Entries from August 2008 ↓

Broadcasters in the UK have decided to ditch the lifestyle and property shows in favour of thrifty money saving shows, so much so that the BBC have announced it’s making three new property shows that discuss the collapse in the property market and axing of agents in favour of self selling property without an estate agent. I believe the three shows will be screened sometime commencing in October. Shows like Location, location, location on Channel 4 will be revamped to reflect the current difficulty of getting a mortgage.

The Connells group which owns 17.9% of the shares in Rightmove , said the UK housing market was in the grip of a major downturn. It said that falling house prices and increasing repossessions would eventually restore the market, but that there was “little immediate prospect of an improvement”, yet Rightmove have issued a strong set of interim results. Read more…

I recently read that a local Tory today called on Gordon Brown to abandon the controversial Home Information Packs to help boost the beleaguered housing market. It went on to say that, uncertainty over whether or not the Government will introduce a stamp duty suspension or deferment scheme has already slowed housing sales say local estate agents throughout the region.

It also mentioned that Spencer Pitfield, Parliamentary candidate for Penistone and Stocksbridge, says the Prime Minister should use government powers to suspend HIPs altogether. Read more..

Source: The Star by Gail Robinson

The price of a typical house in the UK fell by 1.9 % during August according to the latest report by the Nationwide, the report also mentions that the overall drop over the past year amounts to 10.5% from £183.898 in August 2007 to £164.654 now.

Redundant or out of work Estate Agents throughout the South Yorkshire are invited to work from home. David Wood former sales and marketing director of the Horizon Property Group has recently launched a new web site, dwood-property.com a Low Cost Fixed Fee Estate Agency Network in the Barnsley and Sheffield areas of South Yorkshire. Read more..

Praia, Cape Verde, 21 Aug - In 2007 Portugal was the main trading partner of Cape Verde, having been the destination of 58.3 percent of all Cape Verdean exports and the origin of 45 percent of the archipelago’s imports, according to the Portugal-Cape Verde Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

According to a statement on the Chamber’s website, after Portugal the archipelago’s next biggest partners were the Netherlands and France.

In 2007, Cape Verde’s imports rose 26.6 percent year on year and exports fell by 15 percent. The country’s trade deficit increased by 28.1 percent in the period.

Cape Verde’s amin exports are Sea products (fish, crustaceans and molluscs, accounting for 35.6 percent of the total), a category which posted a significant fall, followed by Clothing and Related Products (34.7 percent), which saw string growth, Footwear and Related Products (24 percent), with a slight fall, and Alcoholic Beverages (3.4 percent).

Europe imported 79 percent of all Cape Verde’s exports, which was more than in 2006 when it imported 75 percent, with Portugal the destination of 58 percent of all products (44 percent in 2006).

The main products imported by Cape Verde in 2007 were aircraft, with the acquisition of new airplanes by domestic airlines, fuel, machines and construction materials, food and drink, machines and transport accessories, which together accounted for over half of total imports. Source: (macauhub)

Macau, China, 25 Aug – The target of US$50 billion for trade between China and the Portuguese speaking world in 2009 should be reached this year, thanks to an almost doubling of trade during the first half.

Statistics released this month by Chinese Customs indicate that between January and June trade between the “eight” Portuguese speaking countries and China increased 91.5 percent to US$36.105 billion, with Angola and Brazil recording the most significant increases.

This increase reflects a marked acceleration in the rate of growth in trade between China and the “eight” Portuguese speaking countries, which has been increasing by around 30 percent per year.

Compared to the first six months of last year, China’s exports were up 79.9 percent to US$10.735 billion, while imports reached US$25.37 billion, up 96.9 percent.

In the period to June Brazil was clearly China’s main trade partner among the “eight”, with trade at US$21.42 billion, up 78.4 percent compared with the same period last year.

China is one of Brazil’s main trade partners, and for Chinese goods and services Brazil represents the biggest Latin American market.

Brazilian export agency, Apex Brasil, predicts that trade between the two countries, where Brazilian raw materials and Chinese consumable goods weigh heavily, will double over the next five years.

Yet in the first half of this year, the biggest trade increase between China and the “eight”, without considering the less significant totals of Sao Tome and Principe, was recorded with Angola – over 137 percent, to US$13.346 billion.

Chinese exports to Angola rose 130.3 percent, to US$1.168 billion, while Angolan exports of goods and services to China reached US$12.178 billion, a 137.8 percent increase on the same period last year.

Angolan exports to China are made up essentially of petroleum, while Chinese products are mainly building materials, machines, cars and consumables.

Between 2003 and 2006, trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries more than tripled to a total of US$34 billion at the end of 2006.

Last year, this increase was 46.9 percent.

The increase in trade value, linked to a greater number of transactions and also to a rise in the price of raw materials, leads to the prediction that the target agreed between the “eight” and China of trade to the value of US$ 50 billion in 2009, will be reached this year.

Among other Portuguese speaking countries, significant increases in trade in the first half of the year are with Sao Tome and Principe (97.4 percent) and Mozambique (35.1 percent).

It was mainly Chinese exports that increased in trade with Sao Tome (94.3 percent, to US$860,000) and also with Mozambique (59.8 percent, to US$105,080).

In trade with Guinea Bissau it was mainly Chinese imports that grew – 368.3 percent, although this was to just US$690,000.

With Chinese exports showing a slight fall, trade between the two countries rose 17percent on the same period last year.

Portugal remains China’s third biggest trade partner among the “eight”, with Chinese exports up 18 percent and imports down 33.3 percent, in a trade balance already clearly favourable to China.

In total Chinese-Portuguese trade remained at US$1.145 billion, 6.7 percent up on the same period last year.

Less positive was the development of trade with Cape Verde (down 3.4 percent) and particularly with East Timor (down 43.1 percent).

In the case of Cape Verde, trade did not exceed US$7.47 million, and of East Timor, US$2.93 million. In both cases trade was almost entirely Chinese exports to these two island countries. Source: (macauhub)

According to the Spanish daily news ‘El Pais’ 10 of Spain’s largest estate agencies have closed more than half of their offices in the past 6 months with more to follow.

Two of Spain’s largest estate agents, Don Piso and Fincas Corral, have been put up for sale. Don Piso has cut the number of it’s offices from 400 last year, to 140. MC Inmobiliaria, another leading agency, owned 218 offices last year, but now operates from 60 - a fall of 72.5%.  Read more..

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the residential sales arm of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP), is calling on the government to help the property market by finally taking action on Home Information Packs (HIPs).

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the NAEA, comments: “With the economic situation worsening and the property market still suffering, we are calling on the government to take urgent action on HIPs.

“We have long seen HIPs as not fit for purpose and as the wrong answer to simplifying the house buying process. Quite simply, the government tried to force ‘square pegs into round holes’ and the slower property market is making this situation worse. For instance, the current call for local searches to be conducted as part of a HIP is madness. Due to the length of time properties are on the market in the current climate, a majority of searches are now out of date by the time the property is sold, which means they have to be repeated at extra cost to the consumer.

“The time has come to rectify the situation and come up with a system that works cohesively and efficiently for both buyers and sellers. If HIPs are going to continue, then we, along with other major stakeholders would like to see them including only information that is of some use. Perhaps a simplified pack could include; a sellers’ questionnaire, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) also reviewed to be fit for purpose, and the Land Registry title and plan. This is the only information that is helpful for consumers and the industry as a whole.

“Indeed it is not only the Association that is taking this stance on the matter, Sir Bryan Carsberg’s recommendations in the recent ‘Carsberg Review of Residential Property’ endorses the Association’s strong standpoint on HIPs, together with many other stakeholders in the industry.

“In times of economic hardship, let’s stop this ridiculous repeating of information and shameful waste of consumers’ money!”

Source: NAEA 22 / Aug / 2008

Safe Neighbourhood Teams are working across the South Yorkshire region, they deal with crime and disorder in your area and to improve quality of life locally.  Each team is led by South Yorkshire Police and your local council but involves other organisations.  Did you know that the Barnsley police district covers 127 square miles with a resident population of over 222,000 (updated Jan 2007)? Barnsley police force is made up of 388 police officers and 95 civilian support staff working in the borough.

The areas covered include Barnsley town centre and the smaller surrounding townships of Darton, Royston, Dodworth, Lundwood, Penistone, Wombwell, Goldthorpe, Darfield, Grimethorpe, Thurnscoe, Cudworth, Hoyland and Worsbrough which are linked by rural districts that have a much lower population. To read more about the Safer Neighbourhood Teams that work throughout Barnsley click here.