A Dubai-based bank has suggested a huge capital gains tax measure to discourage short-term property investors.

Gulf News reports Standard Chartered Bank believes a 50 per cent rate on properties bought and then sold on within 12 months would discourage speculators and “improve the stability of the market”.

The bank’s suggestion comes amid fears the ongoing interest of foreign buyers in the Dubai market is destabilising the local economy.

In comments likely to concern property investors around the world, Gulf News quoted Marios Maratheftis of the bank as saying:

“It is a hot topic and having a huge impact on the economy. We need to get speculators out of the market.”

Short-term property investors, rather than buyers looking for a property for the long haul were “hurting the market” he added.

Mr Maratheftis is the bank’s regional head of research for Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.

If introduced, such a tax would mean an investor spending £326,000 on an apartment in development such as Zero Five Zero Dubai Waterfront, close to the Dubai Marina, would face losing £10,000 if able to sell it on for £336,000 within a year.

European property investors remain confident the value of their homes will rise over the next five years even if prices fall or stay still in the near future, a survey has shown.

The Financial Times/Harris poll reveals British homeowners join the Spanish and Italians in a group most upbeat about the future of the market.

However, the British are also listed by the research as being the most pessimistic about the immediate future, with 42 per cent saying they expect prices to drop in the next 12 months.

The poll also confirmed the UK and Irish markets have seen the most dramatic falls from grace, with Cyprus and Sweden among a small number of areas still reporting considerable growth.

Earlier this month the FT quoted Jeremy Helsby, chief executive of agents and consultants Savills, as saying tough conditions

“make predictions of full-year performance very difficult”.

A European house price guide published by the paper shows Poland and Northern Ireland were among countries which experienced the highest house price growth in 2007, while values in countries such as Austria and Germany remained flat.

Germany records markedly low growth of just 1.1 per cent between 2003 and 2007.

US property investors are increasingly being stung by unscrupulous ‘qualified intermediaries’ who run off with their cash, it has been revealed.

The Denver Post reports around 350 US property investors have fallen foul of the problem while deferring capital-gains taxes on investment property sales.

The 1031 tax code lets owners defer capital-gains taxes on the sale of their investment properties, and says they have to buy a property similar to the one they sold within 180 days.

However, in the meantime, the cash has to be held by a third party or qualified intermediary.

The post reports some intermediaries have been making off with the money entrusted to them, costing investors across the US a total of $132 million in the last year.

Quoted by the paper, Joel Judd, D-Denver, chairman of the House Finance Committee, said:

“The federal government has set up this system where folks are required to hand money to people they don’t know. Of course, we’re all shocked and amazed when the money disappears.”

Taxpayers must use intermediaries, rather than a separate account to store the cash, as IRS regulations say the taxpayer may not receive the proceeds any way in order to qualify the 1031 exchange.

Barratt Homes is marketing a riverside development as a top UK buy-to-let opportunity after it began to prove a hit with property investors.

The firm said its Riverside Plaza project in Maidstone was attracting buyers with an eye on the long-term market.

Professional property investor Sue Hainsby and her husband bought a two-bedroomed apartment in the development and remain “undeterred” by the current difficulties in the UK property market.

Mrs Hainsby said:

“We choose properties to invest in very carefully and we don’t believe the buy-to-let market will be affected in the long-term.

“Riverside developments are always in demand, and the quality of the homes, together with a great location close to the town centre and station, tick the boxes for a good investment property.”

Riverside Plaza is located on the banks of the River Medway, a short walk from Maidstone.

Remaining one-bedroom apartments in the scheme are priced from £129,995 and two-bedroom apartments from £169,995.

A study from Bradford and Bingley recently found 90 per cent of property investors, four per cent more than last year, remain confident in their portfolios despite the current house price slump.

Indian real estate investment opportunities are to be on show at an Oman event open to the general public.

Oman International Trade and Exhibitions is running the exhibition at the Salalah Municipality Fair Ground, Salalah, and showcasing the Indian market to international property investors.

Today’s show will feature ongoing projects in Bangalore and Ooty from Pathy Housing.

Pathy, based in Bangalore, has already completed 25 real estate projects and sold them on to 2,500 clients around the world. It’s Oman arm, Termah LLC is overseeing today’s event.

Tony Gotino, general manager of Termah, said: “The company’s layouts are well planned and are in prime localities near the IT hub in Bangalore.”

Opportunities on show include the Pentagon City, Sky City and Ketti Homes project in Ooty.

The Sky City project is close to the electronic city project in Bangalore, set in 60 acres, and is a fully developed residential layout with plots ranging from 1,200 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft.

Ketti Homes is based at Coonoor, the second-largest hill station in the Nilgiris near Ooty, surrounded by tea plantations.

Residents will get easy access to the hills and Sim’s park, a natural area with stunning lake and mountain views.

More than 12,000 people turned up to the preview event for a US masterplan community aiming to transform a former military base into a desirable residential project.

The Great Park Neighbourhoods project, from builders Lennar, will develop the former El Toro marine base, California.

People were given a first taste of the project at an on-site events day with organisers declaring themselves delighted with the level of interest.

Carol Wold, vice president of community affairs for Lennar, said:

“With respected educational institutions among its characteristics, this first neighbourhood will be designed to remind people of a college town with a cozy, lively main street.”

Lennar added the Neighbourhoods project will provide the tax revenue to finance and build the new Orange County Great Park alongside it at no cost to current taxpayers.

Construction work is expected to begin in the Autumn with three separate neighbourhoods set to make up the whole site.

The base itself was decommissioned in 1999 before Lennar and a group of other firms snapped up the land for $650 million.

The 3,724-acre site was officially handed over by the US Military to Lennar in a 2005 in a ‘changing of the guard’ ceremony.

Booming Gulf real estate industries are leading to a knock-on surge in demand for landscaping in the area, with the UAE sector experiencing a particular increase. According to the CMPi, organisers of the Gulf Landscaping exhibition, Gulf projects will double in volume to exceed $16 billion by 2010.

The firm said landscaping in the Gulf is a “competitive business” fraught with high competition, shrinking profits and high expense. CMPi event director Chris Fountain said:

“Driven by the construction boom, many households have increasingly turned to landscaping services to design, develop and maintain their investments while landscaping contractors are learning how to grab their share of this high growth market.”

Gulf Landscaping is an exhibition for the booming Middle East outdoor design and landscaping architecture industries. It is set to run from November 17 to 18 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, UAE.

Organisers said the exhibition will serve as a networking event for the region’s landscape architects, developers, contractors and property investors.

Financial regulators have announced a crackdown on mortgage fraud in the UK market including a plan to make targeted visits to 200 brokers. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is also encouraging intermediaries to report suspicions of problems either within intermediaries or lenders.

Incidents of mortgage fraud are increasing as falling house prices expose loans that were obtained using falsified information. In an open letter to the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), Philip Robinson, director of the FSA’s financial crime and intelligence division, said both organisations had the opportunity to work together to “remove the stigma caused by the dishonest few”. He said:

“The FSA has been taking steps to deal with mortgage fraud for some time, and is now ensuring there is a co-ordinated response to this threat.”

“By doing so, we aim to address fraudulent behaviour by regulated firms. We will also support other authorities in their work to tackle fraudulent consumer behaviour.”

The AMI reacted to the letter by saying it supported the FSA and would be “sharing its views with members.”

A Sky News investigation recently found some brokers were prepared to exaggerate borrower’s earnings and even forge pay slips in an effort to land mortgages and gain commissions.

A US real estate columnist has put together a simple guide on how to snap up foreclosed homes in the current American “buyers market”.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher said property investors looking for a foreclosed property would need ready access to cash or a good credit, plus a “taste for the hunt”.

Her tips include focusing on one particular neighbourhood, ideally one in which foreclosures are actually few and far between and the local area is desirable.

She also advises purchasers to research properties carefully and to find an agent with experience of foreclosed properties if a seller will not deal direct.

Ms Fletcher said:

“Foreclosure deals are often complex and time-consuming - you don’t want an agent who lacks diplomacy, patience and perseverance.”

On Tuesday the Boston Business Journal reported foreclosure rates in Massachusetts are continuing to climb, according to statistics from ForeclosuresMass.com. New residential foreclosures declined last month because of new regulations forcing a 90-day waiting period, the publication said.

But there were 4,157 filings in the area during the second quarter of 2008 – the single highest month on record according to the Journal.

UK property investors now aiming to rent rather than sell houses look set to enjoy higher rental incomes, according to a leading consultancy firm. Knight Frank said demand in the letting market is increasing by as much as 30 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Rents grew by as much as 16 per cent in central London alone during 2007.

The firm also said there had been a “noticeable change in sentiment”, with renting no longer seen as a short-term option. House hunters are now more likely to see renting as a more flexible option offering better value than buying, the company added.

Knight Frank’s head of residential research Liam Bailey said:

“With rents rising and property values falling, it will soon begin to make more sense to own property purely for the rental income.

“This will, in due course, attract more professional property investors into the UK rental market.”

He added buy-to-let investors prepared to “stay the course” would see dividends from the market in time. He also said Knight Frank’s view is house prices will most likely see a peak-to-trough fall of around 20 per cent.