After the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and the Qatar Masters the last of three straight tournaments in the Gulf region, The Dubai Desert Classic gets under way from February 1 to 4, later this week.

The first regular European Tour event in the Middle East, The Dubai Desert Classic was inaugurated in 1989 and is now an annual professional golf tournament which is played on the Middle East’s first grass golf course “Majlis” at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Heavily supported by many of Dubai global real estate big hitters, tickets for this popular fixture in the golfing calendar went on sale earlier in January to golf enthusiast’s eager to watch Tiger Woods return to Dubai to defend his 2006 title against an all star line up especially Retief Goosen and Paul Casey who respectively won last weeks Qatar tournament and Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi and 3 time winner Ernie Els. The quality of the course has been praised by Woods, saying “They have the golf course in perfect shape,” he said. “It’s going to be I’m sure some pretty low scores out there considering how good the greens are.” Continue reading ‘The future of Dubai golf in Dubai Desert Classic stars hands’

The last census carried out in 2004 by the Insee statistical institute showed the number of British people who live permanently in France doubled in the past five years to 100,000 people, unsurprising considering all things French continue to gain in appeal from a morning croissant and coffee to an evening glass of wine.

The standard of living, education and healthcare coupled with a stress-free way of life made easier still by local airport connections, fast trains and new motorways means its no wonder that Brits continue to want to buy French property, in fact over a quarter of those surveyed by Mintel in its market report last year for homes overseas, expressed a desire to move to la belle France whether it be the French Alps, Provence or Paris city.
Continue reading ‘The appeal of French property is here to stay’

A construction project of a multifunctional business center which is developed by Storm Properties has successfully passed Regulation Commission (Reglamentnaya Komissiya) chaired by A. Kuzmin, Chief Architect of Moscow.

On 28 December, 2006 a project of a multifunctional business center construction which will be carried on at 8 Prichalny proezd on the site belonging to Moskovsky Zhirovoy Kombinat, part of Buket Group of Companies has got an approval of the architectural design during the Regulation Commission meeting presided by Chief Architect of Moscow. Members of the Commission have considered the results of work of the project architects TPO Reserve and of Moscow urban design planners NIiPI Genplana, who managed to coordinate the concept of the project with the plan of Moscow administration to construct a new highway and an underground station in this part of the city. The realization of this plan will increase significantly the transport accessibility to the project site – by private vehicles as well as by the public transportation. NIiPI Genplana was also advised to incorporate the information about the business center on Prichalny site in the project documentation of “Bolshoi City”.

“Current rates of the project development and the professionalism of its team allow us to regard our project as the leading one among the other projects of “Bolshoi City” and to position it actually as the first “Bolshoi City” project”, – said Evgeny Aleshin, Vice President of Storm Properties.

As we reported back in June, the popularity of property in Brazil as an emerging real estate investment is clearly on the rise, according to the views of 3,000 overseas property investors who participated in an online survey managed by Vizu.com. When questioned as to their opinion on which countries would provide the best returns over the next 5 years, Bulgaria, Brazil and Dubai emerged as favourite property investment destinations for the next 5 years. Continue reading ‘Bets on Brazil property as future favourite’

British villa owners in Thailand face uncertainty over the legal status of their properties, and might even lose control over their homes following a controversial change in company law by the country’s military appointed government.

With its low property prices and reputation for “sun, smiles and entertainment”, Thailand has been one of the most popular of the “emerging” markets. But it has not been all smooth going for the thousands of Britons who have already taken the plunge. In recent months, the Thai property market has been unsettled by a string of negative news including the imposition of capital controls, restrictions on tourist visas, a military coup, turbulence on the stock and currency markets, a wave of terrorism in southern Thailand and nine bomb blasts in Bangkok, the capital, on New Year’s Eve, that injured British visitors.

The latest blow was an announcement by the Thai government that it is to restrict foreign ownership of the companies that have been used by many British and other nonThais to buy holiday homes. Foreigners are banned from owning land in Thailand. Continue reading at Timesonline

Source: Michael Sheridan

 Mangal Kapoor has written two articles recently on the Argentinean property market and paints a picture worthy of further inspection:

Argentina may have been in crisis a mere five years ago, but today it is a property hotspot, writes Mangal Kapoor. Transaction volumes are rising fast – up 37% between September 2005 and September 2006 in Buenos Aires – and so are prices. This should continue. A stable parliamentary democracy is in place, and a strong police presence on the streets inspires a confidence not shared by Argentina’s neighbours, Brazil, Peru and Chile. Investment in tourism has also paid off Continue reading  at Moneyweek UK

Mention Buenos Aires, and most people in Britain still think of rioters protesting about the Falklands war. But in Argentina, all that is now a distant memory. The county’s capital has reclaimed its title as South America’s most cosmopolitan city and is once again attracting visitors from around the world. What’s more, the city’s English and Anglo-Argentine communities are thriving.
A 15-hour flight from London, Buenos Aires is a beguiling city of broad avenues and well-maintained parks, where the quality of life is good and the cost of living is low. Summer runs from late November to February, with temperatures reaching average highs of 24C-29C. Continue reading at Timesonline Overseas
 

NASSAU, Bahamas, Today, Baha Mar Resorts Ltd. announced that it has signed a joint venture agreement with the world’s best-known gaming and hospitality company — a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) — to create and develop Baha Mar, the Caribbean’s largest single-phase destination resort. The joint venture partners have also signed management agreements with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) . Establishing a new blueprint for resort development, Baha Mar represents the largest, single hospitality investment in the region and a one-of-a-kind destination resort experience with a range of top-shelf accommodations, services and amenities, and true-to-The Bahamas setting and design.

According to the joint venture agreement, Baha Mar Resorts and a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment will jointly own the previously announced Baha Mar — a mixed-use project to be located in Nassau, Bahamas on a 1,000- acre site — making it the largest destination resort in the Caribbean. Baha Mar represents a unique structure for the hospitality and gaming industries and calls for a phase one investment of more than $2 billion. The joint venture will be 57% owned by Baha Mar Resorts Ltd. and 43% by a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment and will become effective upon confirmation by the Bahamian Government of certain required approvals and concessions. The joint venture partners have also signed management and related agreements, in which Starwood has committed to operate hotels under its W, St. Regis, Westin and Sheraton brands at Baha Mar, and to invest $40 million in mezzanine bonds, subject to certain terms and conditions, to be issued at the time of project financing (expected in 2008). Baha Mar Resorts will serve as the developer for the resort.

“The signing of these agreements marks the beginning of a new tourism era for The Bahamas with the coming together of the most prestigious and successful companies in lodging, gaming and leisure, most notably, Harrah’s, our preferred gaming partner for this endeavor from the moment the project was first conceived,” said Sarkis Izmirlian, chairman and chief executive officer of Baha Mar Resorts Ltd. “With a shared vision and the combined strength of each partner’s respective brands, together with what we believe is the finest location in the Caribbean — Nassau, Bahamas, we look forward to achieving our goal to create one of the world’s leading resort destinations.”

“Caesars Resort Hotel at Baha Mar is an important step in our global development strategy as well as a true milestone,” said Gary W. Loveman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Harrah’s Entertainment. “This one-of-a-kind, warm-weather destination resort will not only be a wonderful addition to our current collection of properties worldwide, but also give us entree into new markets, while providing our customers with a place to enjoy the Caesars experience in a truly world-class setting in the Caribbean’s most desirable destination.”

Continue reading ‘Baha Mar a new destination resort in The Bahamas’

The largest growth in purchases of Israeli real estate by Diaspora Jews in 2006 was neither French nor Americans, but apparently the unassuming British. An amendment to British pension laws has the potential for much greater investment, and possibly not just from British Jews.
Many contractors, apartment owners, and brokers in Netanya, Herzliya Pituah, Tel Aviv, and Eilat have been well aware of the British invasion in the past two years, but it turns out that a dramatic change in UK law may expand the mandate, and give Israeli developers real opportunities to offer their wares to British citizens who are not Jews.

In an interview with “Globes”, Adv. Raymond N. Goodman of the Liverpool firm Goodmans Solictors said that the UK Finance Act 2006, which came into effect on April 6, 2006, allows British citizens to use their Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) to buy a wide range of properties throughout the world. The Finance Act grants generous tax breaks and exemptions, and allows people putting money into pensions to manage their savings through authorized pension providers who provide the investment framework around the world.

Potential investment is allowed both in residential and income-producing property in Israel and other countries, subject to a number of conditions. That said, anyone dreaming of wholesale purchases of Israeli holiday homes by British buyers is fantasizing, since the tax break is not given for properties bought for personal use, but only for properties bought as investments. Currently, a tax break of up to 100% is given on annual profits of up to ₤215,000.

Continue reading ‘British buying Israeli Property’