International Property Journal - News and information on global property markets

After a dip in 2009, international activity in the United States picked up last year, with more agents reporting contacts with foreign shoppers.

From April, 2009, to March, 2010, 28 percent of agents reported contact with international buyers, compared to 23 percent in 2009, the National Association of Realtors’ annual survey of Realtors found. More importantly, 18 percent reported actual sales involving an international client, compared to 12 percent in 2009.

U.S. real estate executives sound like bad mystery writers these days. The hot topic of discussion is “shadow inventory,” a mysterious and frightening figure hovering around the corner ready to stick a shiv in the recovering residential market.

Recent debate focuses on a report from Standard & Poor’s, which suggests that it may take three years to absorb the current shadow inventory of distressed properties.

The Moroccan city of Marrakesh ranks as the best value for a second home, based on a recent study of prices in 35 markets around the world.

An apartment in Marrakesh averages £1,265 per square meter (about $1,900), beating out Cairo (£1,300 per square meter); Muscat, Oman (£1,670); Hanoi, Vietnam (£1,945) as the markets with the best values, according to the study conducted by Savills (and printed in the Daily Telegraph).

While headlines focus on the towers of empty condos, Miami has been posting some big-dollar sales.

Last week a “German businessman” paid $16 million for a new 17,200-square-foot, 10-bedroom house in Miami Beach. The developer built the house as a spec property in 2008, which was, to say the least, unfortunate timing.

The waterfront house, which includes two docks and a five-car garage, originally hit the market at $25 million, according to the Miami Herald.

Investors looking for the next wave of residential growth should target Peru, Panama and Brazil, a new report on global markets suggests.

Strong economic growth, low interest rates and continued housing boom make Latin America, in general, far more appealing than other regions, according to the latest recommendations from the Global Property Guide, which tracks markets around the world.

The site’s analysis, which is weighted toward rental yields, is less kind to Europe, where “property markets have not sufficiently adjusted from their 15-year rise.” And while Asia valuations are skyrocketing, GPG believes the region is already “over-valued,” except for locales like Malaysia and riot-torn Thailand.

After two years of falling prices, U.S. housing is undervalued in most markets, according to a new study.

Recent data showing a miniscule 0.1 percent drop in prices in the fourth quarter “indicates that the housing market is still working towards--and is close to achieving--stabilization,” concludes the House Prices in America report prepared by IHS Global Insight and PNC Financial Services Group.

A Miami firm promoting Florida real estate investments was actually running a $135 million Ponzi scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged this week.

Gaston Cantens and his wife, Teresita, founders of Royal West Properties, promised investors returns between 9 and 16 percent a year on property in southwest Florida markets like Cape Coral, Port Charlotte and Lehigh Acres. But when the bottom fell out of the market the Cantens began using new investor money to pay off earlier investors, the SEC alleges in its civil complaint.

Huntsville, Alabama and Austin, Texas, lead the list of best U.S. housing markets for investors, according to Housing Predictor.

The site based the assessment on the strength of the regional economy and potential for job growth.

While sales of existing homes dropped 17 percent nationwide in December, sales in Florida surged at the end of the year.

Overall, Florida sales rose more than 4 percent from November to December, a sharp contrast to the national drop-off. The 14,630 sales in Florida in December were a 33 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

Of course, comparing December 2009 to a year earlier is similar to saying New Orleans was a lot better a year after Hurricane Katrina. But normal levels of activity—actual sales—is definitely good news for Florida, the most popular spot in the U.S. for international buyers.

Headlines from the world of property:

Dubai: Older Offices Have a Vacant Look

New buildings are gobbling up tenants, leaving older buildings to struggle. From the National.

New York: Priciest Condo Takes a Tumble

Price of condo in Philippe Starck building drops $7 million. From Curbed.