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Simeon Mitropolitski

Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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16 July 2008

UK: Retreat on all fronts

© 2008, IRED.Com, Inc., Simeon Mitropolitski

Britain is heading for its deepest crisis on its real estate market since the comparable records are taken since the late 1970s. On the residential market, almost all agencies around the country report falling prices and dramatic activity slowdown. The commercial real estate is also heading for recession. The recent measure taken by the Bank of England to allow private lenders to swap insecure assets for government-issued bonds in an attempt to restore confidence in the banking system seems not bringing much-waited relief.

In Britain, the residential market is in the red. For the period between April and June 2008, the number of sales has fallen dramatically, more than 30 percent, as well as the prices, almost 10 percent since the middle of 2007. Almost all agencies around the country report market slumps. For comparison, at the beginning of 2008, only about half of the agencies reported falling prices. Some agencies report no buyer demand at all for many weeks. An additional reason, coming from the financial institutions, has reduced the already weak demand. The banks in Britain now are much more reluctant to offer mortgage loans, especially for first buyers. This is despite the governmental efforts, through the Bank of England, to save the banking sector by providing extraordinary measures.

On the commercial real estate market, the situation doesn't look much better. The national economy is heading toward significant slowdown; some say even toward recession, and some say the country is already in recession. Recent media publications that some developers and investors are struggling to service their loans have shaken the sector, doing not quite well for at least several months. The cancellation of the office leases is up almost a third since 2007. The big construction companies have announced elimination of up to 40 percent of their workforce. With the professionals directly linked to the real estate market well being, the total loss of jobs may reach 100,000.

Earlier this year, Britain has allowed private lenders to swap insecure assets for government-issued bonds in an attempt to restore confidence in the banking system, and thus indirectly to push ahead the sluggish economy and the real estate market. The initial offer, courtesy of the Bank of England, reached approximately $100 billion. In the light of the persistent problems, however, another offer of similar size may be on the road.

United Kingdom profile:
  • Area: 244,820 sq km
  • Population: 61 million (July 2008 est.).
  • Population growth rate: 0.3% (2008 est.).
  • Net migration rate: 2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.).
  • Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (2008 est.).
  • Life expectancy at birth: 78.85 years.
  • GDP real growth rate: 3.1% (2007 est.).
  • GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity $35,300 (2007 est.).
  • Unemployment rate: 5.4% (2007 est.).
  • Population below poverty line: 14% (2006 est.).
  • Main trading partners: US, EU countries, and China.
  • Internet users: 40.3 million (2007 est.)
(Source: CIA World Factbook 2008; Reuters)

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See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of United Kingdom.

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