All sorts of interesting news going on at the moment, with the gap between the haves and the have-nots seeming to increase all the time.
More bad news from the banking sector in Europe means that despite massive injections of capital from all the central banks in question, many European banks are still hiding bad debts and on life support according to the Bank of International Settlements. Accordingly, property investment in France – along with most European countries is difficult thanks to lack of available financing and the fact that the banks are in the process of devaluing real estate across the board.
Still – compared to the disaster unfolding in Spain – which will make the Greek debt situation look like an unpaid bar tab, France is in relatively good shape, excepting the massive – and we do mean massive – exposure BNP Paribais has in the Spanish property market. No one in the banking sector is prepared to admit it just yet, but the 60 billion Euros already dumped into Spain (with nary a mention in the press) has now been transformed in to luxury yachts for the select few senior bank managers – and it is time to see how much needs pumping in this time. It is any body’s guess how much property the banks are sitting on, but another 300 billion seems reasonable. The most exposed seem to be, Santander, BNP Paribas, UniCredit and Deutsche Bank. Oh well – it is only money and I am sure creating another 300 billion Euros out of thin air will not have an effect on the value of my pension plan and unemployment in Spain is only a measly 20% – so nothing to worry about there.
Bloomberg Business Week thinks “London Luxury-Home Prices Driven Higher by Overseas Purchasers“, which is sort of true but a massive misrepresentation because sales volumes are a dismal levels – almost record lows. Still – that doesn’t stop Bloomberg from claiming that “Luxury-home prices in central London are increasing in value twice as fast as the U.K. market as a whole” – which is funny seeing as average prices decreased last month. Still – why let the facts get in the way of a good bubble mongering headline? Who says journalism needs to be accurate in any case? Bloomberg bubble mongering.
Walt Disney is moving into the luxury real estate business now and are apparently building a collection of luxury homes ranging in price from $1.5 million to as much as $8 million. “The homes will be in Orlando, within the 40 square miles of Disney’s thriving theme parks. The developments will be fashioned as resort communities with special ties to Disney World parks — private VIP tours of the parks, plus holiday home decorating, grocery delivery from an on-call concierge service, a fitness facility and spa”, according to housingwatch.
The community will be called the “Golden Oak Residential Resort Community,” and will be situated between Epcot and Disney World. I shudder to think, but will be interested to see how this one unfolds.
