From a Vietnam upswing to buying into internet history

By Kate Youde

Five stories making global property headlines:

Vietnam luxury market on the up

Average prices for luxury condominiums in Ho Chi Minh City increased 17 per cent to $5,518 per square metre in 2018 and are set to rise a further 10 per cent by early next year, according to real estate services company CBRE Group. Bloomberg reported the research when declaring Vietnam to be “the hot new market for luxury property”.

Average UK first-time buyer aged 34

First-time buyers in the UK are getting older. The Office for National Statistics revealed 34 to be the age by which half of the population had bought their own home in 2018, compared with 26 in 1997. The Guardian reported that increasingly unaffordable housing is to blame for the rising age, with average house prices leaping up more than 270 per cent in 20 years.

Further forecast of Dubai price falls

More predictions have been made of residential property price falls in Dubai, with S&P Global Ratings forecasting a drop of 5-10 per cent this year due to the gap between supply and demand. In a report covered by Khaleej Times, it said prices had already decreased 25-33 per cent in nominal terms since 2014.

Confidence grows among US housebuilders

In the US, confidence among housebuilders hit a four-month high this month thanks to lower mortgage rates and strong consumer confidence. The National Association of Home Builders announced that its housing market index hit 62 for February, up from 58 the previous month. This was better than economists’ forecast of 59, according to the Financial Times.

Source of Amazon up for sale

Housebuyers have the chance to own the $1.488m Seattle suburban home where Jeff Bezos founded Amazon. According to CNBC, Bezos rented the three-bedroom property in 1994 and started building the ecommerce giant from its garage. Both the house and garage have since been renovated.

Photographs: Dreamstime; Bloomberg; Getty Images