Property prices increasing in all world regions except Europe

The average residential property prices are rising around the world except Europe, the figures from Knight Frank’s global house price index have shown.

The figures showed that the prices in the global housing market increased by 6.6% on an annual basis, the highest growth rate since the second quarter of 2010.

The global property prices rose by 2% in the first quarter of 2013, largely due to the strong performance of the Middle East Region, where the property prices rose by 10.6% on average.

The largest rise on an annual basis was recorded in Hong Kong, where the prices rose by 28%, higher than they were a year ago. In China the prices increased the most on a quarterly basis, witnessing a rise of 10.7%.

The United States recorded a price rise of 10.2%, its highest rate of annual growth in nine years, the international residential research organization evaluated.

Overall, Europe was the world’s weakest performing region during the last 12 months, with the mainstream prices falling by 0.3% on average. Greece, Hungary and Netherlands were lowest performers in the continent as the property prices there declined by 11.8%, 9% and 8.3% respectively.

The European countries that showed slight improvement in the property market were the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the UK, prices rose by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2013 while Ireland reduced the decline of 16%, it recorded a year earlier, to just 3%.

South Africa was the strongest performer in the African continent, with the prices there rising by 11.3% in the first quarter, compared with falls of 3.2% a year ago.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM March 11-14, 2014 in Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in quality accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.

Philippines’ Zuellig Building wins best project award

Philippines’ Zuellig Building has been selected as the winner by Engineering News-Record (ENR), a premier U.S. industry publication, for the Green Project category of its 2013 Global Best Projects competition.

Zuellig building, located at the crossroads of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue, was among the 66 projects that competed for getting recognition in one of the 20 different categories, from airports, office buildings, healthcare centers, bridges, highways and roads.

ENR, a weekly magazine with an international audience of architects, engineers, projects owners, contractors, industry suppliers and government regulators, holds Global Best Projects competition every year to honor the design excellence and construction across the globe.

In this year’s competition, 21 winning projects included 11 Best Projects and 10 Awards of Merit. The Best office Award went to China’s Central Television Headquarters in Beijing. BC Place Revitalization in Vancouver was selected for the Best Sports/Entertainment category award. The Shard in London snapped up Best Retail/Mixed-Use Development category award while New York’s National September 11th Memorial won the Award of Merit in the Cultural category.

A seven-member independent jury of veteran industry professionals chose the project winners considering several factors such as innovation, safety, artistic quality, contributions to global community and the global diversity of the project team.

Zuellig Building, constructed by WV Coscolluela and Associates (WVCA) with the collaboration of world-class architects, engineers, and project consultants, is the first high-rise building project in the Philippines that was pre-certified by the US Green Building Council at the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold level.

Thanks to its superb-location, world-class design and distinctive frontage, the building is on course to become the premier business location in Metro Manila.

Zuellig Building was selected as one of the top three buildings in the “Best Office and Business Development” category of MIPIM Asia Awards 2012.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM March 11-14, 2014 in Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in quality accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.

Real Estate Market in Rhode Island strongest since 2008

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors (RIAR) has said that the sales in this spring’s housing market are strongest since 2008.

According to the report released by the trade group on Thursday, the sales of single-family homes increased by 7% in April 2013 compared to the same month last year. At the same time, the median price rose 3% to $180,000.

Even Woonsocket, a nearly bankrupt city in Providence County , floating a fiscal recovery plan which may lead property taxes to skyrocket next year, is demonstrating healthy signs, said RIAR.

The number of single-family homes sold in the Woonsocket in April was only four compared to 15 during the same month a year ago. But the median sales price of a home in the metropolis witnessed a rise of 4.6%.

Bob Martin, a representative of Century 21 Crossroads Agency, said the rise in price indicates that the demand for housing in Woonsocket, where the home prices are comparatively lower than other parts of the state, is drawing level with the supply.

He said that due to the vitality of the city’s economy and the lingering uncertainty over tax rates, some foreign buyers are hesitant to invest in the Woonsocket market with local investors driving most of the activity here.

The realtors association has not confirmed the figures of multi-family homes in the community in Rhode Island but said they increased as well. The sales rose to 11% last month statewide, reversing a recession reported in March.  However, the median price of $107,000 was 16% less than last year’s price.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM 2014 at Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in high quality accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.