08/27/08

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International Briefs

Preserving New Delhi
New Delhi is trying to form a plan to conserve its treasured architecture from the first half of the 20th century, when it was founded while allowing development to accommodate its population growth of over 500,000 annually. India's capital city now holds 13 million people, compared to around 900,000 when it was created.

The Delhi Urban Art Commission has proposed a design that would set aside a 14-square-mile area in the center of New Delhi to be protected from major new development, the International Herald Tribune reported. The plan also calls for preservation—and in some cases restoration—of the facades of historic bungalows built during the city's initial construction.

The proposal also suggests installing several small, contemporary bungalows between the historic buildings in places, as well as destroying some bungalows outside of the protected area to make way for multi-story apartment and office developments.

The commission wants to maintain the aesthetic of the city center, planned by the renowned British architect Edwin Lutyens between 1912 and 1931. The structures that Lutyens designed, which borrow both classical Greek and Indian elements, are now used mostly as government buildings.

The prime minister's office has reportedly approved the construction of 16 new government buildings in a 70-acre area occupied by 19 of Lutyens' historic bungalows, which would require three of the buildings to be demolished.

Singapore leads world in home prices
Singapore was the world's best-performing housing market in 2007 when adjusting for inflation, according to real estate research firm Global Property Guide.

The island nation showed an annual house price increase of 27.6 percent through the first three quarters of 2007, or 24 percent when adjusted to the country's minimal inflation. This growth was significantly higher than its 7.6 percent price increase over the same period of 2006.

Luxury property values showed the greatest increase, jumping 56.4 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2007, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle.

High demand from foreign buyers and local high-net-worth individuals drove the luxury market. During the first half of the year, en bloc sellers also helped boost the high-end prices.

Although some experts expect housing prices to continue to rise in 2008, the Singapore government is planning measures to curb speculation and begin cooling the market. These include delaying its proposed public development and abandoning a plan to allow buyers to delay home payments (see The subprime sneeze felt round the world).

Lending tightens in Europe
The European Central Bank's survey of the 13-nation euro zone revealed tighter lending standards to homebuyers in 2007. This trend has been seen widely as a result of banks avoiding losses linked to securities backed by U.S. subprime mortgages, according to the International Herald Tribune.

At the same time, growth in housing prices has begun to slow across the European Union, after years of fast-paced growth, with downturns expected in some markets in 2008.

House price increases in the euro zone slowed to 4.2 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2007, compared to a year prior—the weakest growth recorded since the first quarter of 1999.

Experts predict that the markets which have seen the biggest boom in recent years—including Ireland, England and Spain—will see price corrections.

An economist with Deutsche Bank predicts that prices in Ireland will drop around 10 percent over the next 18 months, while prices in England will likely flatten out, but not fall, over the same period.