Home Prices Increasing in 20 Countries: Eye-Opener

Wow, this is an eye-opener.

Listening to the news every day, I truly thought "we" were in a global recession. But the recession is very spotty. When I saw this headline, "20 Countries Where Housing Prices Are Increasing", I assumed it was in places like the Congo where things could not get much worse. (Warning: the link takes forever to load; I have fast connection and it still moved slowly. Lots of ads, I suspect.)

I was quite surprised to see that home prices are rising in much of the western world and in the developed world in the east. Not a single country in Africa, eastern Europe, the former Soviet bloc, or the Mideast was on the list. Nor was Japan, Vietnam, or South Korea.

Here they are, #20 to #1:

• Malaysia
• Portugal
• Luxembourgh (if I could live anywhere, this is where I would live)
• The Netherlands
• Switzerland (Roman really likes this country now)
• New Zealand (beautiful)
• Colombia (right next to Venezuela)
• India (surprise)
• Austria
• UK (yes, this "socialist" country)
• Sweden
• Norway  (my ancestral home)
• Finland (remember radiated reindeer)
• Canada (our neighbor to the north)
• South Africa
• Israel (how much money does US loan them?)
• Australia
• Singapore (not unexpected)
• Hong Kong (not unexpected)
• China (a complete surprise; #1 on the list; prices up 68% on average)

This list truly surprises me. Check out the link/slideshow; the average increase is interesting, but the average prices are really startling.

And as long as I'm rambling, check out the new luxury mall in the Gaza strip.