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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (9147)	7/13/2004 9:56:04 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

July 13, 2004 The Sale Prices of Apartments in Manhattan Keep on Rising By JOSH BARBANEL rices of Manhattan apartments continued their rapid ascent in the first half of the year, with the average selling price of condominiums approaching $1.25 million, according to a new market snapshot. The average price marked a 38 percent jump from the same period a year ago, an increase due in part to the sale of more high-end apartments. Co-op prices increased as well, but more modestly. The average price increased 19 percent to $858,000. The biggest increases were seen in studios, which increased by 20 percent, and in two-bedroom apartments, which increased by 18 percent. The new sales figures were released yesterday by the Corcoran Group, a day before a similar study is due out from a competitor, Douglas Elliman. The surveys provide the first inkling of the possible effects of rising interest rates on what has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. The Corcoran survey, based on completed sales reported by brokers throughout Manhattan, found that about half the increase in condo prices was due to the increasing strength in the upper-end market. The average price for a two-bedroom condo rose by 25 percent to $1.28 million, while the average price of apartments of three bedrooms or more rose by 32 percent to $2.721 million. "We still have an oversupply of buyers over sellers, especially in the largest apartments and most desirable neighborhoods," said Pamela Liebman, the chief executive officer of the Corcoran Group. Ms. Liebman said that much of the surge in prices occurred over the winter, setting the tone for 2004 as "an incredibly strong year," as former renters rushed to buy and affluent Wall Street investors decided to put money into high-end real estate. More recently, she said, the supply of apartments for sale began to rise, especially among smaller apartments, as interest rate increases and higher prices persuaded some renters to sign new leases. Even so, the prices of condominium studios over the six-month period were up 11 percent over the same period in 2003. "Hard-to-find apartments, apartments with something special - a park view, a terrace, or a prime neighborhood - are still creating a frenzy," she said. "You would think we were giving something away. You have open houses, and 70 people show up and 9 or 10 make bids." Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company \| Home \| Privacy Policy \| Search \| Corrections \| Help \| Back to Top

To: mishedlo who wrote (9147)	7/13/2004 3:21:57 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

China Draws 12% More Foreign Investment in First Half (Update7) July 13 (Bloomberg) -- China attracted 12 percent more foreign direct investment in the first half as companies including Sony Corp. and General Motors Corp. sought to tap booming demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy. Investment rose to $34 billion in the half, after gaining 7.5 percent in the first quarter from the year-earlier period, the Beijing-based Ministry of Commerce said on its Web site. The Ministry didn't give a growth figure for the second quarter. China overtook the U.S. last year as the world's biggest recipient of foreign direct investment, drawing $53 billion, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Premier Wen Jiabao is relying on attracting overseas investment to help create 14 million jobs this year, even as he reins in indiscriminate expansion by state-owned companies. ``China doesn't want to slow down foreign investment because it's valuable to the economy and brings in foreign expertise,'' said Joseph Lau, an economist at Credit Suisse First Boston in Hong Kong. Rising investment by foreign companies is fueling an export boom that's stoking growth in the world's seventh-largest economy. China's economy expanded 9.8 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, outpacing growth in the rest of the world's 20 largest economies. Contracted Investment Overseas sales soared 47 percent to a record $51 billion in June, the commerce ministry said yesterday. Robert Subbaraman, a Tokyo-based economist at Lehman Brothers Japan Inc., estimates that more than half of China's exports are made by foreign companies. Last year's foreign investment in China was larger than the $40 billion attracted by the U.S., the world's biggest economy, and the $6.47 billion that was invested in South Korea, Asia's third-largest economy. Contracted foreign investment in China, a sign of future investment, rose 43 percent to $73 billion in the first half, today's statement showed. General Motors, Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have announced plans in the past year to invest about $10 billion in China, the world's fastest-growing auto market. Less than three in 1,000 Chinese households own a car, said Ashvin Chotai, an analyst at Global Insight Inc., a Lexington, Massachusetts based auto consulting firm. Cars General Motors, the world's largest carmaker, last month announced plans to move its Asia-Pacific head office to Shanghai and build a $250 million testing ground in the city that will be the largest outside its home state of Michigan. ``Having a strong presence in this dynamic and growing market is not an option anymore, it's a necessity,'' Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told reporters at a press briefing in Shanghai on June 23. quote.bloomberg.com