British Waterways to sell residential portfolio?

Around £50 million worth of residential property could be soon be up for grabs as part of a sell-off by the UK’s British Waterways agency. The body, which manages around 2,200 miles worth of canals and rivers in Britain, is thinking of getting rid of its residential property portfolio, Property Week reports.

Officials at the organisation are looking to appoint in advisers to guide them on the matter of disposing of up to 450 homes in a separate portfolio.

Quoted by Property Week, British Waterways chief executive Robin Evans said:

“While ensuring that the operations and heritage of the waterways are safeguarded, the review will consider if there are better ways over and above the status quo to get more public benefit from our estate.

“Two options include transferring properties into a specialist associate company part-owned by British Waterways, or placing parts of the portfolio on the market and reinvesting the income to generate greater long-term funds for canal maintenance.”

Anything put up for sale could appear as for sale or could be put into a joint venture.

Property investors should keep a close eye on whatever comes up for sale, with some idyllic locations needing little renovation likely to be up for grabs.

Foreclosed homes squeeze US house prices

Foreclosed homes in parts of America are being sold at values way below average – and the ‘average’ itself is now falling. Boston Real Estate Now reports mortgage firm Countrywide Home Loans has 297 properties for sale in Massachusetts, with an average asking price of $174,628 which is below the state average.

That average is now falling, partly because of discounts on foreclosed homes offered by firms like Countrywide. The blog says:

“Companies are much more systematic about selling properties than the typical seller.

“The company generally seeks the opinion of several real estate professionals to set the initial asking price. Then it reduces that price by a fixed amount if the house fails to sell during a predetermined period.”

This week the Wall Street Journal reported the number of foreclosed homes in the US continues to rise, with lenders and property investors now owning about 660,000 properties in April, more than double the January 2007 total.

Loan firms are now trying to avert further foreclosures by easing terms or giving families longer to catch up with repayments.

New homes: Taylor Woodrow unveils the Andalusian project

A major UK house builder tapping into the Spanish market has released a collection of two and three bedroomed new homes for sale. Taylor Woodrow de Espana has developed the Andalusian project in the style of a traditional Mediterranean village.

Landscaped gardens and communal swimming pools make the site a prime property investment opportunity. Nick Freeston, Head of UK operations for the company, said:

“We’ve built a number of developments at the Los Arqueros Golf and Country Club, all of which have been extremely popular because of the quality design and the club’s excellent location and facilities.

“Les Robles is our latest development and we’ve already received a great deal of interest from those keen for a slice of the Spanish sun.”

Taylor Woodrow de Espana bills itself as the only major UK house builder in Spain and has been developing there for 50 years. Prices start from €279,000 (£219,460) for a two-bedroom apartment and from €311,550 (£245,064) for a three-bedroom apartment.

Taylor Woodrow Espana is a subsidiary of Taylor Wimpey, a developer with operations in the UK, North America, Spain and Gibraltar. In July last year, Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey completed a merger to form Taylor Wimpey, the UK’s largest home builder.