House prices in Europe will rise the most in The Netherlands, Germany and Sweden this year, despite the Covid-19 lockdowns and a sharp drop in economic activity, while Ireland, Spain and Portugal could see small declines, according to global ratings agency S&P.
Residential property prices in The Netherlands are expected to rise 6.1 per cent in 2020, while Germany and Sweden will see increases of 4.6 per cent and 3 per cent respectively, S&P economists said in a report published on Tuesday. Prices are also expected to rise in Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, even as a second wave of coronavirus threatens economies across the continent once again.
Accumulated pent-up demand for homes, the need for space, resilient household creditworthiness, and low financing costs have all contributed to a ... dynamic property market in the latter part of the year.
"Accumulated pent-up demand for homes, the need for home space, resilient household creditworthiness, and low financing costs have all contributed to a fast recovery of transactions and a dynamic property market in the latter part of the year," said Marion Amiot at S&P.
Despite three months of lockdowns to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and a sharp economic contraction in the second quarter of 15 per cent in the eurozone and 22 per cent in the UK year-on-year, housing prices in Europe have remained resilient, said S&P.
Housing supply was squeezed during the movement restrictions, as construction activity dropped by 32 per cent year-on-year in the eurozone in the second quarter and by 36 per cent in the UK. Construction in Germany was the exception in Europe, where activity remained stable over the second quarter because it was allowed to operate almost normally.
However, spending more time at home and having to work remotely saw many households reassess their need for space, with those that could afford it then choosing to upgrade.
"In this context, we expect price increases to soften only a little this year, while we foresee a more pronounced slowdown next year as government support through the pandemic is phased out and labour market developments become less supportive of household income," said Ms Amiot.
The global economy is set to contract 4.4 per cent this year as a result of the pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund, with the crisis costing as much as $28 trillion in output losses over the coming five years.
However, employment in the euro area decreased to 66.2 per cent in the second quarter, with the highest decreases of 3 per cent found in Estonia, Ireland and Spain, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation.
The continued climb in house prices is partly linked to the nature of the crisis and the government support put in place to preserve jobs and businesses, S&P said.
With the housing market largely unable to operate during lockdowns, it led to pent-up demand as soon as it reopened. Meanwhile, household incomes have been preserved thanks to short-time work, furlough schemes, and government credit guarantees for firms that have contained the rise in bankruptcies.
As a result, households have never saved so much as during the lockdowns, putting aside 25 per cent of their income aside in the eurozone on average and 28 per cent in the UK in the second quarter of this year. This allowed would-be property buyers to put down bigger deposits on their house purchase.
In addition, financing costs are close to all-time lows with the European Central Bank's looser monetary policy measures allowing households to access cheap financing during the crisis. New housing loans, unlike new consumer loans, increased during the lockdowns by $30 billion in the eurozone between March and May.
“Even though banks have tightened credit standards since the onset of the crisis, most households in the eurozone are less indebted than during the financial crisis. Favourable financing, combined with government job support measures and high savings, suggest that home buyers' creditworthiness is much better than following the financial crisis,” S&P said.
Looking ahead, the ratings agency expects housing demand to soften next year and with it house price increases.
“The presently supportive factors, such as high savings and low financing costs, suggest large price corrections are unlikely. But labour market developments are set to become less supportive of household income,” it said.
The return to pre-pandemic levels of activity in 2022, and potential structural changes in housing demand post-Covid-19, should lead to a renewed acceleration in housing demand and prices, S&P said.
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
Need to know
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
RESULTS
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MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE%C2%A0SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.4-litre%20four-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Starting%20from%20Dh89%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
