The sixteen country members of the euro zone Are all seen falls in property prices. Latest data shows that that was a 5% drop in the house prices in the final quarter of 2008, compared to the same period in the previous year. The highest rates of property price falls are in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the Netherlands. The southern countries of Spain and Portugal which have massively over constructive hundreds of thousands of holiday homes, hotels and second homes are saying acute problems. Many newly built for the home complexes, villas and resorts remain half finished or empty as buyers shy away from investing in holiday home markets.
The UK has seen an almost 10% annual average rise in property prices during the 1990s. Our economy is heavily dependent on the economic success of the property market. Recent reports have shown that the number of holiday homes and second homes purchased in the United Kingdom has fallen the first time in 10 years, including the average sale price. Price drops artistically cute in sought-after central London, where city workers have traditionally purchased apartments
It is a gloomy picture in which down pressure on property prices is making the European recession worse. The European Central Bank is forecasting a 4.1% in the gross domestic product of the euro zone area in 2009. A European Central Bank report on innovations in Eurozone housing finance last month noted rises in household indebtedness and concluded the impact of house price changes on the economy is bound to have increased, creating the possibility of more pronounced boom-bust periods.
Now that the global credit crunch is squeezing consumer's ability to obtain a mortgage, UK property prices have fallen dramatically. However, the picture is not the same across the euro zone, in countries like Germany in which their domestic property market remained almost stagnant for almost 10 years. Consequently, different countries governments are attaching different levels of priorities to their domestic property market is, relative to other economic concerns such as unemployment and trade deficits. The recent G20 summit in London is rated the difference is that opinions of European leaders in the notion of pumping more money into the euro zone, to prop up financial centres and major industries.
Despite the differences in the severity of the downturn in the property market across the euro zone, one thing is clear - the overseas holiday home investment boom is over. Of course the dream for many UK residents is owning a second home abroad, in a picturesque town or village. The warm climates and relatively low cost of living has attracted millions of UK people away to become expatriates. Until mortgage finance becomes more freely available, it seems inevitable that the holiday home markets across the euro zone will continue to stagnate or fall in price. Savvy investors are sitting on their hands and waiting until the current recession bottoms out. Many more investors are increasingly obtaining euro zone currency mortgages to take advantage of very low interest rates or hedge their bets against currency fluctuations and an average lower interest rate. Fed up Bits seeking a better life abroad the waiting game continues.
