SOUTHWARK, LONDON
Southwark’s residential market stayed buoyant throughout the rst half of 2011, with residential values continuing to increase. This inner-city suburb of London is currently undergoing extensive regeneration around London Bridge. Notable projects include the Shard, soon to be the tallest building in Europe. The area is known as London’s cultural quarter, with attractions such as the Tate Modern art gallery, the Globe Theatre and Borough Market. The regeneration of Southwark will attract more auent residents to the area, which will result in an alpha eect in property prices. Over the last ve years, capital values have already risen 33%, outperforming London’s average performance by 73% over the same period. Rent levels in London have continued to rise in 2011. Over the last 12 months, prime London rents have risen by 10% and now stand at an average of 4% higher than their 2007 peak. Flats, now 4.9% above the 2007 peak, have outperformed houses, which are 2.1% above their previous high. The underlying factors driving the surge in rents are the lack of supply and the growing demand from would-be buyers unable to access home ownership. Click here for more info.

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
New York continues to make a strong case for investment and looks considerably more attractive than the rest of the United States. Government incentives such as the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.’s US$2.78 billion nancial action plan and residential tax abatements in the nancial district are encouraging investor demand. The downtown area saw the strongest demand in 2010, accounting for 37% of all units sold in Manhattan. Condominium sales in Manhattan jumped 33.2% from the 964 recorded in Q1 2011, with two-bedroom units accounting for 41.8% of all condo sales. Average Manhattan sales prices were 1.3% higher for Q2 2011, compared with the same period last year, at an average price of US $1,702,079.Click here for more info. We expect this market to continue to perform well on the back of a continued supply/demand imbalance and sustained demand from overseas buyers.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
The robust economic growth in 2010, during which the economy grew 7.2%, has resulted in higher residential prices this year. Malaysia continues to be the recipient of record levels of foreign direct investment (FDI). According to UNCTAD, Malaysia received a record tally of US$7 billion in FDI in 2010 , up from just US$1.4 billion in 2009. The government’s own stimulus package will encourage further economic growth, which we believe will have a positive impact on the property market. The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project in particular will be a catalyst for growth in suburbs that lie adjacent to the proposed lines, including Mont Kiara. The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association of Malaysia predicts prices will increase between 15% and 30% in KL over the course of 2011, with consensus estimates collected from a range of market observers suggesting increases of 7% to 10%, on the back of strong economic growth and continued high transaction volumes. Overall sentiment in the real estate market therefore remains positive, although at a micro level there are some concerns regarding an oversupply of condominiums in certain locations. One of the longer-term consequences of the high levels of inward investment into Malaysia will be increasing demand from multinational and Malaysian companies for international-standard oce space and for high quality, luxury residential apartments. Kuala Lumpur continues to be one of IP Global’s primary markets, and we expect performance to remain robust throughout 2011.

SANTIAGO, CHILE
Chile’s economy is thriving on the back of high prices for copper - Chile’s main export - as well as good scal policy and a fast recovery from last year’s earthquake. The economy is expected to grow 6% - 7% in 2011. Chile’s economic surge has been reected in the residential market, with property values in Santiago jumping 59% over the last two years.Click here for more info. The rental market in Santiago has performed equally well, with rents up 50% in the same period. Investors are achieving yields of 6% and above. Click here for more info. The recent capital growth supported by the most-developed secondary mortgage market in South America makes this market one to monitor.

HONG KONG
The Hong Kong government implemented additional cooling measures in June 2011. Buyers of homes that cost more than HK$7 million but less than HK$10 million can now only apply for a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 60%, subject to a cap of HK$5 million. For properties worth HK$10 million or above, the maximum loan-to-value ratio is 50%. Since these measures, sales at ten of Hong Kong’s biggest residential developments fell 58% over a weekend. Property transactions fell for a fth straight month in May, but homes prices still increased by 1.3% in early June, according to Centaline. Click here for more info. Home prices have risen 11% so far this this year, according to government estimates. With the measures, we expect price growth to slow down to a stable and robust level over the rest of 2011.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
In April, Las Vegas house prices fell for the seventh consecutive month, dropping 0.9% and leaving them down 6.2% compared with the same time last year. That is worse than the average year-on-year decline for 20 major US cities, which averaged a decline of 4%. Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the United States, with almost one in every 103 homes receiving some type of foreclosure ling. The high unemployment rate of 12.4% continues to harm the local market, with many construction jobs still being lost. While this continues, a recovery in the residential market is unlikely.