11 April 2012

El número de viviendas desocupadas de España es el doble de Alemania

La inversión en un bien inmueble resulta ser un paso importante para aquellas personas que buscan independencia y un lugar donde poder vivir cómodamente. Al adquirir una vivienda se está garantizando el bienestar familiar, además del hecho de que muchas personas se sienten más cómodas teniendo algo que es de su propiedad, por ello el contar con un lugar donde poder vivir se vuelve una necesidad.

Las viviendas resultan ser objetivos primordiales de mediano a largo plazo, por lo que concretar una compra o alquiler resulta gratificante, al mismo tiempo de brindar estabilidad. No obstante, se debe tener cuidado al pretender adquirir una. Bajo ningún motivo uno debe de exceder su capacidad de gasto y saber calcular las posibilidades de pago para no endeudarse innecesariamente.

En España, principalmente en Madrid, Barcelona y Valencia, existe un porcentaje importante de viviendas desocupadas que viene incrementándose desde hace años. La venta de apartamentos en Madrid o Barcelona y el alquiler de chalets en Valencia son dos de las situaciones actuales más demandadas por los ciudadanos. Ya a inicios del 2011 las estadísticas reflejaban que las provincias antes mencionadas eran las que más viviendas vacías tenían.

Además, está el hecho que durante estos últimos años se han construido muchas edificaciones que han contribuido al aumento de viviendas para alquiler o compra. Un dato interesante es que actualmente existen un número total de viviendas que podrían cubrir la demanda en los próximos 10 años, si la oferta se ajustase a la demanda.

Durante la burbuja inmobiliaria que se vivió en España el mercado inmobiliario no fue capaz de satisfacer la enorme oferta de viviendas construidas que existía en ese entonces, sumado a las viviendas vacías disponibles.

Hoy en día existe un número elevado de viviendas nuevas en venta, entre las que se encuentran viviendas nuevas terminadas y viviendas iniciadas que aún se encuentran en proceso de culminación. Es un hecho ineludible que existe una demanda importante de personas que buscan un lugar donde vivir, y que ésta se viene proyectando progresivamente.

14 September 2011

Research Suggests Men and Women Disagree on What Makes a Home a Happy Place

Happiness is a wide, open-ended and above all subjective area of study among the academics involved in this topic. One thing that can be said of happiness without prejudice is that different aspects of living in a house make different people happy – and in different ways.

The purchase of a home is the biggest investment of the average Briton. When looking at the home as a source of one’s happiness, it becomes apparent that not all dwellings will suit all inhabitants. Finding the right home is a definitive contributor to the overall enjoyment of life. Gartoo, an online property search engine in the UK, recently carried out a poll asking over 500 people from around the UK to rate which factors they felt provided the most happiness in their house. The results were rather interesting…

Overall, the people living in a house were the biggest factor for happiness.

However, what’s more interesting is that this pie chart suggests that there is very little correlation between the happiness provided by a house and the price tag.

However, when broken down by gender, age, and region we began to spot some very interesting trends highlighting that when it comes to what makes a home a happy place, there is certainly a degree of disagreement between men and women, youngsters and adults, and northerners and southerners.

Men vs. Women

While both sexes agreed that it’s the people that make a home a happy place, our research suggests men are far more interested in what you can do in a house and where it’s located, opposed to women, who appear to be more concerned with the social environment of a house and the safety it provides.

What makes a home a happy place factors split by male vs. female

The Young vs. The Old
Our research suggests that as British people get older they become less concerned about the colour, design and what is done in the house, and increasingly concerned by the location and safety of the house when it comes to providing happiness.

Northerners vs. Southerners

When it comes to happiness, it appears that those living in the north of England are more interested in the people and safety, whereas those living in the south are more concerned with the design, colour, and location of the house.

How to Engineer Your Happiness by Choosing the Right House
For the tangible bricks and mortar of a house to become a truly happy home that fulfils the inhabitants’ lifestyle, it is imperative that it follows the contours of what the owner holds as intrinsic to their individual preferences. For example, the golf enthusiast who finds a central source of their satisfaction on the suburban golf course will undoubtedly enjoy in a suburban town with a golf course. Yet the keen city-lover, who enjoys the hustle and bustle of the sleek and efficient urban environment, would likely find such a location far from fulfilling. In this case, a modern city apartment with a view of the beautiful London skyline at night would be far better suited.

In short, a happy home cannot be narrowed down to one particular formula that every person would find enjoyable. Naturally, an assumption could be made that anyone would be happy and enjoy living in a large town house in Central London, with all luxury that could ever be asked for. However, strip away the glossy facade and it becomes clear that such a property may not match what it is that makes you truly happy as an individual.

Investing in the right property ultimately involves the understanding of oneself before a reasoned decision can be reached. Does the house in question cater for your children? Are you living close enough to the people you hold dear in your life? Will your commute to work impede your sense of happiness? All these questions – and many more alike – will affect the choices you make in finding the perfect home. Yet it is very important to remember that once the search for the perfect property is over, it is the filling of its walls with the stories and memories of a life well lived that will bring true happiness to your home.

Buying a home is not simply an investment, but a basic necessity. Remember to take into account what it is that makes you happy when choosing a home and to not compromise on those needs because of market value and financial prospects.

Research data source: here

18 February 2011

How Tipsy is Your Town?

Gartoo have recently launched a fun ‘How Tipsy is Your Town’ widget that helps understanding the density of pubs in towns across the UK by comparing the number of pubs with other areas in your area.

House prices correlate negatively with density of pubs at a national level. The general trend shows that areas with many pubs tend to suffer high crime rates. High crime rates correlates strongly with lower house prices at a national scale.

When a user enters in their postcode, the widget also links to a heatmap of the user’s city showing the distribution of pubs in the area, which on a national scale have a negative correlation with house prices and crime rate.

To download or view more information about the widget you can visit the widget page on Gartoo.net, or download directly from WordPress.org.

Website’s Using the How Tipsy is Your Town Widget

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