Property Market to be hit by Brexit
This week The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicted that the property market will reach its weakest level since 2012. In fact, the demand in houses will significantly decrease, and so will the prices.
The chief economist at RICS, Simon Rubinsohn explained:
“It is evident … that the ongoing uncertainties surrounding how the Brexit process plays out is taking its toll on the housing market. I can’t recall a previous survey when a single issue has been highlighted by quite so many contributors.
Caution is visible among both buyers and vendors and where deals are being done they are taking longer to get over the line. The forward-looking indicators reflect the suspicion that the political machinations are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.”
This weak property market causes a gap in the number of homes for sale, and even more alarming it could lead to a decline in house-building, that could cause a housing shortage.
However they are some variations between the different regions, if the capital and the south-east already observed a decrease in the price, with prices falling as much as 15% in London, in some regions of the north-west or in Northern Ireland and Wales prices have risen.
Brexit being a long-term process, this effect on the property market might last over a couple of years, until this veil of uncertainty caused by the Brexit negotiations disappears.
Attacks at Strasbourg’s Christmas Market
The Strasbourg’s Christmas Market is by far one of the most famous French Christmas market. Each year millions of people from all over the world come to Strasbourg to drink some mulled wine and admire the beautiful Christmas decorations and lighting.
However, the Christmas magic vanished, when on December 11 a man opened fire on passers-by in downtown Strasbourg, killing three people and injuring 16, including nine seriously. Since then, the shooter has been on the run. Several hundred members of the security forces were mobilised during the night to try to find him. More than 700 law enforcement officers are mobilised for a complex and extensive hunt.
The suspect is a young man of 29-year-old from Strasbourg. A repeat offender, the young man is well known to the police services as “very provocative”, particularly through “anti-State discourse”. His extensive criminal record contains 27 convictions for acts committed in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Among the French victims, were international nationals:
- A 45-year-old Thai tourist, on a sightseeing trip with his wife, who was also injured in the attack. He had arrived in France the day before.
- An Afghan national is brain-dead. This 40-year-old garage owner was shot in the head.
- An Italian journalist among those seriously injured, he is a 28-year-old journalist from the Trento region (north-east), who was in Strasbourg to cover the plenary session of the European Parliament for Europhonica, a network of radio stations.
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