moratoriums on development in resorts such
as Courchevel or caps on the construction of
second homes in Switzerland, the gap between
demand and supply looks set to remain tight,
in the Alps at least,’ it explains.
‘The US is a different story. Supply is less of
an issue given the space and the less prohibitive planning constraints. The issue in the US
is the uptake of the sport. The baby boomer
generation are skiing aficionados but although
wealthy millennials and thirty somethings have
adopted a broader range of snow sports, they
have yet to embrace ski property investment to
the same extent as their parents or grandparents,’ it points out.
‘Discounts, combined with the strength of the
pound against the euro, may make for a strong
buying opportunity for sterling purchasers,’ the
report adds.
Knight Frank expects the Alpine market to see
limited price movement during the 2014/15 ski
season with sales activity picking up thereafter.
Reasons given are some uncertainty across
Europe’s political and economic landscape,
namely the general election in the UK, the
finalisation of key pieces of Swiss legislation
and the sluggish European economy.
It says Courchevel Le Praz and Courchevel
Village are seen as good value. Meanwhile,
year-round resorts such as Morzine are likely to
outperform their neighbours.
now experiencing recovery. Economic growth,
low interest rates and improved affordability are
all factors, according to the report.
In Germany and Denmark, prices could rise
by 3-4%, whilst house prices are expected
to fall further in France and Belgium due to
overstretched affordability (France) and tax
changes (Belgium).
Spain’s house prices have fallen by 40% in the
past seven years but should now stabilise.
Moreover, the number of non-performing
loans will also come down after 2015. However,
high unemployment rate and persisting deflation are some of the factors, which may negatively affect the recovery in Spain.
In Ireland, a property price increase last year
will likely slow this year as the nation’s banks
may implement policies to reduce credit risk.
Italy could see further price drops over the next
two years unless the economy recovers and
restrictions on access to credit ease further
Globally, the market predicted to perform the
worst in 2015 is Greece, where houses lost
6% of their value in 2014. This year, they are
expected to drop a further 4%.
In the UK, house prices should rise as demand,
low rates and economic recovery take hold.
However, with deteriorating mortgage affordability, that increase should be limited to
about 2%.
European property markets will
continue to rebound in 2015
Spain saw 19% jump in property
sales in 2014
After a rough few years, Europe’s real estate
market is showing signs of improvement, with
Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and
Spain looking particularly positive, says a Fitch
Ratings report.
In fact, most of these markets witnessed
increase in property transactions and
mortgages issued to homebuyers in 2014. After
real estate corrections, each of those countries is
Property sales in Spain rose by 19% in 2014,
according to Spanish notaries data. Nearly four
out of every five residential properties sold were
apartments and flats. In total, more than 364,000
properties were sold across the country, strong
evidence of a recovering market.
The market is changing, too. In 2007 and 2008,
nearly 40% of the flats sold were new-builds.
Last year, that figure was just 10.8%.
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