If you are fascinated by the allure of owning prestigious real estate abroad, think again. Across the United States and the United Kingdom, real estate prices are still in the middle of a free fall. Even though some houses there may cost much cheaper than a HDB flat in Singapore, any hasty investment decision may render an investment a losing concern.
UK home prices saw the sharpest fall in more than three years in April as the tighter credit squeeze and a deepening property slump deterred prospective homebuyers, with the average cost of a home in England and Wales dropping 0.6% - the most since December 2004 - to 173,100m pound (S$468,300). Prices declined 0.9% from a year earlier.
Falling home prices and banks' reluctance to lend are eroding investor’s confidence and restrained economic growth to the slowest pace since 2005 in the first quarter of 2008.
House prices declined 2.5% last month, the most since 1992, and mortgages approved by banks fell 46% in March 2008 from a year earlier to the lowest level since 1997.