From left: London, Shanghai and Paris
Every week, The Real Deal rounds up the biggest real estate news from around the globe.
United Kingdom
Political upheaval is just no good for business — at least not for Savills. The U.K.’s largest publicly traded real estate broker is taking a financial hit amid uncertainty over Brexit and massive street protests in Hong Kong. Its profits plunged to £9.9 million ($12 million) in the first half of the year, down 50 percent from the same period last year. [Bloomberg]
Neighboring a professional football club is the golden goal for property owners. Research shows that London took all 10 best-performing residential real estate markets, all in areas near professional soccer stadiums. The best-performing “football postcode” is near West Ham United’s pitch in Stratford, where property values have risen nearly 850 percent in the last 20 years and now average £440,474 ($532,000). [Homes and Property]
Ed Sheeran is doing more than “Thinking Out Loud” when it comes to Sheeranville. He recently won approval to build a new “party area” on his estate in his hometown, Framlingham, Suffolk. He plans to build a pizza oven, two barbecue grills and a bar area next to his pub. Sheeran has been building a veritable “Castle on the Hill” after first purchasing a farmhouse and an adjacent 16th century home in 2012. Since then, he’s bought four homes from neighbors, including one who moved away after Sheeran proposed to build a chapel. [The Daily Mail]
France
Notre Dame Cathedral restoration has come to a halt. Paris officials suspended work on the fire-damaged landmark after an inspection showed risk of lead poisoning. The roof was made of more than 1,300 lead tiles, and its huge spire was constructed with 250 tons of lead. [WSJ]
Jerusalem
Israel deployed some 900 soldiers to demolish Palestinian buildings. Israel previously has demolished Palestinian homes in connection with military conflicts, but its demolition of 13 apartment buildings in the Wadi al-Hummus in Occupied Palestinian Territory was the largest in the absence of a war. [The Nation]
Ireland
As housing crisis deepens, Dublin rents become some of the highest in the world. Nationwide, rents increased about 14 percent in the last two years and could rise another 17 percent over the next three years. Average monthly rent for a midrange two-bedroom was $2,018, 23 percent more than in 2014, placing the Irish capital in the top 10 most expensive cities, just behind Boston and London. [NYT]
British Columbia
You can can new construction, but you can’t can cannabis. The Agricultural Land Reserve implemented rules to hinder new builds dedicated to cannabis production. Weed farmers, however, came up with a high concept: Convert buildings dedicated to things like peppers and tomatoes to cannabis and construct new homes for the vegetables. Accordingly, Greenhouse space in the Canadian province increased 18 percent last year to 1,200 acres. [Vancouver Sun]
Australia
A political hat-trick might have ended a two-year decline in Australian home prices. Home values in Sydney increased the last two months after falling 15 percent from peak level in July 2017. Up-ticks also came to Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart and Melbourne markets. This rebound could be in thanks to the central bank’s multiple interest rate cuts, relaxing mortgage stress tests and re-election of Scott Morrison’s government. [Bloomberg]
Singapore
Singapore wants to better protect investors in bonds and real estate. The regulatory arm of the Singapore Exchange, SGXRegCo., will study how to improve bond-issue disclosures and to ensure property valuations meet professional standards. The initiative is a response to multiple defaults in recent years by bond issuers in Singapore. [Bloomberg]