European property and mortgages: Frankfurt

Residential real estate is as popular as ever. Many people fulfill their dream of owning their own home with a one- or two-family house or a condominium. High demand is driving real estate prices to infinity. The problem of housing shortages is on the rise. Forecasting future prices is not that easy. Rents could rise even further due to excess demand. Many are therefore looking for alternatives. These include buying condominiums or single-family homes.

The average asking price for a condominium in Germany was €3,748 per square meter in the first half of 2021. This represents an increase of 15.1 percent compared with the first half of 2020. In previous years, the annual increase had still been around ten percent. One- and two-family houses and terraced houses were offered for an average of 350,000 euros, representing an increase of 12.9 percent.

However, this does not apply equally to all of Germany. There are significant regional differences. The best example here is eastern Germany, which is still considerably cheaper than western Germany. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about condominiums and …

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Irish Mortgage Brokers featured in the Irish Times

We were mentioned in the Irish Times in a piece by Cliff Taylor about the increase in the number of people seeking to refinance their home.

Rather than a fear of higher interest rates, Karl Deeter, of Irish Mortgage Brokers, believes it is primarily driven by people facing tightening (link to article here)

The crux of the point being made is that as inflation is affecting people and rates look set to rise that it is naturally driving people to consider ways to get better prices on one of their biggest outgoings and to get some assurance on what the price levels of their outgoings will be.

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The economy of Frankfurt

Frankfurt is known as a commercially oriented city that has made trade fairs and congress epicenters home in the most populous city in Hesse.

As Germany’s financial capital, a large number of banks and brokerage houses have their headquarters there. Among them, one counts, for example, the Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank, and even the European Central Bank, which is responsible for the monetary policy of the eurozone and the Deutsche Bundesbank.

Characteristics such as economy, traffic, and trade fairs characterize Frankfurt. With the trading platforms Frankfurter stock exchange and XETRA operated by Deutsche Börse AG, Frankfurt is the second-largest stock market in Europe and handles the lion’s share of German securities trading.

Despite high-income inequality, with a Gini coefficient of 44, this metropolis’ labor productivity advantage translates into an average household income of USD 55,800 (as of 2016). In comparison, the whole country has a Gini coefficient of 34 and an average income per household of USD 51,400. As of 2016, household spending excluding transport and housing was 5% above the national average. In 2016, education expenditure per household …

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Home of the Year 2021 and RIAI Awards – by Nikola Lancova

The Home if the Year is a competition series where the team behind RTÉs is searching for the most unusual and architecturally stunning private houses. The desicion is based on functionality, clever design and individuality. Each week the team of three judges visits three homes across the country. They give the house score out of 10. The home that receives the highest score goes through to the finals.

This year it was the seventh season of this competition series. In this season judges visited 21 homes across Ireland. From these 21 competitors, the judges selected seven finalists:

David O’Brien (Cork) Jennifer Sheahan (Dublin) Tanya Lee Conroy and Noel Conroy (Galway) Saara and Mike McLoughlin (Co Limerick) Sally-Ann and Ruairí Mitchell (Dublin) Kevin Desmond (Dublin) Kate and Cian O’Driscoll (Dublin)

Of the above competitors, Jennifer Sheahan from Dublin won the prize. Her house is 1800s cottage in Dublin. She bought this house in 2019, it needed a lot of work, it was damp, there was no central heating and the toilet was outside. Jennifer renovated the entire house, knocked all internal …

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Will housing for all work?

Ireland was in housing crisis before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the situation has worsened due to the pandemic. The housing crisis was caused by high unemployment,then because property is sold preferentially to profitable companies and rents have increased more tha 60% since 2010.

Right now, Ireland’s housing system is not meeting the needs of enough people:

There are not enough houses to buy or rent There is not enough social housing The cost of building housing is rising Too many people are homeless Too much vacant housing stock remains unused

Because of that The Government came up with Housing for All plan. Housing for All is the Government’s new plan how to decrease homelessness in Ireland by 2030, and it was published on 2 September 2021. This plan is intended to support homeownership and increase affordability, increase social housing delivery and support social inclusion, increase new housing supply and adress vacancy and efficient use of existing stock. Government believes it can embed environmental, economic and social sustainability in housing system for future generations. The State will invest more than 4 …

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Lockdowns cause surge on home improvement spending in Ireland

The coronavirus pandemic created many unforseen circumstances in people’s daily lives. Perhaps the biggest among these was the effects of the lockdown. People had to stay in their homes for much longer than they normally would, and many people were stuck working at home. It is no surprise, then, that a record number of home improvement projects have been carried out over the last year and a half.

Research by Aviva Insurance Ireland shows that 1.5 million homeowners have carried out work on their homes over the past year, with the total cost of these projects coming in at more than €11 billion. In addition to these numbers, another 861,000 people have plans to undertake home improvement projects, the survey says. The survey captured almost every type of home improvement imaginable, from minor fixes like painting a room or replacing windows, to large projects like building extensions onto homes or adding a home office, the latter of which was definitely popular as the country and the world transitioned to a remote work environment.

Aviva Insurance added that this surge in …

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Buying a home vs. Renting: Which is better?

Buying your home is one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. However, it is a big commitment and there are a lot of hidden costs and factors that can make it unaffordable for some. Because of the costliness of buying a home outright, many buyers turn to renting instead, especially in expensive housing markets like London, New York, and Hong Kong. Determining which option is best for you depends on a variety of factors, and not everyone’s situation is alike. To help with this important decision, let’s take a look at some of the key differences between buying and renting.

Buying

When buying a house, it’s likely you’ll need to apply for a mortgage. To get a mortgage, you need a deposit (usually at least 10% of the home’s value) and a steady income in order to make repayments. The greater your deposit and income, the more your bank or lender will be able to offer you. However, if you live in an expensive area, or have a low salary and little savings, buying may not be for …

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Commercial Real Estate Investment

 

Introduction

Any property can be a good investment. In this sense, commercial real estate is a property used solely to conduct business or generate income through renting or selling. This diverse group of properties includes a single store, warehouse, offices, shopping malls, hotels, apartments, vacant land, and warehouses.

Given the current population and economic growth trends in Ireland, many people are interested in buying and investing in commercial property. Moreover, emerging market cities are becoming increasingly concentrated among Ireland’s largest urban agglomerations, resulting in increased demand for commercial real estate.

 One thing to note is that before anyone decides to invest in the commercial market, it is vital to have a detailed understanding of the industry and all of its components. Moreover, the need for well-informed investment decisions is critical. When calculating appropriate returns and risks associated with a target asset and evaluating the potential contribution to property pricing of new market trends, commercial properties are the best way to invest.

Reasons to choose commercial real estate as a way of investing

Commercial real estate provides a plethora of …

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6 Things to Consider when Preparing to Move

 

Regardless of your reasons to move, you need to be financially prepared so that your transition to the new home can be smooth and hassle free. There is nothing more difficult than trying to understand the money issues that are related to the move. Some of the difficulty can be faced during the hiring of movers, purchasing of supplies or looking for storage. This post offers some factors that you need to consider when you are planning to move. 

Credit Score

A credit score is important since it can influence the cost of housing. The score can also determine of you have the ability to buy or rent a home you want. If you want to buy a home, a credit score will determine if you qualify to get a mortgage and the interest rate you will pay for the mortgage.

The Cost of properties in different areas

You need to spend a lot of time looking at different homes close to where you live and where you want to move to. You need to make an assessment of …

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Why are investment funds buying up Irish Property?

Large-scale private rented sector (PRS) investors, sometimes called vulture or cuckoo funds, have rapidly become a major force in the Irish property market over the last few years.

As recently as 2017, these funds were a minor and insignificant part of the housing market. However, these firms have spent more than €6 billion buying Irish homes, apartment buildings, and commercial properties over the last three and a half years.

The cuckoo funds show no sign of slowing down in 2021, as they have spent €1.5 billion so far this year, according to recent figures from estate agents and property adviser JLL. Most of these funds are backed by international investors, and have quickly become big players in the market, particularly investing in deals for new apartments in Dublin.

But what is driving this relatively new and rapidly growing force in the market?

Analysts say that an influx of cash in European markets, lack of yields in traditional assets including bonds, and the huge surge in housing demand and high rent prices in Ireland have combined to create a very lucrative …

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