Real Estate NEWS and UPDATES

Minor correction predicted for Malaysia property prices

2011-12-20T02:48:00.000-08:00

Property values in Malaysia, particularly in the office, luxury condominium and serviced apartment sectors in Kuala Lumpur, are expected to undergo a marginal correction in 2012.

Bernama, the Malaysian news agency, reported on a statement made by James Wong, immediate past president of the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector, Malaysia (PEPS), ahead of the Malaysian Property Summit 2012.

Mr Wong commented: "Prices for landed property, industrial and retail sector, would however remain stable."

He also predicted tightening lending criteria will reduce the number of potential buyers in the country's real estate market.

Mr Wong went on to highlight certain areas of the nation where both sales and prices have climbed recently. Among them are Setiawan, Segamat and Kota Kinabalu, he stated.

Last month, government agency Malaysia Property Inc attended a real estate exhibition in Hong Kong with the intention of promoting the country as an investment hotspot, Bernama reported.

Real Estate Guide to Buy or Rent Whangarei Northland and Coastal Property in New Zealand

2011-11-29T03:07:00.001-08:00

Real Estate Investment in Whangarei New Zealand

Real estate business may be focused in so many aspects as an investment and as a method to earn money from. You can be a real estate agent and enjoy earning money while on the other hand, there are those who have the capital to earn being an investor in the buy and sell arena for a real estate business. In Whangarei New Zealand, however, there is a lot of available real estate business investment that you can get in to if you want to earn a significant amount of income from it.

Whangarei Real Estate Agent Marketing Tips

A Whangarei real estate agent in New Zealand may earn through real estate business by selling real estate property in so many ways and methods but so far, there are a few tips that I would like to give you to be able to earn good in this business. To be able to market a real estate property, you have to know where you can make such move or where to post your for sale property using the internet because we all know that the internet is the best medium there is if you are selling anything today. A few good ways to seek refuge for your product are forums and classifieds. Today there are a lot of free classifieds that you can post your for sale product. Forums can also be a good way to sell real estate. You can also try to market your real estate property using social media sites where you can post to multiple people who might just be interested to buy a real estate property in Whangarei. So far these are just a few ways and I know that there are a lot out there.

Different Real Estate Property Investment and Sale

In a real estate investment, there are a lot of different types that you can sell for interest of those who might be looking for the perfect type of property. Different people have different preferences for a real estate property that they wan to buy or rent or even lease for a period of time so to be able to allow your target clients to get a glimpse of what is there in the real estate industry in Whangarei Nez Zealand, you must have access to the different types of real estate properties being sold in the market today and make a list of them all. This is for the purpose of having each type under your profile just in case you have to present a client the different types of real estate property that you sell for choosing.

To get you an idea of what is in store if you are looking to sell real estate these are a few types. Coastal real estate, farmland real estate, northland real estate, beach real estate, resort real estate, ridge real estate and more. So far these are just a few but always feel free to make it more appealing and diverse for your clients. We all know that selling a real estate property either if it is for rent, lease or total sale depends on the choices that you can offer for your clients.

Will the World Series give a boost to local real estate?

2010-11-04T04:05:00.000-07:00

It's orange and black all over the city of San Francisco today, as the bay area is euphorically celebrating the World Series win of their beloved Giants baseball team.

With a super successful season behind them, it's no doubt that Giants season tickets have become a hotter item than ever, with premium prices many times more than what one would pay before they earned the championship ring.

Now that more fans will be flocking towards the ballpark, what will it mean for the local area? Will real estate prices in the vicinity ride on the coat tails and world series boost? Is a condo by the ballpark now the new place to live?

A quick scan of listings by ballpark on Redfin doesn't give the appearance of any out of the ordinary listing activity. However, on the commercial front, things are already picking up.

The Wall Street Journal wrote back in August that start ups are converging on the neighborhood, slowly increasing rents and filling office vacancies:

The activity at 410 Townsend reflects Silicon Valley's broader tech recovery...That has fueled the ferment in SoMA, a hip start-up neighborhood that is home to Twitter Inc. and others. The area's office vacancy rate peaked in last year's fourth quarter at 30.5% and has since eased to 28.2%, while average asking rents per square foot have risen to $28.57 from $27.69 late last year, according to real-estate firm Cornish & Carey Commercial.

Poverty in Taiwan at record high

2010-08-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

TAIPEI : The number of Taiwanese households living in poverty rose to a record high of 108,000 in the three months to June despite the continued growth of the economy, it was reported on Sunday.

The quarterly figure marked an increase of 10,000 households over a year ago, the Commercial Times said, citing figures compiled by the Ministry of the Interior to be released this week.

In Taipei, a single adult earning under 14,614 Taiwan dollars (457 US) a month is considered to be in poverty, the newspaper said, while the benchmark is slightly lower for the rest of the island.

The ministry blamed an income gap which has been widening despite Taiwan enjoying a steady recovery from the global economic downturn.

"Relatively speaking, the rich families have benefited from the economic recovery," an unnamed ministry official was quoted as saying.

The island's economy jumped 13.27 percent year-on-year during the first quarter of this year, growing at its fastest pace in more than 30 years, thanks to strong demand for exports in markets such as China.

The fast growth cements the island's recovery from its worst economic crisis since World War II and was helped by a rebound in world trade after the global downturn.

The figure, which compares with a contraction of more than nine percent in the same period last year, is the highest for Taiwan since the fourth quarter of 1978, the government said.

Germany eyes 3% growth in 2010

2010-08-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

BERLIN : The German economy ministry has pencilled in around 3.0 percent growth this year, more than double the previous estimate, following the strong expansion seen in the second quarter, reports said on Sunday.

The Spiegel weekly and the Welt am Sonntag said that unlike in the past, growth in Europe's biggest economy was being driven by domestic demand and not just by exports, making it more resilient to weaker conditions elsewhere.

Preliminary data from the statistics office on Friday showed that German gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the period April to June, the fastest expansion since reunification in 1990.

The government is due to update its official growth forecast -- currently 1.4 percent -- in October, Spiegel said. In 2009, Germany suffered its worst recession since World War II, with GDP contracting by 4.7 percent.

China province cuts power to 500 factories

2010-08-16T01:47:00.001-07:00

BEIJING : Authorities in eastern China have cut off electricity to more than 500 factories for a month after they failed to meet emission reduction targets, state media reported Monday.

The news came after China warned more than 2,000 companies in high-polluting and energy-intensive industries to shut down outdated equipment or risk having bank loans frozen, approvals for new projects dry up, and their power turned off.

The order from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was the latest salvo by Beijing as it tries to slash its world-leading greenhouse gas emissions and restructure the economy.

The 506 factories in eight cities targeted by officials in Anhui province are mostly in industries that consume high amounts of energy such as the coal, chemical and metallurgical sectors, the China Daily newspaper reported.

"Some of their high energy consumption is due to the factories' antiquated production facilities," Zhao De, an energy official with the province's Department of Economic and Information Technology, was quoted as saying.

He told the newspaper it was the first time the province had cut the power to such a large number of factories, although previously officials had put limits on power consumption during peak summer months.

Sun Yangzhi, an official at Zhongcheng Cement Factory which employs 700 people in the city of Huaibei, told the newspaper his plant received a notice that power to the plant would be cut for a month two days before the blackout.

"We are quite worried because several tons of coating material will be wasted if we do not put them into production as soon as possible," Sun was quoted as saying.

"We are also anxious because we will not be able to complete several orders."

The suspensions are intended to help the province meet its energy consumption targets by year's end, the report said.

The factory blackouts will also reduce electricity demand as the province copes with two weeks of temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) which have sent consumption soaring, the report said.

Neighbouring provinces have also introduced measures to cope with surging power demand.

Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, has restricted consumption to 1,000 companies since Thursday to ensure that residents have enough power and has also asked energy-intensive companies to halt production, the report said.

In Zhejiang, 69 companies in Jinhua city had their electricity rationed between July and September, while in Shaoxing city, which consumes a quarter of the province's power, 200 firms face limits until year's end, it said.

Japan's growth slows as recovery loses steam

2010-08-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

TOKYO : Japan's economy grew at the slowest pace in the past three quarters during April-June, data showed Monday, as cooling exports and falling consumption showed the recovery was losing steam.

The data also pointed to the looming prospect of China overtaking Japan as the world's second-largest economy, underlining its growing global clout after becoming the world's biggest exporter, auto market and steelmaker.

While remaining just ahead of China in nominal terms in the first half, Japan slipped behind its Asian rival in the April-June period, government data showed.

"The economy is levelling off," said Keisuke Tsumura, parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office.

Japan's real gross domestic product grew by an annualised 0.4 percent in the quarter, down from a revised 4.4 percent in the previous quarter and missing forecasts of 2.3 percent growth from a Dow Jones Newswires poll of economists.

On a quarterly basis, growth was at 0.1 percent, down from a revised 1.1 percent in the previous quarter.

The figures pose a challenge for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government, which must balance a fragile economy with an agenda focused on the need to cut the industrialised world's biggest public debt, at nearly 200 percent of GDP.

"It was a negative surprise," said Yoshiki Shinke, Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute senior economist. "Such figures were very much unexpectedly weak."

Private consumption, a key driver of the economy, was flat after growing 0.5 percent in the previous quarter.

"The data showed that domestic demand was still very weak. Effects of various policy measures have significantly weakened and pulled down growth," said Shinke.

Many analysts say 2010 is the year China will replace Japan as the world's second-largest economy, with government data showing that while Japan stayed ahead of its Asian rival in the first half, it fell behind in April-June.

On a nominal basis, Japan's gross domestic product was at 2.578 trillion dollars compared to China's 2.532 trillion dollars in the first half, the cabinet office said in a preliminary estimate.

But Japan's second quarter GDP was smaller than China's, at 1.288 trillion dollars compared with 1.336 trillion dollars, according to the government.

Both China's commerce ministry and the National Bureau of Statistics declined to comment.

In June, Japan's unemployment rate edged higher to 5.3 percent, while production of automobiles and electronic gadgets underwent a surprise slip, amid signs that an export-driven recovery may be stalling.

Shipments of cars, gadgets and components have been crucial in offsetting weaker demand at home, but concern is mounting that Japan may be hit by Beijing's efforts to cool China's economy, together with fragile eurozone and US demand.

Deflation and weak domestic demand have long burdened Japan, as consumers tend to put off purchases in the hope of further price falls.

The planned expiry of government incentives to purchase cars in September may also weigh on production for the domestic market just as the overseas climate worsens, analysts say,

Japan's exporters are threatened by a slowdown overseas, cooling a sector that is also anxious about the strength of the yen, which recently touched a 15-year high against the dollar.

The safe-haven currency has strengthened beyond the trading levels assumed earlier by many exporters who have eyed its rise with anxiety, as investors seek a refuge from dollar and euro volatility.

For every one-yen rise in the currency's value against the dollar, companies can lose tens of billions of yen earned overseas when repatriated, threatening a core part of Japan's economy.

"It will take time for the higher yen's effects to show in exports data," said Shinke. "But over six months to a year, it will pressure exports."

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 index was 0.94 percent lower after the release of the data.

Rwanda seeks partnerships in real estate

2010-07-25T21:51:00.000-07:00

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has entered into a partnership with Sadiki East Africa to promote the forthcoming East Africa Real Estate Fair-Kigali Edition.

Ms Rosemary Mbabazi, chief investment officer Rwanda Development Board, said the partnership is aimed at opening up Rwanda’s lucrative real estate space to Kenyan players.

She said the development of the Kigali Convention Centre, plans for a new CBD to sit on 760 hectares, a growing middle class and diaspora dollars, have translated into a huge demand for both residential and commercial real estate in the country in last 10 years.

“The huge demand for property has been occasioned by infrastructure development to support the anticipated economic growth alongside tourism, which has opened up opportunities in the hospitality industry,’’ said she said.

In the same vein, the Architects Association of Rwanda (AAR) has also invited Kenyan professionals to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in the country’s real estate sector.

The AAR president Mr Eudes Kayumba said the East African common market protocol will give Kenyan professionals and developers a good opportunity to participate in Rwanda’s lucrative real estate sector.

RDB figures indicate that the real estate sector has been growing by an average of 16 per cent over the last five years and reached 25 per cent in 2008, with a huge need for hotels, schools, hospital and related services.

The fair to be held between 17 to 19 August in Kigali will be looking at establishing investment opportunities besides creating networks with regional delegates.

London: the new Mecca for overseas property investment

2010-07-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

EvencConsidering the general bearish nature of real estate, the prices of Central London property shows no signs of cooling, according to Overseas Property.

Investors from the emerging tiger economies in South East Asia are increasingly looking to invest in overseas property investment opportunities. In the last three weeks more than £2 billion (US$3.08 billion) worth of transactions have been accomplished by investors who were Chinese, Koreans and Malaysians. Real estate prices in London do not seem to go down.

Stephen Down, Managing Head of the Gresham Down Capital Partners, was not very optimistic about the future of real estate prices in London, but he was surprised by the voracity of the appetite of buyers, especially from the ASEAN countries, to invest in overseas property investment opportunities. And the boom in London Real estate is not confined only to the Eastern investors. The U.S. Investment fund Carlyle has just inked a deal of buying six London office buildings for more than £670 million (US$1.03 billion).

The River Court is also up for grabs, and Down is advising investors who are looking for a prospective buyer who will give a good value for this “trophy” which is the European headquarters of Goldman Sachs in the City. This shows the keenness of the investors from Far Eastern countries who do not have nuptial syndromes while investing in overseas property.

The building is modern, having been extensively renovated in the year 2000 before it was let to the Goldman Sachs for a period of 15 years. It has all the latest gizmo’s and comes with a earthly rent of £36 (US$55.50) per sq ft. This is much lower than prices in the same locality, which are touching £50 (US$77.07) per sq ft. The term also envisages that investors get the benefit of growth in rents in the coming years, when it will inevitably rise.

Since there is a considerable shortage of funds, and banks have turned really mean these days, it will be a real test getting finance for these schemes. But that fact that the office rents in London have shot up by more than 12 per cent in the last three months, and by more than 24 per cent in the preceding six months, has not been overlooked by financial institutions.

The downturn in real estate and overseas property investment opportunities has led to a fall in new constructions, and users have opted to rent different office spaces in London.

Down also talks about investors from the Middle East, such as Qatar, who have successfully bid and bought Harrods in Knightsbridge for more than £1.5 billion (US$2.31 billion)

The Park House in Oxford Street, a prime commercial and residential development, was bought for a princely sum of £500 million (US$77.07 million). Down confirmed that large numbers of Malaysian, Korean and Chinese investors are coming to the market. People prefer London because of its transparency and liquidity, and also for its impeccable honor and honesty, he concluded.

Is China Following America Into a Real Estate Bubble?

2010-01-23T22:59:00.001-08:00

“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on rententiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana

China would do well to remember the lessons from the real estate collapse in the United States – because it’s heading down the same rocky path.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics just reported that property sales in the country surged by a massive 75.5% in 2009, adding up to a total of 4.4 trillion yuan ($644 billion). A 7.8% jump in December – the fastest pace in 18 months – ensured that 2009 ended with a bang. Shanghai alone saw a 126% leap in sales value last year, while Hong Kong’s real estate prices saw the biggest jump of any major world housing market, according to property firm, Knight Frank.

At first glance, you might think that such sizzling growth is a great sign for China’s continued progress. But a record number of new home loans merely gives the Chinese government a headache, as it tries to restrain what looks increasingly like rampant U.S.-style speculation.

Two of the world’s most successful investors and prominent, respected authorities on Asia just weighed in on the topic – and you can use their wisdom to profit…

China Applies the Brakes to Its Red-Hot Real Estate Market

Mark Mobius is an emerging market guru – and the man in control of $34 billion worth of assets at Templeton Asset Management Ltd.

He’s had his finger on the Asian economic pulse for many years and kicked off 2010 by reassuring investors that China’s red-hot real estate market isn’t about to tumble.

Mobius declares: “The Chinese will act rationally and they’re not going to kill the market. Prices are high, but I don’t see a crash.”

Hmm, that’s what people said about the U.S., too!

Still, the Chinese government seems to be doing what Mobius says and taking proactive steps. It just announced new measures aimed at slowing the pace of real estate growth without stifling the broader economy, which it expects to grow by 8% this year. Among them…

It’s re-introduced a law that imposes sales tax on a home sold within five years of being bought.
Banks must increase the amount of money they set aside for reserves.
More rigorous requirements for anyone wishing to buy a second home – stricter enforcement a 40% down-payment.
Such restrictions should ease the market’s frantic pace somewhat and we may see a sharp drop in first quarter Chinese home sales.

But will it be enough?

This Renowned “China Bull” is Calling for Consolidation

It’s one thing to be bullish on a country or region. But when you move yourself and your family to the area in order to capitalize on that growth, you’re making an even bigger statement.

That’s what renowned investor, Jim Rogers, did in 2007. He also penned a book, entitled A Bull in China, which details the country’s enormous growth opportunities – and how to profit from them.

So when such a noted China bull calls for a consolidation, it pays to listen. And that’s exactly what Rogers predicts for China’s real estate market.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Rogers states: “Certainly, Shanghai real estate or Hong Kong real estate should decline. If anything’s in a bubble, that and U.S. government bonds are certainly very overpriced. China now realizes that they’ve created too much money, that prices are going up too much and they’re trying to slow things down. These things are designed to take some of the heat out of the economy.”

So what should you do? Amid the speculative fever, Rogers says he hasn’t bought Chinese stocks since late 2008. And while he hasn’t sold either, he does say “a consolidation is long overdue.”

This is a view that our own Louis Basenese shares. In fact, Lou’s been bearish on China since September, noting ten reasons why China will sell off. He reiterated that again in this “Bye-Bye, Shanghai” piece last week, so be sure to check them out to get Lou’s advice on how to profit.

Britain to exit recession, but faces bleak recovery

2010-01-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

LONDON: An end to Britain's longest recession on record will likely be confirmed this week but recovery for the debt-ridden nation - facing an election this year - will be far from smooth, economists warned.

The Office for National Statistics will on Tuesday publish data expected to reveal that Britain exited recession in the fourth quarter of 2009, analysts have widely forecast.

A return to growth between October and December last year after six quarters of negative output will see Britain following all other major economies out of recession. Economists predict growth of 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter.

However, the future for the British and wider global economy is far from rosy, with the IMF and the United Nations recently warning of a possible renewed or "double-dip recession" this year.

Those worries have been heightened in Europe, where several nations - notably Greece and Portugal - are struggling to cope with soaring public debt.

"It's definitely worth pointing out that, even if we do exit recession, the hard work will only just be beginning," said Colin Ellis, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe.

"Shrinking the massive budget deficit, getting private sector employment growing and generating genuine wage growth will be big challenges over the next few years."

Ellis also told AFP: "There is a risk of a double-dip (recession) during 2010."

British state borrowing worsened to a record deficit in December, official data revealed last Thursday, sparking speculation about public spending cuts and taxation hikes in the months ahead.

Britain has borrowed 119.9 billion pounds (US$193.3 billion) in its current financial year which began in April, compared with 63.6 billion pounds recorded at the same stage of last year.

The government meanwhile predicts that it will have to borrow a record 178 billion pounds during 2009/2010.

The state of Britain's troubled economy has become the key battle ground ahead of a general election due by June and which is likely to see Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party defeated by the main opposition Conservatives, according to recent polls.

Whichever party wins power, Britain faces a decade of economic pain, experts warned.

"The UK economy has moved out of a decade of debt and into a decade of painful readjustment," analysts at financial group Ernst and Young warned in a key report published earlier this month.

"After years of relying on domestic spending and borrowing the economy now needs to rebalance towards saving and exporting, or risk stagnating," said the study by the group's Independent Treasury Economic Model (ITEM) Club.

Gross domestic product (GDP) will meanwhile "struggle" to reach 1.0 per cent this year, they said.

"The UK is facing another challenging year," added chief economic adviser Peter Spencer.

"We are no longer in a position to borrow - the massive debts that we racked up in the last decade now need to be repaid. The consumer is completely cashed out - with consumer spending likely to increase by just 0.4 per cent this year."

The economy, which is also struggling with high unemployment caused by the financial crisis, has contracted for six quarters in a row - its longest recession since records began in 1955.

Finance minister Alistair Darling recently admitted that Britain's recession would be deeper than thought - with the economy predicted to have shrunk 4.75 per cent in 2009 compared with a prior official estimate of 3.5 per cent.

The nation's economy is expected to grow by 1.0 to 1.5 per cent in 2010, Darling added, matching his previous forecast.

Ezdan to build Asia Towers

2010-01-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

DOHA: Qatar’s biggest property developer by market value, Ezdan Real Estate Company, has joined force with Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company and Al Sarri Trading Company for the Asia Towers project, which has an estimated cost of QR2.5bn ($686.5m).

Ezdan Real Estate Company will own 32.5 percent of the project, while Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company and Al Sarri Trading Company will each own 33.75 percent.

Asia Towers, one of the largest real estate projects in Qatar this year, is slated for completion in three years. The development will see four residential towers built on a 30,000 square metre plot of land in Doha’s West Bay area.

Each of the four towers will be 55 floors high with 1,600 residential units, and will have a built-up area of about 560,000 square metres. The project will also include commercial and entertainment facilities as well as hotel apartments.

Ezdan Real Estate Chairman, Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani, and Sheikh Nasser bin Ali bin Saud Al Thani, the Chairman of Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (QGIRC), who is also Chairman of the board of Al Sarri Trading Company, signed the partnership agreement here yesterday.

Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah told a news conference yesterday that the project would contribute to the overall economic growth of the country and will boost the Qatari real estate sector.

This project, he said, was a launching pad for other future projects that would be developed by Ezdan, which has a wealth of experience in the real estate sector, including Ezdan hotel towers, which were designed to host major events and conferences in the country.

He said the number of residential units owned by Ezdan was equivalent to, if not more than, the residential units available in hotels in Doha. Qatar’s real estate sector had continued to maintain a reasonable growth rate and had managed to steer clear of the challenges posed by the global financial crisis, he noted.

Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah said the financing for the project would be done through loans from local and regional banks, adding that the venture was seeking funding sources and that talks being held to this effect with local banks were positive and were expected to be finalised soon.

Sheikh Nasser bin Ali, who also addressed the news conference, said the partnership agreement was the beginning of a strategic alliance with Ezdan and underscored the excellent prospects for the country’s real estate sector’s growth and sustainability.

BEYONCE LOVES ONLINE GAMES

2010-01-23T22:32:00.000-08:00

BEYONCE is addicted to playing online games with strangers - because her opponents have no idea they're pitting themselves against a superstar.

The Halo singer unwinds by spending hours in internet chatrooms playing card games - and admits she gets a secret thrill out of remaining completely anonymous amongst her rivals.

She tells U.S. magazine Allure, "I play with everybody, and they curse me out when I make mistakes, and kick me out of the room. I love it, it?s really fun because no one knows it?s me."

Hong Kong shares rise, helped by real-estate stock

2009-12-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

By Michael Kitchen

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks gained in early Tuesday trading, clawing back losses from the previous session with property shares recovering ground and telecoms also firmer. In the early minutes of trading, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.4% to 21,558.3, while the mainland-China-focused Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also gained 0.4% to hit 12,713.7. Real-estate developer Hang Lung Group Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:101 (HK:101 29.50, +0.30, +1.03%) /quotes/comstock/11i!hlppf (HLPPF 3.68, +0.00, +0.07%) added 1% to its share value, while Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:1 (HK:1 97.65, +0.75, +0.77%) /quotes/comstock/11i!cheuf (CHEUF 12.45, +0.15, +1.22%) was up 0.9%, helped by news that tycoon Li Ka-shing had slightly raised his stake in the company. Li's share buy in Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:13 (HK:13 50.40, +0.75, +1.51%) /quotes/comstock/11i!huwhf (HUWHF 6.40, -0.18, -2.74%) to bring his holdings to 51.7% also helped those shares, which rose 1.4%. Fellow telecom China Unicom Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:762 (HK:762 9.95, -0.01, -0.10%) /quotes/comstock/13*!chu/quotes/nls/chu (CHU 12.90, +0.39, +3.12%) gained 0.8%. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was trading up 0.3% at 3,199.26.

Developing Asia top property pick in 2010-survey

2009-12-13T02:15:00.000-08:00

LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Property investors are most bullish about developing Asian markets next year, as concerns of a second pricing dip across debt-drenched mature markets crimp returns expectations in 2010, an exclusive Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) survey showed.

Some 85 percent of the 150-strong audience at the annual Thomson Reuters Global Property Outlook said they expected developing Asian markets like China to deliver total returns in excess of 10 percent next year as economic growth feeds demand for homes, shops and offices.

By contrast, just 13 percent of those delegates surveyed said UK or U.S. 2010 total property returns would match those seen in developing Asia, even though both markets looked to be nearing the twilight of their real estate corrections.

61 percent of the audience said they expected UK total returns between zero and 10 percent next year, broadly in line with Eurozone total property returns for the same period.

Around half of respondents expected to see the same zero-to-10 percent total returns range in developed Asian markets like Korea and Tokyo as government measures to thwart real estate bubbles bear fruit.

Thin transaction volumes and unclear changes in pricing have damaged sentiment towards the U.S. property market, where the volume of distressed property hit $140 billion by end-October, Real Capital Analytics data shows.

A narrow majority of 42 percent estimated U.S. total property returns between minus 10 percent and zero, while 39 percent of those surveyed expected returns between zero and 10 percent.

Congested credit markets and a reluctance among some banks to lend to real estate has encouraged bargain-hunters to delay investment sprees, and 61 percent of respondents said they expected a "flat" property market next year.

There was less conviction on the topic of Dubai, illustrating continued fear among property investors that the worst global real estate slump for generations was not over yet.

Around half the respondents said they believed Dubai's debt crisis was a sign of further troubles to come for highly-leveraged property markets, while 37 percent said the problems were too small to spark a calamity outside the Gulf region.

Until valuations stabilise further and banks resolve massive exposures to distressed property loans, real estate will have to compete strongly to maintain its weighting in a diversified portfolio, the survey results indicated.

Stocks was the preferred asset class among the survey respondents, with 33 percent expecting shares to perform best in 2010, versus 28 percent picking property and 26 percent selecting commodities. (Editing by Rupert Winchester) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real estate professionals from Reuters)

S'pore property high in Asia-Pac poll

2009-12-13T02:14:00.000-08:00

FOR real-estate investment next year, Singapore is among the top five markets in the Asia-Pacific, says an Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.

According to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2010 survey, residential properties look set to give the most promising returns, thanks to Singapore's transparent market.

Shanghai is the top investment choice, with retail, industrial and rental apartments offering the most lucrative returns.

Hong Kong is the secondmost- favoured city, with retail being the most buoyant sector.

Beijing came in third, up from last year's 12th spot. The capital city's residential and manufacturing sectors garnered positive reviews.

Seoul was fourth and Singapore came in fifth.

Mr Choo Eng Beng, PwC assurance real-estpate leader for Singapore, said: "The findings show that, despite issues with oversupply, we are still recognised as a property-investment hub."

However, he urged investors to tread cautiously as "there are concerns about the city's development prospects across most asset classes".

While real estate remains in the pink of health - the Global Property Guide reported that housing prices here jumped an all-time record 14.3 per cent in the third quarter - some say that demand in the next few quarters is likely to cool.

Mr Donald Han, managing director of real-estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield, said: "Q3 prices have gone up too fast in too short a time. The steep V-shaped recovery cannot be sustained. The market needs a breather."

Mass-market prices are also already hovering at their peak.

That is why PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail expects housing demand and price increases to continue "in a subdued manner" of 2 to 3 per cent in the next two quarters.

But top-tier properties priced above $2,200 psf are expected to do well, with prices climbing 25 per cent, said Mr Han.

Still, ULI chief executive Patrick Phillips said that the real-estate rebound will remain fragile.

"It is important to keep the outlook for growth in perspective.

"Spending by Western consumers is no longer acting as the primary engine of global economic growth, so a new driver is needed to boost the world's economy and, in turn, the global realestate industry," he added.

The annual report is the fourth Asia-Pacific edition, which polled more than 270 international real-estate investors, developers, company representatives, lenders, brokers and consultants across the world.

The bullish outlook is repeated across other Asia-Pacific countries.

Shanghai also came in tops as the place with the most development opportunities with survey respondents.

Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh City are second and third, respectively.

Shanghai's strong showing is a result of China's resilient economy, which led to higher transaction volumes and property prices towards the year-end, said the report.

The country has abundant liquidity and well-capitalised banks that suffered less investment losses than their European counterparts. It also enjoys confident business sentiment.

Asia real estate markets to cool off under gov't cap

2009-09-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- After six months of rapid growth, Asian governments are hitting the brakes on the real estates markets on fears of overheating, a realty agency said. The sale of luxury residents in greater Taipei area had slipped by 17% in August, according to a statistics by Yung Ching Realty.

A senior consultant of the company expected that as governments in China, Korea and Taiwan are planning measures to restrain price growth, the realty market will enter a cool-down period in the short-term.

How much is it really worth?

2009-09-25T07:47:00.001-07:00

Dubai: For chartered surveyors and valuers, there are many different elements to consider when putting a value on a property, including location, quality and measurement.

However, when it comes to property in Dubai, everyone's an expert. In offices, restaurants and even on the beach, conversations are peppered with the current state of house prices - some accurate and others the stuff of urban legend.

It is the job of valuers and surveyors to assess properties and come up with a fair price tag to match, depending on a number of factors, including quality of construction, defects, floor area and of course, location. When buying off-plan was all the rage, especially in the early days of 2008, not much thought was given to valuation as most speculators were interested in the promised gain on their investments.

But following a spate of cases in which unqualified and unregistered people, including brokers, were carrying out valuations, Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) decided in June to publish a Blue Book, similar to the Red Book of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to set out rules for best practice.

"Clearly, valuations are too important to be left to people who are not professionally qualified to carry them out & buyers need to know exactly what they are getting for their investment and sellers need to know they are on firm ground when disposing of their real estate," Rera chief executive Marwan Bin Galita said.

Accurate valuations then, are crucial to a transparent property market.

"Location is one of the critical components when it comes to assessing the value of a property. Location in terms of its position within the development [and] what is it adjacent to. Particularly for a residential property, the impact of views, good and bad, is important," said Ian Albert, regional director of Colliers International.

In chartered surveyor speak this is the hedonic value.

For example, the location rule in London is that everything within a five-minute walk of a Tube station, adds up to 15 per cent to the value of a property. Beyond five minutes, the extra value diminishes significantly and a walk longer than 15 minutes makes no difference at all to the value.

This is a fairly standard rule in other major cities, such as New York, Paris and Singapore and will "absolutely" become equally as important in determining property values here in Dubai now that the Metro is running, said Albert.

While factors such as location and quality are of course intrinsic to determining the value of a property, market value itself also plays a role.

"Ultimately, the market sets the price levels at any given point in time and generally does not lie. However, certain sectors are still inflated & when comparing like with like in other European markets, but prices generally have become much more reasonable/sensible within the past six months. This said, the market sets the prices and it is ultimately what a willing buyer and willing seller agree at any period in time after a reasonable period of marketing," said Jonathan Fothergill, director of UAE valuations at Cluttons.

"The first thing anyone should look at (before buying) is having an independent valuation carried out on the property & for peace of mind if nothing else," said Alan England, director, Menea region, at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) here in Dubai.

The reason the RICS was set up to start with was to protect the public and stop them being ripped off by unqualified people in the property profession, explained England.

While this is of course invaluable, the importance of doing due diligence and making sure all parties involved in the buying process - developer, broker and valuer - are all qualified and Rera registered, must not be underrated.

Dubai's popularity as a property playground is famous, but it is also true that investors weren't always as thorough as they might have been.

There have been well-documented urban stories ranging from indoor waterfalls in winter thanks to flimsy walls or the distinctive smell of sewage rampaging through your house to highlight the importance of doing your homework when it comes to buying a house.

A buyer must also consider their reason for buying - to invest, to owner occupy or to get a steady rent.

"If you're buying to owner-occupy, especially in a residential unit, you need to find, from a locational point of view, what's next door? Are you going to be next to a sewage plant? Does your villa back on to an expanding highway? We've had these problems in Dubai," said Albert.

And still most people don't check.

But how can a regular Joe Public make sure his purchase, surely the largest single purchase of his life, is a safe one?

In the US, the UK and certain European countries, there are industry rules stating that if brokers are aware of things such as planned roads they have an obligation to tell you. These guidelines have not been in use in Dubai in the past but a more transparent future is in sight.

"This is one of the things we look forward to being rectified in the marketplace is transparency, from developers, from the government in terms of roads and infrastructure changes, transparency from brokers in terms of transactional evidence and transparency from investors," Albert added.

If people are obtaining finance, through a mortgage, then they will have had access to a valuer, some qualified, some not.

And when people do get the valuer's report, they should read it.

Obvious as this may sound, both Albert and England say that most people just look at the final number and do not take time to read the report.

"Purchasers need to do their due diligence carefully prior to considering a purchase and preferably seek the opinion of a chartered building surveyor, regarding quality of construction and finish and estimated lifetime of property," said Fothergill.

There are a handful of online property blogs which contain priceless information on projects, developers and other related issues to help you on your way.

Even a chartered surveyor would do the same due diligence when looking to buy.

"The UAE [realty market] is an interesting one, but if I were a purchaser in today's market, I would go through, genuinely, and find out who the best broker is, who the best valuers are, and who is the best bank on the finance side & the whole process is a huge decision and it is so easy to take it very lightly," said Albert.

In a downturn, valuations become much more important. Because in a rising market, the valuer overvalues there is the potential that market will catch up and exceed that valuation in time, explained Albert.

"In a falling market, or a market that is stagnant, the reliance on how accurate that data, the valuation is, a lot more important because you haven't got that much room for manoeuvre," said Albert.

Raymond Kuceli, chief executive of real estate firm, Madania, said that valuations at his auctions are based on comparative market analysis.

"As part of the process we do a comparative market analysis which compares the property being sold with other properties on the market and also ones we are aware of that have sold.

Also, we ask each of the buyers that visit the property what they believe the market value is to them. At the end of the day, the buyers set the market price - the sellers just decide if they wish to accept it or keep the property," Kuceli said.

Valuations here can be more challenging due mainly to the transparency issues in the local market and a lack of reliable, transactional data to benchmark transactions.

However, Mark Towers, managing director of Edwards and Towers and a member of the RICS, said while valuations done here are neither easier or harder than in other parts of the world, it can be tough getting hold of hard transactional data.

While it is easy to find similar properties to the one being valued, it is harder to find the actual prices for which these properties sold.

"In the UK, a surveyor could telephone any estate agency practice and ask for comparable evidence and 100 per cent rely on the information being given. In the UAE, agents/brokers do not always disclose the actual selling prices even to surveyors and inflated or deflated quotes have to be carefully assessed.

Also, selling prices here often have many levels of fees included, such as Land Department, developers' charges and agency fees. I have seen some prices include as many as three agency fees and this could be considered a factor that skews the price," Towers said.

Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) last week introduced a four-tier broker classification system in which brokers will be granted one of the four-coloured licences that will authorise them to sell a particular type of property in a given location. This is intended to improve transparency and to limit unprofessionals working in the industry.

Off-plan measurements can lead to confusing interpretations

Dubai: "Valuing properties would normally be on behalf of a bank for secured lending purposes and would require the valuer to ascertain a value for the bank based on market forces, condition of the property, specific location within a development and whether or not the property is freehold or leasehold," Mark Towers said.

A property that has not yet been handed over by the developer may not be advanced enough in the construction process to allow the valuer to carry out an on-site inspection and this may involve a 'drive-by' valuation or 'desk-top' valuation.

"In these circumstances, the valuer is heavily reliant on the developers' details and floor plans to assess the size and quality of fit-out. Unfortunately, the developers have not been following a standard code of measuring practice in the UAE and only on handover of the unit can the buyer realise the true facts," Towers explained.

Measurement is a major issue and there are possible changes on the way which will create one standardised way of measuring a property which will hopefully reduce developer-investor disputes.

For example, in the past, an investor will have been told his unit is 1,000 square feet, but confusion has arisen regarding how the gross floor area (GFA) is determined - whether it includes any balcony space, or whether it was measured from the inside, middle or outside of a shared or external wall. Some developers even include public corridors and car parking space in the final GFA.

However, all interpretations have been legal as there is no definition of GFA in this market.

These differences in interpreting the GFA measurements taken in off-plan properties, have resulted in either a happily surprised, or more often than not, a very disappointed end-user.

However, both England and Towers said the Dubai Land Department will soon launch a Code of Measuring Practice, based on RICS guidelines and so consistency of unit sizes will be ensured.

In the past, the values of many properties would have been pre-agreed with mortgage providers. But as property prices rose, there was a difference between what the banks were willing to offer and what the market value was.

"Obviously, as the market has now declined, it works in inverse where banks are trying to move away from pre-fixing agreed amounts with developers to make sure their exposure is minimised [at the point of valuation]," said Albert.

India to set up real estate regulator, tribunal-govt

2009-09-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - India aims to set up a real estate regulator and an appellate tribunal to control and facilitate construction and development in its largely unorganised housing sector, the government said on Friday.

The ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has prepared the draft of a new real estate regulation act and has sought comments from state governments and other stakeholders.

The proposed authorities would act to protect public interest "in relation to the conduct and integrity" of realty firms developing housing colonies and facilitate "smooth and speedy construction and maintenance

Despite Slump, Hong Kong Real Estate Remains Strong

2009-08-27T19:19:00.001-07:00

HONG KONG — Even by the standards of Hong Kong’s skyscraper-studded skyline, the new International Commerce Center is big. Very big. And, despite the global economic slump, it is already nearly fully rented — a testament to the strength of one of the world’s hottest property markets.

At 490 meters, or 1,608 feet, the gleaming, nearly complete tower, which has been mushrooming its way into the record books over the past five years, is now the tallest building in Hong Kong, with views of the Chinese mainland and the islands off its coast.

The 118 stories of the International Commerce Center, or I.C.C., also give it the rank of the world’s fourth-tallest building, behind the almost completed Burj Dubai in Dubai, Taipei 101 in the Taiwanese capital and the Shanghai World Financial Center. Its roof will be about 70 meters higher than that of the Freedom Tower being built at the World Trade Center in New York, and about 180 meters above that of the so-called Shard in London, which will be the tallest building in Britain, once it is completed in 2012.

The I.C.C., which is due to be completed next year, further cements what has become a tradition in Asia: creating the world’s tallest buildings as a symbol of the region’s growing economic might.

In Hong Kong, with its constrained topography and position as one of Asia’s leading financial hubs, property prices and rents are as sky-high as many of the buildings.

Nevertheless, Sun Hung Kai Properties, the developer behind the I.C.C., says the megatower is almost completely leased. The developer locked in three high-profile anchor tenants, including Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, in 2007 and 2008 — long before the I.C.C. was anywhere near completion and while rents were still surging. The financial crisis meant that banks needed to find ways to save, and moving across Victoria Harbor from the central business district was attractive.

“There are only certain times in the economic cycle when you can fill buildings like these — tall buildings, where you need multistory tenants,” said Paul Katz, president of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associated, the design architecture firm for the I.C.C. Sun Hung Kai’s “timing was brilliant,” he said.

About 124,000 tons of steel were used in the tower’s construction — a weight equivalent to about 720 blue whales or nearly 450 Airbus 380s. And the amount of concrete used could fill 103 Olympic-size swimming pools. Fourteen soccer fields’ worth of glass cover its shimmering exterior, and the air conditioning ducts stretch a total of 19 kilometers, or nearly 12 miles.

Inside, 83 elevators will ferry the tens of thousands of people who will eventually work in the building. The lengths of the elevator shafts alone add up to more than 14 kilometers — the longest, a service lift, has a run of 470 meters.

Flanking the tower as it looks across Victoria Harbor: an array of buildings housing luxury residential apartments, an upmarket hotel and a huge marble shopping mall complete with an ice rink.

Office rents in the district known as Central — home of the main business district, which hugs Hong Kong Island’s northern flank — are among the highest in the world, comparable only with those in Tokyo and well ahead of even London and New York, according to statistics compiled by the commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Asia leads the top spot for global property market recovery

2009-08-27T19:17:00.001-07:00

In terms of a global property market recovery Asian countries are leading the way with government stimulus plans largely credited with helping the real estate industry rise from the ashes of the world economic crisis.

China and Singapore have both seen soaring property prices in recent months. Along with India and Vietnam, these markets appear to have been boosted by governments eager to improve economic growth and recognising that foreign investment and the real estate sector are vital.

But for private investors buying in these countries is not always an option so they need to look to locations that openly welcome foreign real estate buyers such as Australia and Brazil.

Numbers point to real estate revival

2009-08-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

The state housing market is showing signs of a turnaround after a strong July in which single-family home sales jumped 11.8 percent, while the median selling price dropped just 4.7 percent.

"The positive sales figures, I think, are terrific," Timothy Warren Jr. said of the latest numbers, which his Boston-based firm, the Warren Group, released this week.

There were 4,977 home sales in July, up from 4,453 in July 2008, and the highest number for the month since 2005, Warren noted. Something else that stood out was the fact that this July had more sales than June (which had 4,436), which Warren called "very unusual." June is usually the strongest real estate month of the year.

July was also the first month that home sales have increased year-over-year so far in 2009. (For the year to date, sales are still down 6.3 percent, from 22,974 to 21,524.)

Prices continued to slide, from an average of $320,000 in July 2008 to $305,000 this July. But that 4.7 percent drop was not nearly as bad as the 8.05 percent decline seen in June - and the drop-off rate has steadily gotten smaller since the start of the year. The median price decreased 20.2 percent in January, 17.8 percent in February, 13.1 percent in April, and 12.4 percent in May.

Westwood and Walpole had a strong housing month, but Dedham and Norwood are still struggling.

In Westwood, sales nearly doubled year-over-year, from 14 to 27, and the median price picked up 5.5 percent, from $503,500 in July 2008 to $531,000 this July. In Walpole, sales increased by more than half, from 16 to 25, and the median price went from $377,500 to $393,000, a 4.1 percent uptick.

In Dedham, however, sales were down from 22 to 20, and the median price dove 14.6 percent, from $380,000 in July 2008 to $324,450 in July this year.

Norwood's sales fell more sharply, from 20 to 12, while its price decrease was more moderate, at 2.5 percent. The median price was $366,250 in July 2008, and $357,000 this July.

Across Norfolk County, July year-over-year sales went up from 544 to 623, or 14.5 percent, which Warren called "a good, strong sales number." The July median price declined 3.85 percent, from $390,000 to $375,000.

Warren said low prices and interest rates, the first-time homebuyer tax credit, and higher consumer confidence helped to drive up buyers' interest in the late spring, which consequently led to the higher number of sales that closed in July.

Warren said prices were at $370,000 in July 2005, around when the market was at its peak. Now, they are at $305,000.

"You get a 20 percent discount on something, and people start to take notice," he said.

With the financial markets showing some zip and the Dow Jones average rebounding, people are more confident, Warren added.

If there are sustained gains in sales volumes over the coming months, home prices could flatten out and then grow very gradually, Warren said, but he does not expect that long-awaited turnaround until the end of the year.

"I could get surprised on that, maybe it could recover faster," he said. "The supply-and-demand stuff sort of dictates that you've got to have homes selling like hot cakes before you've got people who will stop expecting the new low prices."

Global economic recovery has started, says IMF chief economist

2009-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON : The global recovery from recession underway requires a delicate rebalancing of economies -- notably between the United States and Asia -- to sustain it, the chief IMF economist said Tuesday.

"The recovery has started. Sustaining it will require delicate rebalancing acts, both within and across countries," Olivier Blanchard said in an IMF article, released in advance of publication Wednesday.

Blanchard cautioned that predictable models based on past recoveries from recessions would not apply to the worst global slump in seven decades.

"The world is not in a run-of-the mill recession. The turnaround will not be simple. The crisis has left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come," he said.

The United States, the epicenter of the crisis, "is central to any world recovery," he said in the article, titled "Sustaining a Global Recovery."

Blanchard said two rebalancing acts will have to come into play to sustain the global recovery: a switch from public to private spending and the rebalancing of international trade flows.

The latter would require "a shift from domestic to foreign demand in the United States and a reverse shift from foreign to domestic demand in the rest of the world, particularly in Asia," he said.

Pointing to a decline in American household consumption -- which "represents 70 percent of total US demand" -- and a rise in the personal saving rate that is expected to persist for some time, Blanchard estimated a 3.0 percentage point drop in the ratio of consumption to US gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output.

With the 3.0 percent drop unlikely to be made up by increased investment and the eventual phase-out of the massive fiscal stimulus, "US net exports must increase" for the US recovery to occur, he said.

Key to the rebalancing act will be an increase in foreign demand for US goods, particularly in countries with large current account surpluses, notably in China and other Asian countries.

"From the point of view of the United States, a decrease in China’s current account surplus would help increase demand, and sustain the US recovery. That would result in more US imports, which would help sustain world recovery," the top economist at the 186-nation institution said.

China may be willing to pursue that "because it may well be in its own interest," said the economist, but other emerging market Asian countries that run large current account surpluses have weaker incentives than China to boost internal demand.

Blanchard recalled that in a typical recession model, lower-than-normal growth gives way to higher-than-normal growth for some time, until the economy has returned to its normal growth path.

"The current global recession is far from normal," he said, citing the breakdown in parts of the economic system.

"In advanced countries, the financial systems are partly dysfunctional, and will take a long time to find their new shape," he said.

Emerging market countries may not see dwindled capital inflows return to pre-crisis levels for a few years.

The end result of the global crisis: possibly a permanently lower potential output, he said.

Blanchard said the IMF's upcoming edition of the twice-yearly World Economic Outlook will cover 88 banking crises over the past four decades in a wide range of countries.

"While there is large variation across countries, the conclusion is that, on average, output does not go back to its old trend path, but remains permanently below it."

- AFP /ls

Commercial real estate gets worse

2009-08-18T02:49:00.001-07:00

The commercial real estate downturn is deepening, threatening to slow the economic recovery.
To try to contain the damage, the Federal Reserve said Monday that it will extend into 2010 a program to help investors buy commercial property loans. But some say that will have limited impact.

"We seem to be nearing the end of the recession but the situation in the commercial real estate market is getting worse," says Patrick Newport, an analyst at IHS Global Insight.

About $83 billion of office, retail, industrial and apartment properties have fallen into default, foreclosure or bankruptcy this year, says research firm Real Capital Analytics. The default rate for commercial mortgages jumped from 1.62% to 2.25% in the first quarter and should hit 4.1% by the end of the year, says Sam Chandan, president of Real Estate Econometrics. The carnage will likely cut half a percentage point off economic growth this year and in 2010, Newport says.

Fueled by easy credit, developers built too many shopping malls and office buildings from 2004 to 2007. As the economy soured, vacancy rates rose. Property values are down about 40% from their 2007 peak, Deutsch Bank says, and loans for commercial properties have come to a virtual standstill.

Hundreds of smaller regional banks, which are heavily exposed to commercial mortgages, could go bankrupt the next two years, Newport says.

Unwilling to seize devalued properties in a moribund market, lenders have foreclosed on fewer than 10% of the loans, says Real Capital Analytics. That's prolonging the crisis by keeping properties from being resold at lower prices, says New York real estate lawyer Edward Mermelstein.

A bigger problem: the nearly $1 trillion in short-term commercial mortgages slated to mature by the end of 2010. With property owners unable to refinance, even solid loans could go into default.

To ease that crunch, the Federal Reserve is extending a program to lend investors up to $200 billion to buy assets backed by commercial mortgages and consumer loans. The program, which has lent just $29.6 billion, was to expire by year's end.

The initiative should establish realistic asset prices, reviving the market, says Jeffrey DeBoer, CEO of the Real Estate Roundtable, which represents property owners.

Chandan is skeptical, saying banks are moving away from commercial real estate loans to diversify.

U.S. Carmakers Make Strides in Customer Satisfaction Survey

2009-08-18T02:47:00.000-07:00

DETROIT — For all of the turmoil that the Detroit automakers have been going through, customer satisfaction with the vehicles they build surged in this year’s edition of a highly regarded study by the University of Michigan.

The scores for all three Detroit companies rose in the 2009 American Customer Satisfaction Index, which is being released on Tuesday.

In terms of improvement, the Ford Motor Company, the only domestic carmaker to avoid bankruptcy and elect not to take emergency government aid, rose 5 percent, second only to Volkswagen.

And in the rankings by brand, G.M.’s Cadillac tied for first place with its chief competitor, Lexus, while Buick and Lincoln-Mercury placed third and fourth, meaning that domestic brands accounted for three of the top four.

The study suggests that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are making considerable progress in their efforts to improve their reputations, though in the overall ratings of companies, they still lag behind their Asian and European rivals. All three Detroit companies have brands that scored below the industry average, while Toyota, Honda and BMW were rated near the top.

But they are also no longer the perennial bottom-dwellers they had been for years in the study.

“They showed a great deal of improvement, something that we’ve never seen to this extent,” said Claes G. Fornell, a business professor at the University of Michigan who heads the customer satisfaction study. “Until now, we haven’t seen much movement in the right direction from any of the domestic carmakers. This is highly unusual.”

Their improved performance in the study follows similar gains in other surveys that measure customer satisfaction and vehicle quality. G.M.’s Buick brand tied for first place in this year’s dependability study by J.D. Power & Associates, and all three companies performed significantly better in this year’s J.D. Power initial quality study.

A more positive perception of the companies could go a long way toward helping them achieve the goals in their restructuring plans. G.M., Ford and Chrysler struggle to persuade many car shoppers — some still holding grudges for poor-quality vehicles they drove decades ago — to even look at their dealerships, much less to seriously consider buying one of their cars or trucks.

The study shows that overall customer satisfaction with automobiles rose to 84 percent, the highest ever. Yet industry sales are at their lowest level since the recession of the early 1980s, with G.M. and Chrysler consistently posting some of the biggest declines every month.

Mr. Fornell said the Detroit companies’ declining market share actually helped their performance in the satisfaction study, because their most unhappy customers have defected to other brands.

“In most cases that’s not a good thing, to increase the satisfaction of their customers by losing them,” he said. “But in Detroit’s case, it’s probably not that bad. It leaves them with a smaller, more satisfied customer base that they might be able to manage better and build from.”

New models of cars and trucks are playing a large role in the companies’ efforts to build from that smaller base of customers as they try to become profitable again. Vehicles like the Cadillac CTS sedan, which has won effusive praise from many critics, undoubtedly had much to do with that brand’s top ranking.

A Cadillac spokesman, David Caldwell, said the CTS was helping the brand win some new customers from other makes but that getting Cadillac onto more shopping lists with the likes of BMW and Lexus was “a work in progress.”

The study, which started in 1994, is based on interviews of 80,000 Americans each spring. The interview period for this year’s study fell during the time when Chrysler and G.M. were filing for bankruptcy protection and receiving tens of billions in emergency loans from the government.

U.K. Inflation Data Beat Expectations

2009-08-18T02:44:00.000-07:00

LONDON -- U.K. annual consumer price inflation remained below the Bank of England's 2.0% target for a second consecutive month in July, as food prices dropped at their fastest pace in almost two years.

However, the data from the Office for National Statistics released Tuesday showed that inflation was stronger overall than economists had expected, indicating relative resilience in prices despite the downturn in the economy.

U.K. consumer prices rose 1.8% on the year, matching June's gain -- the weakest result since February 2005 -- but the increase came in above the expectations of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires that prices would increase 1.6%.

The index was flat on a month-to-month basis, below June's 0.3% gain, but stronger than forecasts of a 0.2% fall.

Core consumer price inflation -- which excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices -- continued to accelerate in annual terms, rising to 1.8% in July -- its strongest pace since November -- from 1.6% in June, though it was flat on the month.

U.K. government bond prices fell sharply after the figures' release, as investors saw a risk of sooner-than-expected monetary tightening. The benchmark 10-year gilt was at 106.935, yielding 3.633%, down from 107.065 beforehand.

Sterling gained more than half a cent against the dollar, rising to $1.6456, while the euro fell to an intraday low of 0.8580 pound.

But analysts still expect that inflation will continue to ease significantly in the coming months, as the degree by which the economy is working under its capacity pushes down further on prices.

"We suspect that inflation can fall to 1% over the next few months which suggests that the BOE could offer additional stimulus if the recovery proves to be more sluggish than hoped," said James Knightley, U.K. economist at ING Bank.

The BOE surprised markets earlier this month when it announced an unexpectedly large increase in its bond-buying program to £175 billion ($286 billion) by early November, from the £125 billion it completed in July.

Real estate rebound? Existing-home sales inch upward in Chicago region

2009-08-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

July sales of existing homes in the Chicago region posted the first year-over-year gain in at least two years, a sign that the local housing market may have, from a sales volume standpoint, bottomed out.

The same cannot be said of prices, which, while showing improvement on a monthly basis, remain far below year-ago levels.

There were 7,828 homes sold during July in an area that includes much of northern Illinois and parts of southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana, according to Midwest Real Estate Data LLC, the local provider of real estate data to the industry. That compares with 7,642 sales the previous month and 7,752 sales in July 2008.

That's an improvement of only 76 homes from a year earlier, but in the current economic environment, the housing industry welcomes any gain it can get.

The median sales price of $208,700 in July compared with $205,000 in June. However, the median sales price of a home in July 2008 was $249,000.

Many of the purchases are thought to have been made by investors capitalizing on the large number of distressed properties on the market and by first-time buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit that expires Dec. 1.

Some 37 percent of local properties sold last month were either foreclosures or short sales, Re/Max International Chairman Dave Liniger, said Monday while in Chicago.

"It appears we have bottomed out in the real estate problem here," Liniger said.

He added if Congress does not extend the tax credit, as the housing industry has called for, there will be panic buying of properties in October in order to secure the credit, and then the real estate market will again drop.

Sales of existing homes statewide and the Chicago area, as reported by the Illinois Association of Realtors, are scheduled to be released Friday.

All Eyes On Payrolls Data

2009-08-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--An unexpected fall in claims for unemployment benefits in the week to Aug. 1 boosted the credit markets early Thursday, and investors are positioning themselves for what could be a nice surprise in the upcoming payrolls data.

The number of workers filing new claims for state jobless benefits fell 38,000 to 550,000 last week. This provides another glimmer of hope that the economy may be recovering. The four-week average of new claims, which aims to smooth volatility in the data, fell to 555,250, the lowest level since Jan. 24.

Investment-Grade Corporates Investors needing to put cash to work are swamping deals, causing risk premiums to drop.

"This week's anticipated heavy slate of offerings has only left investors hungry for more," said FTN Financial's Jim Vogel.

On offer Thursday was $3.5 billion in new deals. BP Capital Markets sold $2 billion in a two-year note and reopening of a 3.875% issue due 2015, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Indicative of demand, the new $750 million two-year, at 40 basis points over Treasurys, offered little concession to existing notes. A BP Capital 9.125% note due March 2011 was quoted at a spread of 37 basis points over Treasurys, according to online trading platform MarketAxess.

There was more than $2 billion in orders for each portion of the deal, according to a person familiar with the transaction. For the two-year, 150 investors participated; for the reopening, 125 accounts.

Other issuers included Duke Realty, Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG.AU), and Simon Property Group Inc. (SGP).

Meanwhile, deals were performing stronger in trade. A Citigroup Inc. (C) 6.375% note that priced Wednesday at 380 basis points over Treasurys was recently quoted at 357 basis points on 103 trades, according to MarketAxess.

As spreads drop, investors are heading lower in the investment-grade ladder. "The better than expected earnings season made investors with ample liquidity more comfortable reaching for yield," wrote Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts. This can be seen by nonfinancial bonds rated triple-B outperforming A-rated issues by 33 basis points over the past three weeks.

The cost of financing is also dropping with lower Treasury yields. Although triple-B issuers see higher spreads than A-rated firms, their all-in cost of borrowing is near lows of 2007, the analysts said.

Credit derivatives were also maintaining a bullish attitude. The benchmark high-grade derivatives index, the Markit CDX NA IG12, was quoted at 111.5 basis points, almost flat to the Wednesday close, according to CMA DataVision

For the industrial sector, credit default swaps, which indicate credit risk, have been declining and outperforming the general CDS market, said Tradition Asiel Securities, which aggregates the CDS for 61 industrial companies such as 3M Co. (MMM) and Textron Inc. (TXT). "The near term improvement in industrials support our view that credit is significantly easing in core parts of the economy," the firm wrote.

High-Yield Corporates High-yield fund managers are wondering whether the market - fresh off another surge - has yet more room to climb or is finally due for a correction.

With the asset class posting a winning record for the past five months and on pace for its best-ever calendar year, all while the recession lingers and defaults keep rising, there is broad sentiment that a setback is coming.

"High-yield spreads will eventually come under pressure later in the year or early next year as corporate profits unsuccessfully make the transition from cost containment to revenue growth," wrote JPMorgan analysts in a note this week.

Perhaps, but perhaps not. Martin Fridson of Fridson Investment Advisors notes that when risk premiums dropped below 9 percentage points over Treasurys this week it came just seven trading days after they had fallen below 10 percentage points. During the last cyclical low, in November 2002, risk premiums made the same move in an equally brisk nine trading days.

Instead of correcting from that point in 2002, however, junk bonds returned 27.1% over the next year.

"Investors would have missed some pretty good performance if they had concluded that the market had moved too far too fast," Fridson wrote in a note Wednesday. "This time around, similarly, it would be reasonable to expect a pullback now and then. ... But experience does not support the view that whatever goes up fast must come down equally fast."

Elsewhere, Energy Future Holdings bonds dropped Thursday, according to MarketAxess. A group of lenders to the company is unhappy with some elements of the company's proposed amendments to its senior debt that would give it more flexibility to address its maturities, and is trying to put together a counterproposal. The 10.25% bonds were down 3.5 points at 71.5 cents, while the 10.875% paper due 2017 was off 0.25 point at 84.25 cents.

The benchmark high-yield derivatives index, the Markit CDX NA HY12, was at about 91 points, 0.5 point better than Wednesday's close, according to Phoenix Partners Group.

Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities Mortgages ended the day wider to Treasurys, after retreating somewhat from their wides of the day, said Art Frank of Deutsche Bank.

The current coupon spread over a blend of five- and 10-year Treasurys was 3 basis points wider at 145 basis points, by Frank's calculation. Frank says there was some convexity selling as rates rose earlier in the day, and that origination was relatively heavy at $3 billion.

The Federal Reserve bought $19.15 billion agency mortgage-backed securities in the week ended July 30.

As ever, purchases were focused on Fannie Mae (FNM) paper, with a net of $14.2 billion in Fannie paper purchased.

For the second week in a row, the Fed didn't sell any mortgages back into the market. The biggest single purchase was $5.85 billion in 5% 30-year Fannie Maes.

Agency Debt Longer-term agency debt tightened in afternoon trading, but the five-year space held onto its earlier widening, according to Tradeweb.

Freddie Mac (FRE) 3.75% 10-years were recently as much as 1 basis point tighter, while 3% five-years were 1.5 basis points wider.

Freddie's issue Wednesday was surprisingly interesting to foreign buyers, said Vogel of FTN Financial.

"While corporate issuers have been monopolizing the screens of domestic money managers this week, Freddie Mac was able to attract $1 billion in interest from central banks for its $4.5 billion 3-year," Vogel wrote. "That's a mild positive for overseas interest in the Treasury auctions next week, based on the pattern of the last three months. Asia and Europe combined for 26% of the book, while other overseas took 7%."

Asset-Backed Securities Student Loan Corp. (STU) sold a $1.396 billion deal that is eligible for funding under the Fed's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF.

The student-loan-backed deal, dubbed SLCLT 2009-A, sold at 150 basis points over prime, a benchmark.

The single-tranche bond was led by Citigroup, and investors can get cheap loans from the Fed to buy it through TALF.

The sixth loan application deadline for TALF is Thursday, and more than $8 billion in deals has surfaced this month in anticipation of tapping investor funds via the facility.

Most of the other TALF-eligible deals sold on Wednesday. Issuers included General Electric Co. (GE), SLM Corp. (SLM), Wheels Inc. and First National Bank of Omaha.

Commercial Paper The U.S. commercial paper market increased this week, reversing course after several weeks of declines, according to data released by the Federal Reserve Board on Thursday.

This week, the outstanding level went up by $10.7 billion, after a decline of $27.6 billion last week. The asset-backed portion of this short-term market did fall, though, by $3 billion. Last week, this part of the market grew by $900 million on a seasonally adjusted basis, after shrinking by $4.6 billion in the prior week.

Treasurys Treasury prices glided to a positive close in a choppy session, as investors got in position for Friday's July nonfarm payrolls report.

The market was aided by Federal Reserve purchases and modest losses in stocks, which made Treasurys more valuable as a safe-harbor investment.

Trade was all over the map. An unexpected drop in claims for unemployment benefits in the week to Aug. 1 drained bids from the U.S. government bond market early Thursday, as investors positioned for what could be a pleasant surprise in the upcoming payrolls data.

Prices bounced back up late morning, as the Fed embarked on a $7 billion intervention to buy Treasurys maturing between May 15, 2016, and May 15, 2019. Stock prices falling also helped Treasurys dig out from a negative opening.

At 3:36 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note stood at 94 27/32, up 1/32 to yield 3.76%. The 30-year Treasury was up by 15/32 at 95 12/32, yielding 4.53%.

The five-year price rose by 2/32 and yielded 2.72%, while the two-year gained 1/32, for a yield of 1.21%.

Brazil Stocks Continue Advance Early; Real Estate Sector Gains

2009-08-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

BRASILIA (Dow Jones)--Brazil's Bovespa stock index extended ongoing gains in early trading Thursday with real estate sector shares showing particular strength under the influence of incoming foreign investment.

As of 1330 GMT, the main Sao Paulo stocks index advanced 0.4% to 56,621 points after ending at 56,384 points Wednesday.

With the early-session advance the local index extends a rally seen over the previous five sessions and continues to push new 11-month highs.

Traders said the continued advance was boosted by moderate gains seen in overseas markets amid cautious optimism. That sentiment was aided Thursday after the European central bank opted to maintain its reference interest rate unchanged at 1% annually.

Materials sector shares, however, were slightly lower Thursday under the influence of a decline in key commodities prices and a warning by China's central bank that it could soon hike interest rates to curb heating demand.

Meanwhile, on the local agenda Thursday are second quarter earnings reports from several local companies, including Gerdau Steel (GGB), CSN (SID), Visanet (VNET3.BR), Lojas Americanas (LAME4.BR), and Cyrela Comercial Properties (CCPR3.BR).

Gerdau was among the first to report, posting a second quarter loss of 359 million reals ($197.25 million) on weak demand.

In early trading Thursday, real estate shares led gainers, with common shares of Cyrela up 2.7% to BRL21.30 Gafisa (GFSA3.BR) up 0.7% to BRL23.96 and Rossi Residential (RSID3.BR) up 1.4% to BRL11.35.

Among banking sector shares, Bradesco advancing 0.2% to BRL30.42 and Itauunibanco (ITU) rose 0.1% to 35.07.

Among major materials sector players, mining giant Vale (RIO) rose 0.1% to BRL33.16 and steelmaker Gerdau (GGB) fell 0.4% to BRL22.55.

Elsewhere, shares of state-controlled oil company Petrobras rose 0.6% to BRL32.51, heavyweight telecom Oi (TNE) rose 1.5% to BRL29.28, and leading airline Tam (TAMM4.BR) rose 0.5% to BRL23.65.

Commercial real estate drop accelerates

2009-07-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

Commercial real estate values around the country have dropped 35 percent from their peak in October 2007, according to Moody’s REAL Commercial Property Price Indices. The decline appears to be accelerating as the index dropped more than 15 percent during April and May. Transactional volume also fell along with value, which is showing signs of effects from distressed sales.

“May marked a new low for both counts,” the report said.

Along the lines of kicking a sector when it’s down, a rise in interest rates caused several deals to unravel, hitting apartment sales the hardest.

To calculate the index, Moody’s used 52 repeat sales, which had a dollar value of $400 million in April 2002.

Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics, said Moody’s report is beginning to reflect true market pricing conditions “well ahead of any other indicators” and noted that commercial property values have fallen more than residential prices in annual terms.

Aspen Home Climbs Atop U.S. Price Peak

2009-07-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

Despite the recession, a mansion in Aspen, Colo., has fetched a boom-market price.
The 21,400 square foot home sold this week for $43 million. Brokers say it is the most expensive home that has sold in the U.S. so far this year.

The Aspen house, a 10-bedroom contemporary mountain home on 4.5 acres, sits at the base of Red Mountain. The home of wood, glass and stone, completed in 2006, overlooks downtown Aspen and includes a heated outdoor pool, four-car garage and a guesthouse.

The seller was a limited liability concern managed by Dallas real-estate developer Daryl Snadon, who owns Beltway Development Co. and Beltway Commercial Real Estate.

The home wasn't on the market, says listing broker Joshua Saslove of Christie's Great Estates affiliate Joshua & Co. But a deal came together once his office identified another client as a potential buyer. Newton Bartley, also of Joshua & Co., represented the buyers, an American family that purchased the property through a limited-liability corporation.

The home is one of the most expensive homes ever sold in Aspen. To date, the highest residential sale in Aspen was $47 million in 2006 for Crystal Island Ranch, a sprawling ranch estate with multiple building sites.

Is It Time to Invest in Real Estate?

2009-07-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

If the prime directive of investing is to “buy low, sell high,” it must be time to invest in real estate, right?

Well, maybe. I think real estate bets fall into the category of things to do with money you can afford to lose. That’s why I don’t even mention real estate in my investing guide, which assumes you want stability in your investments to offset volatility in your business.

With the economy this shaky, there are lots of hazards hanging over commercial real state, where vacancy rates are rising and rents are dropping. And although many people have long thought of residential property — especially their own homes — as sure winners, this market has delivered nothing but shocks for the last two years. One of the causes of the financial crisis was the nearly universal belief that home prices could not fall nationwide. Well, guess what?

But with those warnings on record, how would you invest in real estate if you wanted to, either as a business venture or personal investment? Aside from buying individual properties, which can be awfully time-consuming for a small-business owner, there are several ways.
The newest twist is a pair of exchange-traded funds that started trading June 30, offering a unique opportunity to bet on price changes of ordinary homes. The MacroShares exchange-traded funds track changes in the S.&P./Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index, reflecting home prices in the 10 largest U.S. cities. (The Shiller in the name is Yale economics professor Robert J. Shiller, author of the best seller “Irrational Exuberance.”)

The index has become one of the most widely followed housing market gauges because it tracks price changes of the same homes over time, rather than looking at average sales prices in a region. Its latest data show prices fell 18 percent in the 12 months through the end of April.
The MacroShares Major Metro Housing Up E.T.F. (UMM) is designed to rise in value when the index goes up, to fall when the index goes down. The MacroShares Major Metro Housing Down E.T.F. (DMM) does the opposite, rising when the index falls and falling when the index rises. The investor can therefore use the Down fund to bet the housing downturn will continue, and the Up fund to bet on a rebound. In fact, the E.T.F.’s use leverage to try to triple the gains on index moves. You could even use the Down fund to hedge against loss should your own home fall in value.

These E.T.F.’s offer some obvious benefits over buying an investment property. You can essentially bet on the market nationwide, rather than a local market that may have quirks that make it run against the current. Plus, of course, you have no tenants to deal with and no unexpected repair bills, tax hikes or other headaches.

Most important, your money remains accessible. Since E.T.F.’s are traded like stocks, you can sell your shares with the click of a mouse and write checks against the proceeds in a few days. That could be especially appealing if your personal assets are a reserve for your business.

International REITs: China Vs. World?

2009-07-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just like most other sectors, U.S. real estate investment trusts are taking advantage of a broad rally in stocks. In the past three months, for example, the broad-based Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSE: VNQ) has soared more than 28% as investors look for a bottom in the credit meltdown.
Still, VNQ is down more than 13% in 2009. In the past 12-months, it has fallen by better-than 40%.

A stark contrast is the rapidly evolving international REIT exchange-traded funds segment. At the end of 2006, the first global fund of its kind launched. The SPDR Dow Jones International Real Estate ETF (NYSE: RWX) now has at least 10 global-themed rivals. Some are widely diversified while others are very regional or country specific in nature. (See chart below.)
As a group, they’ve held up through the mortgage meltdown and worldwide recession much better than domestic REITs. RWX has actually gained a bit more than VNQ in the rally that began in March. And it’s up by double-digits so far this year.

Towering over the field, though, is the Claymore/AlphaShares China Real Estate ETF (NYSE: TAO). Since the rally’s start it has gained more than 60%. This year, it’s up more than 63%. In large part, how much exposure more diversified regional and global REIT ETFs have to China and closely related markets in Asia is driving short-term results.
Diverging World Markets

Most key world markets have succumbed to the same basic set of problems in the past two years, some more so than others. But the recent rally has had a decoupling effect, notes Chip McKinley, a portfolio manager for Cohen & Steers Capital Management’s global real estate strategies, which runs about $5 billion in U.S. assets.

“Correlations were tight when all markets were falling. But we’re starting to see a real divergence in the past several months as economies have rebounded,” he said.
Asia is far and away the leading performer this year. So far in 2009, the widely followed FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index of developed and emerging markets has jumped more than 35% since mid-March. Much of that has come from an even bigger jump by the Hong Kong portions of the benchmark. Singapore’s real estate market has been the next-best performer of late.

“TheRe has been a huge dislocation between Asia and the U.S. as well as Europe this year in commercial real estate investments,” said McKinley. “The huge stimulus efforts in China alone have resulted in far-better than expected activity in real estate developers. And it’s spreading across Asia.”

Asian countries have embraced using public funding to support local development, he added. “It stands as a very stark contrast to what’s happening in the U.S. and developed Europe. In China, they’re in a really robust and V-shaped recovery,” said McKinley.

That’s bringing more capital investment from overseas, he added. “We’re seeing a tremendous amount of capital formation taking place right now in China and much of the rest of Asia,” said McKinley. “But this improvement in commercial real estate activity is starting in China and likely will be the primary beneficiaries, although we’re seeing some momentum spreading to other countries as well in the region.”

That’s evident by the run of TAO. It’s also apparent by the underperformance of Europe and Japan. Of global REIT ETFs investing at least partially outside the U.S., the iShares FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe Index Fund (Nasdaq: IFEU) has been the biggest laggard. It has risen slightly more than 22% since the rally began and barely has remained in the black for the whole year.

A big part of that drag in 2009 has come from the U.K. and its oversized exposure to financial sectors, says Dina Ting, a senior iShares portfolio manager who oversees BGI’s international real estate funds.

As a result, Asian markets had less room to fall in terms of finding a floor to real estate prices. By the same token, they could provide the most room for growth as China aggressively pumps public funds into commercial development, says Ting.

A New World Order In REITs

Another dynamic Ting points to is the fact that the development of REITs has enabled a whole new class of non-U.S. investors to get involved in the market. “Before, you actually had to buy properties. By having REIT stocks available, people who can’t invest directly in properties can now invest in the asset class. It’s a new phenomenon for international investors outside the U.S.,” said Ting.

The structure of REITs is relatively new for the rest of the world, she adds. “Many of these international real estate companies in global indexes aren’t REITs as we’d strictly define them in the U.S.,” said Ting. “But they behave like REITs since they still own buildings, in general, and earn income from rentals, for example. So for all practical purposes, they look and act like REITs.”

But real estate companies still aren’t out of the woods. With credit still tight, development projects around the world are crimped. And after a five-year run that lasted through 2007, REIT managers say they’re coming out of the latest recession mindful of boom-and-bust cycles in their industry.

That has translated into relatively conservative strategies in running their businesses, says Ting.
Since the REIT structure is a newer development overseas, in a less-is-more environment many analysts see more growth potential in coming quarters coming overseas. “Before, you actually had to buy properties. By having REIT stocks available, people who can’t invest directly in properties can now invest in the asset class. It’s a new phenomenon for international investors outside the U.S.,” said Ting.

For Sale In ... Chile

2009-06-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

340 MILLION CHILEAN PESOS ($630,000)

This three-acre property in the Maipo River valley in the central Andes Mountains, with three houses and extensive organic gardens and orchards, is for sale by owner. Built by two brothers, the main house has three bedrooms and two baths with views of the river and the Andes. It was built using recycled materials, including the antique front doors and several windows framed in redwood imported from the United States.

The owners brought in a team of carpenters from the island of Chiloe, which is known for its craftsmen. The floors are eucalyptus. The house also has 12 kinds of native wood, as well as a round stained-glass skylight made by one of the owners.

The ground floor has two bedrooms, and a living room with a wood-burning stove that heats the whole house. The ceramic tile in the kitchen is locally made; there is a wood stove for cooking, as well as a modern gas range. The main bathroom is on the ground floor.

The master bedroom is in a semicircular space on the second floor; it has a ladder leading up to an enclosed cupola and a private terrace. The house also has a basement level with two rooms for household staff, an additional bathroom and a laundry room.

The property has a spring that provides enough water for the houses and garden. Organic waste is processed using a permaculture system of native plants and earthworms. Electricity is the only utility supplied by the municipality.

Rent fraud scams on the rise by con artists, real estate agents and former owners

2009-06-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Chaos in the housing market has spawned a fertile new ground for crooked entrepreneurs: rent fraud.

The kind of rent fraud being discussed here has to do with the fraud occurring on the leasing side. An individual or individuals purporting to be the lawful owner of a property, advertises that property for lease, takes applications for deposits, and then usually disppears after "renting" the home or apartment to multiple applicants.

Con artists come from several backgrounds:

• A habitual criminal. A common source of for their listings is to look for rentals on Craig's List that are vacant. The scam artist changes the locks, then "shows" the properties to prospective tenants, asks them to fill out a rental application and pay for the credit check, then collects first and last month's rent and/or a security deposit.

The victim then shows up on move-in day, only to meet other people who thought they had a valid rental agreement. Con artist disappears into the sunset, not only with the victims' money, but also their confidential information from the rental application, such as driver's license number, date of birth and social security number. Those items together can result in the victim being re-victimized in the form of identity theft.

• Former owners leasing their property that is either in foreclosure or has been foreclosed by the lender. The unsuspecting tenant dutifully pays the rent, which the former owner deposits instead of paying the mortgage. When the bank attempts to take possession of its property back, it then finds the tenants, not the owner, on the property.

• The third scenario would be funny if it weren't so unbelievable as well as being shameful. Apparently at least one (former) real estate agent came up with a creative way to mine listings in his local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Fresno, California. Sam Haley, 66, who lost his real estate license in 1979 due to fraudulent business practices, had rented out 13 homes and collected up to $26,000 before police arrested him and charged him with felony theft. Haley has had run-ins with the law before and was turned down by the California Department of Real Estate when he reapplied for his license in 1998.

Here's how you prevent becoming a victim of rental fraud:

• Check to make sure the property is not in foreclosure. Distressed properties, whether currently in foreclosure or bank-owned, are targeted by fraudsters.

• Ask the leasing party if s/he is the owner of the property. If not, that person should prove they have the legal authority to rent the property. If the person says s/he is the owner, check with a title company to see that that person's name is on title. If the person claims to be the leasing agent, ask for his or her business card, including DRE license number, and a copy of the lease agreement between the lessor and the agent.

• Never, ever give a cash deposit. Instead, pay for the deposit with a cashier's check or money order in case you need to prove in the future that you did in fact make the deposit.

• Check market rents. If the rent appears to be well-below the market rate, ask yourself why a reputable landlord would rent for such a low price. If that person is in a hurry to be leaving town, or either is out-of-town or renting for an out-of-town landlord, again, ask for proof that the person has authorization to lease.

Home News North America Worst of real estate slump in Canada is over

2009-06-17T01:37:00.001-07:00

The residential real estate market in Canada is improving with estate agents reporting improved sales and economists claiming that the worst of the slump is over.

Although January showed declining sales, figures every months since then have been upward. In Vancouver, for example, sales were down 59% in January from a year earlier but last month they were 17% above those in May last year.

Nationally sales have been increasing every month since February. In April sales on a monthly, seasonally adjusted basis jumped 11.2%.

'The worst of Canada's recession occurred through December and January of this year. Things were looking really bleak. It caused people to be cautious. Now, thanks to low mortgage interest rates and a slide in prices buyers are more confident,' said BMO Nesbitt Burns senior economist Michael Gregory.

'The worst is over,' he said but added that it was still too early to talk in terms of a strong and robust recovery.

Bank of Nova Scotia's senior economist Adrienne Warren expects more positive news for June. Most activity is among first-time buyers at the more affordable end of the market, she said. In Calgary, for example, 70% of re-sales in May were on property priced under $400,000.
'First-time buyers are coming in to take advantage of the ultra-low interest rates we're seeing right now,' Warren explained.

The recent growth is due partly to pent-up demand from the end of last year, and observers said this could level off over the summer once that delayed activity has been satisfied, and as rising unemployment continues to temper consumer activity.

In some areas bidding wars are breaking out again. According to Pamela Allen, a Re/Max real estate agent in Vancouver, she is busier than she has been all year. 'My last three buyers all lost their offer because they were in a bidding war,' she said.

Investors Back in Market for British Real Estate

2009-06-17T01:33:00.000-07:00

Nick Leslau, one of Britain’s wealthiest property entrepreneurs, got out of the market just before it turned down in 2007. Now he and a small but growing number of other investors say they think it is time to start buying again.
Mr. Leslau set up the Max Property Group last month and raised £200 million ($329 million) selling shares in what was Britain’s first initial public offering this year. Interest in the stock was so great that Mr. Leslau cut the investor road show short by a week, but the share sale was still oversubscribed.

Indeed, at least three British investment firms announced plans to raise about $240 million each for property purchases over the last month amid signs that yields have started to stabilize.
Investors returning to the battered British commercial property market are snapping up offices and shopping centers for 75 percent less than at the peak of the market in 2007, according to the real estate adviser DTZ.

That decline was less than the 89 percent drop in the United States or 80 percent in the Asia Pacific region. But in Britain, the speed of the decline was faster — transaction volumes shrank 51 percent in the three months after their peak compared with 35 percent in the United States and 19 percent in Asia.

Some analysts said this rapid correction was now helping the British market recover faster than those in New York, Tokyo or Frankfurt.

“You never know the bottom of the market until it’s passed, but our feeling is we’re close,” said Mr. Leslau, who is considering hundreds of millions of pounds worth of property for investment. ”We have a strong feeling that the market could be like in the 1990s.”

During that economic downturn, Mr. Leslau made his fortune buying commercial real estate on the cheap and redeveloping it.

Today, Britain is suffering from one of the deepest recessions since World War II. Banks are still reluctant to lend, slowing down any recovery, and unemployment continues to rise, pushing rents lower as vacancy rates, especially in London’s financial district, climb toward 10 percent. But a drop in the British currency over the last year attracted some foreign investors while others are looking for a hedge against inflation and are attracted by lower prices and interest rates.

Britain also looks better positioned than the United States to lead a recovery in the commercial real estate market even as the residential property market continues to struggle, according to DTZ.

“London repriced very sharply,” said Tony McGough, global head of forecasting at DTZ in London. “So much of the bad news is out of the way and rents dropped so much that even if we haven’t yet hit bottom, we’re close. New York is not there yet.”

Dan Fasulo, head of research for Real Capital Analytics, estimates London’s market cycle is about six months ahead that of New York. Some analysts attribute the lag in the cycle partly to greater price transparency in the British market, where property funds traditionally have more smaller investors. When the market dropped, many asked for their money back, forcing companies to value their assets almost on a monthly basis.

Britain’s market is also less financed by commercial mortgage-backed securities and more through commercial bank loans.

Some analysts remain skeptical and predict the market will only recover marginally by the middle of next year. But several property investors have started to invest already.

Tax credit boosts real estate market

2009-06-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

First-time home buyers are driving sales in the local real estate market as they rush to take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit available since January as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"It's 90 percent of my business right now," said Sandra Maier Schede, a broker with Maier Real Estate in Meriden. "We need more listings. In Meriden, we're looking good."Roughly two million people are expected to file for the tax credit, according to the Internal Revenue Service.The recovery act allows first-time home buyers to take a tax credit worth 10 percent of an FHA-insured home's value, capped at $8,000 for homes bought between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, 2009. The act is designed to jump-start the nation's stalled housing market.

The new act broadened a 2008 law that allowed home buyers to claim a $7,500 tax credit that had to be repaid within 15 years. The new act repealed the repayment and increased the cap. Home owners who bought under the 2008 law can file an amended return to avoid repaying the $7,500.Local real estate agents said the 2008 plan had few takers, but the 2009 credit has gained traction."A good majority of buyers we've spoken with have cited it as an incentive," said Patrick Combs, a broker with Dan Combs Real Estate in Wallingford.

"We started seeing an increase in March and April."A first-time home buyer is defined as someone who hasn't been a partner on a primary residence for three years. But the rules are inconsistent. For instance, if a couple has one partner who owned a home, the couple is ineligible. But should a parent join a child in a deal and the parent owned real estate, the child is eligible for the tax credit.Single home buyers making up to $75,000 annually qualify for the full credit, as do married couples earning up to $150,000. The credit is adjusted for those earning above the guidelines and maxes out at $95,000 for an individual and $170,000 for a married couple.

"If someone is in a position to buy, there are a lot of stimulating factors," said Michelle Maccio, a financial adviser for the Edward Jones office in Southington." I think it's a great plan."But Schede and Combs would like to see the first-time home buyer rule eliminated to open the program to all potential home buyers and move more homes off the for-sale listing.Schede is chairwoman of the legislative political affairs committee of the Connecticut Association of Realtors and has met with federal lawmakers on possible changes to the law.

In some states, qualified buyers don't have to wait until the end of tax season to use the money.States such as Missouri allow approved nonprofits and housing authorities to purchase the borrower's tax credits and allow the buyer to use the money to pay for closing costs or a down payment.Buyers eligible for a Connecticut Housing Finance Authority mortgage are now required to put at least 3.5 percent down on a new home. On May 30, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary followed several states and announced that the Federal Housing Administration will allow home buyers to apply the tax credit toward closing costs or on top of the 3.5 percent down payment.

The tax credit would be bought through the state's Housing and Finance Administration, approved lenders and nonprofits.But the plan "hasn't filtered down yet" in Connecticut, Schede said. "It's happening in other states."Schede said immediate access to the tax credit would spur even more activity and she hopes it will be available soon through approved lenders."It's just a matter of when the states are going to pick it up and run with it," said HUD spokesman Lemar Wooley. "It's available everywhere."

High land prices pep up realty market

2009-06-10T01:33:00.000-07:00

With property prices in major Chinese cities beginning to perk up, the land transaction market touched a new high in May, thanks to realtor's improved cash flow, loosening credit environment and lesser worries of inflation.

Last month, land sales in Beijing exceeded the total amount sold from January to April.

According to Beijing land reserve center, 28 parcels of land, with a floor space of 1.68 million sq m, was sold in May, among which 10 pieces, or 1.01 million sq m, are for residential purposes. That represents a 91 percent growth over the previous month.

In mid-May, Hong Kong-based Hang Lung Properties Ltd spent 4.5 billion yuan and 415 million yuan to purchase two plots of land from the municipal government of Dalian in northeast China and Wuxi in east China.

"The big round of property sales in March and April largely eased property developers' cash flow pressure, and the loosening credit environment also encouraged them to increase their land bank," said Grant Ji, director, Savills (Beijing).

A real estate insider said the land price in the first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, is not so resilient. Once the market recovers fully, it would be pretty hard to secure good land in these cities. Meanwhile, there are also worries about inflation.

Along with the fast growing land transactions, the prices have also been soaring.
Statistics show that the deal price is 59.76 percent higher than the floor price on average. But for quality land parcels in Beijing, the price premium is usually above 100 percent.

The Guangqulu No 10 land parcel, located at the capital's CBD area, was sold to R&F Properties at a price of 1.02 billion yuan after several rounds of bidding, with the price premium as high as 242 percent, making it a new "land king".

Meng Qi, senior analyst, Century 21st Real Estate, said developing land in city's urban areas will have less risks, especially at a time when the economic situation is not pretty clear.

But land price in urban areas is not cheap. On May 31, a land parcel for commercial use in Beijing's Changping district was sold after 88 rounds of bidding, with the price of the above ground floor area hitting 4,569 yuan per sq m, higher than that of 2007 when the property price was skyrocketing.

New mortgage law in Saudi is key to real estate sector growth

2009-06-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

A new mortgage law in Saudi Arabia is set to revolutionize the real estate market as it will encourage young buyers who currently find it hard to obtain finance to buy property.
A new report from the Kuwait Financial Centre points out that reform is urgently needed as at present most of the younger generation live with their parents and are deprived of real estate ownership by the huge cost.

This in turn will lead to a steep increase in demand for real estate which experts predict will be in the range of 500,000 to 800,000 by 2013. Rising oil prices is also expected to lead to higher demand, according to the report.

'The demand will experience a 50% upward shift from its current levels if the mortgage law comes into force, thereby turning around from the historic trend of waning investment in residential real estate and lack of home ownership affordability for the younger generation,' the report says.

The currently planned organised supply will provide about 73,000 units from 2009 to 2013, much less than demand, the report warns.

Younger property investors currently face a rental cost of 45% of their current income levels or a monthly mortgage at 41% should they decide to buy on their own so the mortgage situation is a key to future market growth, it adds.

'The mortgage law, if and when passed, will include them in the target market and expand the potential for residential real estate in Saudi Arabia thereby turning around the waning investment trend seen in the past decade,' the report says.

The property supply is expected to change radically. At present it is dominated by projects worth less than $50 million but will move towards more organised supply such as mega cities. 'The current major cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Al Khobar and Dammam will remain the centre of activity for the next five years till the boom gets shared by the planned mega cities,' the report continues.

Analysts expect Makkah and Jeddah to experience a much higher growth compared to other cities mainly due to the current pent-up demand.

Real Estate Industry Gets More Good News in May

2009-06-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

The real estate industry is showing more signs of revival, with the latest example being a jump in pending home sales.
The National Association of Realtors reported this week that pending home sales jumped 6.7 percent nationwide, bringing its index of such sales up to 90.3 in April from 84.6 in March. That figure is 3.2 percent higher than the April 2008 figure, when the recession was still in its earlier stages.
Sales were particularly stronger in the Northeast, where the index saw a 32.6-percent gain and a 0.8-percent improvement over last year's figures. The South was the only U.S. region to actually lose ground last month, although its index was still 3.5 percent higher than at this time last year.
"The market has already bottomed in some areas, but this is an unusual housing cycle with some areas improving rapidly while others languish or decline," observed NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
For many consumers, falling prices and mortgage rates have made real estate purchases more attractive than in recent months. However, stubborn unemployment and debt levels have left many people with insufficient credit scores to secure an affordable mortgage.http://www.creditfyi.com/News/real-estate-industry-gets-more-good-news-123.htm#ixzz0HWNkmAT6&D

Capitalizing on China's Real Estate Correction

2009-05-07T02:53:00.000-07:00

A well-known Chinese curse, loosely translated, says: "May you live in interesting times." Indeed, China and the rest of the world are living in interesting times. For China, the music stopped when the U.S. financial system collapsed, bringing America's domestic consumption to a virtual standstill. China, which had become far too dependent on exports to fuel robust economic growth, found itself heading over a cliff as exports came to a screeching halt. The impact that the collapse in exports has had on the Chinese economy cannot be overstated.

In the past six months, thousands of factories, including more than 4,000 toy manufacturers, have been shuttered. Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong have plunged more than 60% from their peak in October 2007. Approximately 20 million migrant workers have lost their jobs, and while there are signs the Chinese government's stimulus package is helping prop up the economy, Chinese leaders will count themselves lucky if China manages to achieve their 8% GDP growth target this year. At the epicenter of this economic downturn is China's real estate market, which experienced unprecedented growth during the past eight years.

Cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing were awash in a sea of cranes and high-rise building construction. Growing exports fueled an influx of workers from the interior to areas like the Pearl River basin, and with them came increasing wealth and a demand for housing, offices, and shopping centers. That boom has now turned into bust as aspiring homeowners retrench, canceling contracts for new apartments or, in many cases, demanding a reduced purchase price for apartments that they have already committed to buy.

The situation is even bleaker in the commercial sector, as speculative building ran into the harsh realities of a global economic meltdown. The numbers speak for themselves as thousands of projects have been halted or canceled and real estate prices have already dropped by 30% to 40% in many cities.

As Unemployment Growth Slows, a Recovery Could Stir

2009-05-07T02:48:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, we will get the clearest sign yet of whether these glimmers are real. That’s when the Labor Department will release its monthly jobs report, the single most important economic indicator out there. As bad as the job market is, it no longer seems to be getting worse at an accelerating pace. In both February and March, the economy lost fewer than 670,000 jobs; in January, it had lost 741,000.

In past recessions, a slowdown in the rate of job loss has been a telling sign. A few months after that, the economy typically began growing again. The vicious cycle turned virtuous.

After a stretch of unrelenting bad news, dating to last year, the economic signals have been more mixed lately. In just the last week, data on home sales, manufacturing and the service sector have all been better than expected. This welcome news has caused many of us who are pessimistic about the economy’s near-term fortunes to reassess.

“At the moment,” says Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist with MFR, a New York research firm, “those forecasting nearer-term recovery have the recent data on their side.”
There is still a strong case to be made that the economy won’t feel truly healthy anytime soon, not this year or perhaps even next.

The overhang from the 20-year bubble in stocks and then real estate won’t simply go away. As Mr. Shapiro says, “Wage and salary growth has evaporated, credit is very tight, home prices continue to decline, financial asset values have been decimated and household balance sheets are extremely stressed.”

But the difference between a bad economy and a depression is real. We’ve taken a few steps away from depression lately. If Friday’s jobs report shows more progress, it will suggest that Mr. Bernanke’s optimism is legitimate.

So the situation is not as dark as it was a few months ago. Maybe Friday’s jobs report will bring more reason for hope. But the Great Recession, or at least its impact, still has a way to go.

Home prices 'to fall later this year'

2009-04-27T01:58:00.000-07:00

House prices are expected to fall later this year following a drop in sales, according to the Blue Book of Real Estate 2009 released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on Thursday.

"Last year was the most gloomy period for China's real estate market since housing reform in 1998, in face of the global economic downturn," said Li Jingguo, director of the research center for urban development and environment under the CASS.

The volume of housing sales fell by 19.7 percent last year, the report said.
However, the average price of a home increased by 6.5 percent, it said.

The unusual phenomenon of rising prices and falling transactions indicates an "unhealthy development" in the property sector, Li said.
"Clinging to the hope that the government will roll out some rescue measures to reboot the market, real estate developers are reluctant to lower prices in tune with the market demand contraction," he said.
Meanwhile, many consumers postponed plans to buy because of fears about a stable income in the face of the economic crisis, he said.
He also said that opportunistic investments on property fell last year over fears of a diminishing profit margin,

The Blue Book forecasts a rebound in sales volume for houses because many developers will be forced to slash housing prices to ensure a smooth capital flow.
In addition, a national welfare-housing program will help stabilize the housing and real estate industry.

The welfare-housing plan, listed on top of the country's stimulus package, will benefit low-income people who could not afford the commercial housing.

"Our company's researches show the same result as the Blue Book's prediction; that a warming real estate market would come in the second half of this year," said Wang Yi, secretary to the board of directors with the Beijing Capital Development Co Ltd.

"But I don't think a big decrease on price would happen in Beijing's real estate market this year," he added.

Zhu Zhongyi, vice-chairman of China Real Estate Association, said a healthy property market calls for a reasonable growth in prices.

"We need to find a balance between the consumers anticipation and sellers benefit."
The real estate industry has seen a huge gap between prices in some regions and big cities.
"Though the developers of real estate always give discounts in their advertisement, I still could not afford the down-payment for an apartment in Beijing," said Zhu Rui, a 26-year-old public servant in Beijing.
"The government should control sky-rocketing housing prices. My friends who live in some middle or small cities can buy a house, even though their incomes are much lower than mine," she added.

Real estate agency banned from advertising

2009-04-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

Auckland real estate agency Property Wizards, founded by former shareholder in the failed Joneses real estate agency Steven Sharp, has been banned from advertising in the Property Press after it accidently failed to adhere to the magazine’s listing format.
Property Wizards follows a similar scheme to the Joneses, with a flat fee charged to customers, but without the flashy advertising.

The new company charges a $7000 flat fee (plus GST and marketing costs). That’s almost $2000 lower than the $8995 fee charged by the Joneses before it failed to raise $1.5 million and went in to liquidation. Its director Peter Gilchrist is now living and working in Brisbane.
Mr Sharp tells NBR that his firm accidently released an advertisement to the Property Press featuring pricing, going against the fine print of its agreement with the real estate listing magazine.

“It was a genuine mistake – a couple of staff were away and the ad was put in to fill our page of advertising,” says Mr Sharp.

Property Press banned Property Wizards from ever advertising again, and declined to comment to NBR.

“The staff member responsible was so upset that he offered to hand in his resignation,” Mr Sharp says.

The most common fee structure charged by New Zealand real estate agents is 4% of the sale price, which equates to $14,000 from the average home at $400,000 with advertising costs at an average of about 1% are then added on.

Mr Sharp says that Property Wizards is now considering starting its own advertising booklet to publicise listings.

Global crisis ends down payments era

2009-04-22T01:56:00.000-07:00

ISTANBUL - As spring comes, the real estate sector is rejuvenating as well and home sales are at full speed. Developers are taking many measures and applying discounts to resist the global financial crunch. And now the trend is sales with no down payment

Developers are rolling up their sleeves to revamp the market with new campaigns and are now targeting customers who want to buy houses with no down payment, just the same as paying rent. At least nine projects are offering no down payment necessary on a 120-month payment plan. The projects include the Kiler GYO (Kiler real estate investment trust Ğ REIT) Çınarevler project in Beylikdüzü, Aqua City 2010 in Çekmeköy by Sinpaş GYO, Realistanbul in Merter by Türköz Construction Co., Ergene Valley in Çorlu by Makro Construction Co., Dragos Royal Towers by Dap Yapı, Astrum Towers in Beylikdüzü by Regnum, Casa Mare in Büyükçekmece by EnYapı, Ovalbahçe in Sarıgazi by Om.Some other companies, such as Kuzu Group, Mimart Construction Co. and Fi-Yapı, have lowered down payments to less than 10,000 Turkish Liras. As spring comes, the real estate sector is rejuvenating as well and sales are at full speed. Interest rate at zero percent, long-term payment plans, delayed payments and discounts are just a few measures developers are taking to resist the global financial crunch. And now the trend is sales with no down payment. Construction companies are offering plans with no down payment to grab more customers who prefer smaller units or studio apartments.

Low-cost apartment complexesSeveral major construction materials, such as iron and pre-packed concrete, have reduced prices and this has helped companies build low-cost apartment complexes. Kiler Real Estate Investment Partnership, or GYO, does not require a down payment for units at its Çınarevler project at Beylikdüzü. With a 120-month payment plan, a one-bedroom, 68-square-meter unit is selling for 100,000 liras, while a 111-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment goes for 163,500 liras and a 134-square-meter, three-bedroom flat goes for 198,400 liras. Monthly payments vary between 1,198 and 2,377 liras. Buyers will pay 20 percent of the total amount when they move in, which is planned for August. Aqua City 2010 by Sinpaş at Çekmeköy consists of 1,118 units and was introduced to potential buyers through its "No down payment revolution" campaign. Sales started last week.

Buyers pay 5 percent of the total amount three months later after the sale, 10 percent 12 months later and 15 percent 24 months later. The company offers various credit options varying between 0.72 percent and 1.04 percent interest rate in 36-month and 72-month payment plans. Apartment prices range are from 115,000 to 208,000 liras for one-bedroom units, from 195,000 to 304,000 liras for two-bedroom units, 254,000 to 526,000 liras for three-bedroom units and 432,000 to 798,000 liras for four-bedroom units.

In Merter where Türköz is building Realistanbul in partnership with Oliv Construction Co. a zero down payment and 120-month payment plan is offered. The 74-square-meter, one-bedroom apartments are sold at 215,000 liras, 94- to 101-square-meter, two-bedroom apartments from 235,000 to 260,000 liras, 132-square-meter, three-bedroom units at 375,000 liras and 213-square-meter, four-bedroom apartments are sold at 595,000 liras.The Makro İnşaat-TOKİ-Emlak Housing partnership is offering apartment sales at Ergene Valley in Çorlu with no down payment and zero interest.

Flats vary in size between 60 and 176 square meters, from one-bedroom to five-bedroom and are priced from 68,500 to 169,000 liras. The Astrum Towers by Regnum will be completed in May. The zero down payment plan is offered in this Beylikdüzü apartment complex that consists of 1,285 housing units. Monthly payments for two-bedroom apartments are 800 liras and for three bedrooms 825 liras. Additionally, a 30 percent down payment will be paid in 2010, a year after the closing. Prices vary between 192,000 and 388,000 liras.The Dragos Royal Towers in Kartal by Dap Yapı offers a 48-month payment plan with zero interest rate and down payment. The price range starts at 400,000 liras and sizes vary between one-bedroom and four-bedroom units. Casa Mare in Büyükçekmece by EnYapı launched the "Move in now; pay in 2011" campaign to boost sales. Casa Mare’s zero down payment and zero interest up to 60 months payment plan is offered for its 70- to 240-square-meter flats, which are 135,000 to 440,000 liras.

The Ovalbahçe in Sarıgazi by Om also offers 60-month payment plans with zero down payment and zero interest. Prices vary between 177,000 and 353,000 liras for 110- to 206-square-meter apartments. The Orion Park Project by Topkapı Construction Co. offers zero down payment plans and prices begin at 89,000 liras.

Commercial real estate outlook: Green shoots meet reality

2009-04-22T01:51:00.000-07:00

With the Dow now pushing nose-bleed heights at the 8000 level, the markets have suddenly gone from worries about the next Great Depression to talk of "green shoots" and "glimmers of hope."

And in an uptrend that has seemed to defy gravity every step of the way, fear has given way to greed, causing one bad tape after another for the bears.

In fact, two weeks after I wrote about these mysterious "green shoots" myself, the markets have jumped even higher, led by the financials. One by one now, the banks have gone on to beat expectations, giving the bulls the upper hand.

But despite these balance sheet miracles the banks have pulled off lately—thanks largely to TARP money—it is safe to say the banks aren't exactly out of the woods yet.
And by extension, neither are we.

That's because even if the banks have temporarily put their troubles behind them, the next shoe is now lining up to drop.

I'm talking, of course, about a deteriorating commercial real estate outlook, where all signs now are pointing to a much steeper decline.

In fact, just last week the industry was hit with a virtual bombshell, as time finally ran out on General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP), the second largest mall owner in the country with more than 200 properties. On Thursday, they filed the biggest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history after amassing $27 billion in debt during the run up.

The Beginning of the End in Commercial Real Estate

That makes GGP the equivalent of a dead canary in a coal mine, as this cycle of distress will undoubtedly take others down with it. General Growth Properties will certainly not suffer alone.
"This is kind of the beginning of the end," Dan Fasulo of Real Capital Analytics said. "This bankruptcy will drive down the values of mall assets in the United States. It's going to put, I believe, more supply on the market than can be absorbed by investors."
Of course, this is something we have been warning our readers about for some time now.
In fact, our own Ian Cooper has been playing the downside in commercial real estate for months now, warning his Options Trading Pit readers:

"The meltdown at some of the biggest commercial REITs will be another blow to a financial system teetering on the brink of disaster. And nothing may be able to stop the slide. . . One reason for concern is that the CMBS market (commercial mortgage backed securities) has just about dried up. And if buildings can't be refinanced, we could see further distress, driving real estate values even lower."

That was two months ago. Since then it has only gotten worse, which Mr. Greenshoots himself, Ben Bernanke, admitted yesterday with the release of the Fed Beige Book.
In an otherwise "less awful" report, the Fed was considerably less rosy on commercial real estate noting:

"Nonresidential real estate conditions continued to deteriorate over the past six weeks. Demand for office, industrial and retail space continued to fall, and there were reports of increases in sublease space. Rental concessions were rising. Property values moved lower as reality 'set in.' Construction activity continues to slow, and several Districts noted increased postponement of both private and public projects. Nonresidential construction is expected to decline through year-end, although there were some hopeful reports that the stimulus package may lead to some improvement."Commercial real estate investment activity weakened further. Contacts said a decline in credit availability and markdowns on commercial property were keeping buyers and sellers on the sidelines."

(Emphasis mine Commercial Real Estate OutlookTranslated, that means "look out below," an opinion shared by David Henry, president of U.S.-based Kimco Realty Corp.

Henry told the CIBC real estate conference this week, "We have a massive wave of debt maturities coming, at least in the U.S. . . and there will be a massive amount of workouts, there will be some extensions, but there will also be some very high-profile bankruptcies, and very high-profile forced sales."

In short, it's the vicious cycle all over again. And as in residential properties, the troubles in commercial real estate revolve around loans gone bad and falling property values—off by as much as 50% from the peak.

In fact, some analysts now estimate defaults on commercial loans could go as high as 6% by 2010. Sound familiar?

One way to play this inevitable trend lower is to short sell hotel REITS, since they are doubly vulnerable these days. For them, it's not just CMBS worries but a big drop in room revenues as consumers retrench.

So, how bad has it gotten for hotels these days? Well, here's the quote of the day for you by DRBS.

The bond rating agency recently said, "News coming out of the hotel market is, quite simply, not good. Well, bad actually. No, make that terrifying. Predicting hotel performance over the next 12 to 18 months is like juggling chainsaws while riding a unicycle."

That makes Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) good candidates to move further to the down side.

So, enjoy those green shoots for as long as they last. The brewing troubles in commercial real estate have really just begun.

Non-GCC Arabs barred from owning properties in Sharjah

2009-02-22T03:15:00.000-08:00

UAE's cultural capital Sharjah chose a different path than that of its counterpar Dubai when it came to owning properties in the emirate. According to the UAE emirate's laws, non-GCC Arabs are barred from owning property. Arabs from countries other than the GCC can buy property there only in exceptional cases, according to a top official.
The draft law stipulates that brokerages shall be run exclusively by UAE nationals who should not be involved in any other activity, said Hamed Salem Al Abdouli, Director of Sharjah's Real Estate Registration Department, adding that 821 real estate brokerage licences have been issued in Sharjah. While half of these licences are not being operated, the other half are run by expatriates, he said.
Among the most important items of the draft law is one stipulating that only Sharjah nationals would be given licences for real estate brokerages. The draft law also recommended making bank guarantees mandatory for licences and that the law should apply to old licences, too, upon renewal.

Will your club weather the financial storm?

2009-02-15T02:28:00.000-08:00

The world's press is full of stories of marine sales falling, yacht manufacturing companies reducing staff and sailing companies merging or closing. But spare a thought for your local yacht club. The Knickerbocker Yacht Club was 135 years old, and at one time boasted a 100 yacht fleet, a club unknown to most of the world, but important to its members, a strong community entity and a place for the youngsters to learn the sport of sailing among friends and family. At a tense private meeting held by the Knickerbocker YC Board of Governors last month, with over 30 members in attendance, the Board voted to close the club, citing financial woes for the closure. This global recession started in the United States, so it's no surprise that the first yacht club to 'go under' as a direct result should also be a USA club. The collapse of the Knickerbocker YC in Port Washington, New York, dramatically highlights the long reach of the present economic downturn. Looking at this club, with it's grand clubhouse and facilities, you will realise that the typical member is not someone you would associate with worrying about the cost of a club membership or cost of berthing their yacht. There are undoubtedly clubs in the UK that are feeling the cold wind of this recession. Sailing events and membership of sailing clubs and associations will undoubtedly suffer as people look at ways to restrict 'unnecessary' outgoings. Boats sitting unused in compounds and marinas become difficult to justify for an the occasional jaunt on a sunny weekend. It may be hard to move a large cruiser from a marina but a considerable number of smaller boats and sailing dinghies are likely to be remaining in their winter storage when the compound space bill arrives. With membership waiting lists melting faster than the recent snow, clubs may find that the yearly membership churn is not something they can treat as a chance to get new enthusiastic members into the club. Some have already reduced entry fees and offered 'bounty' payments to members introducing new members. For the small sailing club, without paid staff, that only operates at weekends when racing is taking place, it can be a case of hunkering down for a couple of years, with reduced turnouts. For the bigger clubs, with permanent staff, large property to maintain, restaurants and bars to keep running it is a different story. The overheads spread over a shrinking membership and dropping daily income becomes a vicious circle. (a bit like the problems faced by the present UK government). So, how is your Club weathering the financial meltdown? Reading the report of the Knickerbocker YC collapse you will note that most of the members were unaware of the perilous state of the club until the For Sale signs went up. I guess, that as with most organisations, there are a small hardcore who are heavily involved with the day to day running, and a majority who pay their fees and assume the facility will be there when required. The club tried to merge with another club on the bay but they were also in a perilous position, with falling membership, and could only offer the Knickerbocker members a special reduced membership deal without any initial joining fees and an offer to take over the Knickerbocker Cup, which has become a classic regatta on Manhasset Bay. In the present downturn, many of those less involved members are deciding they cannot justify the fees and taking a time-out. How well is your club doing? This report by our Cruising Editor, Nancy Knudsen Knickerbocker Yacht Club, founded in 1874, was the proud sponsor of the Knickerbocker Cup Match Races held each year on Manhasset Bay, which is part of Long Island Sound to the north east of New York City. The Club, situated on the Harlem River in Manhattan, survived several moves, two World Wars, the Great Depression, Hurricane Carol and various internal crises, living on as the second-oldest yacht club on the Long Island Sound. But it couldn't survive the global meltdown of 2008. It raises the question of the health of YOUR local sailing club. Are they doing it tough too? Do you want to have the club there for future generations, for your children and grandchildren? In the case of the Knickerbocker YC, many of the general membership were unaware of the seriousness of the problem until the closure was announced. Now, the real estate of the club will be put up for sale.

Shortly after becoming the club’s commodore in January, Dr. Brian Raskin, a Long Island dentist, reluctantly brought to board members a proposal to shut down in the face of rising costs and falling membership. 'Pulling teeth is easy,' Dr. Raskin told the New York Times 'This is hard. We’re crying over the history and what this place has meant to us.' Those in the know about the finances of the yacht club blame the recent world financial collapse. 'That was the death knell,' said Jeanne Rosenthal, an ophthalmologist and the vice commodore, whose father taught her to sail at the club as a young girl. 'I don’t know how I’ll survive without it.' Ex-members have been expressing their grief at the club's demise. 'Knickerbocker is more than a club' writes Rita Marcus, 'it is a community. Because of its small size (even when it is running at full capacity), it really is a place where 'everybody knows your name.' We have so many great memories of our years at KYC - sailing, racing, playing tennis and simply hanging out on the porch viewing the world's most gorgeous sunsets.

Turkish property market expecting boost from increased visitors

2009-01-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

Increasing numbers of visitors, a new list of reputable real estate agents and various cultural events are set to give Turkey's property market a boost.
Tourism officials expect the number of tourists to increase significantly in 2009 and again in 2010 when Istanbul becomes European Capital of Culture.
Overall figures from the Turkish tourism department indicate that visitor numbers are predicted to rise by 10% this year bringing in billions of dollars worth of revenue.
Tourism minister Ertugrul Gunay said the latest figures are expected to show that tourism revenues were $20.5 billion in 2008, up from $18.5 billion in 2007. The data is also expected to reveal that there were 26 million tourists visiting Turkey in 2008 compared with 23.5 million in the previous year, placing the country among the top 10 destinations in the world.
The country's ancient history is likely to come to the fore with a series of events that are being planned for 2010. Officials are ready to use Istanbul's famous views across the Bosophorus as a marketing tool.
At the same time property prices have been falling like many other parts of Europe and are set to become even more attractive to foreign real estate investors especially those from the UK as the pounds continues to be weak against the euro and the dollar.
'While the expense of property in Istanbul may previously have prevented some buyers from entering the market, the economic slowdown has recently pushed prices down, creating bargains in desirable locations,' said one agent in Istanbul.
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Also the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office is compiling a list of reputable property professionals for British buyers to consult following an increase in the number of complaints about buying property.
Turkey has been plagued with developers not handing over title deeds, properties being sold twice to different people and real estate agents disappearing with deposits.
In the absence of the Turkish authorities doing anything concrete to make the property market more transparent the FCO is issuing advice that property investors should only consider dealing with companies that are on the list.
At the same time officials in Turkey are urging organisations including the Real Estate Dealers Association to consider tighter regulation and discussions at government level are expected soon.

Hearing may force Colonial Inn owner's hand

2009-01-17T22:59:00.000-08:00

Spencie Love, Correspondent
The Colonial Inn, a historic landmark built in 1838, has become a source of growing pain, agitation and speculation.
One quick glance at the grand old wooden structure at 153 W. King St. reveals an aging building in shambles. Barricades protect passing pedestrians from bricks tumbling down from its two large, ancient chimneys. Its white paint is cracked and peeling; its faded blue shutters are sagging and many of its windowpanes are broken.
Still, Hillsborough planners remain cautiously hopeful. Planning Director Margaret Hauth has scheduled a public hearing for 10 a.m. Jan. 23 in the town barn to review the technical evidence concerning the inn's deterioration. The hearing comes in response to a series of events that began with a local citizen's letter in July 2008. Joe Rees, who first dined at the Inn some 50 years ago, wrote to request the hearing under a new "prevention of demolition by neglect" ordinance the town passed in 2007.
Rees listed nine items that needed immediate attention. They included a leak in the front porch's roof causing rotting boards on the porch's second floor; deteriorating gutters damaging wood under the eaves as well as the front porch's slender posts; a missing window and broken panes; boards missing from outer walls of the Inn; bricks falling from a chimney; peeling paint all over the outer building walls; and finally the inn not being secure from potential vandals, due to an open doorway upstairs.
Memories of a better time
Rees recalled taking friends visiting from Washington, D.C., to the Colonial Inn in 1959, shortly after he moved to Chapel Hill to pursue a master's degree in library science at UNC.
"We motored around and ate a wonderful meal at the Inn -- meat, two vegetables, dessert and a drink, all for 97 cents and 3 cents tax," he said. Rees subsequently stayed at the inn as concierge over a period of weeks when its owners, Sarah and Carlton McKee Jr., had to be away. The couple eventually had to declare bankruptcy and sell the inn in April of 2001.
The McKees had run the Inn since 1989. They offered lunch and dinner six days a week and kept eight guest rooms well occupied. But Carlton McKee said town and county taxes "quadrupled" during his years running the Inn. The couple first tried selling it, but when there were no takers they faced foreclosure and a public auction.
At the heart of the Colonial Inn's demise is its current owner, Francis Henry, who bought the inn at public auction at long distance. His lawyer, Gordon Brown, bid successfully for the old Inn on the Courthouse steps in the spring of 2002, for the relatively modest sum of roughly $400,000.
Henry, a 1967 UNC graduate, had for many years pursued a career as an entrepreneur and real estate developer in both Wilmington and Chapel Hill. But since his purchase of the inn, it has continued to deteriorate, becoming an increasingly disturbing downtown "eyesore, embarrassment and humiliation," said novelist Lee Smith, a longtime Hillsborough resident.
"The whole situation seems like a terrible and inexplicable tragedy," she said. "A building of this importance with so much history shouldn't be allowed to fall into wreck and ruin. It's Gothic and unfathomable. The whole town is upset about it."
Big ideas, little action
Hillsborough native Jim Parsley recalled hearing Henry talk about his plans for the inn at a town board meeting around the time Henry was seeking rezoning for it.
"It seemed to me Henry didn't have any clear intentions for the inn except to make money from it," he said. "He talked a good game, and he floated a lot of different balloons at the meeting. He even talked about selling the inn if he could get $1.5 million for it. His price simply wasn't feasible given that it would cost at least $1 million to restore the inn. I think his only real attachment is to the dollar sign."
Even if Henry does the minimum the Planning Commission asks, "the inn won't be what we want it to be," Parsley said. "All over the state, if you say you're from Hillsborough, people say, 'Oh, I remember the Colonial Inn.' I must say I now see it as a landmark held hostage."
Henry declined to comment for this story. The inn is not the first historic property he has been associated with. He apparently allowed the Dey House, an old home in Chapel Hill, to deteriorate before selling it to a friend. The house subsequently was demolished in December of 2006.
Not the whole story
Planning Director Hauth, and Stephanie Trueblood, a planner who staffs the Hillsborough Historic District Commission, both see the Colonial Inn's decline as a "very complicated problem."
"Many folks assume Henry has a nefarious intent but I've never seen any sign of that," Hauth said. "He feels badly mistreated by the press, and I don't discount his feelings. He's a very private person in general. People are quick to have an opinion about him and the inn without knowing all the details."
Trueblood agreed.
"People seem to think Henry's intentions are malicious, but I believe he truly wants to restore the inn," she said. She noted that Henry filed a rezoning request in 2007 to change the property from residential to commercial status, indicating he wanted to do something, but withdrew his request after 16 neighboring homeowners signed a petition of protest.
Hillsborough Attorney J. Matthew Martin opposed the rezoning. He and his wife Catherine have owned a home at 144 Margaret Lane near the inn since 1989. He told Hauth in a 2007 letter "Everything Mr. Henry needs to do to revitalize the sad inn can be done under a Conditional Use Permit." He said it was the "best solution" as it would keep the town "very involved" in the future of the Inn.
In 2007, Henry also applied for a "Certificate of Appropriateness" to demolish the inn's badly deteriorating rear-most addition, replace the inn's existing metal roof with a standing seam metal roof and repair the inn's foundation. In August 2007, the Historic District Commission unanimously approved his application with the one condition that the inn's new roof color be gray. To date, Henry has not made any visible changes to the building.
According to Trueblood, restoring the Colonial Inn will be a costly undertaking for whomever takes on the project. Shortly after purchasing the inn, Henry also bought an interest in running the Rathskeller Restaurant in downtown Chapel Hill, Trueblood said. He apparently spent all his time struggling to maintain the restaurant on a daily basis, including washing dishes. The Rathskeller ultimately had to be shut down about a year ago because its property owner was not willing to upgrade and renovate the building.
Hauth said that after the hearing on January 23, she, as planning director, will be the one person to decide how Henry must go forward in addressing the inn's most serious problems. Hauth concluded, "We don't expect Henry to totally restore the Colonial Inn to its full glory in the coming months. It won't be an exhibit for the 'parade of homes.' But he will have to make fundamental repairs, not just mothball it, patch it up. He'll have to fix the broken windows, not just put plywood on them. He'll have to deal fully with the deterioration of its character defining aspects."
The public hearing will lead to a clear order from Hauth about exactly what changes Henry will have to make unless he wants to face penalties from the town, which might cost him as much as $100 a day until he fully complies with the ordered repairs.
ABOUT THE ORDINANCE
The Hillsborough Town Board passed a new "Prevention of Demolition by Neglect" ordinance in 2007 whose purpose was to permit the Town of Hillsborough, through its Historic District Commission and Planning Department, to protect the town's historic architectural resources by allowing intervention when a significant resource seemed to be undergoing demolition by neglect.
Hillsborough will hold a public hearing on the current condition of the old Inn on Friday, Jan. 23, at 10 a.m. in the Town Barn. Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth will make a decision based on the hearing's results and determine what repairs need to be made in the coming months to the Colonial Inn by its current owner, Francis Henry.
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Can you afford it now?

2008-12-21T00:59:00.000-08:00

By Peter Y. Hong > > > December 21, 2008

We've pretty much blown through the first couple of stages of grief with regard to the Southern California housing bust.There's no room left for denial now that home prices in the Southland are down 44% from their peak in 2007, and there's not much use for anger.

Now we're bargaining.Previously stubborn sellers are dropping listing prices and banks are increasingly agreeing to "short sales," in which a home is sold for less than the amount of its mortgage.A real estate recovery may be at least a year off, but in this falling market homes are being listed -- and some sold -- at prices not seen in years.
The median sales price in Southern California just fell below $300,000 for the first time since 2003. On both sides of that midpoint, expectations of what a dollar -- or a million -- is worth in the housing market are being challenged as buyers try to avoid paying too much, and sellers decide what they'll give up to make a deal.Here's a look at what's available at five price ranges.$100,000Palm Springs, one-bedroom, one-bathroom condominium listed for $95,000For five figures in Los Angeles, the offerings are pretty humble. Pretty typical is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom house on East 98th Street in South Los Angeles, near the intersection of the Harbor Freeway and Century Boulevard. Its listing calls the 738-square-foot house "great for a growing family." The seller wants $85,000 for the house, which sold in 2006 for . . . $365,000.But in Palm Springs, instead of security bars on the windows, you can get a place in a gated community. This condo complex has six swimming pools and three tennis courts. The unit is listed as a short sale, which means the lender will have to agree to let the property go for less than its mortgage amount. Craig Conley, the listing agent, said he was confident the bank would approve a sale at the asking price of $95,000. The property last sold in 2005 for $150,000. There are more than 30 other condos in the Palm Springs area for sale below $100,000, and in the last three months, more than 20 condo units there have sold for less than $100,000.$250,000Corona, four-bedroom, 2 1/2 -bath house listed for $253,900Riverside County's November median price of $220,000 was down 38% from the previous year, but this Corona house shows just how much more prices could drop. The foreclosed, 10-year-old, 1,850-square-foot Corona house is now listed for sale at 47% of what it sold for in 2006, when it was purchased for $535,000.Foreclosures accounted for 70% of sales in Riverside last month, the highest percentage in Southern California. This house has plenty of competition: More than 170 houses are listed for sale in Corona in the $225,000 to $275,000 range. But Dennis Findly, the broker listing the house, said he had received five offers since its Dec. 10 listing and expected the house to be sold by the time this article appeared."Banks are now pricing them correctly, whereas a year ago they had them priced too high and they sat on the market a long time," Findly said.Throughout Southern California, real estate agents say and sales records confirm that attractively priced foreclosed houses sell quickly. Which doesn't mean prices will go back up any time soon."I am absolutely positive it's still going down," said the 18-year veteran of Inland Empire real estate. "If you're looking at a house like this for $250,000, it looks like a good deal, but a year from now it could be $220,000 or $230,000," he said.There are just too many foreclosed houses to sell, Findly said, and too many problems in the overall economy to be solved before real estate rises again.

New Faces

2008-12-14T00:31:00.000-08:00

Mark Fralich has been hired as director of marketing and corporate development for United Mine Services in Pinehurst, Idaho. He previously worked as an investor relations consultant for Mines Management Inc.
Providence Physician Services has hired Dr. Anselmo "Mo" Nunez as chief executive. He previously served as president and chief executive officer for Ministry Medical Group in Wausau, Wis. He is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine and holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee Stokley College of Business. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery in vascular surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Bohall Richard Cirillo has been hired by Ambassadors Group Inc. as senior director of the company's travel services air department. He previously worked as director of military and government sales for American Airlines.
Langenhorst and Norwood CPAs, P.S. has hired Erin Denney as a tax professional. She holds an accounting degree from Walla Walla University and a master's degree in business from Eastern Washington University.
Jon Bohall has been hired by Blue Water Technologies as an electrical manufacturing technician. He previously restored and rewired vintage military vehicles for Big Shots of Idaho and worked as a certified ASE master mechanic with Ford Motor Corp. He is also a licensed aircraft mechanic.
Windermere Real Estate/Cornerstone Inc. has hired Shani Hoke and Troy Todd as sales associates for the company's Spokane office. Both previously worked for Coldwell Banker NW Group.
Lin Slack has been hired by Langenhorst and Norwood CPAs, P.S. as an audit professional. She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and music from Walla Walla University as well as a master's degree in accounting from Gonzaga University.
SCA Walls of Dallas has hired Tami Connall as an architectural product specialist based out of Spokane. She has more than 10 years of experience in designing and installing movable wall systems for commercial buildings and medical environments.
NEW POSITION
Spokane Public Schools has named Kristin Whiteaker director of Spokane virtual learning and instructional technology.
PROMOTIONS
Georgie Feeser has been promoted from receptionist/administrative assistant to office administrator for Design Source Inc. She has more than 12 years of office management experience and has been with the company for a year.
Sterling Savings Bank has promoted Terry Cope from commercial credit administrator to vice president. He has been with the bank for four years and has 15 years of banking experience.

OSU's new gathering place will provide reminders of locale everywhere you look

2008-12-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

By Mike Pramik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Visitors entering the new Ohio Union in 2010 might not know their way around, but they'll certainly know where they are.
Nearly every cranny of Ohio State University's $118 million student union will reflect the Buckeye State. Tips of the Buckeye cap will range from the new relief of author James Thurber on the building's south facade to all-Ohio food products sold at a 24-hour diner called Sloopy's.
Even the restrooms will have a Buckeye theme, said Tracy Stuck, assistant vice president for student life and director of the Ohio Union.
"It's the Ohio Union, and it's going to tell more stories about the state of Ohio than you could ever imagine," said Stuck, who toured 42 other student unions in helping to plan the Ohio Union. "When you walk into this building, you will clearly know you're at Ohio State."
Construction is about one-third completed on the three-story, 315,000-square-foot gathering center at 12th Avenue and High Street, said Greg Palmer, project manager with Smoot Construction. The building is scheduled to be completed in January 2010 and opened in March 2010.
The exterior of the union was designed by Boston architect Michael Dennis to appear as several buildings, in contrast to the starkly rectangular structure it replaced. Significantly, the new union is being built close to High Street; the old building sat on a rise, removed from the street.
Its drive-up entrance will be on its south side, facing 12th Avenue, rather than along High Street.
That southern entrance is typical of the newer, friendlier design of the union. It will feature a courtyard (with a "Block O" fire pit) that will lead into a performance hall, which in turn links to the building's "great hall," a three-story atrium that will punctuate the interior space.
"The atrium was created to link all the floors together so you know where you are in the building," said Mark Bodien, a principal with Moody Nolan Inc., the project's architect of record.
The union is a student-driven building, and it will offer plenty of meeting space for student government and student groups. The Office of Student Affairs' Multicultural Center will have its headquarters on the first floor, as will Explore Columbus, OSU's student discount-ticket service. It's hoped that the prime location leads to more ticket sales to students for events around Columbus, Stuck said.
The first floor also will feature 40,000 square feet of restaurant space. The union will be on the student meal plan, which was not the case before. Five serving areas, including the "Across the Field" salad bar and "Woody's Pub," will be available.
A convenience store will front High Street, but don't look for fast-food services. The union didn't want to compete with businesses in the South Campus Gateway project, Stuck said.
Designers did manage to pack in spaces for a bank, a University Police substation, a satellite registrar office, a commuter lounge and several study areas. But little square footage was dedicated to recreation. That means no pool tables or bowling lanes, as once graced the old union.
Instead, the new union will have generous amounts of space for public use. It will boast a ballroom seating 2,000, for example. The 18,000-square-foot space will be the second-largest ballroom in the city, smaller only than the 25,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
A second-story walkway will lead to a new parking garage north of the union. The walkway is expected to be used only to move people quickly from the ballroom to the garage after an event.
One unusual meeting room will have tiered seating in a circular pattern. Stuck said it's based on an American Indian concept designed to encourage dialogue.
"We saw it at the University of Arizona, but we had to make it cooler," she said.
The basement will be mostly off-limits, except for a corner that will have a demonstration kitchen, used mostly for the university's Creative Arts Program.
All floors of the union will be stuffed with Buckeye pizzazz:
• The ballroom will have three large "Block O" chandeliers.
• Block O's will be embedded in a terrazzo floor on the first level.
• The words to "Carmen Ohio" will be etched in pre-cast stone set around the top of the great hall.
• Artwork created by students and faculty members will be displayed on all floors. Architects designed nooks in some walls for sculptures and other three-dimensional art.
• Block O's set on pillars in the conference theater will illuminate when the lights go down.
• At the foot of the main staircase on the first floor will be a bronze sculpture of Brutus Buckeye sitting on a bench. Photos are expected.
"The whole building will end up telling stories, where in the old building, you didn't see that as much," Stuck said.
Mike Pramik covers development for The Dispatch. Contact him at mpramik @dispatch.com or by fax at 614-461-5107.

Across the River for a Slice of Ray’s Pizza

2008-12-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Robert Duvall, we’ve located your chicken cacciatore.
Pelé? Your four-cheese pasta is ready.
Dom DeLuise, your chicken française is as tender as ever and it’s waiting for you.
That’s the good news. The less than good news is that you have to travel a bit farther — at least gas prices are down — than the theater district to enjoy them.
Ray’s Real Pizza restaurant is still open for business, here in Hazlet. Where? How?
There are so many pizza restaurants in Manhattan with Ray in their names that their abundance rivals the ubiquity of Starbucks: Ray’s Pizza, Ray’s Original Pizza, Famous Ray’s Pizza and World-Famous Original Ray’s Pizza.
But the story line of this Ray’s might be titled “From Broadway to the Boondocks, With Extra Cheese.”
In the late 1970s, when Joe Russo and his brother John left their hometown in southern Italy and landed in New York, they wanted to continue the family cooking tradition, which included a secret pizza recipe. So they opened Ray’s Real Pizza, named after an uncle who was a good cook, on Eighth Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets. Word spread quickly and soon the place was filled with a mix of the theater crowd, actors, musicians, sports figures, tourists and neighborhood regulars.
The Russos served the rich and famous, including Alec Baldwin, Oscar De La Hoya, Mr. Duvall, Pelé, Mr. DeLuise and Sean Combs, known as Diddy. The brothers lined the walls of their restaurant with photos of the celebrities, posing, shaking hands and enjoying the food. Business was good.
But after coping with several rent increases, a crisis was upon them in 2003, when their landlord raised the rent 400 percent.
“We flipped out when we got the notice about the increase,” said Marco Russo, 33, a younger brother who joined the business. “And they wanted us to pay it month to month. How can you work like that or think about making improvements on the place?”
So the Russo brothers shut down their place, took time off and then scouted the metropolitan area for a new location with a more realistic real estate deal. In 2005, they took their recipes and their photos of bold-faced names and settled on Hazlet, which is about an hour and 10 minutes by car from Times Square and might be considered a pit stop on the way to the Jersey Shore.
“We were looking for a new challenge,” said Joe Russo, 53. “And we thought we would look for the worst possible place to open, with the least amount of business, and make it work.”
On a recent evening, a blue minivan was the only vehicle in the parking lot. Joe Russo recalled how cars, taxis and limousines would be triple-parked in front of their Eighth Avenue restaurant until the 2 a.m. closing. Now Ray’s red and white sign hangs above a small white concrete building that was previously occupied by a hot-dog franchise.
The restaurant has a Sleepy’s bedding store on one side and a senior citizens’ apartment building on the other side.
The Jersey clientele is far removed from the tuxedo and tourist crowd the Russo brothers were used to.
“We’ve had a couple guys stop by who worked in the box office of ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ” Marco Russo said. “Yeah,” Joe Russo added, “and they said the theater district without us is like New York without the Brooklyn Bridge.”
The Russo brothers keep a camera under the counter just in case a celebrity happens to stumble in. Some customers claim they’ve seen Jon Bon Jovi, the drummer Max Weinberg and Bruce Springsteen drive by.
“We don’t get Diddy the superstar or other celebrities,” Marco Russo said, flipping dough and stirring sauce, glancing up at the wall of photos: Mr. DeLuise smiling, eating at a table; Rudolph Giuliani at the counter surrounded by the Russo brothers. “But we get John the plumber and Bob the builder. Everyone is very nice and respectful and we’re happy to serve them.”
Customers, like Ad Augeri, a musician, are particularly happy to be served the pizza. “I’m from Brooklyn,” Mr. Augeri said. “It’s a pizza vortex there. And the Russos’ pie is as good as anything I’ve ever had.” He added, “It’s neat that I’m eating the same pizza that Diddy and Alec Baldwin enjoyed.”
Well, maybe not exactly. There’s something in the water. Or not in the water. “The water is very important for making the sauce and the dough,” Marco Russo said. “New York tap water was the best. You can taste the difference. But we use our ingredients and add a lot of love.”
In a few hours, close to 10 p.m., they will shut off the lights and close the doors. “We don’t have to worry about alarms and gates,” said Marco Russo, who, like his brothers, is married and has children. “In New York, we were so paranoid about locking up and security that we accidentally locked customers in the bathroom a few times. One woman we locked in kicked open the door and made herself a meal until the police came. Here we leave our car doors open. And we’re so relaxed that we’ve left the doors on the restaurant open overnight and nothing was missing.”
There’s no “riff-raff,” as Joe Russo said, to help out the door. And no one banging on the windows after 2 a.m., with cries of “Just one slice!”

London and Moscow most expensive office property markets while costs increase in Abu Dhabi by 94%

2008-11-29T03:12:00.000-08:00

London's West End and Moscow are the most expensive office property markets in the world according to the latest commercial rent report.
Hong Kong's CBD, Tokyo's Inner Central District and Mumbai's Nariman Point are next in line says the report from consultants CB Richard Ellis that tracks world markets with the highest, and fastest-growing, occupancy costs for the 12 months to the end of September.
Abu Dhabi had the fastest growing occupancy cost which increased by 94.6% while the average rate of growth for office occupancy costs among the 172 markets monitored in the survey was 8%, almost double last year's world inflation rate.
The rise in occupancy costs in Abu Dhabi is attributed to limited supply of quality office space and high demand from international firms, primarily law firms, financial institutions, real estate and construction companies.
The report also revealed that Asia Pacific was the fastest growing region among markets in the top 50, at an average rate of 26.2%. Among these was Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which was up 51.4% due to demand for a limited supply of prestige prime office buildings.
Occupancy costs in the six Latin American markets that made the top 50 fastest growing rankings grew an average of 21.5%, with Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Lima, Peru making the list for the first time.
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São Paulo, Brazil, led the region and was the seventh fastest growing market overall, up 34%. São Paulo's occupancy cost increase reflects a shortage of prime office space combined with a relatively strong local economy supported by global demand for commodities and a growing middle-class.
'Our current perceptions are greatly affected by the current economic malaise and we tend to forget how fast rents and occupancy costs were rising over the last 12 months. Clearly the rate of change is generally slowing, and in some markets the pricing direction is down,' said Dr. Raymond Torto, CBRE's global chief economist.
'The turn in rent trajectory will provide some relief to occupiers and angst to owners. However, unlike previous downturns, which have occurred simultaneously with extensive overbuilding, the real estate market globally today is in a stronger position to weather the difficulties than in the past,' he added.

Live like a Sun King and grab a chateau bargain

2008-11-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

By Ben Rankin 15/11/2008

Enjoy the high life without going broke when you take advantage of an amazing autumn cut-price stay at these fabulous French chateaux. With the money you’ll save you can fill the car boot with Christmas goodies, says GILL WILLIAMS…
1. CHATEAU DE BEHEN, PICARDY
FEED a carrot to the donkeys and goats, and ride horses or bicycles around the parkland when you stay at this affordable chateau in Picardy. Relaxed and family-friendly, the hotel doubles as a riding stable. It’s in the Somme Valley, so you’re only an hour from the ferry port at Calais and the shops at Abbeville are just a short drive away for finding unusual gifts.
WHAT IT COSTS: Bed and breakfast for two costs about £82 (£41pp per night). Stay between now and the end of February and the third night is free if you take two evening meals (dinner costs approximately £29 including wine). Go to http://www.chateau-de-behen.com/
2. CHATEAU DE FERE, CHAMPAGNE
TWO castles come for the price of one when you check into the Chateau de Fere in the Champagne region. This ancient castle, built in 1206 by a grandson of King Louis VI, is a romantic ruin and the backdrop for wedding photos when people stay at the “new” 16th Century Hostellerie du Château.
It’s a real fairytale-style chateau in a 175-acre estate and it has all the posh trimmings, from crystal chandeliers and panelled walls to 20,000 bottles of French wine in its cellars. There’s a tennis court and pool plus a golf course right next door. But if you fancy getting away from all that history, you’re just a short ride from Disneyland for a day out with Monsieur Mouse.
WHAT IT COSTS: Three nights’ B&B in November starts from £293.50pp when two share including ferry crossings onSeaFrance between Dover and Calais. Go to http://www.seafranceholidays.com/
3. TRIANON PALACE, VERSAILLES
LET everybody eat cake when you stay at the Trianon Palace in the centre of Versailles. The five-star palace is just across from the famous Château de Versailles and on the edges of the chateau gardens.
Check yourself in for some right royal treatment at the Spa Guerlain and book dinner at the gourmet restaurant run by TV chef Gordon Ramsay (but there’s the La Veranda brasserie if his sauces and prices are a bit rich). And you’re only 20 minutes from central Paris on the train when you stay at this hotel.
WHAT IT COSTS: A night’s B&B at the five- star Trianon costs £95.75pp when two share this month and next through Superbreak. See http://www.superbreak.com/ or call 0871 222 3055.
4. THREE MUSKETEERS, ST OMER
BUCKLE every swash when you stay in a chateau named after D’Artagnan and his three musketeers. The 19th Century Hostellerie des Trois Mousquetaires has been restored as a four-star hotel. Its dining rooms overlook the Lys Valley near St Omer in northern France.
Take a stroll around the gardens, woodland and ponds and explore the ruins of a much older fort in the grounds. The chateau was taken over by the German army during World War Two as housing for its officers and you can still see their bunker in the car park.
WHAT IT COSTS: Three nights’ B&B during November at the Hostellerie des Trois Mousquetaires start from £181.50pp when two share a room.
Price includes return crossings with SeaFrance Dover-Calais Ferries. Visit http://www.seafranceholidays.com/ for more details.
5. CHATEAU DE VERRIERES, LOIRE VALLEY
FIND out what it’s really like to live in a castle when you stay with the lord and lady of the manor on a holiday in France’s Western Loire.
Chateau de Verrieres is owned by an aristocratic family who are anything but toffee-nosed – Mme de Valbray goes out of her way to make guests feel like part of the family.
You are hidden away in four acres of gardens but only a short stroll from the centre of historic Saumur, where you can shop in the pedestrianised streets for chocs or hunt for bargains in the Saturday market.
WHAT IT COSTS: Chateau de Verrieres rooms start from £33pp per night when two share. Go to http://www.chateau-verrieres.com/
6. CHATEAU DE LA MOTTE FENELON, CAMBRAI
DINNER in the vaulted wine cellar is part of the castle experience when you stay at the 19th Century Château de la Motte Fenelon. Dinner in Les Douves restaurant starts from £21. Stroll around the 30-acre estate and stop for a breather beneath trees hundreds of years older than the chateau.
The building is the work of Jacques Hittorf, the great architect who designed the Place de la Concorde in Paris. It’s in the historic town of Cambrai, only two hours’ drive from Calais. You can work off all that French food with a session in the gym or tennis court.

Praguescape: Brewery lofts in Holešovice nearing completion

2008-11-04T00:16:00.000-08:00

By Kristina Alda /
pdm /
November 4, 2008 The extensive project promises luxury lofts and apartments whilst retaining the industrial character of the original complex.

Prague has a plethora of great industrial spaces, and for a long time it seemed developers here were ignoring the potential of transforming some of these spaces into into new, functional apartments, lofts, offices or studios.
This is definitely changing. With most historical buildings downtown restored and taken up, developers have started moving further afield – first to Karlín and shortly therafter to Holešovice.
Not all of these projects are as successful as they could be. Check out the ongoing Cornlofts project in Karlín, where the developer gutted an entire building that once housed a granary, leaving only the external walls intact. The original character of the building has been irrevocably lost.
That's not the case with První pražský měšťanský pivovar, the city brewery and its surrounding properties in Holešovice. Officially called A7 Holešovický pivovar, the ING Real Estate Development project involved the reconstruction of the industrial landmark as well as the erection of three new buildings. The project, part of which was bought up by the investment company Pramerica Finanacial last year, is extensive, yet somehow the brewery and its immediate surroundings appears connected to the industrial neighbourhood of Prague 7 where it stands. It includes offices, retail space, as well as apartments and lofts.
This month the first apartments will be ready. The lofts should be complete next March.
The final phase of the reconstruction of the brewery itself was completed last month. Renowned architects Frank Ghery, one of the authors of the Dancing House, and Jean Nouvel, who designed the Zlatý Anděl building in Smíchov, were involved in the brewery reconstruction along with the architectural studio CMC architects. This involved a facelift for the facade, revealing the inner construction and restructuring the interior so that it could carry out new functions. The architects strove to preserve the industrial character of the building, and it seems that they have succeeded. The space looks clean, modern and functional, with plenty of natural light.
The brewery, which only stopped producing beer 10 years ago, was founded in 1895 as the biggest brewery in Prague at the time, set to compete with well-established breweries in Plzeň and Velké Popovice. The brewery prospered in the early part of the 20th century, producing the popular 15-degree Ležák Primátor and the dark 15-degree Kardinál. With the advent of the communist regime, it became part of a large, state-owned network of breweries, and the quality of the beer declined, according to the Prague 7 municipal web site. The brewery experienced a brief rebirth after 1989, focusing on the production of dark beer – until it became the site of the A7 Arena Holešovický pivovar project.

Land preservation budget to plummet

2008-10-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Christopher Carey CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE

ANNAPOLIS The state's budget for land preservation will plummet dramatically in the next few years, falling more than $100 million by 2010, according to statistics released at a meeting of the Maryland joint subcommittee on program open space and agricultural land preservation.
The loss of funds could make it more difficult for the state to purchase and preserve undeveloped land.
The projected loss combines new estimates for fiscal 2010 from the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture, the two agencies most responsible for purchasing undeveloped land.
"We have to acknowledge ... that we don't have the funding," Shaun Fenlon, director of the Department of Natural Resources Land Acquisition and Planning Unit, said at a meeting Tuesday.
James Conrad, executive director of the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, said the weak real estate market is to blame for the drop in funding.
The foundation, like the Department of Natural Resources, generates most of its land acquisition revenue from real estate and agricultural transfer taxes and purchases land rights to limit development of agricultural areas.
The reason the foundation is predicting lower funding in the next few years is because it has to repay excess spending from last year, Mr. Conrad said.
"We overspent in 2007," he said. "That was when the bottom opened in the real estate market."
The foundation expected $91 million in funding last year, but revenue came up short by $30 million, according to the foundation's statistics. This is because its budget is based on an estimate of what transfer taxes will be in future years.
Last year's estimate did not account for the ensuing housing crisis, and the foundation spent more than it actually had on hand. It has to repay the difference by 2010.
The Department of Natural Resources Land Acquisition and Planning Unit faces similar funding shortfalls.
Despite the bleak outlook, the meeting focused on ways that land preservation work could continue to move forward with success.
"Landowners are much more willing to talk to us," said Mr. Fenlon.
He pointed out that prices for undeveloped land have dropped recently, and that landowners have become more willing to sell to the state.
"When the real estate market is hot, we have money but people are not as anxious to put their property in, and what we get is expensive," said Mr. Conrad. "When the real estate market is cool, we don't have money and people are anxious to put their properties in."
In addition, the cost to purchase land has fallen to approximately $4,500 per acre, down from almost $6,000 last year.
"We can still be very successful, because I don't see the real estate markets changing in the next couple of years," said Mr. Fenlon.

Caribbean’s real estate still strong

2008-10-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

The Caribbean is still a favourite destination for hard pressed bankers who may not exactly be on the breadline but have certainly had to tighten their belts. The real estate market is still buoyant in this region too.

Bankers, once at the top of the tree, have become scapegoats. But are the City boys suddenly all broke? Not at all.
Bonuses this year may contain more stock and less cash, but they will still materialise. Today’s investors, however, are risk–averse – and that includes bankers.
The word from Wall Street is that the cash–rich will quietly keep investing. Over the past month, prospective Caribbean buyers have been inquiring about falling asking prices and pushing for lower offers to be accepted. This is premature, however. “Prices have not come down yet,” says Georgina Richards, of Knight Frank’s Caribbean office.
As the winter sun season gets under way next month, buyers will look for solid investment opportunities in Antigua, Barbados and the Bahamas, the three historically sturdy Caribbean markets.
Good returns are ensured by the steady stream of direct flights that keeps these islands at the top of the tourism pecking order.
Antigua is a favourite among City professionals because the eight–hour flight time is one of the shortest from London to the Caribbean, making it a feasible quick getaway.
Barbados is just as accessible, but rather crowded – which benefits investors and makes it the most trusted market for resale and rental return.
Barbados is the premier spot for buying into a sporting estate and is the only Caribbean country to appear on Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index, in twelfth place.
British buyers regard it as safe, thanks to its familiar legislation, which is replicated in Antigua and Grenada.
For American bankers the Bahamas are still the top choice and the Turks and Caicos archipelago a close second.
Both countries are near enough to New York to be prime weekend–home hotspots. Turks and Caicos is quieter than the Bahamas but is still a favourite on Wall Street.
Beyond these mainstay markets, the small island of Nevis is adored by the banking communities on both sides of the Atlantic. It is harder to reach so is more exclusive.
Demand there continues to creep higher while supply is limited by strict development regulation. St Kitts is similarly desirable and both islands are favoured by the richest individuals and celebrities.
Although the pool of buyers remains ready to invest in the Caribbean, developers will have to work hard to secure their interest.
The three defining factors that determine success in this market are a history of similar projects, a brilliant word–of–mouth reputation and solid financing.
“Branded developments that have previously established a good name will do well in this market,” observes Julian Cunningham, a senior negotiator for Knight Frank International Residential Developments. He believes that now, more than ever, investors need to feel that they can trust the management of a project.
Two new resorts, one in Antigua and one in Turks and Caicos, have these credentials and are successfully winning buyers through personal recommendations. Hodges Bay Club, on the north coast of Antigua, has made all its sales to date through word–of–mouth.
Only three investors so far are young City boys. At the Turks & Caicos Sporting Club, on Ambergris Cay, a private island on the edge of the Atlantic, almost a quarter of investors work in banking. David Rosenblum, a Goldman Sachs employee, bought a plot on Ambergris Cay after hearing that one senior partner in Goldman Sachs had bought the entire southern tip of the island for $14 million (£7.5million).
“I figured that was a fairly strong indicator that it was a sound investment,” he jokes.
Thanks to the herd mentality among bankers, known to be strongest at Goldman Sachs, many investors are Wall Street colleagues.
“Several bankers have bought this summer. It was our best summer to date, with over $20 million worth of sales,” says Stephen Schram, chairman of DPS, the company behind the project.
Both resorts offer the holy grail of Caribbean property: beachside homes. “Beachfront properties always hit their asking prices because they are so hard to come by,” says Richards.
Asking prices at the Hodges Bay Club start at $1.3 million. There are 113 hotel suites and luxury flats on an eight acre site.
The sleek and minimal design, by the Syntax Group, incorporates modern Italian furnishings. The units are closely built in a series of blocks and the feel is conventional. Ambergris Cay is less built–up, with colonial–style villas along the shore amid scrub and cacti that give it a real desert–island look.
Prices start at $600,000 for membership and a plot of land, which is effectively shared ownership of the island. The cay’s party piece is a 5,700ft private airstrip, the longest in the Caribbean, which can handle the biggest private jets. There will also be a deepwater marina for yachts of up to 200ft.

http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1034255

Paris Hilton: 'I'll be a Mom in 20 Years'

2008-09-21T03:41:00.000-07:00

Paris Hilton knows where she wants to be in 20 years time -- a mom with a couple of kids.
The socialite -- who is currently dating Good Charlotte rocker Benji Madden -- insists she is willing to give up her party-girl lifestyle to raise a family.
When asked where she sees herself in 20 years time, Paris said, "I'll probably be a mom with a couple of kids. I'd love to have a big family. Running my business and not traveling so much.
"I'll be in a lot of real estate businesses and hotels then. I'll be running my business from home."
And the first thing Paris thinks about when she wakes up in the morning? "I always think about what I dreamed," Hilton explains. "I write down my dreams. I feel it is your subconscious talking to you.
"Then I think of my schedule which is going to be so hectic. And I feel so happy, lucky and blessed that I have this life and what I can do to be a better person every day."

Vertex Locates US HQ in Dallas After Acquiring Area Firm

2008-09-15T04:31:00.000-07:00

Sept 15, 2008By: Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent

With a cost of doing business below the national average in the Dallas area combined with the recent acquisition of a Dallas firm, global outsourcing firm Vertex Outsourcing plans to move its new U.S. corporate headquarters to the Dallas suburb of Richardson in October. The firm leased 37,300 square feet of office space in Richardson Commons (pictured) and plans to move about 220 employees into this location. The move follows Vertex’s July 29 acquisition of Alliance Data Systems Corp., acquiring that company’s utility services component. which provides billing systems, professional services and process outsourcing to utilities in the United States and Canada. The addition of Alliance Data’s utility services to Vertex’s existing utilities business resulted in a service provider with 2,500 utilities professionals in 18 centers in the U.S. and Canada. The new Vertex utilities organization will serve more than 70 electric, gas, water and retail energy providers. Corporations’ growth is the main cause of optimism in the Metroplex, according to Forbes magazine. And recent business growth in Texas is due to cheap land, weaker unions, no state income tax and the ease of receiving tax breaks, according to Grubb & Ellis Co.'s Office Market Trends report for Dallas/Fort Worth for the second quarter. However, the state’s cost of doing business is just below the national average, due to higher local electric bills. The true source of business growth lies within the sustained population growth, which has averaged 180,000 residents each year since the year 2000 due to migration and higher birth rates. Newer companies lead to tech startups, service companies and medical centers. More college graduates are moving to North Texas due to the stronger local economy and additional opportunities for employment, according to the report. Texas recently passed New York’s 55 Fortune 500 companies with 58, the most in the nation. Texas remains number one on the Fortune 1,000 list with 113 companies, with 103 in California, and 93 in New York. Forbes predicts that the state of Texas will add approximately 2 million more residents over the next five years, according to the report. Lease negotiations were handled by Susan Arledge and Jeff Pappas of Arledge Partners Real Estate Group, representing Vertex, and Rodney Helm of CAPSTAR Commercial, representing the owners of Richardson Commons, Westmount Realty Capital, Baker Equity Holdings L.L.C. and Pegasus Ablon Properties. Richardson Commons is a 200,000-square-foot office complex situated in a campus setting in the heart of Richardson. In 2008, the ownership completed more than $1 million in capital improvements to the property. Vertex was founded in 1996 as a subsidiary of British utilities provider United Utilities Plc. Vertex employs some 9,000 people in the U.K., U.S., Canada and India, serving clients in utilities, financial services, retail, telecommunications, travel and the public sector.

Sneak peek at stunning new PCC market

2008-09-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

The ninth -- and biggest -- branch of PCC Natural Markets is set to open at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Sept. 3, and I asked to get a preview of the place this morning as an army of staffers worked on the finishing touches.
I don't know if the PCC folks would take this as a compliment or a ding, but, in terms of eye candy, the spacious new Edmonds branch kept making me think of Whole Foods. (Except for the well-stocked bulk foods department, which made me think of Central Market.)
I was expecting the local peaches and the fresh figs and the bulk organic cinnamon and the grind-your-own peanut butter. Honestly, though, before today, the words "PCC" and "pizza oven" and "made-on-site sushi" never went together in my head.

I think this PCC will be a destination market for a broader food-loving audience, rather than a neighborhood market or a focus for the hard-core natural foods customer. At the least, it will be a destination for its classroom space, which is equipped for students to cook hands-on as well as watching an instructor at work.

At 25,252 square feet, the store feels roomier and more expansive than most PCCs. The store's got lots of natural light; a gorgeous, 95-percent-organic produce department, a killer cheese case and cheese counter, a more sizable wine department than other branches, the chain's first fresh seafood counter, a big deli and prepared foods section, a gelato counter serving Procopio, and walls of bulk food bins, plus a bigger-than-usual selection of all the standard packaged goods and the usual local-organic focus. It's got almost everything, in short, except high-fructose corn syrup. (It's missing the depth of ethnic foods that I see at Central or, of course, a Uwajimaya or Ranch 99, and it doesn't have the cheapest prices in town, but that's another debate.)

Some of the features the PCC folks are most proud of are the parts that most customers won't see; the environmental and social features of the store. Gutting the old Albertson's that used to be on the site yielded 109 tons of junk -- 97 percent of which was recycled, said spokeswoman Diana Crane. Instead of going to landfills, uses instead included bringing clean insulation to United Way to help rebuild homes damaged in the Chehalis floods. The PCC roof was designed to collect rainwater, which is stored in a 4,500-square-foot tank (which itself was purchased used). The water will be used to flush store toilets and water the landscaping, reclaiming some 160,000 gallons per year. Builders lowered the heights of the counters and opened up walls, which will let customers easily talk with and watch the butchers and deli workers and other staff. There could have been six more prime parking spaces in the lot instead of that rock "garden" below, but it's actually one of two planting areas meant to capture and clean water runoff from the sloped lot, filtering out oil and debris.

Tenants Hope Late Mayor Can Save Building

2008-08-25T04:26:00.000-07:00

By Jorge Casuso
August 25 – A group of rent control tenants facing eviction are hoping Santa Monica’s late mayor Clo Hoover once carried enough clout at City Hall to still stop the wrecking ball.
The tenants must make the case that Hoover -- who was the first woman to serve as mayor -- is an important enough local figure to warrant landmark status for the 47-unit garden apartment building she owned and lived in, conducting important City business in her penthouse suite overlooking the Pacific.
The decision by the Landmarks Commission, which is scheduled to hear the item next month, will help determine the fate of the tenants, many of them seniors, remaining in some two dozen units who must leave the building under the Ellis Act by March to pave the way for 25 luxury oceanfront condos.
“Our feeling is that if it gets landmarked, that they (the owners) will probably withdraw the Ellis filing,” said Ty Wapato one of the tenants who declined a buyout offer.
“The cards have been dealt,” said Wapato, who as a senior has a year, instead of 120 days, to move out. “We’re going to play the hand.”

The battle between the tenants – many of whom pay between $500 and $800 a month to live on prime real estate on Ocean Avenue near San Vicente Boulevard – and the building’s owners will likely reach the City Council, with the losing party sure to appeal the Landmarks decision.
The tenants have recently stepped up the fight against real estate giant Trammell Crow and local developer Michael Rahimi, whose plans to enter into a development agreement with the City was scheduled to make its first stop at the Planning Commission before Landmarks stepped in.
The tenants have filed complaints with City officials, charging the property owners with “a laundry list of serious building code violations and violations of the rent control ordinance,” according to an email sent by tenant Steve Dietrich to City staff dated July 29.
Both Trammell Crow and Rahimi did not return The Lookout’s repeated calls for comment.
Tenants charge that the owners yanked the on-site manager, stored building materials in individual garages, neglected the landscaping and shut off ventilation in the laundry room.
“Over the past 8 years the owners have failed to maintain the building and generally have only responded to demands from the City,” Dietrich wrote.
“Numerous interior demolition and construction projects were done without permits (as has been admitted by ownership) and without the testing required prior to demolition.”
The tenants also have launched a web site, pored over historical documents and gathered testimonials to make the case that Hoover, who served as mayor in 1973, was a major player whose key political moves were crafted in the nondescript mid-century building.
“There is no arguing the important role Clo Hoover played in the way Santa Monica faced the challenges of the 20th Century,” the tenants wrote on their web site. “The significance of Clo Hoover is but one of the ample reasons for saving this building.”
The tenants have interviewed friends, family members and council colleagues who recall attending meetings at the Hoovers’ home where key issues – including fighting offshore oil drilling, banning jets at Santa Monica airport and opposing an offshore causeway – were discussed. ("The Road in the Sea," September 28, 2003, a four-part special report)
Guests at the Hoover home, where she and her husband Chester Hoover raised five children, included such dignitaries as Congressman Ray Haynes, bandleader Lawrence Welk and composer Hoagy Carmichael, according to her son Dudley Hoover.
The tenants’ research seems to counter the findings of a preliminary report by Peter Moruzzi, the architectural historian hired by the City to help determine whether the building is worthy of landmark designation.
“Given the particular significance of Clo Hoover as an elected official important to Santa Monica’s history,” Moruzzi wrote, “a strong argument can be made that it is actually City Hall, not her longtime residence, that best reflects Clo Hoover’s contributions to Santa Monica.”
Tenant Dish Taylor says the residents “have a lot of evidence now that she did conduct a lot of business from her home.”
At their July 14 meeting, the Landmarks Commissioners “were especially wanting to spend more time to more thoroughly evaluate that association (with Clo Hoover),” said Roxanne Tanemori, the Planning Department’s liaison to the commission.
Several Santa Monica landmarks, Tanemori said, achieved their designations because they were directly tied to historical figures – including Senator John P. Jones, a founder of Santa Monica; cosmetics mogul Merle Norman and several distinguished architects.
But none was a strictly local figure from the city’s recent past, Tanemori said.
“Suffice it to say that this is a unique type of analysis we don’t do often,” she said.
The Hoover connection could be the tenants’ only hope. The City’s architectural historian seems to disagree with the contention on their web site that the building is a “gem of Mid-20th Century California Garden apartment architecture.”Built in 1952 and extensively renovated six years later, the building no longer reflects architect Joe M. Estep’s “design, workmanship and materials,” according to Moruzzi.
“As a typical but unremarkable example of the vernacular Modern style,” the consultant wrote, “the subject property does not appear to rise to the level of meeting the City’s criteria related to architectural merit.”

Buying a Second Home in a Sagging Market Can Be a Challenge

2008-08-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

It’s a buyer’s market when it comes to real estate, so you’d think buying a second home would be a breeze. But that’s not always the case.You may run into things like unpaid maintenance fees, hidden property damage and delayed closing dates. Sellers struggling to make mortgage payments also are often in arrears on property taxes and other obligations such as municipal permits for construction.The seller's lender, for example, might agree to take a lower price, but refuse to pay the back taxes. Haggling over things like that can seriously drag out the time before closing.To avoid any problems, a title search is a must. Hiring an experienced real-estate attorney or title company to do the search is critical.Getting a home inspected is also particularly important when buying from a homeowner who is financially strapped. An inspector will assess damage, but a seller who is struggling to meet mortgage payments isn't likely to be able to cover repairs -- so prospective buyers have to decide whether they are willing to foot the bill. Thinking about buying a condo? Make sure the condo association is solvent when considering buying a condo unit. Maintenance fees may have gone unpaid if not, and buyers may end up forking over hefty fees to keep it afloat. In general, home buyers should be ready for lengthy negotiations and more than the usual share of setbacks when getting a bargain on a second home. These often arise when a distressed seller puts a home on the market without telling his lender. – By Ed Coury, senior editor and Midwest bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal Radio Network, Dow Jones & Co., and a reporter for WWJ Newsradio 950.

North Avenue development gets a new face

2008-08-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about this city is it’s motley patchwork of neighborhoods and the surprises that await just a block or two off the beaten path. I was greeted by one such a surprise Saturday after a daydream landed me several blocks south of Safeway along North Avenue.
On the corner of Calvert and North, just a couple streets off my weekly route up Charles Street in an area I used to pass more frequently, I saw the surprising sheer skin of a steel and glass façade, startling in juxtaposition with the weathered and stained stones and missing windows of other buildings in the 100 block of E. North Avenue.
According to Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation,143 E. North Avenue was purchased by Renaissance Real Estate Development, LLC for $143,000 in Nov. 2006. The owner received approval of a zoning appeal last July to build three dwelling units on the upper three floors, according to permits issued by the city.

That’s got to be about 5,000 square feet for each unit, more than 3 times the size of my two story row house – this on a block with abandoned and dilapidated brownstone mansions.

An after-hours phone call to Renaissance was not returned, but according to a cached solicitation of $1 million funding posted to GoBigNetwork.com in April, the company is “an emerging provider of real estate services, including investments, general contracting, property management and consulting.”

“Renaissance buys residential and commercial buildings in need of repair below market value, renovates them to market conditions and then sells or leases such properties,” the post reads. “We only purchase properties that show significant signs of short-term appreciation.”

A block and a half off the Station North arts corridor, past the KFC, owner Michael Spencer may only have seen profit in his endeavor, but Renaissance Real Estate Development could very well have unwittingly turned the corner for development along the North Avenue business corridor that otherwise shows little change for the better between Charles and Broadway.

Giant steel and glass condos, a change for the better? Some might ask. With a building that had emergency permits for a crumbling brick façade last April, a modern touch in a historic block is worlds better than a vacant lot.

Tony Hamptons Town Running Up Deficit

2008-08-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

East Hampton, one of the main towns on the eastern end of Long Island that make up the Hamptons, is burdened with a deficit that could exceed $12 million. And that has become a rich source of irony, given the community's spectacular wealth and its concentration of Wall Street money-management talent.
"LEA$T HAMPTON IS GOING BROKE; GLAM TOWN $12M IN THE HOLE," screamed a recent New York Post headline.
Exactly how the town got into this mess is under investigation. The state comptroller is reviewing the books, and the district attorney has subpoenaed records.
Town Supervisor William McGintee acknowledged making mistakes since taking office in 2004 but said he is also a victim of economic circumstances, including rising health care costs for employees and waning tax revenue because of the downturn in real estate.
"Everybody perceives East Hampton to be the home of the rich and famous," said McGintee, the target of a petition drive to remove him from office. "When the summer's over, it's just the same old town just like all these other towns."
While East Hampton is home to billionaires and celebrities such as financier Ronald Perelman, Alec Baldwin and Steven Spielberg, the Hamptons also have a large number of working-class people, many of them illegal immigrants, who mow the lawns, trim the hedges, clean the swimming pools, park the cars, serve the hors d'oeuvres, tidy up the mansions and do many of the other things that make life so enjoyable for the rich.
East Hampton -- which includes such hamlets as Montauk and Amangansett and parts of Sag Harbor -- has about 21,000 year-round residents, but its population can swell to 80,000 or 90,000 in the summer, when the haves and the have-mores show up.
"There really are two Hamptons," said McGintee's predecessor, Jay Schneiderman. "The disparity between rich and poor is probably unmatched anywhere in the world. You have the heads of multinational corporations, billionaires, but of the year-round population, half the work force are undocumented immigrants living below the poverty level."
The wealthy do pay huge property-tax bills. But East Hampton has also been very generous to residents of all income levels.
The town operates its own airport, where Learjets and helicopters shuttle the beautiful people to their playgrounds. East Hampton also spends $100,000 a year for a day-care program for working families and $710,000 annually for free YMCA membership for all the town's children. A theater group for the handicapped gets $30,000 a year, and there are nutrition and transportation programs for senior citizens.
The town replenishes its harbors with clams, oysters and scallops and recently bought $100,000 worth of beach rakes to keep the shoreline clean. In the fall, residents do not have to bag and dispose of their leaves themselves; the town lets homeowners rake them to the curb, where a giant vacuum truck sucks them up and hauls them away at a cost estimated by McGintee at $300,000 to $400,000 a year.
Over the years, town leaders have been reluctant to raise taxes, because that could harm the many working-class folks struggling to pay their bills, and hurt the politicians on Election Day, too. But now they may have to cut services and increase taxes after all.
"We need to explore all avenues of savings," McGintee said. "I don't mind providing the programs, but what the general public has to understand is that we don't manufacture money here."

Amplio negotiates with foreign funds over hotel investment

2008-08-09T04:04:00.000-07:00

The Amplio Real Estate Investment and Development Company has caught the attention of many foreign investors interested in partnership, beginning negotiations with seven foreign funds. The company's primary objective is to grow to 100 hotels in the field of urban hotels and provide employment opportunities for 10,000 people within 10 years.
Alaeddin Babaoğlu, who established the company after working abroad in the field of hotel investments for 30 years, noted that the company had acquired the necessary credentials concerning the know-how, experience and financing of hotel management. “We are trying to make a choice among seven foreign funds at the moment. This partnership, which will be established by the end of 2008, will bring the company revenues of $1.5 billion. We will be able to open Hilton Garden Inn hotels in 81 cities of the country by means of this revenue,” said Babaoğlu.
The company, which has signed an agreement with the Hilton Hotels Corporation for the construction of 20 Hilton Garden Inn hotels within five years, plans to bring world-renowned brands in the field of hotel management to Turkey. “We have been expanding in Turkey at a consistent and fast pace,” said Babaoğlu, and added that in the beginning the company had difficulty finding appropriate land for hotel construction at favorable prices. “The land prices were extremely high because we had to compete with companies that would construct residences and shopping centers. However, the prices decreased up to 300 percent in the aftermath of the stagnation in the sector,” Babaoğlu said.
He said the company has purchased nine building plots in Istanbul, Bursa, Manisa, Çorlu, Çorum, Malatya, Konya and Trabzon so far, adding that they plan to open 20 hotels by 2012. Babaoğlu said that in the first stage they would invest $350 million. “We have increased our objective of the construction of 20 hotels to the construction of 81 hotels. We focus on all the cities in the country to which people travel for business,” Babaoğlu said. “We are extremely concerned about constructing hotels boasting advantageous transportation facilities. We will build Hilton hotels that will encompass restaurants, bars, gyms and business centers with at least a 160-room capacity,” he added.

MENA region sees the greatest improvement in real estate transparency in comparison to rest of the world

2008-07-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

INTERNATIONAL. Jones Lang LaSalle, the world's leading real estate investment and advisory firm today released the Real Estate Transparency Report 2008, for the MENA region. Jones Lang LaSalle is the pre-eminent investment advisor in the global real estate industry with 180 offices worldwide and has worked in 25 countries in the MENA region on projects worth US$200 billion and on transactions in excess of US$1.2 billion.
Findings of the report showed that Dubai registered the greatest improvement in real estate transparency globally over the last two years, and is also the region’s most transparent market. The report defines ‘transparent markets’ as those that are open and easier to do business with the components of transparency encompassing transaction processes, the regulatory and legal environment, market fundamentals and performance measurements. Other factors such as the accessibility of listed vehicles are also assessed.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Transparency report appears every two years and has been produced since 1999. It is the only such report specifically focussing on real estate markets and covers 82 markets around the world. Each market is classified as being in one of five tiers ranging from ‘Tier 1’ for highly transparent markets, down to ‘Tier 5’ for markets defined by the report as ‘opaque’. Dubai is at the top end of ‘Tier 3’, classifying the Emirate as ‘Semi Transparent’. Bahrain and Abu Dhabi closely follow, also classified in the third tier. Dubai’s position as the most transparent of the MENA markets puts it ahead of other emerging economies such as those of the BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Better than China, India and most of Russia, Dubai’s transparency index score exceeds the other BRIC markets.
“Transparency in real estate markets matter,” says Blair Hagkull, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle MENA. “It matters to investors as it provides the basis for their investment strategies and it then informs decision making. It matters to occupiers and tenants because it provides certainty and reduces risk. It is no coincidence that the most valuable real estate assets in the world are located in some of the world’s most transparent markets such as the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and France.”
Typically, more transparent markets are characterised as being less risky, having more sales activity and occupier demand, greater foreign investment and less volatility.
The report also highlighted the growing trend towards greater transparency throughout the MENA region. Saudi Arabia and Egypt both saw improvements since 2006 and are amongst the top ten most improved markets globally. However, MENA, despite the greatest improvement as a region, remains the least transparent of the regions covered by the report (MENA, EU, Americas and Asia Pacific) indicating significant scope for further improvement.
“Key factors such as the establishment of RERA by the Dubai government and new laws such as the Strata Law and the Landlord and Tenant Law have catapulted Dubai to the position as the most transparent of the MENA markets,” said Craig Plumb, Head of Research, Jones Lang LaSalle MENA. “These trends have been emulated in other states of the Gulf, most notably Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the second and third most transparent markets of the region respectively.
Saudi Arabia is the sixth most improved market globally,” he added.
The Jones Lang LaSalle Transparency Index covers 82 markets, rated against five transparency tiers. Some 32 questions designed to measure transparency objectively are put to each market.
See also http://www.joneslanglasalle.com/

ZSML secures new projects worth Dhs250m

2008-07-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

Dubai-based construction company ZSML is celebrating the completion of its first year of business by signing two key contracts worth Dhs250m - Seven Tides' Ibn Battuta Gate Spa and the Nakheel's Deira Palm, Sales Centre.

The projects, which are due to be completed in the second quarter of 2009 and December 2008 respectively, confirm ZSML's distinct commitment to quality and ensuring on-time delivery. The Ibn Battuta Gate Spa development will be a 73,060 sq ft luxury spa destination and form part of the Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel located adjacent to Ibn Battuta Mall. Designed by Arketipo, a Turkish architecture firm, the Spa concept will be derived from both Islamic and Ottoman cultures.
'The UAE is home to the largest real estate projects market in the Gulf with 37% of the $2 trillion being invested across the Gulf happening here. We launched ZSML as a distinct offering in this space and the new projects secured in 2008 vindicate its success to date and aggressive expansion plans,'said HE Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi, Executive Chairman of Zabeel Investments. 'The construction and development industry in the region is blighted with delays and question marks over quality. ZSML was established to play a dynamic role in the growth of the UAE construction industry,' he added. Malcolm Ross, Seven Tides' COO added, 'The rapidly growing region requires anticipating the market needs in order to answer demand in the timeliest way. Seven Tides made the choice to work with different international key players such as ZSML, a company that shares our commitment to high quality world-class facilities.' Also designed by Arketipo, the Palm Deira Sales Centre is a 178,142 sq ft project worth Dhs165m. It will serve as Nakheel's sales office on the massive Deira Island Front, due for completion in December 2008. The design of the building integrates both modern elements and local architectural styles. The sales centre will accommodate up to 450 staff and will be a state-of-the-art facility offering the best in customer and sales services. 'The strength of our company stems from its workers and their focus on delivering quality projects on time,' said Levent Kutulu, General Manager of ZSML. 'Our goal in the coming 12 months with these projects is to maintain our track record of on-time delivery. Across the sector risk management, quality and imbalance in projects remain a challenge - we are focused on not succumbing to these issues and focusing on excellence,' he added. ZSML Construction was launched in 2007 as a joint venture between Zabeel Investments and Sembol Construction. Its flagship project to date has been the eagerly anticipated Ottoman Palace Hotel and Resort on the crescent of Palm Jumeirah.

The where and how of hanging art

2008-07-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

Location, location, location. What holds true for real estate is the rule when it comes to hanging art. It is more than just a sophisticated leap from the refrigerator to the wall, and more than just hammering a nail - as many of you can attest after having poked numerous holes in your plaster looking for the right spot.
While it is not overly complicated, the art of hanging art eludes many of us. Where you hang it is as critical as how you hang it, and placement should take into account the wall, the surrounding furniture and the other works of art.
A key principle to keep in mind is that the artwork to be displayed, regardless of whether it is free-standing sculpture or a painting, is part of an overall design element.
Think of the entire wall and the entire room as one composition. The size and shape of the wall should also guide your design aesthetic.
A tall, skinny wall is more appropriate for a long, narrow image, a vertical arrangement of smaller pictures or a wall hanging.
Don’t overlook such spaces as corners, over doorways or archways.
You can showcase one piece or go for impact by displaying a large group of paintings, sometimes referred to as “salon style” which can be a dramatic way to decorate a large wall or show off a collection of related works or objects. In general, it is good practice not to hang paintings so that they “float” on the wall; most look best when anchored over furniture or shelving. Larger pictures tend to hang best over smaller ones. For extremely large walls, oversized art offers a good solution.
Landscapes tend to open up a smaller space as they act as a window looking out to a faraway vista. Horizontal layouts tend to be calming and give the illusion of width in a narrow room, while vertical arrangements enhance the sense of height and formality. Diagonal arrangements, while dramatic, should be relegated to stairways.
Before you get ready to hang anything, have fun and experiment. Museum curators make foam core mock ups of their galleries, populating them with templates done to scale of all the works of art that need to be exhibited. In this way, they can play around with placement until they are satisfied that they have achieved maximum impact. While this is a great deal of fun, you do not have to get quite so involved. If working with a group, start by putting the pictures on the floor and moving them around until the compositions, colors, moods begin to speak to each other. If displaying works that are highly similar, a series of floral prints, for example, a symmetrical arrangement in a block of three, five or nine so that they can be viewed as a single entity might give the greatest impact. An offset arrangement works great when displaying works by various artists as it is less strict and emphasizes their uniqueness. Take this another step and create butcher paper templates of each piece, then transfer your “composition” to the wall using reusable adhesive (so as not to rip the paint from your walls), to experiment with placement.
You should also consider the long-term health of your artwork. Works on paper and canvas – whether they are photographs, posters, oils or watercolors – are light- and moisture-sensitive and care should be taken in their placement. You will be amazed at how quickly a watercolor fades to nothingness if hung in direct sunlight. Likewise, that exquisite charcoal drawing of nudes by the river’s edge that you have placed in your bathroom will, over time, be overtaken by mold. It is best to use track or spot lighting rated for artwork to highlight your prized works.

Yahoo goes Bonkers over Manny Pacquiao - Pacquiao's Popularity noted by Internet Giant

2008-07-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

By Johnny Benz, Doghouse Boxing (July 2, 2008) DoghouseBoxing.com

I can tell you over and over how popular Manny Pacquiao is getting these days, and anyone who watched him thump David Diaz this past weekend can understand why. However, me telling you how great he is doesn't mean shit, but when a website like Yahoo.com takes note... it means everything, plus the world.Shortly after Pacquiao's thrilling victory over the rugged and game Diaz, Yahoo.com took no time in turning their homepage lead story on Manny Pacquiao vs David Diaz. (See Photo from Yahoo on this Page).Yahoo.com is officially the number one page on the internet as ranked by Alexa.com and Quantcast. So if a story makes the homepage on Yahoo.com, you can bet there is no other higher piece of real estate on the net.Anytime Boxing can make the internet's homepage in Yahoo.com... you know its a good day for boxing. In order for Pacquiao to make Yahoo.com's featured story, it had to be a huge buzz. Yahoo.com utilizes search inquiries in noting which story deserves to be the featured story. So on Saturday night, make no mistake, and Yahoo.com will back me up here... Manny Pacquiao was the hottest ticket on the Planet.

ATG Turns Apartment Hunters into Renters for Apartment Guide Advertisers

2008-06-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc.), the premier provider of e-commerce software and platform neutral optimization services, today announced that Consumer Source Inc’s flagship product, Apartment Guide, a print and online resource for apartment seekers has introduced aggressive new advertising options for property managers using ATG’s eStara Form to Phone and eStara Click to Call services. Apartment Guide now offers its advertisers a real-time, personal connection with potential apartment renters across channels with text to speech or Web to phone services powered by ATG e-Commerce Optimization Services. These new services supplement Apartment Guide’s existing deployment of eStara’s Call Tracking services.
Many of the issues that are reducing the housing sector are creating demand for apartment leases as prospective homebuyers turn to the rental market. A recent report by Marcus and Millichap, a national brokerage firm specializing in real estate investments, states that apartment demand is expected to rise because of the impact of the home-buying slowdown. Recognizing how these trends are affecting local market competition for apartment rentals, Apartment Guide turned to ATG for enhanced communication tools for its advertisers. By implementing eStara Form to Phone and eStara Click to Call, Apartment Guide drives business for advertisers through an improved cross-channel experience for their prospects, quickly facilitating leads and increasing the volume of signed lease agreements.
“Being the first apartment search resource to implement eStara Form to Phone nationally will give Apartment Guide and our property management clients an advantage in capturing qualified leads,” said Arlene Mayfield, Apartment Guide president. “The ability to improve the multi-channel experience with ATG e-Commerce optimization services will help our advertisers create a more personal connection with potential renters and increase the number of contracts signed.”
Using eStara Form to Phone, Apartment Guide leverages text to speech by translating text submitted to a community via response form into a voice call and then routing it to the appropriate person, connecting the buyer with the seller immediately over the phone. Once a form is submitted via eStara Form to Phone, businesses receive information with the caller’s name and product of interest to help guide the conversation while the consumer is in buying mode. eStara Form to Phone positively impacts sales by eliminating delays between a potential renter’s online apartment query and a property manager’s reply to form closer, more personal relationships with customers.
In addition, Apartment Guide has also implemented eStara Click to Call, allowing apartment seekers to immediately speak with a property manager and receive real-time information about an online listing by simply clicking a button to connect via phone from the Web. eStara Click to Call directly engages customers with property managers, using real-time information about the caller, including data detailing the point during the transaction the customer decided to make a call, to offer a much more personalized sales experience. The combination of eStara Form to Phone and Click to Call helps close the loop between online and offline conversion of Apartment Guides community listings nationwide.
“eStara Click to Call creates a seamless, cross-channel experience for apartment seekers, and empowers property managers a view of each customer,” said Cliff Conneighton, ATG senior vice president of marketing. “Savvy multi-channel customers demand consistency across channels, and resent having to start over when they move from the Web to the phone.”
Both eStara Click to Call and Form to Phone are part of the ATG e-Commerce Optimization Services product line, which quickly and dramatically lifts conversion rates and order sizes for any e-commerce site. These on demand (SaaS) services, including automated recommendations and services that connect online shoppers to a live agent interaction, deliver the capabilities that quickly lift Web revenue, and can be deployed easily and rapidly to any Web site, even those not running on the ATG platform. ATG’s e-commerce optimization services include:
ATG Recommendations, an automated recommendations service that uses a patented technology known as “statistical relational learning” to assess what site content and product recommendations are best for a given customer. ATG Recommendations automatically delivers recommendations that incorporate the real time click-stream behavior of the visitor as it occurs.
eStara Connections Services
-- eStara Click to Call and Click to Chat improve conversion rates and order size by providing an immediate and direct bridge between a company's Web site and its sales agents. Click to Call and Click to Chat engage buyers selectively and proactively during a Web session when a buyer's behavior indicates need for a live interaction, and moves them seamlessly from the Web into live dialogue with an agent via phone or online chat.
-- eStara Call Tracking enables marketers to track inbound phone leads and more accurately measure pay-for-performance campaigns. Powered by a sophisticated IP-based infrastructure, Call Tracking brings low-cost, scalability and reliability to prove performance across channels.
About ATG
A trusted, global specialist in e-commerce, ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG) has spent the last decade focused on helping the world’s premier brands maximize the success of their online businesses. The ATG Commerce application suite is the top-rated platform for powering highly personalized, efficient and effective e-commerce sites. The company offers a line of platform-neutral, SaaS-based ATG e-Commerce Optimization Services, which can be easily added to any Web site to increase conversions and order size. ATG customers include progressive, innovative online brands like AT&T, Best Buy, Bulgari, Coca Cola, Continental Airlines, CVS, Dell, Diane von Furstenberg, DirecTV, eLuxury, El Corte Ingles, Expedia, France Telecom, Harvard Business School Publishing, Hewlett-Packard, Hilton, HSBC, Intuit, Jenny Craig, Louis Vuitton, Macy's, Mercedes Benz, Meredith, Microsoft, Neiman Marcus, New York & Company, NutriSystem, OfficeMax, PayPal, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Sears, Sony, Symantec, Target, T-Mobile, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Outfitters, Verizon, Viacom, Vodafone and Walgreens. For more information, please visit http://www.atg.com/.
© 2008 Art Technology Group, Inc. ATG and Art Technology Group are registered trademarks, and ATG Wisdom is a trademark of Art Technology Group, Inc. All other product names, service marks, and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause ATG's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important risk factors affecting ATG's business generally may be found in its periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/ . Risk factors related to the subject matter of this press release include the possibility that the ATG product deployment will not be successful, on time or significantly enhance the user's Internet experience or will not increase customer revenue across brands; that those customers leveraging ATG will not have the opportunity to increase revenue and decrease future costs; the need to adapt to rapid changes so products do not become obsolete; the possibility of errors in ATG's software products; the possibility that the solution will not make customer implementations faster or more flexible or permit the customer to meet its customer-facing or infrastructure requirements; that the ATG product will not continue to be integrated with third party applications servers or will not support all Web services enabled systems; that ATG's product strategy may change in the future; and the risks and costs of intellectual property litigation. ATG undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

IFA Hotels & Resorts launches phase two of Kempinski Residences Alabadiyah Hills in Lebanon

2008-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

LEBANON. IFA Hotels & Resorts (IFA HR) and joint venture partner Kuwait Real Estate Company announced the launch of Kempinski Residences Alabadiyah Hills, branded serviced apartments, located in the freehold Alabadiyah Hills resort in Lebanon’s picturesque Dhour Abadiyah village overlooking Beirut and the Mediterranean.
Talal Jassim Al-Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director, IFA HR stated: “Lebanon is one of the most sought after holiday destinations in the Middle East, popular among tourists from the Gulf and expatriates alike. We witnessed great success with our first phase of Alabadiyah Hills which is now nearing completion. Despite the recent unrest in Lebanon, we continued with the construction of the project as we have always had strong faith in the country. We’re looking forward to welcoming guests to the property in the near future. ”
Phase two of the mixed-use complex comprises four towers of four floors each, offering penthouses and one, two and three-bedroom apartments for sale, with all the extras of a five-star hotel and optional furniture packages. The complex will be managed by Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group, Kempinski Hotels, and will also house a number of upscale restaurants and cafes.
Piaras Moriarty, Vice President Sales Middle East, IFA HR said: “Kempinski Residences Alabadiyah Hills are branded apartments that come with an optional rental programme. Targeted at high-net worth individuals living overseas, the arrangement allows this segment of investors to holiday in their own luxurious apartments and gain an income from letting out idle properties when not in use.”
Ulrich Eckhardt, President Middle East and Africa for Kempinski Hotels said: “This project with IFA Hotels & Resorts creates an ideal platform for us to enter the Lebanese market, and will set the standard for future projects in the region. Kempinski is known for exceptionally high standards of quality and service, which is one of the main advantages for investors in this luxury residence, who would be sure to receive superior five-star services all year round.”
Alabadiyah Hills is comprised of 15 private villas, 30 townhouses and 220 luxury apartments with their own swimming pools and gardens. The development also hosts recreational facilities including a members-only health club, gymnasium and tennis court.
Al-Bahar concluded: "This is another clear message to our investors that we intend to maintain our quality integrated resort development, by partnering with Kempinski, and where we are delivering on the promise made to further invest and develop in the beautiful country of Lebanon.”
See also www.ifahotelsresorts.com

Investors rush to cash in on building boom

2008-06-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

HA NOI — Developers both foreign and domestic are rushing to build new resorts throughout Viet Nam. Luxury hotels are rising above the sands, and villas carry price tags of several million US dollars.
The development of tourism in Viet Nam has created a boom in newly built resorts across the country. Many tourism projects worth several hundred million dollars are being implemented in Viet Nam. Around 50 resort projects are waiting for licenses while 20 others are about to be built or expanded, according to statistics released the by Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
Viet Nam is bestowed with many advantages such as beautiful beaches along 3,260 km of its coastline and many cultural heritage and wildlife sites throughout the country. And while political uncertainty elsewhere in the region has been worrying potential visitors, Viet Nam has emerged as a safe and friendly destination in the eyes of foreign tourists.
Over 200 resorts currently operate in Viet Nam, mostly based in Mui Ne - Phan Thiet of Binh Thuan province, where there are approximately 100 resorts. The remainder are distributed across Ha Long, Cat Ba, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tay in the North and Da Nang, Hoi An, Thua Thien Hue, and Quy Nhon in the Central region.
According to the real estate advisory and management Company CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Viet Nam, budget flights offered by airlines such as AirAsia, Jetstar, Tiger Airways and Hong Kong Air are bringing an increasing number of tourists to Viet Nam. Moreover, visitors who travel to Viet Nam for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) purposes account for 20 per cent of the 3.6 million annual international visitors to Viet Nam. This kind of tourism demands high quality complexes including entertainment and convention centres and resorts.
Jeff Tisdall, vice chairman of Kingdom Hotel Investment Group, the investor of Raffles Danang Resort project, said that Viet Nam’s tourism market offered huge opportunities for investors because of lower investment costs compared to other countries. In addition, Viet Nam is fully eligible for construction of luxury hotels and resorts.
Hurdles such as the acquisition of sites for resort construction and licence-granting procedures have discouraged some from investing. At the same time, however, many international real estate firms are now partnering with domestic firms, marrying capital and know-how to property and human resources, in order to successfully realise new building projects.
While the number of resorts in operation is growing at a fast clip, most projects remain small-scale. There are exceptions, though, such as the Furama Da Nang, Padanus Mui Ne, Sai Gon - Phu Quoc, Kien Giang and Vinpearl Nha Trang, among others.
Vu Quoc Thai, research director of Research and Advisory Real Estate Company VietRees, said that resort owners were now beginning to offer units as time-shares. Owners can reserve their villa for a holiday whenever they like, turning a profit for the rest of the year by renting their unit out to other vacationers.
The price range for a villa falls between VND4 - 50 billion ($250,000 - 3.125 million) depending on the location and scale of the project, as well as the investor’s brand name and prestige.
More projects will be launched in Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Da Lat and Dong Nai provinces in the time to come, according to VietRees’ studies.
Viet Nam now has 30 five-star resorts nation-wide. — VNS

A Toast to Burgundy

2008-06-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

I’m writing from my hotel room in Paris. My windows are open to the fresh air, and I can hear kids playing basketball and rugby in the schoolyard – I’m surprised each time I visit to see how big rugby is in France: allez les bleus! But the clouds are out and soon it will rain. How do I know this? I arrived in France on May 23 and it has rained every single day since, including the five days I spent in Burgundy.
I’ve written my column for Wednesday’s newspaper about Burgundy. The trip reaffirmed my belief that the wines have never been better, more consistent or reliable – even from lesser vintages – than they are right now. Yet I continue to hear the shibboleth about Burgundy’s notorious unreliability.
It’s really time for that to stop. Burgundy is not to every taste. I happen to love Burgundy, but I can understand people who don’t care for it. Burgundy has lots of acidity, which can make the wine seem overly tart to some people, and it doesn’t emphasize powerful fruit flavors, although I think the subtle fruit and floral aromas and flavors in Burgundy are gorgeous. And Burgundy is not always immediately accessible, sometimes needing a few years, or in the case of the acclaimed 2005 vintage many years, before you can derive great pleasure from it.
“Of course, a lot of people want fleshy wines, with the flesh of red fruit and with no astringency, and we have to respect that,’’ Jacques Lardière, technical director of Louis Jadot, told me. Jadot wines are decidedly not fleshy and almost always, except for the for the most basic bottles, need at least 5 or 10 years of aging.
But even accounting for different tastes, it’s no longer true that Burgundy is not consistent, at least not when you choose carefully just as you have to do in every great wine region in the world. Nobody can deny how far Burgundy has come in the last 20 years: it’s evident in almost every vineyard, cellar, vigneron and bottle. The days of diluted, overly acidic Burgundy will never be completely over – “Go to the supermarket and ask for a Vosnes-Romanée and you only want to spend 10 euros, and you’ll get a bad wine,’’ Louis-Michel Liger-Belair of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair told me. But you know what? Who do you blame when somebody complains about their $10 steak?
The rebirth of Burgundy since the 1980’s is a great story. Of course, Burgundy was never dead. I’ve had plenty of great wines from the 1980’s, made at a time when Burgundy was at a low ebb. The best producers usually found a way, although some of Burgundy’s most historic names were not at the top of their games back then. I’ve had a few 1980’s bottles of Comte George de Vogüé and every one of them was a disappointment. But I had a 2000 Chambolle-Musigny, a village wine, from de Vogüé last week that sang. There’s a lot of other testimony that de Vogüé has rebounded.
The 2000 vintage, by the way, was not judged to be a very good one, but many domains made wine that, if it will not age for a long time, is absolutely delicious right now. It’s in dealing with difficult vintages that Burgundy demonstrates the most obvious progress.
In my column I discuss the major changes that have occurred over the last 20 years, spearheaded by the influential generation that came of age in the early 1980’s, including Dominique Lafon of Comtes Lafon, Christophe Roumier of Georges Roumier and Étienne Grivot of Jean Grivot. Today these guys, who are all around 50 now, are like godfathers to a next generation of talented winemakers like Benjamin Leroux of Comte Armand.
Leroux told me that, at the first harvest where he was in charge at Comte Armand, Dominique Lafon came to his winery, simply to observe what he was doing. Leroux said he was awed to be treated by Lafon as a peer. Meanwhile, Lafon recalled feeling the same way as a young man when he talked to Gérard Potel, a legendary vigneron who ran Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in Volnay. “Now I’m Gérard!’’ he told me.
Incidentally, Leroux, unlike many Burgundians, does not come from a family in the wine business. His parents ran a flower shop, and so he, by the luck of the draw, has not inherited control of any vines. Real estate prices are so high now in the Côte d’Or that one has to have access to extreme wealth to purchase land. So Leroux has done what a lot of young winemakers are doing. He’s set up a small négociant business, buying grapes and then turning it into wine. He has good company, with people like Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Philippe Pacalet, Dujac Fils et Père and Deux Montille.
I was really impressed with Leroux, both for his thoughtfulness and his experimental attitude. For example, Burgundy vineyards are densely planted by New World standards, with about 10,000 vines per hectare, which is about 2.47 acres. But Leroux wonders whether that is dense enough.
“We’ve only been doing it this way since phylloxera,’’ he told me. “Before phylloxera it used to be 30,000 vines per hectare. Are we sure we’re doing it the right way?’’
Considering that the phylloxera epidemic took place more than 100 years ago, that’s what I call taking the long view! But it’s also a reminder that, while we measure our winemaking history in the New World in decades, Burgundy’s is measured in millenia.
Clearly, one newspaper column, no matter how long, can barely scratch the surface of a region as complicated as Burgundy. So you’ll forgive me if I come back to the subject a couple of times in the blog and maybe even in the newspaper. As Clive Coates says in “The Wines of Burgundy,’’ his excellent new book: “Burgundy is an enigma. I have spent more than 40 years as a wine professional, first as a merchant, now as a writer. I feel I understand Bordeaux. I doubt I will ever fully comprehend Burgundy.’’
We all must face the fact that Burgundy is a cascade of complications. The appellation system, with its endless stream of confusing repetition – Gevrey-Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Chambertin, Chambertin Clos de Bèze, Griottes-Chambertin, just to cite a few appellations – frustrates consumers no end. When you think you’re getting the hang of it, and you understand that wines from Gevrey-Chambertin tend to be denser than the ethereal Chambolle-Musignys, and that Volnays tend to be more Chambolle-like, certainly compared to the more stolid Pommards, then you have somebody like Jacques Lardière come along to explain that everybody just thinks Pommards are stolid. What they don’t understand is that those are Pommards from low elevations. Pommards from high elevations tend to be much more graceful. Here, just taste this….
It’s the endless parsing of terroir that makes Burgundy both frustrating and fascinating and yes, difficult to comprehend.
“You have to come here to understand,’’ Benjamin Leroux told me. “Even growing up here and working with all these appellations I’m very far from knowing everything. You could spend 10 lifetimes here.’’

Developer Contests Outlook Report

2008-05-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

20 May 2008By John Wendle / Staff WriterFitch Ratings knocked its outlook for real estate developer Sistema-Hals from stable to negative last week because of problems with liquidity and the construction of Siemens' Moscow offices, raising concerns in the press that the construction bubble could burst.The change in outlook, Fitch wrote in the rating report release, was mainly spurred by "heightened concerns over Sistema-Hals' liquidity position, which has worsened in recent months and is now significantly weaker than previously expected."The decision comes after another of the city's top construction firms, Mirax Group, saw its ratings docked by Fitch in March, a more significant measure, which also came after what the agency called increasing liquidity problems.But analysts say media speculation that the real estate market is shaky and likely to worsen is premature, as demand continues to outstrip supply in all sectors. The problems of individual companies, they say, do not represent a danger for Moscow's ongoing building boom."My view is that this is a one-off, company-specific issue and not related to an overall market decline," said Barry Schumaker, an equity research analyst at UralSib. "I suspect that Fitch initiated this on a negative news flow about the dispute over the Siemens building project," he said. Fitch, too, has predicted that the residential and commercial sectors are relatively safe. Julian Crush, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, wrote in an e-mailed response to questions that in Moscow, the sectors would be "generally positive for the next three years."Sistema-Halls, the construction arm of billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov's Sistema holding, announced in April that it was experiencing significant cost overruns on a fixed-price contract to develop the twin-tower, 110,000-square-meter Leningradsky Towers office center, which will house the headquarters of Siemens Russia, as well as Sistema-Hals.The 27-story complex, which was supposed to be completed sometime next year, is currently only nine stories high. The developer, run by Yevtushenkov's son, Felix Yevtushenkov, is now "trying to renegotiate the contract price to pass some of these increased costs onto Siemens and/or the subcontractor," Fitch wrote in its report. Vedomosti reported late last month that the firm had raised its price to $305 million, up from the original $187 million, citing Sistema-Hals financial director Andrei Solovyov. The company's press office could not confirm the higher cost in its e-mailed response.A Siemens spokeswoman in Moscow said she was unable to comment Monday evening.The problems with the project could compound Sistema-Hals' cash difficulties, because if negotiations with Siemens prove unsuccessful, either side could cancel the contract. That would force the developer to return all advanced payments -- totaling some 64 million euros ($100 million), according Sistema-Hals -- back to Siemens on short notice.The company, however, is confident that its liquidity situation is under control. "We don't see a temporary fall in the liquidity ratio vs. the projected Fitch amount as a potential long-term concern for us," Sistema-Hals wrote. "At the moment, we are strengthening out liquidity policy, which we plan to introduce to the board of directors on [Thursday]."To deal with the situation, the company said, it will "create a 'liquidity cushion' [and] anticipatory reserves for all contract-bound cash outflows."And while there was a change in the company's outlook, its ratings remained the same. The long-term rating remained at B+, short-term at B and the national long-term at A-. Fitch said a downgrade of the firm's rating would occur if Sistema-Hals is not successful in implementing a new liquidity policy. Mirax, for its part, undertook a restructuring shortly after the downgrade, saying the move was in preparation for a possible share offer abroad and to increase the company's transparency. Mirax deputy CEO Alexander Paperno said in a statement in March that because of the restructuring, all assets belonging to Mirax Group had been consolidated in a new company, Mirax Group Holding."The decision by Fitch to place our ratings in the negative watch list is linked to this fact," Paperno said, adding that Mirax Group liabilities were fully backed by the new holding company.Sistema-Hals, while acknowledging Fitch's concerns, was adamant that it was "not experiencing difficulties," saying that despite problems in the credit market, it was confident that it could raise funds as needed."Although we realize the situation in the credit market is a tough one at the moment and fully understand the concern of the rating agency in this regard, we feel very confident that we will be able both to generate cash flow from operations, from the sale of apartments and land plots and to attract necessary additional funding to finance both immediate short-term cash needs and long-term project financing," the statement said. Analysts cautioned, however, that the construction sector could still face problems down the road if demand drops."We see the sector still booming led by demand far outpacing supply. The real market concern is if demand falls, which doesn't seem too likely in the near term," said Schumaker, of UralSib."The conditions are tighter now," said Vladimir Pantyushin, head of the economic and strategic research group at Jones Lang LaSalle. "But for developers, the market is still quite lucrative.""In my opinion, the key risk really for any real estate developer is whether they can keep a promise," Pantyushin said.Alexei Yazykov, a real estate analyst at Renaissance Capital, said "the general debt capital environment" was facing difficulties at the moment. "As a result of the so-called credit crunch, the banks are much more risk averse," he said."It's not only the credit crunch, it's also the balance sheet. It doesn't mean the company is in dire straits, but if the liquidity situation with the balance continues, it could prove to be dangerous," Yazykov said.

Michigan Chamber poll reflects business tax frustrations

2008-05-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

New polling data provides backing to advocates of quickly altering the new Michigan Business Tax that has triggered numerous complaints across the state. Nearly one-third of the respondents to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce poll said their states tax burden more than doubled under the MBT and more than one in 10 reported an increase of 300 percent or more.

While she concedes that respondents hit with a large tax increase are more apt to voice their views, the state chamber's Tricia Kinley says the polling data clearly points to a need for immediate changes. The results makes the Michigan Chamber "highly skeptical" of MBT supporters' assertion last year that seven out of 10 businesses in the state would receive a net tax decrease.
"This is just untenable," Kinley said of the increase businesses have reported as they compute first-quarter tax bills.
"The Legislature has got to mitigate this," she said.
At minimum, the Michigan Chamber wants legislators to kill a 21.99 percent surcharge on the MBT implemented late last year to replace a much-despised tax on services.
In other poll results:• More than 60 percent of the 690 business responding said the MBT is more complicated than its predecessor, the Single Business Tax;• 77 percent said they are now worse off than under the SBT;• 31 percent said they would delay or cancel wage and salary increases;• 24 percent said they would delay or cancel capital improvements;• 15 percent would move an expansion or cancel a location in Michigan;• 14 percent would lay off employees.
The Michigan Chamber believes backers of the tax miscalculated its impact on business, Kinley said. Complaints about the tax having been coming from businesses in all sectors, though the commercial real estate and construction industry have been particularly hard hit and vocal, she said.
Commercial Realtors and developers have been battling the tax, as many discover more than 200 percent hikes in tax bills.
Joshua Weiner, head of Meyer C. Weiner developers in Kalamazoo, explained his concerns before a Republican-held town meeting in Kalamazoo in April.The governor "said 77 percent of tax payers were winners" in the MBT, Weiner said.
"That 23 percent are losing far more than the 77 percent are gaining."
Al Rowe, broker at Re/Max Advantage in Kalamazoo agreed.
"It's a double whammy because the real estate market's so slow," he told the gathering.
Small business also is suffering from the changes, argued Shashin Kothawala, owner of Crystal Car Wash in Kalamazoo, who recently terminated six of his 20 employees in direct response to the MBT, he said.
"I've never done that before," Kothawala told legislators. "We want to (rejuvenate) our customer base, but we can't" invest because of the tax.
Much of the profit some companies report goes to paying down debt, he said, adding that his taxes increased 400 to 500 percent.
"Vacancy rates are going to go up. You're not going to get financing to build new buildings. There'll be less investment," Weiner added. "We don't have a lot of time."
GOP lawmakers expect to attack the MBT this year.
"There are going to be bills introduced," pledged state Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker, a Republican from Lawton. "I don't know if they will answer (everything). Those bills are going to be bipartisan."
Kinley is hopeful that lawmakers will act, especially in light of recent passage of tax breaks for moviemakers and an easing of requirements to get tax breaks from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority.
State Rep. John Proos's southwest legislative district extends to the Indiana state line and he's worried businesses may jump it unless the tax is changed.
"Michigan can't operate in a vacuum of competition," the St. Joseph Republican said. "With today's technology and communications advances, a business can exist anywhere. It's up to us as policy- makers to identify what can make Michigan as competitive as possible."
Associate editor Candace Beeke and staff writer Lynn Stevens contributed to this story.

Business immigration falls short of target

2008-05-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

Despite reduced requirements, investors shy away from B.C.
Joanne Lee-Young, Vancouver SunPublished: Monday, May 05, 2008
When B.C. first started trying to attract business immigrants through its so-called provincial nominee program, it set a very high bar, believing that candidates, with a minimum net worth of $2 million and at least $1 million to invest, would flock to life in lovely Lotusland.
But that did not happen.
In its first year, 2002, the program approved a grand total of zero applications. The next year, it eked out a scant 26 of them. Since then, requirements have been slashed and tweaked -- candidates can now commit just $200,000 if they are willing to set up shop outside Metro Vancouver -- but there is still hardly a flood of approvals in the category.

Recently, as the province celebrated the program for bringing in a total of more than 4,600 skilled workers, the same stats also show a decline in its track record for business immigrants, with a measly 61 for 2007-08.
"Certainly, we are exceeding our targets for strategic occupations. But we are falling short on our targets for business immigrants," said Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen in an interview.
By many accounts, one of the biggest deterrents to business immigration programs is competition from other provinces, and by Ottawa itself.
"We know, anecdotally, that B.C. is, in many cases, the destination of choice, even though business immigrants may come into Canada via a program in one of the other provinces where requirements are lower," said Hansen.
Specifically, he named Manitoba. It has the longest-running, most-established of these provincial nominee programs. But, more to the point, it has one of the easiest financial hurdles to clear. Candidates need only a personal net worth of $350,000 and the intention to invest $150,000.
Until last September, B.C. required candidates to invest $800,000, down from the original $1 million, but still high compared to Manitoba. Now, the threshold has been pushed lower to $400,000 for businesses within Metro Vancouver (and Abbotsford), and to $200,000 for those outside that boundary. Net-worth requirements dropped in tandem, but are still slightly higher than what Manitoba demands.
The B.C. program is generally more restrictive in other ways. "A high-net-worth individual with $800,000 can give the [federal] government $400,000, and they don't have to do anything. And they get their landed status," said Brian Tsuji, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer.
By comparison, in B.C., "you have to apply, get a work visa, and then you have two years to do what you promise. And if you don't, your work visa is not renewed. It's a two-step process, [a] more conservative approach," said Tsuji. "[In B.C.], we want to see that you have done something to earn your permanent status. Other places may be more inclined to provide the visa without as much of a testing-out period."
This is all in great contrast to an earlier heyday of investment immigration -- in particular, from Asia to B.C. in the 1990s. Large syndicates of investors, many fleeing uncertain political futures in Hong Kong and Taiwan, eagerly and controversially opened their wallets to secure Canadian passports. Even though many of the malls and hotels developed with that money, especially in the city of Richmond, still exist and commercially thrive, the oft-described "passive investment schemes" used to fund them at the time were unregulated, and rife with well-publicized fraud.

Sellers' market; Real estate in short supply, prices keep rising

2008-05-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

GARY KEAN The Western StarCORNER BROOK — Not so long ago, Corner Brook enjoyed a buyers’ market.Now the seller has the upper hand, with the supply of average-priced homes barely able to meet demand.In 2003, the average price for a home, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), was around $95,000. That average price has since jumped by roughly 40 per cent with the average price in the Corner Brook area ringing in at about $140,000.The cost of an undeveloped lot within Corner Brook has more than doubled to roughly $50,000 in the last three years or so.In the first quarter of this year, the cheapest home in Corner Brook was purchased for $85,000, while the most expensive went for $350,000.Chris Janes, senior market analyst with the CMHC’s Atlantic Market Analysis Centre, said the hike in values is a result of a prospering economy. The province’s gross domestic product is up considerably — having increased by almost eight per cent in 2007 — with government coffers flush with offshore oil revenues.That wealth, said Janes, does get spread out across Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, there have been steady increases in house prices in every major market in the province. Prices in Corner Brook jumped by 10.6 per cent from 2006 to 2007, a little higher than the provincial average growth rate of 9.6 per cent.“Another trend that has had a huge impact on smaller markets like Corner Brook or Stephenville is the worker who commutes to Alberta, bringing back all those earnings,” noted Janes. “In Stephenville last year, there were record sales for automobiles after the mill closed. That wouldn’t make sense from an economic perspective, unless some kind of external factors like that were taking place.”Darren Brake, owner of the KSAB group of companies, which includes construction and real estate affiliates, agreed the booming, oil-fueled economy of western Canada is helping turn the local economy around.“As long as the oil drips back from Alberta, the market will continue to appreciate,” said Brake, adding that oil and gas development in western Newfoundland would further boost the local economy. Some believe Humber Valley Resort has artificially driven up the cost of a house and its assessed value, which rose by 30 per cent in 2007 and is forecast to go up another 30 per cent in 2010. However, those in the business disagree. In addition to the mobile work force, retirees returning from the mainland, an infusion of government jobs and tourism are some of the real catalysts.“Obviously it’s a factor, but it is unique to the Humber Valley itself and is not having much of an impact on the overall re-sale market or new housing market in Corner Brook,” said Janes.Likewise, said Janes, the real estate market wouldn’t begin to weaken should resort developments such as Humber Valley resort fail to be a success.Wayne Smith, an agent with Royal Lepage, agreed resort-style properties are in a league of their own and have to be compared with similar locations around the world. That industry is still in its infancy here, he noted.“In the resort sector, we are competing against many exotic places in the world,” he said. “Newfoundland is considered a desired place to visit and live, but our problem is our accessibility. “These problems are being addressed and, with help from the government and the commercial community, will be solved in time.”Nonetheless, the resort’s impact cannot be totally disregarded.“That was the first step in the increase in home values,” said Heather Collins, owner/operator of Dennis GMAC Real Estate. “The Europeans came here and started buying up properties and paying top dollar. Most have since stopped buying, but the market really has not decreased.“The values are still pretty high but there have been consequences from that big spurt of activity ... Young people looking to buy their first home may have difficulty just being able to afford a new home due to their income level or just having to save more money for a down payment.”Darren Gardner of Royal Lepage said Humber Valley Resort has made it more difficult for residential construction elsewhere in the area to find skilled tradespeople who weren’t already working on the resort.“When the demand for labour went up, so did the price,” he noted. “That, in turn, drove up the cost of new construction. Of course, the existing or ‘used’ home market is directly linked to the cost of construction, so when it costs more to build a house new, used properties demand a higher price as well because the cost of replacement is higher.”The same thing applies to an increased demand in building supplies.“There are supply and demand issues with the actual supplies to build a house and the pricing of stuff like plywood and shingles and so on has dramatically increased in the last few years,” said Shawn Woodford, president of the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade.“The demand for services has also increased, so the cost of building homes these days is a lot higher than it was a few years ago. That’s supply and demand and that’s how the economy works overall.”Perhaps the major factor driving up the cost of buying a home is the shortage of preferable properties in Corner Brook. Ironically, Corner Brook used to have about 10,000 more people than it does now and no housing shortage to speak of, but the days of large families are long gone and most houses are now typically lived in by between two to four people.“When a new home hits the market now, there is a list of buyers waiting to snap up the property,” said Robin Parsons, owner of Parsons Realty and president of the Canadian Home Builders Association Western Newfoundland. “It has turned into a bidding war over certain properties.”Parsons figures there will be a large surplus of houses on the market within 20 years, as more and more of the baby boomer generation die or move into seniors’ homes. This, said Parsons, will drive prices back down.“The country now has a housing problem for the aging populations which, within five years, will be crying for accessible housing,” he said. “If that type of housing is mass produced, then their existing houses will come on to the market for the present buyers looking for a new home.”Parsons said cities and towns should be making efforts to make land available for housing projects to attract retirees looking for a new home.“I do not want my taxes to continue to increase to offset our declining population base in the city,” he said. “If anything, I would like to see more people retire here and have us contractors working 12 months of the year to keep our skilled labour force here locally.”There is just as much a shortage of houses or apartments for rent, which also contributes to the demand.“Rental space is practically non-existent and that is forcing people to buy,” said Jim Butt, who manages the Re/Max Realty office in Corner Brook. “We would like to see more houses available in the $150,000 to $200,000 range. When we have something on for $150,000, it doesn’t last very long.“Now is the beginning of the busy season and we are starting to see more listings now, as is traditional during the spring. Ones that are reasonably priced are getting snapped up. There are lots of lookers out there just waiting for the right house to come up in the location of their choice.”Woodford agreed land development, new home construction and renovation projects are all business opportunities. He said real estate is a key indicator of any economy.“It’s very positive for this particular region,” he said. “We are seeing housing starts increasing and new subdivisions opening up in the city and all the surrounding communities from Massey Drive to Pasadena to Deer Lake and wherever ... That’s good to see and it bodes well for the future.”

National survey finds housing prices remain strong

2008-05-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

TORONTO -- A national survey by Century 21 Canada brokers suggests the Canadian house market has definitely cooled but hasn't suffered the big collapses that have been experienced in some parts of the United States.
In its 2008 Spring National House Price Survey released Wednesday, the real estate franchisor looked at typical homes in 198 neighbourhoods within 66 cities across Canada.
It found that prices over the past year increased in 167 neighbourhoods, remained flat in nine neighbourhoods and declined in 21 neighbourhoods.
The survey, based on multiple listings and sold and current listings data, defined a typical home as the type of home that occurs most frequently in any given neighbourhood.
The results, said Don Lawby, Century 21 president, "reflect the solid foundations of Canada's housing markets versus the boom-bust excesses of the U.S. housing market."
The strong, stable housing prices, Lawby said in an interview, are being underpinned by "strong" consumer spending across Canada.
Lawby said he spent several weeks crossing the country talking to hundreds of realtors and found that "housing sales are easing in most communities as the economic growth rate slows."
But, he said, prices "are strong and stable nearly everywhere."
On Tuesday, the Canadian Real Estate Assocation, in an update to an earlier survey, reported that sales of existing homes fell by 6.8 per cent in the first three months of the year compared to a robust fourth quarter in 2007.
CREA attributed the decline to fewer sales in Toronto, which accounts for about 20 per cent of all existing home sales in Canada.
Activity also softened in British Columbia but remained strong in other markets, with new quarterly records for seasonally adjusted sales set in Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 117,000 units sold during the first quarter.
At the same time, the number of new listings reached a record level, the association said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, new residential listings rose 5.5 per cent over the last quarter of 2007 to 223,400 units, with new listings surging in Alberta and B.C.
Year over year, residential average prices climbed 6.4 per cent to $312,580 in the first quarter - the smallest such rise since the fourth quarter of 2001, CREA said.
The housing market in Canada, said Lawby, is based on "conservative lending practices and regulations, strong banks and Canadians' pride of ownership and diligence at building equity in their homes."
These characteristics, he said, "will sustain our housing market as Canada's economic growth rate slows" throughout the year.
Lawby said while he is "not pessismistic, I'm not exuberant about the housing market either."
"We're going to be off of last year probably seven to eight per cent in units," he said "Prices will be up maybe by the cost of living plus two to three per cent, but not much more than that."
People who have looked at real estate as double digit-price increases, "I don't think we're going to see that this year," except maybe in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
But those two provinces are small markets, that are being driven by very good economies, high commodity prices, and no housing inventory, said Lawby.
According to the survey, prices for typical homes have increased over the past year as much as 57 per cent to $330,000 for a modest 1,192-square-foot bungalow in the Whitmore Park neighbourhood in Regina.
Other strong markets include Winnipeg where prices have increased between 19 and 34 per cent, and St. John's, NL, where prices in the east and west parts of the city have risen between nine and 19 per cent.
Lawby said during a recent visit to Asia he found that the economies there are continuing to move along.
"They are buying a lot of resources out of Canada" which should continue to fuel growth in Western Canada and even Ontario, and keep the job and housing markets humming, he said. "It's going to continue to bode well."
Even in the U.S. the housing market is looking up especially in Florida , Arizona, Nevada and California, said Lawby
"There's some buyers at the table, in many cases it buyers from outside of the United States that are coming in and making investments," said Lawby.
"People are starting to say 'at least I'm seeing on my books and the real estate industry some closings coming, some buyers there.' And they hadn't been seeing that."
Lawby said that "unless something very dramatic happens, money gets spent" on the housing market.
He also said people from abroad are coming into Canada and buying up real estate. There is a flight of capital to places that people feel safe.
"We get lots of investment from Russia, Iran, China, Hong Kong, Singapore where they feel this is a safe place."
People from overseas generally buy property in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal helping those markets, said Lawby.

Foreign investors favour real estate

2008-04-27T05:32:00.001-07:00

HA NOI — Foreign direct investment in real estate projects reached US$4.6 billion in the first quarter of the year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).
The figure represented nearly 90 per cent of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the period of $5.4 billion, and it nearly equalled FDI in real estate projects for all of last year (about $5 billion). This year, the FIA expects to see total investment in the real estate sector of about $20 billion.
"Though there have been fluctuations in the economy, FDI is still pouring strongly into the market," said Cu Chi Loi of the Viet Nam Economics Institute. "This shows that foreign investors have recognised investment opportunities here with a long-term view. The country is still short of office space and serviced apartments, so investment in those areas is growing."
Do Thi Hong Xoan, a Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism official, noted that a significant proportion of FDI in real estate development was also in hotel and resort projects.
The US’s Good Choice Group is developing a $1.3 billion hotel and entertainment complex in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, while Singapore’s Cattigara One Ltd has received a licence to build a $102 million resort in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
Commercial developments were also strong, she said, pointing to VinaCapital’s $200 million trade complex and the $930 million financial centre of Malaysia’s Beriaya Leisure.
Nguyen Dang Son, deputy director of the Institute for Urban Research and Infrastructure Development, said the concentration of investment in serviced apartments, hotels and resorts was due to the increase in the number of international companies with executives and employees in Viet Nam, as well as the growing number of tourists.
"While the high-end segments are getting hotter and hotter, segments that serve low-income people haven’t attracted the interests of companies," said Son. "High demand versus limited supply makes it very difficult for these people to afford housing."
As much as 80 per cent of the population can’t afford to buy housing, according to figures released at a meeting in Ha Noi last week to discuss the development of the property market held by The Manager magazine.
Loi noted, however, that strong real estate development would also help encourage related support industries, including building materials, interior decoration and household appliances.
"Although, from a different angle, that’s also a factor pushing up the price of materials, which has contributed to the high inflation over the past few months," Loi said.
Nguyen Quang, a representative from the UN Human Settlements Programme, said property prices have skyrocketed as a result of speculation and the lack of transparency in the Government’s granting of land-use rights.
"The Government should auction projects, instead of enterprises proposing projects and asking for a land grant," Quang said.
He suggested the imposition of higher taxes on speculators’ capital gains, revenues from which could be dedicated to infrastructure and low-end housing.
"Once investing, you must look to profits," said Dang Hung Vo former deputy minister of natural resources and environment. "The Government should encourage enterprises to invest in low-end segments with financial support and land use charge exemptions and reductions."
The Ministry of Construction said it was devising a plan for public housing development which it expected to submit to the Government in the third quarter of this year.
The plan would include the establishment of a public housing corporation that would operate in provinces and cities nationwide, with finances coming from the State budget, private investment and public housing funds. The Government planned to build 500,000 public housing units between now and 2012, said the ministry. — VNS

Air Force Leader's Ranch Goes on Sale

2008-04-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

By CHRISTINA S.N. LEWIS and SARA LINApril 25, 2008; Page W8
El Rancho Feliz
The Sonoma, Calif., home of Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold, who commanded U.S. Army air forces in World War II, has gone on the market for $2.65 million.
Gen. Arnold and his wife, Eleanor, built the 2,000-square-foot house, named El Rancho Feliz (The Happy Ranch), in the 1940s and moved there following his retirement from the service in 1946. It's where he wrote his 1949 memoir, "Global Mission." He died in 1950 at age 63.
The eastern view from El Rancho Feliz
Robert Arnold, the general's grandson, now owns the 35-acre property, which he converted from a cattle ranch to a vineyard with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. He restored the house with radiant floor heating and new windows. The house has redwood ceilings, a wood-burning fireplace and views of the Sonoma Valley. Robert and Kathleen Leonard, of Sotheby's International Realty, have the listing.
Gen. Arnold, whom Orville Wright taught to fly in 1911, was key to the Allied victory. (The U.S. Air Force became a separate military branch in 1947.)
Designer Sanchez's Apartment Is Listed
The Manhattan apartment of Fernando Sanchez, who achieved fame in the 1970s for designing lingerie worn as outerwear, has gone on sale for $6.5 million.
The 4,000-square-foot co-operative unit is in the Osborne, built in 1885 and diagonally across from Carnegie Hall. The 10-room apartment, on three floors, has a 27-foot entry gallery, a formal dining room, a library and four baths. There are original moldings and parquet flooring.
Mr. Sanchez, whose designs were worn by Tina Turner and Madonna (the wedding dress in her "Like a Virgin" video), bought the apartment in 1979 for less than $1 million. He died in June 2006 at age 70 after being bitten by a sand fly and contracting a parasite while traveling, says Jano Herbosch, Mr. Sanchez's business partner and cousin by marriage. Mr. Sanchez left no heirs. Proceeds are to go to an arts foundation to be named after him.
The Osborne counts among former residents the late Leonard Bernstein. Stephen Wald, of Stephen P. Wald Real Estate Associates Inc., has the listing.

What Residents Win and Lose for Living High Life

2008-04-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

By Jane HanStaff ReporterOnce 32-year-old Lee Jung-hyun returns to her Samsung Tower Palace home after work, there are few reasons to leave the building.With a giant grocery store, golf lounge, spa, dry cleaners and beauty salon, the southern Seoul residence is considered the ultimate one-stop complex, loaded with all sorts of services. ``It's like a small town of its own,'' said Lee, who lives in the 59-story Tower A of the high-rise residential complex, comprised of seven towers lettered A-G. ``I think it's very efficient since all my needs are literally just steps away.''Built between 2002 and 2004, the multi-use skyscrapers quickly replaced Yeouido's 63 Building, which long stood as the country's tallest building. Tower G is now the highest, with 69 stories.``High-rise multi-use complexes perfectly fit into the lifestyles of today's busy men and women,'' said Shim Jae-hyun, an architecture professor of Sejong University, adding that the new type of residence was necessary in Seoul.He explained that city officials wanted to bring back former Seoul residents who had moved to surrounding areas as downtown crime increased due to the rapid change of city demographics.``Since there wasn't enough space in the already densely packed city, the only option was to build up,'' said Shim. ``Nowadays, construction of multi-use complexes is becoming more common and more residents prefer them to traditional apartments.''The trend is not just prevalent here, but throughout the Asian market, says Michael Thompson, the Asia Pacific CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate firm. The 51-story Shiodome Shiosite in Tokyo and the 66-story Plaza 66 in Shanghai are other examples. ``It works well for young couples, empty nesters and even city development,'' he said.Although the fancy, decked-out skyscrapers are looked up to, some critics say that heavy safety risks follow the luxurious outlook.Architecture professors Park Sang-hyun and Lee Kyu-in of Ajou University said in their report highlighting the sustainability of super high-rise complexes that residents of these units have poor safety measures against fire.The tallest fire ladder trucks available here are 52 meters high, which can reach only up to 15-storeys. Residents living higher than the 15th floor must rely on rescue helicopters, they said.Professor Park Chul-soo of University of Seoul added that toxic air seeping into the buildings ends up being trapped, harming people's health.``Humans become more vulnerable to sickness the higher up they go,'' he said, adding that more research and development must be done to enhance health and safety precautions in multi-use skyscrapers.jhan@koreatimes.co.kr

Measuring Up

2008-04-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

DOES TERRACE measure up?
Some community members are trying to find the answer.
The Measuring Up Terrace committee is trying to make the community more accessible to seniors and those with a disability.
Since its start in December, the committee has met monthly to identify strengths and weaknesses in the community. Some buildings are accessible and transportation is getting better, but members say a lot of improvements could be made. Handicapped parking spots are still not large enough, and there is a lack of accessible doors in town. Some sidewalks, bridges, restaurants, hotels and public washrooms are not accessible either.
City official Denise Fisher who acts as the go between the city and committee, says the group is in the preliminary stages and is just beginning to get a start on things.
“We have lots of great ideas,” she said. “We really want to get going on this.”
Members have been busy putting together a rough survey of the community accessibility, which they hope to finalize soon and distribute to the public for input. They have also drawn up a rough action plan, in which they have many objectives.
First, they want to raise awareness about accessibility, and then apply for grant money to complete community projects. A part time coordinator and community assessment are two other objectives, and they would like to improve accessibility to facilities and infrastructure in town. Bylaws and bylaw enforcement is their final objective.
A recent $20,000 grant from Legacies Now will help the committee fulfill some of its goals. They are hoping to hire a part time coordinator to work with other interest groups and committees in town to make up an assessment of the community’s accessibility.
Councillors Carol Leclerc and Dave Pernarowski, along with Fisher and Allan Heinricks, who is in a wheelchair, as the community liaison, are joined by 10 citizens who expressed an interest and volunteered their time. Fisher says the group is well rounded and a fair representation of groups they want to help.
Fisher says that while Measuring Up is geared toward seniors and people with disabilities, it is not only for physical disabilities, but hearing, visual, mental, special needs, or even people who have problems pulling open heavy doors or climbing stairs. Parents with strollers or baby carriages could be helped by this, or even someone trying to manage a heavy load.
Difficulties with accessibility can be directed to either councillors or Fisher at the city. Meanwhile, the committee will be looking for additional grants to help make local accessibility a reality.
Measuring Up the North is a North Central Municipal Association and BC Paraplegic Association initiative, with support from BC Healthy Communities Initiative and 2010 Legacies Now. Funding is provided through the Real Estate Foundation, Nechako Kitimaat Development Corporation, United Way and member municipalities.
Information on Measuring Up can be found on the city’s website at www.city.terrace.bc.ca or at its booth at the trade show in the Terrace arena April 25-27.

Seattle Real Estate News

2008-04-16T16:49:00.001-07:00

I've lived in six major North American cities, plus Bellingham, but Seattle is the only one where I've seen people erect decks beside their roofs.
On their roofs, sure. Beside the first or second floor, absolutely. But not shooting from the side of a roof with no entry from the roof.
I suppose it has something to do with Seattle's ample views and shortage of flat roofs.
"You see it a lot in West Seattle, and you see it particularly in areas where they are going to capture some kind of a view," said Vicki Angus, the John L. Scott Real Estate agent representing the seller of a West Seattle house with a mammoth double-decker deck (the one in the photo above).
"He has a bit of a view of the city from the main deck, but when he goes up he has a big sweeping view of the city," she said. "It's for fireworks and stargazing and things like that."
Anyone have any insight into Seattle's unique decks? Good examples? Any roof-side deck owners out there? Let me know. As always, I welcome readers to comment below or send me an e-mail.

Rates stress hitting home

2008-04-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

WHILE Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens declared last week the real number of people under housing stress was exaggerated, the signs are that many home owners are fighting to keep alive their dream of home ownership.
They are cutting costs to ensure they maintain their loan payments, and the industry expects any further rate rises will unleash a tide of loan defaults and forced sales.
Housing has become a punishing investment for owner-occupiers in recent years. Not only have official interest rates gone up 12 times since 2001, commercial banks are raising their mortgage rates independently of the RBA.
The cost of living has soared - look no further than the cost of petrol, or fruit and vegetables - and new homeowners are taking on increasingly sizeable mortgages to buy in traditionally affordable areas.
Many homeowners are undoubtedly walking a financial tightrope, however their pain is not yet spilling out into the open.
People are still making loan repayments - the major banks are reporting almost record low levels of loan defaults - and real estate agents are not experiencing a discernible rise in mortgagee sales.
However, Supreme Court documents show a steady growth in the number of forced house repossessions in recent years.
In 2006 and 2007, forced possessions were at their highest number since 2000, before interest rates started their upward surge.
Turning to charity
In the past year charities like the Salvation Army and Anglicare have started to see signs of real struggle.
Jo Wickes, manager of the Magdalene Centre emergency assistance and advocacy service, said more homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage were asking for help with food and utilities and for financial advice.
Since November, the number of people seeking assistance each day had blossomed, and since January it had doubled to about 100, she said.
Salvation Army spokesman Major Brad Halse said the charity would normally deal with struggling renters, but in the past 12 months had seen an increasing number of homeowners "stretched to the limit'' seeking budgeting advice and financial assistance.
"It's quite a new indicator and we think it represents in real terms the very significant levels of mortgage stress being felt,'' Major Halse said.
Stretched to breaking point
According to the Real Estate Institute of South Australia there is little evidence at the moment of major mortgage stress in the suburbs - but this could all change within six months as people come to accept their budgets have been stretched too far.
Once that happens, more mortgagee sales will be expected. REISA president Robin Turner said homeowners would endure a lot of pain before making the tough decision to sell.
"We're not seeing any lift in that activity; people are not ringing us up saying `I need to sell my house, I can't afford to keep it' - we're not getting an abnormal amount,'' Mr Turner said. "But as the rates bite, we may see more activity in about six months I suspect.
"The full effects of the cost of living increases, the shudders in the equities markets which effects people at all levels, the interest rate rises - I think they are all gathering some momentum and it will cause more distress, but we're more likely to see it in three to six months than we are to see it now because, as I keep saying, people hang on to their houses like grim death.''
This is reflected in an online survey by mortgage brokers Loan Market and X Inc Finance, which found two-thirds of respondents would be unable to cope with another rate rise.
One-third of respondents were already at breaking point and said another rate rise would would force them to consider selling their homes. Another third said they had cut back as much as possible and their next step would be refinancing.
Predatory lenders calling in loans
David Bell, chief executive of the Australian Bankers Association, said people were meeting their repayments.
"Delinquencies are almost at close to record lows,'' he said.
He argued people who were defaulting on their loans and having their homes repossessed had overstretched by borrowing through "predatory'' non-bank lenders.
"(Interest rises) have affected some people but the real economy is doing well,'' he said. "There's always going to be a number of people who lose their homes, irrespective of who lends to them, because of things like they've lost their job, they've got health issues, they've had a relationship breakdown.
"There's a constant core of these things happening - you'll never reduce this figure to zero.''

Twin City offers real deal in Mowe

2008-03-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

By Paul Eronsele Ojenagbon E-mail: pauloje2000@yahoo.comMonday, March 10, 2008

Mowe, Ofada in Ogun State is currently playing host to many property development campaigns mostly of the site and service type. All at once the sleepy setting has become the background for enterprising realtors to let off their amazing drive and energies Being a relatively largely undeveloped place, it is more convenient for these realtors to clear the forest, provide basic infrastructure, demarcate plots and sell them. This way, it is possible to obtain a plot for just N375, 000! Twin City is one of these numerous campaigns in Mowe. Having sold out fully in its first campaign, the promoters comprising Cross & Churchhill Realtors Limited, and Silverbeach Investments Limited, have moved into the second phase of the campaign. Twin City consists of properly laid out plots in a secure and gated environment. It is conceived with beautifully planned streets and earth roads networks, and confined within perimeter fencing.To be provided is a bore hole for construction activities and residential purposes. It is situated in a tranquil environment that provides ready access to the major highways such as the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway and Sagamu – Ore Expressway. However, the expansive land bordering the expressway belongs to the Ogun State government which alone has authority to deal with it. It appears to be a good bargain and one thing - campaigns such as these are initially greeted with cynicism and before the more doubtful ones make up their minds to transact, the price would have skyrocketed to the N1million mark in an unending climb that never sees it come down. It is the basic theory of real estate: it appreciates in value, one great advantage it has over stock and shares, and other related investments. Under option A, a prospect is offered a lower price of N375,000 in consideration for 50 percent initial deposit with the balance spread over six months. Under option B, the purchaser pays a price of N400,000 in six equal monthly instalments. Option C allows the purchaser to pay in twelve equal monthly instalments and for this reason, the price is N500,000 per standard plot.There is an additional/optional charge of N50,000 for the plot survey. Owing to the distance, site visitations and inspections are fixed for Saturday. Certificate of Occupancy is obtained on behalf of the purchasers from the Ogun State government within a “reasonable time” by the solicitors of the promoters. Over 600 standard plots are available for sale and the marketing began since January 1, 2008. A standard plot measures 120 x 60 feet, approximately 650 square meters. The second phase land has just been cleared preparatory to fencing and sinking of borehole. Twin City offers flexible payment options.

R.I. commercial real estate has banner year in 2007

2008-03-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

By Kevin Shalvey

PBN Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE – Despite the general weakness in the residential real estate market, Rhode Island’s commercial market, “and the downtown Providence market in particular, remain very appealing to investors, primarily from outside the state,” said The Rodman Report for 2007, released today.

While transactions in Rhode Island’s commercial real estate market grew last year, the number of industrial transactions dropped by more than half. Still, both markets are expected to see “stability overall” during 2008, according to the report.
Compiled by Providence’s Rodman Real Estate, the report says the state’s commercial market enjoyed a 43-percent increase in the number of transactions – 48 – in 2007 compared with 2006. The greater number of transactions yielded sales of $108.6 million, a total that was $76 million higher than the previous year.

The report attributes the lack of industrial real estate growth – in dollar volume and number of transactions, both of which shrank during 2007 – to the “state’s ongoing transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy.”
The 40 sales of industrial properties during 2007 were only 42.6 percent of the 94 sales during 2006. But their average square footage was larger – with eight sales larger than 60,000 square feet. Those eight sales accounted for $50.9 million of the total $56 million in industrial sales, according to the report. There were $66.7 million in industrial sales during 2006, according to the report.

Looking to the future, the report predicts that the 2008 commercial market will “still be primarily driven by need-based owner occupants, but we see some movement toward leasing due to a continued lack of product and tightening in lending standards.”
The Rodman Report, 2007 – a statewide survey of the commercial real estate market – was produced by Rodman Real Estate Inc. of Providence based on data from sources including CoStar Group and Loopnet online services. For additional information, including annual survey reports dating back to 2003, visit http://www.rodmanrealestate.com/.

Your Helping Friend In The Real Estate Market

2008-03-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

Summary: Bridging loans are generally the secured loan plans and arrange the necessary funds to make two successive real estate deals successful. These loan plans are offered for a shorter term and charge a higher rate of interest.
Real estate market is more vulnerable when compared to the financial market. As the deals and negotiations do not follow ant strict professional technique, the financial transactions occurring in the UK real estate market put the first time buyers in a mess. The first time buyers, in many cases find a gap between two successive real estate deals.

There are certain ideal loan plans available in the UK financial market fulfilling your requirements when you want a large amount of money quickly for buying a new residential property. These loans are generally secured on property or other assets of high value.
Bridging loans are usually taken to solve a temporary cash shortfall that may arise when buying a property or meeting the financial requirements of the real estate business, or perhaps paying for a much needed renovation. You may need these loans if you want to buy a second property before you have sold your first, or you may need a short term loan if you are buying property at an auction or bidding. These loans are more risky for the lender compared to the usual house buyer’s loan. Therefore, these loan plans are more expensive and should only be used where you are fairly certain to repay them within a time period of 6 months.
Bridging loans, available in the UK financial market, suit the purpose effectively if you buy a new home before you complete the sale of the home you currently own. These loans can address the deficit situation when there is a delay in moving after completion of the construction work. Problems related to chain break-downs can also be solved by taking these loans. Basically, these loans are short-term secured loans and are usually taken out to solve a temporary cash shortfall in the real estate business.
Fast bridging finance for the UK funding can arrange the necessary money for a number of projects. It not only makes your buying of one property before completion the sale of another easy but also arranges funding for the purchase of a property abroad or bought at auction. These loans also offer finance for the urgent purchase of a property until a long term mortgage or loan plan is arranged. With these loans, you can raise capital for any purpose pending the sale of the security. There is no road block for people with an adverse credit history to avail these loans. Lenders in the UK financial market usually allow loan amount between 70% - 85% of the property value. If you have any outstanding the loan amount decreases. Comparison and extensive search on the Internet will enable you to have a cheap and affordable loan deal.

Condos prices cooling

2008-02-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

Rhode Island condominium prices in 2007 declined for the first time in eight years, as rising inventory and slowing sales indicate that demand continues to weaken.
The statewide median price of a condo last year fell 1.8 percent, or $4,000, to $221,000, compared with $225,000 in 2006, according to a report by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors released today.
In 1999, the median condo price declined $2,500, to $88,500, from $91,000 in 1998.
The recent surge in condo construction, followed by the overall economic slowdown and rising mortgage defaults, has left prospective buyers unable or unwilling to purchase condos, experts say, allowing the inventory of unsold units to swell.
At the current pace of sales, it would take an estimated 12 months to sell all the condos on the market as of the end of last year — up from an 11-month supply at the end of 2006, and double the 6-month supply during the same period in 2005, according to The Providence Journal’s analysis of the Realtors’ data.
Rhode Island’s supply of unsold condos now exceeds those of unsold single-family houses, which at the end of last year was estimated at 10 months. A market is considered balanced when the supply is about 6 months.
“I think the buyers are still very nervous because it’s very difficult right now to get a handle on what the economy is doing,” said the Realtors’ immediate past president, Cecile L. Cohen, an associate broker/manager at Randall Realtors GMAC Real Estate. “When you put it into perspective,” Cohen said, “none of those [declines] are huge. Yes, they’re down. But they’re not something that should send anybody to the bridge to jump!”
Condo sales during the fourth quarter of last year fell nearly 10 percent, but the median price rose 3.3 percent, to $224,750, according to the report.
The average selling time improved, to 92 days, compared with 101 days during the same three months in 2006. The improvement, however, may be due in part to sellers taking their condos off the market because they are not selling.
Of the 34 cities and towns reported by the Realtors, the median condo price last year fell in 19 communities, rose in 11 and remained unchanged in 4.
In Providence, excluding the East Side, the median condo price last year fell 8 percent, to $184,950, compared with $201,000 in 2006, according to the Realtors. On the East Side, however, condo prices last year ticked up 0.4 percent, or $1,000, to $266,000.
The median price reflects the “mix and type of properties on the market,” which can fluctuate more dramatically in cities and towns where there are fewer sales, the Realtors said in a statement.
Looked at another way, condo prices have risen every year from 1999 through 2006.
Yet, in real estate, said Cohen, the term “decline” has become the new “four-letter dirty word.” Negative media reports about the housing market and fears about a recession, she asserted, are now influencing buyers more than the actual numbers.
“The prices are good. …The interest rates are great. …You’ve got the new package coming out from Washington raising the FHA limits. So there’s going to be plenty of good solid mortgages available,” Cohen said. “Now it’s just a matter of people taking the step to go forward.”
The Association of Realtors’ current president, Robert Scaralia, said in a statement that “Rhode Island’s condo market didn’t fare too badly last year” when compared with other sectors of the housing market. “Multifamily properties on the other hand, were harder hit as multifamily to condo conversions ceased being attractive to investors.”

Philip Morris continues moving away

2008-02-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

CONCORD -- It's been eight months since tobacco giant Philip Morris announced plans to shut down its Cabarrus County plant.
In that time, the company has started moving employees and equipment, while city and county leaders have worked on a plan to absorb the losses.
The company has been in Cabarrus Co. for 25, years but in two years, Philip Morris will be gone. The Cabarrus Manufacturing Center is on 2,100 acres. In a move to consolidate cigarette manufacturing, the Cabarrus plant will be closed and the employees and equipment will move to Richmond, Va. There were about 2,500 people working at the Concord plant.
Since the June announcement, Concord leaders have been preparing to absorb the millions of dollars in taxes they will lose when the cigarette maker moves.“Since then our city council has delayed three projects in anticipation just as a worse case scenario,” said Concord City Manager Brian Hiatt.

Worst case scenario could be a few months away. Philip Morris pays Concord about $2.4 million in taxes on equipment in the plant. The company is going through tax reevaluation right now which will wrap up in April. Any equipment moved from the Cabarrus Co. site won't be taxed, meaning the city loses that money. ”We don't however know if that's going to be in this year, or in 2009 versus 2010,” said Hiatt.
A company spokesperson said several dozen pieces of lower speed machinery are already gone.
“If a lot of equipment is moved and we can anticipate that obviously our tax revenues will be impacted greatly, so we hope to be able to have a good conversation with Philip Morris in the future to anticipate when they're going to move equipment and also of course if there's any change in their schedule of when they actually move their operations,” said Hiatt.
As long as Philip Morris stays on track to move out by 2010, Concord can at least bank on the property taxes for the land and buildings until then.
Philip Morris accounts for $0.05 of Concord's 44-cent tax rate. Half of that $0.05 is from the buildings and land and half is from the equipment.
Concord and Cabarrus Co. leaders are also keeping an eye on the real estate market. As some Philip Morris employees transfer to the Richmond plant, move for other jobs, or downsize to accommodate lower incomes, the area housing market will have a surge of homes for sale.

TAMEER achieves outstanding sales in first phase of Madinat Al Majd

2008-02-06T03:21:00.000-08:00

TAMEER, Jordan's only company owned by TAMEER Holding, the region's pioneer in real estate development with headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, has achieved outstanding sales of 100 residential units in less than two months from the launch of Madinat Al-Majd.

General Manager of TAMEER in Jordan, Engineer Mohammed Habib said: 'Guided by His Majesty's vision to provide every Jordanian family with the opportunity to acquire adequate housing, we have partnered with the public sector to give people with limited incomes the chance to own homes for suitable prices, especially that apartment prices in Jordan are on a continuous rise. Madinat Al Majd will hold 18,500 residential units in an area of 2 million square-meters'. Engineer Habib also stated that the Jordanian citizens' demand for the project's apartments is very high. The high demand for Madinat Al Majd comes as a result of its unique location on the main highway leading to Zarqa City, some 5km from Zarqa City and 25km from the capital Amman and the fact that it is being developed close to all public services and governmental centers and both the Hashemite and Private Zarqa universities; in addition, of course, to the low prices and flexible monthly payments. Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC) has started qualifying beneficiaries to buy apartments from the first part of the first phase of Madinat Al Majd, as applications are expected to be received from HUDC during next month to cover the HUDC's share in the first part of the project. In December of last year, TAMEER was part of the most recent real estate event Ekar Invest 2007, attracting the largest number of visitors to its spacious booth that held the company's first project in Jordan, Madinat Al Majd. Engineer Habib concluded by saying: 'Madinat Al Majd is an initiative that we are now implementing in cooperation with HUDC to make the dreams of a wide segment of the society come true by helping people to stop paying rent and acquire proper residence, enjoying ideal topography with natural lighting and ventilation.

Snag a Parking Spot on the Web

2008-02-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

With developers endlessly gobbling up parking lots for new condo and retail developments, parking in the city can be hard to come by. Even when you do find one, life doesn't seem to get any easier.
This can be especially frustrating for those looking to rent a spot monthly, or annually, since many lots can charge ridiculous prices for these coveted patches of pavement. Thankfully, there's a new Web-two-point-oh site on the scene, ParkingSpots.com, that hopes to alleviate many of the headaches prospective renters and owners experience trying to connect with each other.
The site is currently offering service across the US and Canada, making use of some nifty Google Maps integration to make tracking down a nearby spot a fairly trivial matter for renters. What this means is that you can fairly easily search in the area of your choosing by address, intersection, or by just dragging the map around.
Availability of spots in downtown Toronto is fairly limited at this point, but will surely grow as the site gains traction.

When it comes time to actually requesting to rent a spot, ParkingSpots.com acts more or less like a real estate broker, taking a 10% cut of the rent for short term rentals (up to 6 months) or a one month cut of the pie for longer-termed rentals.
It's free to list your spot on the site - you only pay once they connect you with a renter. The bonus here is the renters only need to pay the owner of the spot, and can use the site for free to track down parking.
This is one of many useful Google Maps Mashups that we're sure to see more of as time goes by and Toronto's condo boom continues.
Let us know in the comments if you've used ParkingSpots.com and what you think of it.