border.

The average cost of properties are: Lisburn, ?188,772; South Belfast, ?188,069; Enniskillen/Fermanagh/South Tyrone, ?169,402; Mid and South Down, ?167,886; North Down, ?166,264; Coleraine, Limavady and the North Coast, ?165,591; East Belfast, ?165,432; Mid Ulster, ?163,446; Antrim/Ballymena, ?155,319; Craigavon/Armagh, ?144,157; Derry/Strabane, ?140,747; East Antrim, ?120,163; West Belfast, ?113,052; North Belfast, ?107,673.

By George McGonigal, a partner in moving. Why not visit moving estate agents northern ireland: for a full estate agency service at a flat fee of ?750 or our sister website for competitive n ireland insurance where you can compare car insurance quotes from lots companies without obligation.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Austin Real Estate

The term real estate refers to land along with anything permanently attached to the land, such as house. Real estate is an asset for the owners.

The city of Austin is the capital of Texas, U.S.A. It is divided into 7 main parts: North, with areas like Cedar Park, Copperfield etc.; Northwest, with areas like Block House Creek, Buttercup Creek, Canyon Creek etc.; Central, with areas like Aldridge Place and Allendale; South with areas like Barton Hills and Shady Hollow; Southeast with Onion Creek and Southwest with areas like Lake Pointe and Rob Roy. These areas have various advantages and disadvantages of their own. Each should be considered before buying real estate. Real estate agents can give guidance to a buyer.

With a population of more than half a million, Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Austin is considered a great place for real estate entrepreneurs. What's more, it is an environmentally friendly city. It has clean air, clean water, and healthy food facilities. Austin scored 34 marks in the Cleanest Cities Report, in which higher marks indicate a better city. Austin provides many great opportunities for students and educators alike. Austin has a main campus of the University of Texas. The many small and large businesses in Austin are growing. The infrastructure of the city is world-class. The service industry is at its peak. All these factors contributed to the real estate boom in Austin.

There are more than seven thousand real estate properties available in Austin waiting for buyers. Most of them have ability to become someone?s dream home.

Austin Real Estate provides detailed information on Austin Real Estate, Austin Real Estate Brokers, Austin Commercial Real Estates, Austin Real Estate Listings and more. Austin Real Estate is affiliated with Dallas Real Estate Agencies.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Buying Real Estate In France

There are many so called French property ?consultants? based in the UK who are more than happy to help you achieve your dream of property ownership in France, however many of them are also very happy to lighten your wallet along the way.

French property sales to the British is now seriously big business and as with all industries that see a substantial growth in a short period of time, more players are tempted in to that market place to try get a ?slice of the action?.

Unfortunately for the opportunist player, getting established in France as an estate agent (Agent Immobilier) is a long and complicated process, as the industry is heavily regulated. Not just anyone is allowed to rent a shop, stick pictures of houses in the window and call themselves an estate agent. So for these players it is much easier to be based in the UK, away from the beady eyes of the French tax, social security and regulatory authorities and try and make it work for them that way.

After four years of substantial growth in the French property market we now see many British based businesses in the market place. Some claim to be French estate agents (Illegal unless they are a French business registered at the Prefecture as an immobilier); some want to charge you a huge consultancy fee (Not illegal, unless they ask for it after the seven days cooling off period has finished), and some even charge you to show you properties ? which is completely illegal in France ? but all the these players have one thing in common - they have some or all of their business based in the UK. And why is this? Because if they were based in France they would more than likely be closed down.

So what can you, the French property hunter do to protect yourself from a lot of sharp practises within the industry?

The following occurrences should set off alarm bells:-

Being asked to pay to register to receive property details

Being asked to pay to view properties

Being asked to pay any money to anyone before the 7 day cooling off period has finished

Being asked to meet an ?agent? anywhere other than their office, e.g. in a car park

Being asked to pay a second fee on top of the normal French estate agency fee for services that a registered agent or Notaire would provide you as part of their normal service

In short the only real way to protect yourself is to deal directly with a French registered Immobilier and best of all one who is a member of one of the two main trade bodies in France for estate agents, either FNAIM or SNPI. Only by dealing with a local registered immobilier are guaranteed to get a professional service for a fair fee.

Mark Russell, Limousin Homes - French property and real estate sales in the Limousin and Poitou Charentes

For more information and real estate in France visit http://www.limousinhomes.com/

Metal Building Manufacturers

There are so many metal building manufacturers, and it can be time consuming settling on the company whose products and services best meet your needs. Metal buildings offer a wonderful alternative to the more traditional style of building and can also help you save money. Here is some advice on how to narrow down the list of metal building manufacturers to find the one that best meets your needs.

First, decide which type of metal building you need. Is it for residential or commercial use? Will you need storage? Does it need to be portable? Are you interested in using a kit? Make a list of questions and criteria that are important to you and then select a list of metal building manufacturers to contact.

Once you figure out which metal buildings are right for you, you will next need to consider your budget. Do you have enough money in your budget to fund your project? If not, contact your financial advisor to work through your options. Metal building manufacturers? prices vary, so you can save money by doing adequate research.

Next, you?ll need to decide who is going to perform the actual construction. If it is a smaller structure, such as a shed, and you have the skills, you may want to consider putting the structure together yourself. However, keep in mind that if something goes wrong, contacting the company to help resolve any problems that occurred because you lacked an essential skill can cost you more money. Hiring an expert is a great option if you lack the time and skills to complete the project. They can often finish the project in a much smaller time frame than if you did it yourself

After initial construction, check the structure for any problems and areas of damage. If you find anything questionable, contact the company immediately to increase your chances of getting a refund or to resolve the problem quickly. However, metal buildings are extremely sturdy so the likelihood of having major problems should be small.

Metal Buildings provides detailed information on Metal Buildings, Metal Storage Buildings, Metal Building Kits, Commercial Metal Buildings and more. Metal Buildings is affiliated with Pre-Fabricated Steel Buildings .

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Prices Still Rising in Malta Property Market

upwards. Demand for property in Malta is plentiful and if forecasts are correct, prices could rise between 8 and 10% more this year; with buyers from countries such as the UK, US, Australian and many European countries, continually interested in this Mediterranean islands potential.

Demand for real estate, apartments and villas in Malta is buoyant this year and the Malta government are thought quite likely to allow developers to use even more land for building. In a country which is the third most populous in the world , this may mean the island becomes even less spacious although investors are expected to continue to snap up properties.

Access to the island of Malta is always of importance to foreign investors investing in Malta, and speculation still floats around about the the possibility of Easyjet flying to Malta from 2008; a move which could significantly increase the volume of visitors to Malta. Tourist would suddenly be able to afford long weekends in Malta with cheaper flights.

The prices of property and real estate in Malta could be affected with the January 2008 situation whereby MALTA will likely join the EU. In the past, the prices of property has risen quite well in many countries with the introduction of the Euro, and others when they joined the EU.

When the Euro was introduced on January 2nd, 2002, the value of property in countries such as Italy, Ireland and Spain rose very well. Prices of property in Sicily Italy for example, have risen on average about 20% over the last 4 years. A different situation is whereby countries have joined the EU and this has also had an effect although less significant than previously expected. It was expected that prices would rise dramatically as countries such as Hungary joined the EU a few years ago. Prices have risen but more steadily than expected.

With Malta and Gozo likely to join in 2008, it is certainly likely to be a positive rather than negative for the Maltese real estate market. With excellent weather and a relaxed pace of life, a lot of interest exists in Malta and Gozo, with rental opportunities also excellent. So, do not miss the boat - no pun intended!

Malta Real estate and property

Written by Paul Symonds MSC & BAHons.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Home Ownership Ownership Societies and Home Equity Considered

One of the greatest things that a society or civilization can have is buy-in from its citizenry. Perhaps you might call this a sense of nationalism that comes from owning a piece of America. Home ownership helps boost the value of ownership societies and yet even though more Americans own homes now then have ever in the history of our nation we also have a problem where the home equity value is less on a percentage per house than it has ever been also.

We know from the last real estate crash that when home equity becomes negative that more and more people walk away from their homes and then they are disenchanted with our society, civilization and even capitalism itself. This is unfortunate although it also shows a sense of irresponsibility on the part of those people who dug their own grave of debt. Nevertheless in the blame game world of human civilizations and societies people who have hardships of life usually try to blame someone else for them.

So what started out to be a great advancement in the concept an ownership society in the United States of America looks like it is slowly losing some of its steam and actually might end up causing a little bit of a problem in the future. The Federal Reserve says that the housing market collapse is not as bad as people portray it and this is relatively true however, it is something we need to watch in the future.

If people walk away from their loans this can cause a problem in the banking system and American citizens are already in too much debt with short-term loans and credit cards. An ownership society is a great idea and we should commend our leadership for working towards that noble goal, but at the same time we must be very careful that we talk about ownership we are not just talking about debt; rather actual ownership.

Owning a piece of America should not be owning an overwhelming responsibility of stress to make payments on something that is not his worth as much as the loan value. Please consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow, a retired entrepreneur, adventurer, modern day philosopher and perpetual tourist.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Property Price Gains Attract New Buyers To Malta

UK and European investors looking for high growth in 2007 are hoping for a repeat of the property inflation seen in Malta when it joined the EU in 2004, and it could become reality with the news that low cost airlines are to fly to the island, giving their real estate industry expectation that 2007 could be an exceptional year for price rises and sales.

In recent years the arrival of low cost - sometimes referred to as 'no frills' - airlines to a regional airport has seen property prices within a two hour drive escalate in popularity and price, especially among British buyers for France and Spain.

With the advent of these new flights to Malta, there is a possibility that demand for real estate in Malta will increase.

Commenting on the news, Malta holidays guide www.yourmalta.com say that a double digit property inflation figure for Malta is quite possible for 2007.

'Cheap airline destinations have proved to be a magnet for UK property investors, and if that trend continues then prices will go up in the next twelve to twenty four months', they say.

'Other than the local market, the UK provides most buyers for property in Malta, and with the British economy doing well it's quite possible that the island will be seen as a good investment opportunity'.

Malta Weather

Tribune Properties, a UK company specialising in Malta properties, agree that property prices could rise in 2007.

'With lower fares, Malta becomes a destination viable for 3 and 4 days trips a few times a year from the UK, and that will attract buyers to look at Malta in the same way they do France and Spain when considering where to buy a holiday home abroad. The weather in Malta and low fares could be a magnet for buyers.'

There is a warning however from YourMalta that property prices on the island might not necessarily escalate in the same way that regions of France have seen when low cost airlines have started flying to their region.

'The Malta government has allowed more land to be used for property, and we anticipate a lot more apartment blocks being built short and medium term. Supply might well meet demand. Unless the political map of Malta changes and with it a change of policy towards her environment, there is a danger of Malta becoming the Tower Hamlets of the Mediterranean, or 1970's Spain where development spoiled much of the coast.'

Concern has also been expressed on the island about the infrastructure, with some tourists and potential property investors berating the state of the roads and - compared to mainland European and UK standards - dangerous construction sites.

'The real winners from the low cost flights could be the Malta hotels rather than the property industry', conclude YourMalta. 'We envisage a lot more people taking short three and four day Malta holidays, often booking their flights and hotels on the internet rather than via a traditional high street travel agent store'.