August 31, 2007
New flights to bring Cyprus property bonus
Following Monarch’s move into Cyprus this week, the first major low-fare airline to introduce flights between the island and the UK, Cypriot property prices look set to become even stronger.
The Cypriot property market grew rapidly in 2006 with house prices rising at 20% per annum and rental returns showing a level of 8% to 12% on the current price of property.
Dani Maxton, managing director of Morpheus Investments, which specialises in developing property in Cyprus for UK investors says, “The introduction of low fare flights is great news for current Cypriot property owners and investors alike. With improved flights from the UK, Cyprus looks set to become an even more popular tourist destination in 2007 and will open up the island to more prospective second-home buyers.Cyprus is clearly reaping the rewards of a strong and stable economy. It is set to prosper further when it begins to use the euro in two years time.”
Posted on: Cyprus
Cooling Florida market still hot with Brits?
Long a hotspot with British buyers of overseas property, it seems that Florida’s market stuttered a little in 2006. But does this actually make it a good time to be a buyer?
Heightened wariness of the hurricane season, provoked by Hurricane Katrina devastating effects in 2005, along with the continued rise of property prices throughout America are causing Brits to think twice when investing in a second home in Florida.
New home sales have dropped in the Sunshine State by over 21 per cent in the past 12 months. Since the beginning of 2006, sales in Florida have dropped from 796,000 between January and August 2005 to 682,000 in the same period of 2006.
Nevertheless, price of properties in Florida have continued to rise. In the past three years alone the average price of a medium-sized family home in Orlando rose from $145,100 to its current price of $271,700 - an annual growth rate of 17 per cent. In fact, since January 2006 prices in Orlando have risen by an average of $11,000 (Source: National Association of Realtors).
Posted on: Florida
August 30, 2007
Mediterranean property development aims high
The Saidia property development on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast has attracted the investment of England footballers but is still accessible to those with smaller budgets.
England football captain John Terry and team mates, Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville, bought luxury properties in the exclusive ‘Le Jardin de Fleur’ development. Due to be completed in 2010, the development includes a cluster of 60 villas called Le Village des Amis and adjacent complex Le Village de Sport.
The Saidia property development covers 7 million square metres, three golf courses including one championship course, has 6 kilometres of sea front, 11 four- and five-star hotels, 17 beach clubs and a marina with 840 moorings. The developers are hoping that Saidia will rival the likes of St Tropez and Puerto Banus with premium brand stores such as Gucci, Hugo Boss, Versace and Armani already confirmed retail outlets.
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Posted on: Morocco
Moving to Turkey
If one would like to live in Turkey, one will have to get a residence visa. All relevant documents must be submitted to the Turkish Consulate General at least eight weeks before departing from one’s home country (depending on visa issuances, nationals of European Union countries and nationals of Australia, Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and USA may be issued a one year resident visa in a week).
After obtaining a visa, it is important to register with the local police force within a month of arriving in Turkey in order to secure a residence permit. Extensions for residence permits should be done before the expiration of the current permit with the same local police office.
Posted on: Turkey
August 29, 2007
Exploring central Florida
Today, Florida has firmly established itself as one of the leading, long-haul destination for second-home seeking Brits. Go back 30 years or so, the State was little more than a southern US backwater.
Had Walt and Roy Disney not decide in 1963 to purchase some barren wasteland located to the southwest of Orlando for their new theme park Disney World, Florida would likely have been a very different place today. However, the fact is that Disney World rejuvenated Florida, particularly the central region of the state. The area surrounding Florida’s sixth most populous city, Orlando, was little more than swampland until the Disney brothers arrived on the scene.
Disney World Florida paved the way for many similar attractions to be developed around the central region of the state. In fact, Florida’s centre has the highest concentration of amusement parks anywhere in the world, including 11 major theme parks such as Sea World, Universal Studios and, of course, Disney World. Not that it’s just the theme parks for which central Florida is renowned.
There are over 20 golf courses in the city alone, plus numerous others in the surrounding metropolitan area, while the region is home to more than 100 natural lakes, enabling visitors and residents alike to take some much needed serene time away from the hustle and bustle of Disney World, et al. With all these in mind, it is no surprise that Florida’s central region has become such a hit with overseas purchasers, particularly Brits who have traditionally favoured it over other areas of Florida.
What certainly doesn’t hinder this popularity is the fact that prices in this region tend to be lower than those in other popular areas of the state – namely the Gulf Coast and Miami. “Condominiums around the Orlando area can be purchased from around the upper $200,000s to early $300,000s, while three-bedroom villas start from about $350,000″, says Suzanne Morrill of World of Florida. “However, one should be aware that most of the condos/town houses are on resort developments so there are often higher monthly home owner association charges to cover looking after the central clubhouse, cinema rooms etcetera.”
Posted on: Florida
Property in Florida looking to a bright future?
The past year has seen the market for property in Florida take a bit of a slow turn. Much of this is due to an oversupply in housing.
Nonetheless, tourism is Florida’s number one industry. With visitors to the state showing no sign of abating, property in Florida could still be considered a sensible investment - if not in the short-term.
Kim Williams from Special Dreams property management in Florida says, “There is currently a lot of speculation about the longevity of the housing market as a good investment. There are so many homes being built here but I think there is still a good opportunity for investment if you are in it for the long haul.”
Posted on: Florida
August 28, 2007
Turkish property restoration business
Lorna Acikalin and her Turkish husband Sadi spent a lot of time traveling in southern Turkey, before returning in 2006. They had the intention of finding a home they would renovate and eventually move into
The couple was so smitten with the beautiful location and the friendly people in Side, Antalya. So much so that they bought several plots and have completed the first couple of their ’boutique’ Turkish property developments.
“About 15 years ago, Sadi and I came across a beautiful, old farmhouse in the countryside near Side. On a return visit in 2006, we decided to try and find it once again to see what had become of it,” says Lorna. “I remember Side standing out because it was so green – not at all how you imagine Turkey. It reminded me of rural England in some ways.
“We were shocked not only by how little the countryside had changed in 15 years, but also by exactly how many old farm buildings there were in the region – many just left derelict.
“Instead of buying just one house for ourselves, we fell in love with the area so much that we decided to start developing some of the old, rural dwellings. The old buildings were very strong, with two-foot thick dry stone walls.
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Posted on: Turkey
Istanbul’s European credentials
Despite Turkey not yet being a member of the European Union, Istanbul has emerged as a front-runner for the Academy of Urbanism’s European City of the Year 2007.
Last March saw the 20th anniversary of the European Union, which was formed on the 14th of March 1987. Although Turkey has been an EU Associate member since 1964 and officially recognised as a candidate for membership in 1999, the country only started negotiations for EU accession in 2005, a process which is likely to take at least a decade.
Nonetheless, when the competition for this year’s European City of the Year 2007 award was launched at the MIPIM International Property Fair in Cannes, Istanbul featured prominently. It was followed by Rome, Barcelona and Paris. Behind these early front-runners, a larger group included Budapest, Stockholm, Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Prague, Munich, Amsterdam, St Petersburg, Valencia and Riga. The European City of the Year category, which alternates annually between Great Britain and Ireland for one year, and mainland Europe the next, opened to cities in mainland Europe for 2007.
Posted on: Turkey
August 25, 2007
Turkey edges towards EU
The EU has opened up the second chapter of Turkish EU membership negotiations, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the European Movement in Turkey.
On the 29th March, the EU gave its green light to opening membership talks with Turkey for the area of enterprise and industrial policy. It is the second of 35 negotiation chapters needed to be brought in line with the EU’s set of rules.
Turkish Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan said in a public statement that the decision to open membership talks marked an important step in the Turkish EU accession process and that negotiations could now proceed at full speed ahead.
Turkish EU membership talks had been partially suspended for eight of the 35 chapters last December 2006 due to Turkey’s reluctance to open up its ports and airports to ships and planes from Cyprus.
Babacan said that Turkey was waiting for the embargo on the Turkish part of the island to be lifted seeing that there would be no progress on Cyprus until the isolation came to an end.
Despite the AKP Turkish government being one of the few with the clearest vision towards the EU, the German Ambassador to Ankara, Dr. Eckart Cuntz, pointed to the polls that show how support for Turkish EU membership has recently fallen in the country and he no longer saw the same enthusiasm about the EU he had done the previous year.
Posted on: Turkey
French Alpine property worth a look
The French Alpine property is perfect for skiers who are looking to marry business and pleasure. When the weather heats up, some of the best ski slopes in the world transform, into lush green fields. This makes the French Alpine property and the Alps desirable year-round destinations. With more companies offering property under the leaseback purchasing scheme, buy-to-lets are potentially profitable, and they can be a safe option as well.
Those with big budgets can look at the prestigious ski resort of Courchevel which offers leaseback investment opportunities.This’playground of the rich and famous’ is well known for those looking to combine a buy-to-let purchase with a yearly vacation on the white slopes.
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Posted on: France
Recent Posts
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