Geschäftsbericht 2012, englisch

Management report – münchener Hypothekenbank eg l annual Report 201216 prices recorded in previous years. This is reflected in a vdp study which revealed that the average percentage of net household income allocated for paying interest and principal declined by ten percentage points since the end of the year 2000 and also fell by four percentage points to 23 percent in the last three years. The total volume of residential property financing once again rose at just a moderate pace in 2012 despite the strong demand seen in the property market and rising property prices. Accord- ing to information provided by the Bundesbank, this figure rose by 1.1 percent between the beginning of the year and the end of the third quarter. This reflects the fact that property buyers continue to provide a substantial amount of equity capital when entering into financing agreements. According to vdp figures, the average share of capital provided by borrowers has even risen in recent years and currently stands at 29 percent. Within the described market environment the Cooperative Finan- cial Network was able to further expand its position. Based on calculations made by the German Association of Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken (BVR), the Cooperative Financial Network’s share of residential property financing transactions market has risen in the interim to almost 27 percent. Residential property – international No fundamental changes were noted in the European residential property markets in 2012 as real purchase prices barely changed. There were only few exceptions to this, like the Netherlands and Spain – where prices fell. Activity in this sector remained at a low level. The rental housing markets were relatively stable and average rises in rents paid generally corresponded to increases in the cost of living. Based on long-term average figures, the residential property market in France was able to hold up at a lower but stable level. This situation was not least due to the fact that this market continues to benefit from state subsidies. The first signs, albeit weak ones, pointing to stability in the UK residential property market were noted as consumers’ future expectations improved slightly. The average nominal price level for residential prop- erty only fell slightly and potential buyers once again showed greater interest. One of the reasons for this was that banks’ lending practices were no longer quite as restrictive as in the recent past. Prices for houses and apartments rose further in Switzerland. However, when viewed on an average nationwide basis, the rise was slower than in previous years. Prices developed quite differently from region to region with the rate of price increases noted in a few regions like Zurich, Lausanne or Davos remain- ing at high levels. Prices for condominiums even hit a new all-time high. This situation also led to a significant increase in the intensity of warnings heard that the Swiss property market was overheating. Swiss banks, in agreement with the Swiss central bank, worked to counter these conditions and established a set of rules for themselves defining how they could employ their equity capital, as well as the duration of loans they made. The American residential property market was in considerably better shape than in the previous year as 82 of the 100 biggest urban regions in the USA reported higher prices, which in some cases were quite notable. In contrast, these conditions were only noted for twelve metropolitan regions in 2011. The fastest grow- ing markets were primarily located in the West and Southwest of the USA as growth in these regions was driven by improved job markets. However, on an overall basis, the unemployment situation, the uncertain general economic outlook, as well as the continuing surplus of available properties, continued to burden certain sub-markets and concurrently endangered the upturn seen in markets that were in the midst of recovering. The market for rental apartment buildings continued to recover and remained the unchanged preferred asset class for investors. Furthermore, the financing market for these properties con- tinued to be marked by intensive competition between state- supported mortgage financers, banks and American life insur- ance companies. Commercial property – Germany The German commercial property market held up well in 2012. This was not least due to Germany’s economic development, which was robust on a European basis. In addition to this, the stable labour market coupled with the low interest rate environ-

Geschäftsbericht 2012, englisch

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