Indeed in the US they seem to be even more pessimistic than usual with posters on the biggerpockets.com forum concerned that the government is actually preparing for unrest which could result from people losing their jobs and homes.
They cite a report from the US War Army College which says that troops will be used to quell any civil unrest caused by the economic crisis. The report says that protests against businesses and the government or runs on beleaguered banks are among possible domestic shocks that might require military action within the US.
Those on the forum see the possibility of troops being prepared to deal with riots is a sign that the previous government was certainly not confident that its bail out schemes for banks, lenders and the auto industry are necessarily going to be enough.
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The International Monetary Fund has warned about the possibility of economy related riots. Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned in December that riots and unrest in various global markets are likely if the financial crisis is not addressed and lower-income households are hurt by credit constraints and rising unemployment.
Indeed it is already happening in Eastern Europe as the economic crisis hits the region harder than western states, with anti-government riots in Lithuania and Bulgaria and analysts warning that they are possible in Estonia and Hungary.
Last week demonstrators attacked the Lithuanian parliament building in Vilnius with stones, smoke bombs, eggs and ice, breaking windows and calling on the government to resign.
In Bulgaria 2,000 students, farmers and green activists threw stones, snowballs and bottles against the parliament building in Sofia and demanded the government resign. A total of 150 were arrested and around 30 injured.
Dorothee Bohle, a political scientist at the Central European University in Budapest, has warned that Estonia could also be hit by the unrest, despite holding relatively high currency reserves, and described Hungary as 'deeply unstable'.
Concerns have also been expressed about possible riots in China and other parts of Asia. Indeed a glance at the indianrealestateforum.com does not reveal any worries at present although posters acknowledge that although developers are bringing down prices it is still not enough to boost the selling market and the real estate sector is suffering its worst crisis for many years.
There are reports on the forum that the problems are likely to be long term in India. Member vkpraba points out that a few months ago the major developers, DLF, Unitech, Parsvnath and Oxame were talking up the markets but now that their latest results have been published showing falling profits they are not as bullish.
Analysts rule out riots in India at present but as the much hyped IT sector has started to suffer job losses there could be a large number of middle class property owners out of work.
You cannot blame property investor for wondering who is to blame for everything that has gone wrong with world economies. This is a particularly vexed question in Dubai where many thought the emirate would be immune from the crisis. The question also results in a variety of answers, some serious, others more flippant on the propertycommunity.com forum.
But in general hindsight can be a wonderful thing and there is no point in sitting with your head in the sand wondering where and how it all went so wrong. As most posters point out Dubai has not been as badly hit as some markets and it is well positioned to be one of the first to recover.
Mortgage lending to non residents in Romania is being resumed according to the propertysecrets.net forum. But posters point out that it is worth bearing in mind that banks in Romania have a different type of costing funding so comparing rates with lenders from the UK, for example, is not easy.
But it is also reported that not all banks will lend to non-residents and there is still some confusion as the lenders frequently change their requirements, one of the more frustrating aspects of investing in property in the country. Some report not being able to get a Romania lender to agree a loan at all. Indeed some people have lost their deposits because of the lack of lending.
However it is expected that with restrictions for Romanian residents being eased the same is expected for non-residents soon. Posters report that foreigners should be able to apply for a mortgage within a couple of weeks and the terms should be available to those in full time employment although it is hoped that a self employed product could also become available.
