By Caroline Thorpe
Five property stories making global headlines:
Global housing slowdown
House price growth is slowing globally, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported that several indicators suggest a worldwide housing market slowdown is under way. Such indicators include a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas index, which showed annual house price growth across 23 countries fell from 4.3 per cent in 2016 to 1.8 per cent in the year to October 2019. Lack of affordability and geopolitical concerns such as the US trade war with China were among the reasons given for the trend.
Mixed picture for UK market
Meanwhile, The Mirror revealed the UK cities defying the slowdown. Topping the growth charts in 2019 was Edinburgh, where house prices increased 6.1 per cent in the year to December, according to data provider Zoopla. Nottingham recorded the second-largest increase, with prices up 5.2 per cent.
“The best prospects for house price growth in 2020 are in Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester,” said Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla. “In contrast, we expect cities in southern England to register below average price growth as affordability levels realign to what buyers can afford.”
Prolonged fall in Dubai house prices causes state to step in
Dubai has taken steps to revive its property market, which saw residential and commercial values fall 13-15 per cent last year according to real estate services company Asteco. The Financial Times reported that the government has established a committee to help match supply with demand and appointed senior officials to run state-owned property developers including Nakheel, which developed The Palm. The iconic high-end development “has fallen on hard times”, according to the FT.
Frank Lloyd Wright school to close
The School of Architecture at Taliesin, established by renowned US architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1932, is to close. Dezeen reported that the school’s two campuses — in Wisconsin and Arizona — will shut in June following failed financial negotiations. Wright’s famous designs included Fallingwater (1937), a house built on a rocky slope above the Bear Run river in Pennsylvania.
One of world’s most expensive ever homes bought by Ukrainian billionaire
The website Mansion Global has revealed the Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov as the €200m buyer of Villas Les Cèdres, a 200-year-old mansion on the French Riviera was once touted as the most expensive home in the world, surpassed recently by the likes of London’s Rutland Gate, which sold for €237m. Previous owners of the 14-bedroom French property include Belgian King Leopold II.
Photographs: AP Photo; Dreamstime; Getty Images
