European construction is not expected to grow until 2014 according to the latest figures released from Euroconstruct. The organisation made up of a group of research institutes and consulting firms also warned that the industry would not recover to 2008 levels until 2023.

As a result of continuing uncertainty in the Eurozone economy and an increasing belief that Greece will eventually be forced to leave the Euro, Euroconstruct has also had to revise down its previous forecasts. Construction forecasts were downgraded from -0.3% to -2.1% in 2012 and 1.8% to 0.4% in 2013.

Even if a predicted forecast of 1.7% growth returns in 2014, construction output across the 19 Eurozone countries will still be down 12% on 2008 levels. On average growth rates of 1.5% a year the sector will not return to 2008 levels until 2023 according to Euroconstruct. The civil engineering sector will be the biggest drag on construction activity over the next three years declining at a rate of 1.4% annually.

Looking at the construction industry’s predicted performance for the period 2012 to 2014 there is now a clear north/south divide across the European continent. Countries from the north are performing substantially better than countries in the south. Top performing Denmark and Norway are expected to see growth in excess of 2% per annum, while the weakest performers Portugal and Spain will see construction activity in deep recession of more than -3% a year.

To see if these predictions are correct and for all other real estate and construction news from around the world check out MIPIM 2013 held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, March 12-15. For all your accommodation, transportation and entertainment needs look no further than EAS, the local travel agents you can trust. Whether you’re after rooms in some of the most centrally located hotels, your own private apartment or villa, or are looking to charter a luxury yacht for upscale entertaining, we have the answers you are looking for. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

The world’s property markets are becoming more transparent according Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest Transparency Index.

The global real estate services firm reported that almost 90 percent of the countries surveyed revealed greater transparency within their property sector over the last two years.

The index, which rates the ease and safety of buying properties across the globe, named the United States as the most transparent market. The top of the list is made up of traditional established markets with the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand making up the rest of the top five. Canada, France, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden are also named “highly transparent” markets.

But emerging markets are catching up fast with a number, including Romania, Croatia and Indonesia, placing much higher than in recent years. Mexico and Brazil were singled out as locations that have improved their performance significantly over the past two years, while Turkey was named as the country that has made the greatest strides in improving the transparency of its real estate sector.

According to the report more still needs to be done within the real estate markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Although Craig Plumb, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Middle East and North Africa, believes that big changes will be seen in the Middle East in the near future. He claimed that policymakers in the region are starting to take note that greater transparency leads to greater overseas investment and a larger number of multinational companies moving into the market. Watch this space to see how the Middle East real estate market changes over the coming year.

For more information on the transparency of the world’s real estate markets make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to mix with the movers and shakers of the global property and construction industries atMIPIM 2014. If you’re after the best hotel rooms, rented apartments and even luxury, private yachts in Cannes look to EAS for all your accommodation needs. We can also help you with restaurant bookings, nightly entertainment and will organise all your transportation requirements. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

The sale of existing homes in the US rose slightly in July, as did house prices, showing that the worst of the housing crisis may be coming to an end in the world’s largest economy.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said that existing home sales rose by 2.3% from June to July, meaning that 4.47 million units were sold over the last year. The average house price nationwide was $187,300 in July, up 9.4% on prices from the same month last year.

Job creation, low borrowing costs and a small supply of properties for sale have been providing the foundations for price gains within the market. Regionally, existing home sales rose in the Northeast by 7.4%, in the Midwest by 2% and in the South by 2.3%, while sales in the West remained unchanged during July.

The length of time houses are on the market is also decreasing as NAR president Moe Veissi explained. “Correctly priced homes, regardless of price range, are selling quickly these days. A third of homes purchased in July were on the market for less than a month, and only 21% were on the market for six months or longer.” According to the NAR, house sales in 2013 are likely to reach five million.

Meanwhile rents increased nationally in July also, with 70% of the metropolitan areas surveyed experiencing rental increases from June to July. Chicago, Providence in Rhode Island and Baltimore experienced the highest increases posting double digit rises of around 12%. This is mainly as a result of continuing high foreclosure levels in these areas, which has boosted rental demand.

Nationally the number of foreclosures continued to decline, however, with 5.7 out of every 10,000 homes in the country being foreclosed. That was down from 6.5 out of every 10,000 homes in June.

For more information on the recovering US housing and property market head to MIPIM 2014 at the Palais de Festivals, Cannes. For the city’s best hotels, rented apartments and villas look no further than EAS, the local travel agent you can rely on. We have rooms in the most centrally located hotels, beach apartments with sea views, penthouses and even luxury loft apartments. We also offer yacht charters for those after something a little bit different and can organise all your transportation, dining and entertainment needs.Click on this link to fill in our request form.

Construction in Hong Kong continues to soar with contractors carrying out 33.6 percent more work in the second quarter of 2012 than in the same period last year.

According to figures from the Census and Statistics Department, $5 billion of construction was carried out in the second quarter in the Chinese city. The private sector saw the biggest rise in construction with works in this area increasing by a staggering 53.7 percent to total $1.7 billion. The value of public sector works also increased over the year, up 17.1 percent to total $1.8 billion during the quarter.

Looked at as a whole it appears that residential building projects are fueling the current construction boom in Hong Kong. The city has seen house prices double over the last four years as Chinese investors, driven by a desire to seek higher returns and to move their assets abroad, continue to snap up apartments. In order to meet increasing demand for new build properties residential construction was up 55.2 percent on figures in the same period last year.

The rapidly rising cost of homes is out-pricing Hong Kong locals, with many now unable to afford new homes in the city. In order to combat the overinflated prices the Hong Kong government in September announced the first step in a policy aimed at restricted foreigners from buying property in the city.

Under the policy known as “Hong Kong land for Hong Kong people” the executive of the city has said that only Hong Kong permanent residents will be able to buy flats built on two sites that will provide around 1,100 homes next year. In addition the resale of residential units will be restricted to locals for 30 years and incorporated companies will also not be allowed to purchase them.

Other measures include increasing land supply by converting 36 sites meant for government and public use to residential property to provide space for nearly 12,000 units.

MIPIM 2013 has all the latest information on construction projects from across the globe, so make sure you head down to the Palais des Festivals, Cannes from 12-15 March, 2013. For rooms in the most centrally located hotels, or luxury rented apartments look to EAS, your trustworthy local travel agent. Not only can we organise all you accommodation needs, but we can also arrange transport, nightly entertainment, restaurant reservations and even luxury yacht charters. Click on link for more information.