Brazil’s commercial property sector is one of the few in the world to record positive sentiment towards rental expectations and capital value growth during the first quarter of 2012.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Global Commercial Property Survey for the final three months of 2011, Brazil’s real estate market has shown resilience in the face of a largely negative picture elsewhere in the world.

Respondents in the country are predicting a rise in rental values, as well as capital growth, in the period from January to March this year.  Canada is the only nation where sentiment is more positive in these two respects.

Property professionals in Brazil also anticipate demand from occupiers will continue to outpace the supply of available premises over the next few months.

Writing for Global Property Guide earlier this month, developer Ruban Selvanayagam stated there are “massive” opportunities for investors in Brazilian real estate, although he urged potential buyers to approach the market with caution and to carry out extensive research to ensure the property they purchase will meet their expectations.

Source: http://www.propertyshowrooms.com/

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Property in Spain is increasingly being viewed as a safe investment as the economic downturn continues.

This is according to A Place in the Sun magazine website editor Liz Rowlinson, who said there has been a definite shift back to countries like Spain that are seen as more established than emerging markets in other parts of the world.

She added that feedback from readers indicates Spain is among the most popular locations for property buyers “by some measure”.
“Prices have fallen so much that it’s now within people’s budgets, yet still offers all the things that make it our favourite holiday destination – great climate, beaches and amenities, such as golf courses,” Ms Rowlinson remarked.

The comments came shortly after Robin Haynes of Currency Index noted that British buyers considering purchasing real estate in Spain may want to take advantage of the current strength of sterling against the euro.

He suggested that investors could get over eight per cent more for their cash when buying euros compared with last July.

Source: http://www.propertyshowrooms.com/spain/

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Securing a good USA property deal is likely to get harder if foreclosure levels slow down, as isexpected and aided by proposed mortgage write-downs.

Many existing homeowners struggling to keep up with mortgage payments could be about toreceive a major boost, after it was unveiled that as many as one million homeowners would getwrite-downs in the size of their mortgages under a proposed deal with banks over underhanded foreclosure practices.

Speaking at a Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, Shaun Donovan of Housing and Urban Development, said: “We’re very close to a settlement that would both fix the servicing problems, but also help over a million families around the country stay in their homes and get help.”

Using Donovan’s estimate, the settlement could provide a reduction of about $20,000 (€15,500/£12,400) for each of the one million borrowers.

“Principal reduction can have a substantial impact on the housing market nationally,” Donovan said.

With over 30% decline in home prices since 2007 and a large volume of vacant, foreclosed homes flooding the market, the USA property sector has struggled to recover from the crash. It is estimated that about 22% of U.S. homes are in negative equity, according to Core Logic.

But with more national and international purchasers entering the market, including astute property investors, residential inventory levels across parts of the country are falling.

The Orlando property market, for example, has seen a significant fall in the glut of homes on the market in the past year, with inventory levels reportedly down by in excess of 50% year-on-year.

(Source: http://www.florida-property-direct.com/)

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The three largest banks in Spain by market value have unveiled the steps they will take over the course of 2012 to comply with new government regulations relating to the provisions they need to make to cover real estate losses.
Banco Santander, which announced last week it had set aside an additional €1.8 billion (£1.5 billion) to meet losses on repossessed homes in Spain, is due to add a further €2.3 billion to this pot.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) intends to make provisions of around €1.4 billion, in addition to money it had already earmarked for this purpose ahead of the Spanish government’s announcement.
BBVA added its strong performance in 2011 means it will be able to “entirely absorb” the sum in 2012.
Finally, Caixabank has stated it will find an extra €2.4 billion to cover its Spanish real estate assets.
Speaking to Reuters, financial director at BBVA Manuel Gonzalez Cid commented: “These are the strongest banks in the Spanish financial sector so it’s not surprising they can manage the [requirements] through generic provisions or by bringing forward other capital buffers.”
Moody’s recently announced it had downgraded Catalunya Banc and Bankia’s debt and deposit ratings over concerns that the financial institutions will be unable to meet the higher provisions for real estate losses laid out by the government.

(Source: http://www.propertyshowrooms.com)

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Brazil has been adding 19 ‘millionaires’ per day since 2007 – and that statistic will likely be repeated over the next three years as Latin America’s economic super-power continues to deliver stellar GDP growth and consumption rates” [Forbes 2011]» 6th largest economy in the world, replacing the United Kingdom» International reserves now exceed $350bn, foreign trade has multiplied by a factor of four, reaching half a trillion dollars in 2011

» Up to 40 million Brazilians have joined the middle class, now accounting for 50% of Brazil’s 190 million population

Brazil’s booming real-estate industry has also generated huge wealth as property values have doubled in recent years and are poised to increase further.

The United States and Europe may be in a slump, but Brazil’s booming economy is attracting immigrants.

(Source: www.premierinvestmentproperty.com)

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