It's been two years since Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services came into the Buffalo market in force with its back-to-back acquisitions of Nothnagle Realtors and then RealtyUSA. The dual purchases added upstate New York to the seven-state Hanna empire, which already included Rust Belt markets across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Michigan. So it's been familiar territory for the nation's third-largest real estate brokerage, which is accustomed to operating in slower-growth but steady cities. Hanna executives say they couldn't be happier, based on all indications that the mergers have been smashing successes. The company posted new records last year for sales volume and number of transactions, in its first full year of owning the two franchises. Hanna said it completed 97,005 sales transactions with a total value of $18.4 billion. That's an increase of more than 1,800 deals over the prior year, and marks the first time closed sales topped $18 billion in the … [Read more...] about BizTalk: Howard Hanna III says boomers, millennials are driving Buffalo’s housing market
Markets
Competition reviving up in Vietnam’s car hailing market
Following Uber’s departure from Vietnam, the country’s ride-hailing market has witnessed the entrance of both domestic and international applications, such as Aber, FastGo, Go-Viet and VATO. Recently, Indonesia’s ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek officially announced its entry inyo Vietnam with its Go-Viet app. Photo: thuonghieucongluan.com.vn Google recently reported that Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing market has grown fourfold since 2015, and will be worth US$20 billion by 2025. Grab is the biggest player at present, and is available in some 200 cities following its acquisition of Uber’s regional operations, Nikkei Asian Review reported. With a population of 90 million and a fast-growing transportation service market, Vietnam has become a lucrative place not only for local enterprises but foreign players too. Never have Vietnamese customers had such a diverse range of car-hailing options. Drivers also have a wide variety of options. FastGo Vietnam … [Read more...] about Competition reviving up in Vietnam’s car hailing market
Measures to cool Australia’s housing market have worked. Now to find out if they cause a whole set of other problems
Tighter lending restrictions have seen Australian housing investor credit growth slow to the lowest level on record. The sharp slowdown has contributed to recent declines in Australian home prices, especially in Sydney and Melbourne. While this is reducing risks in the housing market, it carries the potential to create even larger risks for the Australian economy. In the past it was interest rates increases that usually led to a slowdown, and in some instances downturns, in Australia’s housing market. When they hit a high enough point, a rate rise would crimp demand, leading to a slowdown or fall, in prices. However, that’s not been the case recently. Home prices are now falling in Australia, even with official interest rates from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) sitting at the lowest level on record after a steady period of cuts. So at least on that factor, this time it’s different. According to latest data from CoreLogic, Australian home prices fell 0.4% … [Read more...] about Measures to cool Australia’s housing market have worked. Now to find out if they cause a whole set of other problems
The EU will reject Theresa May’s single market for goods Brexit proposal
The European Union will not let the UK keep single market privileges for goods. Theresa May is considering a Brexit proposal based on keeping the UK in the single market for goods but nothing else, according to multiple recent reports. However, the EU will not accept that arrangement, a source close to chief negotiator Michel Barnier told Business Insider. “As soon as give the UK the single market for goods, the market begins to unravel,” they said. Prime Minister May is in Brussels for the European Council summit, with Brexit on the agenda. BRUSSELS – The European Union will reject any Brexit deal which allows the UK to remain in the single market for goods, a source close to the bloc’s negotiating team has told Business Insider. The UK government is reportedly considering a Brexit policy which would see Britain retain single market membership for goods in order to minimise disruption to UK-EU trade, and go some way to preserving the invisible Irish … [Read more...] about The EU will reject Theresa May’s single market for goods Brexit proposal
DM Wenceslao defies bear market with IPO
MANILA -- Construction firm DM Wenceslao said it was giving shareholders value, as it defied the bear market with its initial public offering on Friday. Shares of the company were down 19 percent to P9.74 at noon, from an offer price of P12 per share. It had hoped to raise as much as P8.15 billion. The main index was up 0.94 percent to 7,132.72. "The basic story of the IPO is we are raising funds to grow the company," said company president Delfin Wenceslao. DM Wenceslao shares fall in stock exchange debut The IPO was priced when the Philippine Stock Exchange Index was at 9,000 points, Wenceslao said. The index fell 20 percent from its January peak on June 20, entering bear market territory. "The growth prospects didn't change, it's just the sentiment. The price went down, we left more money on the table," he said. Deducting fees and charges, the company raised P7.6 billion from the IPO, of which, P3.7 billion will be used to develop 9 projects, P2.9 billion will be used to acquire … [Read more...] about DM Wenceslao defies bear market with IPO