DECEMBER 2011 |
www.opp.org.uk
NEWS Industry tells Rajoy to act fast By Geoff Hadwick
Overseas property professionals in Spain are looking forward to new government initiatives after last month’s General Elections. They all want an end to what they see as an unnecessarily prolonged period of uncertainty. “We expect to see a stimulus package
of reduced social security payments for employers taking on people under 30,” says Colin Guanaria, the founding partner of Bonnin Sanso, the biggest independent agency in Menorca, and “a major stimulus package for the tourist industry in an effort to boost tourist numbers. We have already seen this at a Balearic level with government / private industry partnerships collaborating and coordinating their efforts on marketing and promotion.” Guanaria also think that the Spanish overseas property industry can also expect “a massive sell-off of goverment assets. The military has
INDUSTRY | 09
NEWS IN BRIEF US overseas dream triples
Murcia | agents says that Spain should be an easy sell to overseas property buyers
huge land and harbour holdings, often in prime locations.” He also hopes that the property sales tax will go down. Chris Mercer, director of Mazarron-
based Mercers in Murcia, told OPP that the new government needs to back a “major PR campaign to win back the doubters, it needs to show real fi gures for what is happening on the ground.
After all, probably 90% of all illegal builds are Spanish-built and owned and have been built knowingly. Spain has to go out there and sell itself. After all, it should be an easy sell.” Mallorca-based overseas property
marketing consultant Sarah Drane takes a very pragmatic view. Rajoy “has no miracles to offer”, she told OPP.
Canadian ‘endvestors’ hit Florida
Overseas property agents are noticing more and more Canadian buyers surging into Florida to buy distressed properties for their retirement. Dubbed “Canadian endvestors,” they are snapping up homes at heavily discounted prices and sitting on them until they stop work. Speaking exclusively to OPP this
month, Ralph E De Martino, 2011 Residential President of The Miami Association of Realtor and president of local agency group Ocean International Realty, said “Canadians love it here and their currency has exaggerated buying power. That, coupled with low prices... it’s a no brainer to buy and to buy now. “This trend is likely to continue as
WANTAWAY BRITISH
More and more Britons are looking to buy property overseas according to the latest International Search Index from
PrimeLocation.com. The quarterly index reveals that searches for overseas property increased by 14% in the third quarter of 2011.
more Canadian buyers are telling their friends. It’s like a snowball effect,” De Martino added. Garret Kenny, managing director
of CB Feltrim agrees, and has even been up to Canada recently to sell opportunities at developments like his Tuscana resort. “Canada is an area we are targeting
heavily,” Kenny told OPP. “We attended a trade show there 3 weeks ago and it was an outstanding success for us.” “Canadians have the cash, they know
our Florida market place and are moving quickly to buy.” And, following “the success of our trade show visit there three weeks ago, we are now booked to go back again in February and I have increased our media spend budget to target more business from Canada.” Kenny has discovered that the
Future | endvestors buy for retirement OZ RED TAPE PLAN
Australian developers whose plans propose to overcome common housing issues should get fast track 15-day building approval says a new report. It currently takes over six months for many councils to process a residential planning application.
Canadian endvestor likes everything kept as simple as possible. “ A one-stop shop is what they really want,” he says. “They told me that they want a company that deals with everything from buying to renting and management.”
ABU DHABI RISING
The Abu Dhabi residential market is poised for major growth as overseas and domestic buyers gain more and more confi dence from the city’s new property laws and regulations says Ozone Real Estate, an international broker group based in the UAE.
According to a new survey by America Wave SA, the percentage of US Citizens planning to move overseas has tripled “dramatically” to 2.4% from 0.8% in the previous 2009 survey ... and more or less doubled on the 1.4% fi gure in 2007. Bob Adams, president and CEO of America Wave SA, told OPP: “The simple fact is that it has never been easier or cheaper to relocate than it is today,” he says. “And the American middle class has taken a terrible hit in this period of fi nancial crisis. Why should we be surprised that they are looking wherever they can for a better life?”
New Goa 2nd home tax
Second home investors in Goa are about to be hammered by punitive new tax system that could add as much as $10,000 the annual cost of owning a home there. In a measure which it says has been designed to “rationalise” real estate prices in the southern Indian resorts of Goa, the local state government has decided to levy a hefty new occupancy tax on homes that have been purchased by non-Goans and left unoccupied. The politicians are defi nitely targeting holiday homes owned by wealthy Indians from cities like Delhi. Foreigners are offi cially barred from buying property or land in India but many overseas property investors get around the rules by using local proxies to buy on their behalf.
Curbs hit China agencies
At least 177 property agencies closed down in Beijing last month as the Chinese government’s ban second home purchases and its new rules on increased minimum down- payments and increased property taxes begin to strangle the market, according to Home Link China.
NY IS REVIVING
The New York international property market is truly “coming back to life” was the message from more than 1,600 property agents who gathered at the Lincoln Center in New York last week for the 7th annual forum held by US real estate magazine Real Deal.
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