Real Estate

Asia’s city-states grapple with slowing growth

11 Feb 2013

Singapore and Hong Kong have been regional economic hotspots for decades. Continued expansion requires importing more workers. But popular discontent about crowding and property prices means doors will be less open. Both cities will have to adapt to more pedestrian futures.

Ethical economy: The knots of development

6 Feb 2013

What’s wrong with British housing? So many things, from planning to self-destructive financial expectations. The strands are entwined into a knot of interlocking self-interests. What keeps some countries poor? Too many of these knots, made tighter by corruption and ignorance.

LEG is a bet on German property, good and bad

1 Feb 2013

Today’s flotation of LEG is the first big German IPO of 2013. While the German residential landlord won’t be cheap, investors are keen on the business. LEG’s long-term outlook is muddier, though. One-third of the portfolio’s apartments are in poor and declining areas.

Ticket to ride up London’s Shard looks toppy

25 Jan 2013

Western Europe’s tallest building will soon offer a near-$40 view. That’s lofty compared to famous vistas in New York, Paris and elsewhere. Adjusted for height, the cost looks even steeper. Blame may lie with the same footloose global capital that has flooded into London property.

Abu Dhabi property merger mixed bag for minorities

21 Jan 2013

Factoring in a surprise cash sweetener from Abu Dhabi, it looks like well-run Sorouh is paying a premium to troubled state-controlled rival Aldar. But the $2.9 bln state-backed merger of Abu Dhabi’s leading developers will help smooth the emirate’s property mess.

German real estate upswing is not for everyone

15 Jan 2013

After years of stagnation, the German residential property market is showing signs of life. Rents and prices are on the rise. Listed landlords are outperforming the stock market and IPOs are in the pipeline. But investors should not get carried away. This market has major pitfalls.

U.S. mortgage rules herald a kind of housing turn

10 Jan 2013

Five years after the real estate bust, regulators have set out provisions to shield lenders from home-buyer lawsuits. In an industry plagued by litigation, it should help lure investors back. The rules may not stop another bubble, but are an integral step to reshape the market.

China’s hukou belongs on history’s scrapheap

28 Dec 2012

The 54-year policy that ties people to their home town has helped cities to get rich without attracting the growth of slums. Now it mainly benefits urbanites and holds back the rural poor. Forget the fear of being swamped - bigger cities are healthy for society and the economy.

US housing doesn’t need another government bailout

26 Dec 2012

The White House is mulling allowing homeowners with underwater private mortgages to refinance into cheaper government-backed loans. But Washington should be planning its exit from home finance, not extending its occupation. Luckily, these latest plans look like a pipe dream.

Washington may finally take up mortgage reform

21 Dec 2012

Assuming Congress settles the deficit debate, housing finance should be its next stop. Lawmakers have postponed reforming the government’s role in funding home loans for four years. Some hurdles still remain. But economic, regulatory and political obstacles are dissolving.

Fannie, Freddie employees don’t need outsized pay

10 Dec 2012

Whatever their quasi-private sector past, they’re now managing Uncle Sam’s money. The Treasury secretary and the Fed chairman take home just under $200,000. There’s no reason for dozens of housing agency staff to pocket multiples of that. Pay scale reductions are overdue.

Lehman’s Archstone saga twists till the end

27 Nov 2012

The U.S. apartment empire that buckled the investment bank is being sold to two rivals for $6.5 bln. Accounting changes and poor disclosure muddle the valuation. Lehman creditors also will be left investing in the real estate. It’s a perfectly confounding denouement.

Colombia’s land reform talks have handy template

19 Nov 2012

Land is the first order of business for the government and FARC rebels. Getting past ideas of communal ownership and agreeing on restitution or redistribution is crucial. As Hernando de Soto showed in neighboring Peru, solid property titles can be useful fuel for economic growth.

Eviction halt will end up helping Spain’s banks

13 Nov 2012

Spanish lenders have agreed to a two-year freeze on kicking desperate mortgage debtors out of their homes. That’s costly in banking logic. But in a crisis where government aid is crucial, goodwill counts. Besides, shuffling residences won’t add much to total mortgage payments.

City cull adds to London house-price bubble risk

12 Nov 2012

Financial firms are forecast to return to 1993 levels of headcount, yet prime central London property keeps appreciating. Global safe-haven inflows may keep it that way. But falling rents are a warning that if the foreign money dries up, the market’s fundamentals aren’t strong.

New mortgage market forecaster deserves two cheers

2 Nov 2012

Two U.S. watchdogs are creating a national home loan database. Done properly, it would make mortgages safer for investors and borrowers. But it only covers a sliver of the market and replicates some private initiatives. It’s still welcome, not least as it may protect taxpayers.

Even resilient Canada can’t escape global malaise

1 Nov 2012

America’s northern neighbor didn’t have a financial crash or a big housing bubble, it hasn’t zeroed interest rates, and budget deficits are modest. Yet growth could be slower than in the U.S. and jobs are a bit scarce. Canada is too dependent to beat sluggishness elsewhere.

U.S. housing recovery not as solid as it looks

25 Oct 2012

Prices are up 4 pct. But cash-rich buy-to-rent investors, not consumers, seem to be behind the uptick. Blackstone is snapping up 666 houses a week. While helpful and done with no taxpayer aid, if investor interest dries up before individuals jump back in, the recovery may falter.

Latest attempt to find Libor victim: Main Street

17 Oct 2012

U.S. homeowners are accusing big banks of making money out of nudging the benchmark interest rate higher. Bringing in Joe Public could add to political pressure for tougher regulation. Even so, it’s hard to see how more than a tiny amount of harm was done.

Stock investors vault ahead of housing recovery

15 Oct 2012

Economic signals point to a U.S. property rebound, but the bulls may be chasing a mirage. Last week saw a big bump for a real estate agency’s IPO. Home Depot trades well above its bubble-era highs. Fundamentals suggest the market has bottomed, but a boom still looks distant.