Indian house price growth weakest in a decade

A round-up of world property news

one year ago

*Mumbai, where property prices are forecast to rise 0.5 per cent this year*

Five stories making global property headlines:

Indian house prices set for below-inflation rise in 2019

House prices in India are predicted to increase 2.3 per cent this year, according to a Reuters poll of property analysts. The outlook, based on a survey conducted between May 10 and June 3, is brighter than the 1.3 per cent rise forecast in March but below overall inflation. It would be the weakest increase in at least a decade, according to Reuters. Prices are forecast to fall 2.5 per cent in Delhi but to rise 0.5 per cent in Mumbai.

New York townhouse sets sale record

The sale of an Upper East Side home has set a record for a residential townhouse in New York after fetching close to $80m. The Wall Street Journal reported that the home’s seller was Philip Falcone, the former hedge fund manager, who bought the double-wide property (more than 20 ft or 6.1m in width) for $49m in 2008.

*Sold for nearly $80m: Philip Falcone’s New York townhouse*

UK Labour party considers progressive property tax

A “progressive property tax”, which would mean higher bills for owners of large homes with gardens, is being considered by the UK’s Labour party. The Times reported that the national tax, which is included in the report Land for the Many, commissioned by the party, would be paid by homeowners rather than tenants as a replacement for the current council tax system. Second or empty homes would attract a “significantly higher rate”.

*Owners of homes with large gardens could face higher taxes if Labour comes to power*

Australian housing downturn adds to economic woe

Falls in Australian house prices have contributed to the country’s economic growth falling to its weakest rate in almost a decade in the first three months of the year. The FT reported data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that showed the economy grew 1.8 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2019, its slowest quarterly growth since the end of 2009.

*A Sydney apartment block: prices have been falling across the country*

‘Lady in Red’ singer seeks buyer in the black

Singer Chris de Burgh has put his Irish home of 30 years on the market for €12.5m. He told Bloomberg he is selling the eight-bedroom Georgian mansion, called Bushey Park, which lies 20km from Dublin city centre, because it is “too big for two people”. The 23,158 sq ft house has a panic room, 600-bottle wine cellar and indoor swimming pool, while the grounds feature a guest cottage and stables.