AUGUST 2010 |
www.opp.org.uk
INDUSTRY By Robert Dale
THE number of overseas buyers looking for residential property investments in the Caribbean has increased in the first quarter of this year. According to new fi gures from
Rightmove, interest in the islands has more than doubled at several points over the past year. Speaking to OPP, Rightmove’s head of overseas Rob Wilson said: “The Caribbean, in common with many ‘exotic’ destinations for overseas property, picked up strong increases in interest in Q1 this year, outpacing the more traditional destinations in Western Europe.” Dr Walter Zephirin, Director of 7th Heaven Properties agrees with Wilson’s
Region Caribbean Western Europe
fi gures. In a recent interview with OPP, Zephirin said: “The Caribbean is experiencing healthy growth and it’s actually benefi ted from other markets collapsing. As people emerge from the fi nancial meltdown they are looking for somewhere stable to invest. With its idyllic beaches, lower taxes and better quality of life the Caribbean is a very attractive place to buy property.” According to Wilson, the spike in
interest in Q1 is down to “a combination of post-Christmas blues and people’s new year resolutions to change their lives for the better. As we move into Q2, the less serious buyers tend to fall by the wayside, however, and the gap between the Caribbean and Western Europe closes as the, for some, more realistic destinations of France, Italy, Spain and
May 100 100
Jun 89.6 93.3
July 105.5 110.5
Sep Safe haven | Interest in the Caribbean has more than doubled in the past year
Portugal gain much better traction.” He added that the challenge for
advertisers marketing property in the Caribbean - and indeed other exotic destinations - is to build into their
Facts and Figures all values are in % Aug 133.3 147.7
Oct
161.6 123.3
163.9 111.1
Nov 173.5 110
Dec
171.1 105.4
Jan
268.9 163.6
proposition features and benefi ts that reassure prospective buyers that they can have the dream of paradise “but with the security and convenience of an established destination.”
Feb
256.8 159.4
Mar 231.3 160.3
Apr
183.7 164.8
May 177.2 155.5
The tables shows the changes in search activity on Rightmove Overseas. The fi gures show that in May 2010 the volume of searches was 177% higher (x1.7) than May 2009. The results also highlight that interest in the Caribbean is outpacing that of Western Europe.
Russian residential fund fi nds safe house
RUSSIA Development Fund (RDF) is acquiring almost half of a major new housing development in the industrial city of Volgograd in central Russia. The €105 million ($133 million)
fund’s main investors are Aberdeen Property Partners II, Immofinanz and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It already owns an equity stake in the Kvartstroy, the developer concerned. Kvartstroy is also working on a
TWPN TEAMS UP
ONLINE trading platform The World Property Network has launched what it hopes will become the world’s largest property register. It is aiming to host eight million properties in more than 200 countries within the next three years. It has partnered with Joerg Springer, founder and CEO of 101 Worldwide and the Kondiment Group.
residential development in Moscow. RDF managing partner Maxim Kuni told Reuters that funds seeking a low- risk return from Russia’s unpredictable
real estate market should invest in residential property. RDF does not like the unpredictability
of the commercial property sector because too many “western funds - the potential buyers - have left the market”, Kuni explained. Apartments in the Volgograd
Safe as houses | Resi funds are best
project sell at about €1,300 euros per square metre. This is a rate that Kunin calls “economy class” and is an increasingly popular market segment in the rapidly
BANKs HELP HERON FLY
HERON International has secured a £115m loan from a syndicate of three banks - Santander, HSBC and Investec - to fi nance the construction of a landmark residential tower in the City of London. As OPP reported last month, Gerald Ronson’s new building, The Heron, is the fi rst major residential development in the City of London for 30 years.
growing Russian housing market. “We fi nd that purchasing power is
much higher at this level,” says Kunin. The fund aims to exit within the next 18 months, he concludes. RDF believes that the Russian residential market can offer funds excellent returns due to the lack of activity in the past 18 months and the country’s rapidly growing demand for homes. Pressure for modern apartments in the Moscow region remains very high.
PINNACLE TO PUDONG
MORGAN Stanley has sold the residential project Pinnacle Century Park in Pudong for 1.2 billion yuan ($177 million). The price represents about 26,000 yuan ($3,838) per square meter – Morgan Stanley paid 18,000 yuan when they bought the project in 2006. It is set to be the second-largest residential deal in Shanghai so far this year.
INDUSTRY News | 09 Caribbean enquiries outpace the rest
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