American Housing Market has Bottomed Says JP Morgan

An upbeat report by JP Morgan has said that the US housing market has passed its trough and is now moving towards recovery. This was backed-up by a Reuters survey of 41 analysts, in which a third said the market bottomed in April.

However, much like the UK there are still far too many negative factors hanging over the housing market for anyone to honestly forecast a period of rapid growth anytime soon. Negative factors like: thousands of homes still facing foreclosure, thousands already foreclosed and bank-owned, and still high unemployment.

The volatility that still exists in the market was shown all too clearly, when it was revealed that existing home sales had fallen in August. It is 4 consecutive monthly rises in existing home sales that have caused most of the optimism that the market has bottomed, for it to suddenly fall has been a massive blow.

None the less, the momentum behind the recovery in global economies does seem to be gathering pace, with news of economic indicators turning positive almost by the day in the world's leading economies, including a rise in UK retail sales last week, a clear sign of a UK recovery.

This is leading to increased activity in the overseas property market, with reports of British buyers returning to the established markets looking for a bargain. With this, and the reports of a US property market in recovery, there is sure to be a lot of activity from foreigners looking to buy a bargain property in America.

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Morocco Property Proving Profitable for Overseas Investors

Well, I hvae said it before and I will say it again: the worst of the downturn on overseas property must be over because the British national press is picking up its coverage of overseas property markets massively. Nothing said this to me more than when the Telegraph ran a story on Morocco property yesterday.

Morocco is an example of an overseas property market that we should all be holding up. During the boom, Morocco was one of the fastest rising stars. Overseas buyers were making investments in the country based on massive potential for strong rental yields and capital growth.

The great thing is that Morocco has lived up to its forecasts. The economy has continued to grow, and what's more the economic growth has been partly based on continued growth in the construction sector (though it is mostly agriculture). The International Monetary Fund is forecasting 4.4% growth this year.

Not many countries have managed to continue growing economically throughout the downturn, fewer still have seen growth in their construction sectors. But perhaps the most important thing, is that this has led to continued growth in Moroccan property prices throughout the downturn.

The Telegraph has highlighted the popularity of Morocco's traditional riads with British buyers, who buy them cheap and then restore them to their former glory. But the most inreresting part of the article for me, was the fact that the lady mentioned in the article is renting out rooms for £125 - £150 per night.

This is a testament to the popularity of Morocco as a tourism destination. But more importantly, given the low prices of property currently found in Morocco it gives an idea as to what kind of rental yields you can get. In my opinion the off plan resort properties have the potential to be especially profitable, but as always do your research at length.

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Overseas Property Industry: the Worst is Over - the Buyers are Back

Well, it certainly seems that the worst is over. I'm talking about the global financial meltdown that started in America first in late 2006, spreading throughout the world's developed economies like an unstoppable disease into 2007, and breaking down the immune systems of emerging markets, most of which ended up being affected sometime in 2008.

My regular readers will know I am somewhat of a pessimist that can spot a pundit talking up the market to create false optimism a mile away. That said: at the moment there is just too much positivity about to brush away, and, more importantly activity is increasing in the overseas property industry, people are buying again (in numbers).

If you are an overseas property agent, or anyone with a vested interest in the sales of overseas property (to British buyers), and you have survived this far, you can breathe a slight sigh of relief. However, we mustn't rest on our laurels; we must step up a gear and secure every possible sale we can while the going is good, in case things drop off again when the world's government's pull back on their stimulus spending.

The credit crunch, however has brought about changes that will not be reversed for sometime, if ever. No longer are people so quick to hand over their money because an agent tells them that the returns will be huge. People are eager now to do their own (due-diligence) to research the pros and cons of a development and region. Another change is that people are tending to look for cheap property abroad.

This is a good thing, because reports of people losing money because of fraudulent or incompetent developers do the whole industry damage.

Fractional Ownership Property - Fool-Proof Entry Level Investment

Most of you will have heard the term fractional ownership by now, it has increased massively in popularity since the credit crunch increased risk aversion in the field of overseas property investment.

Though there are different set-ups, fractional ownership is -- exactly what it sounds like -- buying a fraction of a property in conjunction with other fractional owners, each buying and owning an equal share with equal rights over usage and equal shares of any rental income.

It is an excellent entry level investment, because the outlay is minimised, and while the returns and split, so is the potential risks involved.

You can look at it like this, what you are paying out is cheap for a lifetime of holidays in top-notch accommodation, that way any returns are a bonus. For example:

I have just found a fractional ownership development on sale at azureoverseas.com, £16,000 buys you an 1/8th share of a 1 bedroom bungalow in a fully equipped Costa Caleta resort. The package includes 6 weeks of usage throughout the year for each of the owners.

For the six weeks holiday for 4 people in the level of (5 star) accommodation that it is, you would be paying at least £3,000 each year. Thus after 6 years of usage the property has paid for itself and any returns you have made during that time and from then on are a bonus.

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Panamanian's Scoff at the Effects of Credit Crunch - Now is the Time to Buy Property in Panama

South American property portal Encuerta25 has revealed the findings of its survey into the Panama property market. According to its report some 65% of respondents think the international financial downturn has had little effect on Panama, and a further 12% think it has had no effect.

I was surprised to find out that only 6% of all people currently buying property in Panama come from Europe, the rest come from the Americas, which isn't a surprise.

Panama became a massively popular destination with overseas property investors, which added to the massive market it had in American retirees buying property in the country -- more than anywhere else in the world.

Panama's impressive economic growth coupled with low property prices, high rental yields (18% not unheard of) and a favourable tax regime are among the reasons for its popularity with overseas property investors.

Now is most definitely the time to buy property in Panama, well actually 2 years ago was the time, but this is all we can do without a time machine. Make no mistake, between now and the completion of the Canal expansion in 2014, property prices in Panama will increase by at least 50%, and possibly even double.

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Panama Economic Activity in June Up on Last Year

Economic activity in Panama was 0.31% higher in June 2009 than it was in June last year, prompting optimism from the government that it could mark the beginning of an overall return to growth in one of Latin America's best performing economies.

After two consecutive months of falling economic activity the June rise brought the decline in Panama's economy down to 0.5% for the first half of this year. This is compared to an 8.44% growth in Panama's economy in the same period of last year.

However, the fact that Panama's economy was so strong in the first half of last year, makes the 0.31% June increase on last year's performance even more poignant.

Panama has average 8% GDP growth in the last few years, and even now, during one of the worst global recessions the world has ever seen, the median forecast for Panama is a 3% growth in GDP for 2009.

I agree that a 3% growth is entirely possible, with potentially even a 4.5% growth over the fiscal year. If this is indeed the turning point in the Panamanian economy then I believe we will be looking at a v-shaped recession/recovery track, with a strong return to growth and a return to similar levels of growth seen in previous years in the 2010/11 fiscal year.

I believe this because Panama is currently like a magnet for investment because of the expansion of one of the most important waterways in the southern hemisphere, the Panama Canal, which cuts Central America in two to link the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic oceans.

The expansion, due to be completed in 2014 will triple the Canal's expansion and has the potential to increase Panama's GDP by at least 25% in subsequent years. This is making it a hotspot for overseas property investment, with property values also forecast to grow massively.

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