Real Estate Headlines

'China's property market braced for 30pc drop' is the headline in today's UK Telegraph. Standard Chartered is telling its clients to prepare for a drop in property prices of up to 30pc in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen, as the delayed effects of monetary tightening begin to bite. Keneth Rogoff, ex-chief economist for the IMF, says: "You're starting to see that collapse in property and it's going to hit the banking system."

The Chinese government is trying to deflate the housing market gently as it views soaring prices as a threat to social stability, as the working class that flock to the cities are shut out of the market. During the fiscal stimulus boom in 2009, the Chinese had nowhere to put their savings but in real estate as real interest rates were negative and capital controls prevented them from investing abroad. Wealthier families hold 3, 4, or more properties with many of them vacant, which disguises the scale of the excess inventory.

Closer to home the headline reads: 'Vancouver Home Sales Drop 30pc, Calgary 42pc - First Comes Volume, Then Comes Price; Canada Housing Peak is Finally In'.

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