First off... a quick refresher. Here's what they were saying last year.

It's been that kind of a year... a year that made Capital Economics look bullish, and left the Rat and Mouse with egg on its whiskers. 2009's set of predictions look very different. It's a clean sweep for negative numbers. There are some notable names missing altogether (Halifax isn't playing, because it doesn't feel it's appropriate to publish independent research when the company's on the verge of losing its independence; Nationwide won't play because of a fear of current volatility; the Council of Mortgage Lenders because it's all too depressing; the National Association of Estate Agents because it has too much sense.) Some things never change, however. Notice, at the top... the estate agents; at the bottom... Capital Economics. Here goes:

Hamptons ↓5%
KFH ↓5%
Assetz ↓5%
Winkworth ↓5% to ↓10%
Hometrack ↓10%
RICS ↓10%
The Rat and Mouse ↓10%
Legal & General ↓10% to ↓15%
Barclays ↓10% to ↓15%
Propertyfinder ↓12%
Knight Frank ↓15%
Capital Economics ↓20%

Halifax NO BETS
Nationwide NO BETS
Council of Mortgage Lenders NO BETS
National Association of Estate Agents NO BETS

There are specific and special problems with making predictions for 2009. For instance, none of us really knows where house prices are right now. Transaction levels are low enough to be statistically unreliable. According to Halifax - the place we traditionally look at this time of year - prices are currently down 18% from their summer 2007 peak. The general economic crisis provides a further layer of uncertainty. Arguably more important than interest rates or the willingness/ability of the lenders to lend, is employment. If 2009's job-losses turn into the catastrophe some predict, they'll count out any kind of house price recovery, and may well add impetus to a downward spiral. Nor will the market act as a whole. New builds are likely to suffer, as developers decide they'd prefer a kicking to a fatal lack of cash. Internationally desirable locations and properties, on the other hand, could profit from a weak pound.

In other words, it will be complicated.

Happy New Year to you. The Rat and Mouse will be back on Monday.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Almost half of middle class people fear they won't be able to pay the mortgage [Daily Mail]
London house prices suffer most [BBC]
In 2009... why not invest in property? [FT]
How to live [Telegraph]
Learn from London's Victorian builders [This Is London]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Accurate-ish, because based on completions. Lagging reality, because they represent deals often done six or eight weeks earlier. Whatever, the Land Registry November report is showing an annual decline in prices of 12.2%, which is about what most people were expecting. It's the 15th consecutive monthly drop. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Existing borrowers on tracker mortgages in particular have benefitted from falling monthly mortgage repayments of, on average, £150 a month, since October. All well and good, but only 28% of borrowers took a tracker deal in quarter three of this year, and it is fixed rates that are the mortgage of choice for 60% of borrowers, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

What's around for fixers, courtesy of the Fool.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Of course, we've still our 2009 predictions post to come... we'll do that nearer New Year's Eve. But right now... the 2008 facts are coming in thick-and-fast. Like... London's been hit hardest by the house price downturn. A Hometrack survey shows London's down 10.1% on the year, compared with an 8.7% national average. Those numbers sound conservative to me. We'll know something like the truth after the Government reveals its December completions figures in a month or two. Meanwhile, Globrix claim that - in the UK's most stagnant market, Rochdale's - one in four homes remain on the market after 12 months. Elsewhere - and this is slightly counter-intuitive given the dramatic recent cuts in interest rates - homeowners paid off a record £5.7b of mortgage debt in the third quarter of 2008. Presumably, this is about falling house prices and tricky loan-to-value demands from the lenders. Still... kind of mature, isn't it? More facts and figures as the year draws to an end. And hold on - of course - for those all-important 2009 predictions.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

"Bounce back could be as dramatic as the fall" [Express]
The agents' predictions [Telegraph]
32,000 less estate agents and counting [Telegraph]
And yet... Chesterton Humberts remain defiant [Times]

The Rat and Mouse - London's property blog, since 2005

[photo by Synesthésia]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

That's it from the Rat and Mouse until Monday December 29... unless, of course, something extraordinary happens... like a giant freeze-up in credit, or a major investment bank collapsing, or the property market entering free-fall. But what are the chances of something like that happening?

In the meantime, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays. I don't say if often enough, but I appreciate you visiting. In the course of the year, we've watched Rat and Mouse traffic break through the 200,000 pages a month mark... not a giant deal to News International, perhaps, but something of an achievement for a two-man band. I've enjoyed your comments and (most of) your emails. Please keep them coming in 2009, and don't be shy about suggesting things you'd like to read or see on the page.

Finally, a big thanks to our sponsor, Primelocation.com, who provide the search box above and to the right. Use it... it's good. And visit the site. Read all their great stuff too.

[photo by Caro's Lines]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate, theRatandMouse

According to this, asking prices are rising at Maple Quays, in SE16... just a short swim but a world away in property prices from all the banking action. The developers (Barratt) claim sales have been so good they've been able to add a little premium.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

That's according to a survey by uSwitch. And it's alarming because a repayment "holiday" only increases the debt (the interest doesn't go on vacation), and puts the problem temporarily on hold. Our current economic woes, however, look anything like short-lived. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Here's a strange one. The Addymans say they've a £226,000 loan in place with Natwest, that they're completely up-to-date on their payments, their payment history is impeccable, and yet they've received a letter from their lender telling them that the loan is to be withdrawn and if they can't pay back the £226,000 in full within a week, they'll begin repossession proceedings. Why? The bank apparently won't tell them. Nor will it enter into any dialogue about the case whatsoever:

The letter concluded: 'We assure you that we have only reached this decision after careful consideration. However our decision is final and we are not prepared to enter into any discussion in relation to it.'

It all sounds a little Orwellian. What's going on?

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Bank spotted "crazy borrowing", failed to act [This Is Money]
Slump in Prime London rents [Wealth Bulletin]
Mother-of-four bullied out of expensive council house [Daily Mail]
Homeless risk for 2009 [BBC]
It's Paris's time [Times]

The Rat and Mouse - London's property blog, since 2005

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Probably the one X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke is said to be sharing with runner-up Ruth Lorenzo. Pity the neighbours.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Houses... now free! [Daily Star]
Homeless housed in Kensington & Chelsea mansion [Sunday Times]
Hackney Homes residents awards [Clapton Pond Blog]
Top banker found dead in Knightsbridge hotel room [MSN News]
Outlook so bad, lenders ditch predictions [Telegraph]
Investigators probe giant buy-to-let fraud [Sunday Times]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

With the head of the IMF warning that possible consequences of the recession could include civil unrest, now would - clearly - be a terrible time to give paid thugs bailiffs the right to thump the poor. Right? Doh!!

Bailiffs are expecting a big increase in business over the next year as tens of thousands of Britons experience financial problems during the forthcoming recession. The new rules, allowable under legislation already passed by Parliament but not yet enacted, would give bailiffs the right to restrain or pin down householders.

Oh yeah, and there's also consideration being given to allowing bailiffs to break into homes, even when they don't believe the owners are present.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

When Look4AProperty launched, it launched with the slogan "The UK's Number One Property Search Website". Two years later, it promised to spend £40m on TV advertising. Remember? Now, it's the slightly less chippy "The UK's Property Search Website" (TM, no less), but it's just sold a 25% stake to Dragons' Den star and shrewd operator James Caan. After four years of offering agents for free what Rightmove et al charge for (and banging its head against the undisputed established-brand advantage of the market leaders), it still must believe it has something to offer, above and beyond what the National Association of Estate Agents can offer with its own free service.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate, Web2, web2.0

Not getting enough income for your savings? Why not party like it's 2007? she asks.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the number of households more than three months behind with their repayments would reach 500,000.

To put that into some kind of perspective, the figure's likely to be around 200,000 by the end of this year.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

According to a survey by the Building Societies' Association, 46% agree or strongly agree that now's a good time to buy a house, up from 34% in September and 27% in July. More here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

An eight-bedroom semi-detached house with parking, in The Vale, off The King's Road, owned by the estate of Severin Wunderman, the man behind Gucci watches and Corum, and a man with unique taste. Giant gold-leaf ram's head? Check. Gothic hobbit house guest accommodation? Check (and pictured). Skulls on shelves? Check. Wunderman, who described himself as being fascinated with death, died last spring. The house was originally being marketed at £15.5m. It's guide price is now £10.5m. It's with Hamptons. Particulars here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Nestoholic... the new property price tool [via Renthusiast]
Westminster's new affordable homes offer [HotProperty.co.uk]
North London tycoon wanted by US for alleged Internet loans scam [Telegraph]
2009 - good year for btl landlords... no, really.... [Rentman]
The big auction give-away [This Is London]

The Rat and Mouse - London's property blog, since 2005

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Someone, however, was prepared to pay £735,000 for the entire set of the patio-breaking soap opera at a sale in central London yesterday. The lot, which had a guide price of £550,000, was the star of an auction of hundreds of houses and flats, many of which were being sold on behalf of receivers, building societies or the Ministry of Justice.

So who bought the 13 homes? A Liverpool roofer, apparently.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Take, for instance, a £2.5 million house in W11. A 20% discount to reflect the reality of the current market brings the asking price down to £2 million. But the pound has lost almost 30% against the dollar in a year. The W11 townhouse that would have cost $5.125 million in December 2007 looks something like $2.96 million now.

Our publisher looks at exchange rates and bricks-and-mortar, in his weekly guest column for Citywire.

Technorati Tags: theRatandMouse

The soap opera ran from 1982 to 2003. Now, the set - a cul-de-sac in Liverpool's West Derby district - is due to be auctioned, with a guide price of just £650,000. Allsop will be swinging the hammer, but their next catalogue isn't online yet. In the meantime, more here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

If you can swallow 7.18% interest rates.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

And shares respond. More here.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents

Expect to see your Thames tapwater served in one of these soon. More here.

Technorati Tags: London

According to Rightmove, the number of homes for sale in Tower Hamlets (the borough that includes Canary Wharf) rose 12.4% last month. More significant, though, is the fact that it's the £750,000 to £1m sector that's led the gain, doubling during the same period. The ex-bankers are fleeing Canary Wharf.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Buy-to-let landlords: low interest rates v high rent arrears [Independent]
Scrabble is 60 [Telegraph]
Commercial property tycoon, slipping down the rich list [This Is London]
Cluttons call the bottom... early 2009 [Mortgage Introducer]

The Rat and Mouse - London's property blog, since 2005

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Primelocation offers buyers and sellers an international reach, and its portal is a mine of useful information, including useful guides for homeowners, landlords and movers. It features property from 4,000 leading estate agency firms, and the voice of Terence Stamp in its ads... which makes me happy. The Rat and Mouse needs the support of forward-looking organisations like Primelocation if it's to continue bringing you your daily dish of property news and gossip, so we hope you'll support them in return, by using the search box in the top right hand corner.

If your firm is interested in advertising on the Rat and Mouse (stop press: 205,000 page impressions in November), contact me here for more information.

Technorati Tags: theRatandMouse

Anthea Turner: We may lose our mansion [News of the World]
Inside Track's Jim Moore - he's back, and he's feeling carnivorous [PropertyHawk]
Jean-Christophe Novelli loves ze Luton [Times]
Army officer moves into Diana's old gaff at taxpayers' expense [Mail on Sunday]
The Guardian's new home [Guardian]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The second slice of luck, says Cherian, was that Rosie’s buyers were public-sector workers rather than, say, City bankers.

To make a mint like Rosie's (bought the Acton flat for £200,000 in July 2006; sold it, after a side return, for £325,000 just as Lehman's went under), avoid the kinds of areas popular among bankers and City workers. Go where the money is... look for nurses, teachers, social workers.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

We all know that. And yet there's something about hearing somebody like John Varley, Barclays' Chief Executive, actually say it that focuses the mind. Here you go:

"Our view was that from the top to the bottom, you would see a fall of something like 25 to 30%. I suspect we're about halfway through that at the moment. I mean that slowdown, the negative house price inflation started in 2007, it's accelerated in 2008. We're probably about halfway through that period, so in other words we've got another 10 to 15% to fall between now and the end of next year."

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Thanks to the Rat and Mouse reader who drew my attention to this. Keira Knightley has apparently spent £2.3m on a Shoreditch townhouse.

“Keira was fed-up of West London. She wanted to move somewhere more bohemian and arty."

Really? Is Shoreditch still bohemian?

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate

Connells, the last remaining shareholder of the original Rightmove founders, will be renewing its deal with the portal. Which is a vote of confidence for the troubled Rightmove, sine Connells is a giant collection of agents, including Fox & Sons, Barnard Marcus and Allen & Harris. Less of a vote of confidence is news that it's put its 17% stake in the portal up for auction. I guess liquidity's stretched with volume where it is and - well - £40m could come in handy.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents

According to this, he's thinking of studying design at Louis Vuitton's London HQ, but he's also applied for internships virtually everywhere else, and - no doubt - every report contains a plug for his own clothing range. Nor is it the first time he's claimed to be London bound... remember this?

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, Kanye_West, real estate

... "Chesterton Humberts", in a merger that will rebrand and link the two agencies, with half the 60 offices in London. More here.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, real estate agents

First, it's Hamptons who, in a press release, claim a 22% increase in net sales from October to November. London saw a 12% increase, and a 2% increase on the same period last year. Meanwhile, KFH report a significant pick-up in London sales in the last few weeks, particular - it appears - in south and south-west London.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, property, real estate, real estate agents

A public toilet, valued at £5,000, made £13,500 at auction.

Nigel Jones, a director of estate agents John Francis, who handled the sale, said they had "significant interest" in the block before it went to auction. "It's such an unusual property, I did expect a few people to take an interest out of curiosity, but there were serious bidders too, including several telephone bidders from developers in London."

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Duncan Smith’s rationale is that the combination of benefit traps and social housing has resulted in a ghetto effect; crime, violence, hopelessness hotspots in which young people grow up without knowing anybody in work. Few would quibble with the diagnosis. The suggested cure is unproven.

Our publisher tackles the Duncan Smith report, in his weekly guest column for Citywire.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate, theRatandMouse

Congratulations Greene & Co [FindaProperty]
Cut interest rates and suspend stamp duty, demand agents [Estate Agency News]
How to buy a repo [Telegraph]
So how're we going to pay for 2012? [BBC]
More bad news for btl landlords [Telegraph]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: London, Olympics, property, real estate

Countrywide, the UK’s largest estate agency group, is to hold a £1.65 billion three-day end-of-year sale, starting tomorrow. The owners of more than 7,500 properties have been encouraged to slash their prices by as much as 30 per cent...

Holy...

... although some have trimmed by as little as 3 per cent.

... oh, okay.

Interestingly, Countrywide appears to come clean about motives. The "sale" has been planned for months, and it's apparently more about saving the company, which (according to S&P) was likely to run out of cash before the end of 2009, than the vendors. Still, a sale is a sale, and we're all grown-ups, aren't we?

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents

Optimists dared to ask whether the first glimmer of sunshine had appeared on the horizon yesterday, after figures showed a modest increase in loans given to first-time buyers and some estate agents reporting possible sightings of "green shoots" in the market.

We Brits never give up, do we? This is Council of Mortgage Lenders data, showing a 15% increase in the number of loans to first-time buyers between October and November. The excitement is about seeing a figure that's black, but calling the end of the property crash would surely be premature. There simply comes a point beyond which volume just can't fall any further. It won't be enough to support prices, and it's unlikely to be followed by steadily increasing volume. Not yet, anyway.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Michael Coogan, of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), said mortgage providers were caught in a "tug of war" between boosting loans and stability. His comments came as the CML said home loan lending had risen 14% in October compared with the previous month.

At last... the Council of Mortgage Lenders reacts to the ludicrous contradiction at the heart of Government policy. No irresponsible lending, says Brown... except now, of course, to help me through the next election.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

A flat in Old Ford Row, Bow is the first premises to be shut down under new Anti-Social Behaviour Order rules. The owners have apparently been terrorising their neighbours with loud music and drug taking. Now, they're not allowed to return home for three months, or they'll face up to six months jail or a £5,000 fine.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

It's a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey, showing confidence among agents slightly improved, but completed sales down to their lowest level, to 10.6 each over the last three months (from 10.9) and 55% down on the year.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

New, tougher, Home Information Pack rules making it slightly trickier to sell your home in the deadest market for decades.

Experts described the rule changes to the £300 packs as 'absolutely farcical' and 'utterly bonkers'.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

A spokeswoman for the CML said: "There is questionable value in making a prediction on prices. Whatever we say will be very high profile and, unless we can do it credibly and with confidence, it is questionable whether it makes sense to do it at all.”

The argument is that with transactions at such a low level, we've no idea where prices are now, never mind where they'll be this time next year. Makes sense to me... although I know some estate agents who tell me they've a very accurate idea about where prices are.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Profits were up in the financial year to last April, from £64.9m to £67m. Of course, the key phrase, there, is to last April, which was before the credit crunch really began to hit the high end part of the market where KF do their deals. Still, there are bonuses. Forty-six partners, apparently, receiving an average of £780,000 each.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents

Triple credit crunch blow to Lord Foster [PropertyWire]
Halifax removes collar [Observer]
Credit crunch to spark squat rock revival? [Guardian]
Outlook for 2009, not so great [PropertyWire]
The British brick mountain [Times]
Rock accused of selling off repos at bargain prices [Daily Mail]
Help for buy-to-let repo tenant victims [BBC]

The Rat and Mouse - London's property blog, daily since 2005

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Those super-exclusive crescents... Stanley Crescent, Lansdowne Crescent, Lansdowne Road, Elgin Crescent etc, the big family houses backing onto communal gardens... they're built along the route of the long-lost Hippodrome Racecourse, an early 19th Century experiment that failed when the course was constantly waterlogged. You learn something new every day.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Towering over the neighbouring buildings, the Barbican stands as the ultimate symbol of London’s postwar urban planning.

It certainly does; and here at the Rat and Mouse we love it. Time Out has put together a little guide to one of the city's residential landmarks, and it makes for interesting Friday afternoon reading.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

A serious flaw in the system for recording property transactions in New York allowed a newspaper reporter to 'steal' the Empire State Building with a fake deed. The reporter used a notary seal with the name of a famous bank robber Willie Sutton and listed King Kong actress Fay Wray as a witness in his undercover investigation.

Don't worry. He gave it back.

Technorati Tags: New York, property, real estate

Hmmm... save, or pay off that mortgage? [Fool]
Are you feeling down-valued? [Times]
Banks v Brown, here we go again [Telegraph]
Man found at bottom of lift shaft in Kingston apartments [London News]
Bovis Homes still has some staff... duh! [Contract Journal]

The Rat and Mouse, London's property blog, since 2005

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The fund, called aAim, with Sir David as chairman, invested heavily in properties in Britain and mainland Europe during the boom. It got caught out by the collapse that started last summer and it is feared that its shareholders will lose all their investments.

That's Sir David Frost. Other slebs associated with the fund include Sir Alex Ferguson, Simon Cowell and... wait for it... Grant Bovey (as if that weren't a clue there might be rocky times ahead). Here's the website.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Who, this time last year, would have imagined I'd be writing... as predicted, a base rate cut of 1%? It's down to 2%, its lowest level since 1951. The cost of borrowing is now half of what it was at the start of October. Astonishing measures, astonishing times.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

It's a 2.6% fall in November, according to the influential Halifax House Price Index, leaving the annual change -14.9%. It's likely that Halifax will further revise its predictions for 2009 in the coming weeks.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

They're not prepared to attack it in public. But they're not sure it will have much of an impact, unless they are strong-armed into keeping the genuinely feckless in their homes - which the banks feel would be a bad thing.

In a blog update, the BBC's Robert Peston suspects not.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Expensive typo icing on sell-to-rent-back disaster cake [BBC]
Repos to hit 75,000 [Peston's Picks]
Government to "hit banks where it hurts" [Independent]
FSA orders Halifax to follow rates [Times]

The Rat and Mouse - it's about your house

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Salah Mussa, Chairman of the Mercantile Group comments: We see these difficult market conditions as an opportunity for the continued development of the Chesterton brand and we believe that Chesterton will thrive and enhance its position in this real estate market. I am very appreciative of all the value that Consensus has added to Chesterton over the years and I look forward to working with them on other endeavours in the future.”

How much? They're not saying. I wonder whether Chesterton still has its in-house historian?

Technorati Tags: estate agents, real estate agents

"92 per cent of sales done by our Knightsbridge office so far this year were to foreign nationals," says Phil Tennant from Hamptons International.

Desperate vendors. A slow market. A cheap pound. It's not a bad time for wealthy foreign bargain hunters, according to the Telegraph. Hold on tight for the next interest rate cut.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Met to buy their own home [PropertyWeek.com]
New property show to Channel 4 [4homes blog]
Another bank down the drain [Times]
In NY: landlords show a leg [Curbed]
Tony Woodley, likes his home comforts [Daily Mail]
The only entirely Guy Ritchie-less house in London... it's Guy Ritchie's! [Fametastic.co.uk]

The Rat and Mouse - London's property blog, since 2005

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Primelocation offers buyers and sellers an international reach, and its portal is a mine of useful information, including useful guides for homeowners, landlords and movers. It features property from 4,000 leading estate agency firms, and the voice of Terence Stamp in its ads... which makes me happy. The Rat and Mouse needs the support of forward-looking organisations like Primelocation if it's to continue bringing you your daily dish of property news and gossip, so we hope you'll support them in return, by using the search box in the top right hand corner.

If your firm is interested in advertising on the Rat and Mouse (stop press: 205,000 page impressions in November), contact me here for more information.

Technorati Tags: theRatandMouse

Knight Frank's index of posh London home prices fell 3.6% in November, the second largest fall since the record began (it was beaten only by last month's, of 3.9%). The annual index is now down by 14.1%, with 9.3% of that falling out in the last three months. Interestingly, family houses - previously pretty immune - fell more than flats (4.1% to 3.2%).

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Land Registry house price data is being accused of misleading buyers, since it doesn't reflect repossessions or auctions. This year, repos are likely to represent 6% of residential property transactions, and so the argument goes that they need to be included in any representative data. But a market isn't simply about supply and demand. It's about time, too. As any gazunderer knows, time constraints on the part of a vendor can have an unusual effect on prices. Repos and auctions bring a particular urgency to the deal... are they really a good way of measuring house prices on the open market?

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

According to the message, “this December presents a wealth of opportunities… sale properties in Dubai are currently quoted at low prices… even luxury projects taking shape in Palm, Jebel Ali have their prices slashed down to 40%... [but] for expats who have just stepped into Dubai, it would be especially wiser to tread carefully”. No kidding. The property market might not be too pretty over here, but it’s looking positively ugly in Dubai.

Our publisher turns down an offer he knows he has to refuse, in his weekly guest column for Citywire.

Technorati Tags: development, property, real estate, theRatandMouse

House prices are down 1.1% in November (less of a drop than October's 1.3%), leaving them 8.1% down on the year, and about where they were in January 2006... which was, if I remember, expensive. In London, specifically, the annual index has dropped 9.5%. Interestingly, there's (kind of) evidence that volume might have bottomed out. The time it takes to shift a house is now 11.8 weeks, compared to the previous report's 11.9 weeks; and vendors are accepting 88.9% of asking price, compared to 89.2%. Is there enough volume for such small variations to be meaningful? That's arguable.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate, London

Royal Bank of Scotland borrowers in arrears will now be allowed a six month head start, before the bank sends the repo-men in pursuit. As unemployment inevitably rises, it will be seen as good news by most, and is likely to become a common policy among the lenders. According to the BBC's Robert Peston, it will be seen as less than good news by the estate agents, who have apparently been relying on the disposal of repos as a revenue stream. It's not clear to me how (in reality) a month or two added to the normal period of grace is going to dry up the repo-market. More here.

Technorati Tags: estate agents, property, real estate, real estate agents