Group items tagged

Bubble trouble in Brazil Property prices are skyrocketing in Brazil. The construction sector is booming. And the mortgage market is expanding rapidly. But there is a growing concern that all this is unsustainable. And imbalances in the economy - an overvalued currency and high inflation - are exacerbating the dangers of the looming credit and property bubble. The average asking prices of new apartments across the country soared by 24.7% in April 2011 from a year earlier, according to Exame Magazine (using data from Ibope Intelligence, the largest Brazilian market intelligence firm). Based on the Ibope Intelligence figures, in April 2011:       *In Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro's most expensive district, the average price of        new properties rose 36% y-o-y to BRL13,031 (US$8,212) per sq. m., while the        price of existing properties increased 25% y-o-y to BRL12,134 (US$7,646)        per sq. m.       *In Jardim Paulista, Sao Paolo's most expensive district, the average price        of new properties rose 39% y-o-y to BRL9,120 per sq. m (US$5,747); the        average price of existing properties escalated 49% y-o-y to BRL6,959        (US$4,385) per sq. m. The FIPE ZAP Index of Dwelling Price Offers shows Sao Paolo dwelling prices up 25.9% during the year to April 2011, and up 83.7% over the past 3 years. In just two years (2008-2010), the average selling price of new one-bedroom apartments in São Paulo almost doubled. Newly launched two to four-bedroom apartments increased in value by between 40% and 60% over the same period, according to Embraesp, a local real estate research firm. Looking longer term, from 1996 to 2010, prices of newly launched apartments in São Paolo rose by almost 229% (131.6% in real terms), according to Embraesp, as the accompanying graph shows. For all years since 1996 price rises have been strongly positive, except in 2007, when house prices dropped slightly due

China is going to have a collapse soon. In the last ten years the new construction market has grown at 30% per yer. Its being supported by government paying for massive new real estate development. One day the Gov't in China is going to quit paying for this expansion and then it's really going to hurt.