WASHINGTON – March 13, 2013 – Prices are rising and inventories are falling in markets throughout the United States, which has led financial reporting and forecasting firm Kiplinger to declare the housing recovery “firmly” in motion. Moreover, the company says housing will help carry the overall economy at a time when U.S. exports are decreasing, says Karen Mracek, a Kiplinger editor and real estate analyst. “The biggest reason we think we’re on firm ground is that we’re seeing every indicator on the way up. We’re seeing a range of indicators that suggest pretty solid growth going forward. In addition to home values and supply, positive indicators include the number of multiple-bid situations, new-home construction and credit availability. Solid improvements in those fundamentals will lead to formation of new households and help more borrowers come out from underwater – and trade up to a new home. They’ll also create new jobs in real estate and construction. Nationally,” Mracek says, “the current housing recovery is real and sustainable.”
NEW YORK – March 13, 2013 – The international luxury real estate market appears to be relatively immune to economic headwinds, according to a report by Christie International Real Estate. Christie’s International Real Estate Index monitors record sales prices and prices per square foot, among other indicators in the global luxury real estate market.
London emerged at the top of the network’s index, boasting a record sales price of more than $121 million for a residential property in 2012. In New York, an $88 million sale allowed it to come in at No. 2.
The international luxury market is showing strong momentum, “driven by scarcity of quality inventory and demand from international buyers in many of the world’s top destinations,” says Bonnie Stone Sellers, CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate.
There are more billionaires worldwide now than there were in 2008. What’s more, the percentage of worldwide millionaires has grown by 55 percent since 2000, according to the report.
As wealth has grown so has the number of homebuyers making housing deals in all cash. For example, the report notes that nearly all of the transactions in Los Angeles above $5 million were cash deals; 90 percent in New York; and 70 percent in San Francisco and Miami.
Source: “Global luxury real estate market showing ‘strong momentum’,” Inman News (March 11, 2013)
