Quality Speaks For Itself

Attractive Mortgage Schemes starting to reappear in Cyprus

1 comment February 24th, 2009

We have been all too aware of the dearth of sensible mortgage schemes available for buyers of Cyprus Property in recent months. The schemes on offer in recent months have seen interest rates around 8% with no sight of a payment holiday for off plan purchases and Loan to Values being limited to no more than 70%.

There have been many false dawns but we note with interest a scheme that has just been announced by the Bank of Cyprus. It offers an 80% Loan to Value and provides a two year payment holiday for off-plan purchases. The interest rate is also capped at 5% for the first three years. Now this scheme is only available for Cypriot residents but I would take this as a sign that things are slowly returning to normal and we would expect similar schemes to be rolled out to non residents in the coming months as more banks reenter the market.

Mortgage lending dives in 2008……………

Add comment February 13th, 2009

It was announced today that the number of mortgages taken out by house hunters fell to its lowest level since 1974 during 2008. The Council of Mortgage Lenders numbers show that just 516,000 mortgages were taken out for house purchase last year which is a fall of 49% compared to 2007.

Net lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, for all types of mortgage also dived sharply, dropping to £39.7bn in 2008, from £108.2bn a year earlier. There was also steep fall in the number of first-time buyers getting on to the ladder. Just 194,200 people bought their first home in 2008, 46% fewer than in 2007. That slump in first time purchases continued in December, with just 12,100 people taking out loans collectively worth £1.4bn – the lowest levels since the CML’s monthly records began in 2002.

So those are the hard numbers but what does it mean, as I guess the headline is not that much of a surprise to many! The reality is that the shortage of mortgage funding and reduction in the number of active lenders has reshaped the mortgage landscape in the space of a year. I don’t expect many of the currently hibernating lenders returning to the market any time soon if at all!

So we are in a position where the few lenders that remain can pick and choose what business they want to write and close their books as soon as they achieve relatively modest targets. I suspect that overall 2009 will start painfully slowly and then things will pick up at the tail end of the year, leading to a further overall contraction in the market.

14 new golf courses get the go ahead in Cyprus

Add comment February 9th, 2009

The government has finally approved the creation of fourteen new golf courses in Cyprus, which will bring the total number on the island to seventeen. To conserve water each golf course will be required to have its own desalination unit, which must be powered from renewable energy sources.

Spokesman for the Cyprus government, Stefanos Stefanou, said the actual decision had been taken by the previous government.“It was taken for the purpose of strengthening the tourism product in Cyprus and boosting economic activity,” he said.

It is expected that courses will be built in the district of Limassol at Ayios Ambrosios, at Paramali and Fassouri, at Polis Chrysochous, in Paphos and Ammochostos-Larnaca. (Tersefanou near Larnaca has already been given the go ahead)

The story builds!

Abu Dhabi starting to move again

Add comment February 6th, 2009

Abu Dhabi property on Al Reem Island seems to be bouyant again. A friend who is there at the moment says prices have moved up 8% in the last month. As you will know I’m a big fan of this market, especially the first phase of Marina Square. Demand is strong and supply is very very limited, which are just the right conditions for both a yield and capital growth play. This is a long term investment proposition.

I’m out to Abu Dhabi on 10th March to understand the finance situation (which appears to be easing with more liquidity entering the market via government capital injections) and set up an office! I’ll let you know how I get on.

Halifax survey says house prices rose in January!

Add comment February 6th, 2009

Well the Halifax stats that were released yesterday certainly made me sit up and take note. House prices ROSE, yes ROSE by 1.9% during January, and brings an end to 10 consecutive months of price falls. But should we believe them?

I’d like to. My house, like many I guess, has spent the last 6 months in freefall. Luckily I don’t have to sell it and hope that in a few months time it will pick back up again. But realistically it may not happen for years. I see little sales movement in Greater London and the majority of people that I speak to think that whilst prices may not have that much further to fall that they will not be heading upwards any time soon.

However, the number of optimists is starting to grow. However, as noted in my previous post, figures from the Bank of England show mortgage lending rose in December from the previous month. Last month the Woolwich launched its cheapest ever mortgage.

Also the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says it’s seen a jump in new buyer inquiries. It also reports anecdotal evidence suggesting that recent interest rate cuts, combined with house-price falls, are beginning to tempt first-time buyers back into the market.

We seem to be entering a period of “data confusion” with different data giving conflicting messages, perhaps an early sign that we are nearing the bottom certainly with regard to the housing market.