Blog contributions are provided exclusively from Luxury Real Estate members throughout the world.
Courtesy of Michael Cruz of Rimontgó
Summer arrives and the thoughts of all keen Spanish cyclists naturally turn to the excitement of the Vuelta de España. This year this iconic race will be held from Saturday August 20th to Sunday September 11th, will comprise 21 stages and cover a total distance of 3,000 kilometres.
Already the race is causing a great deal of excitement in Orihuela where the Vuelta will once again end one of its stages. The Mayor, Monica Lorente, confirmed that the race would yet again enable cycling enthusiasts from around the world to witness the beauty of Orihuela, but had news about this year’s route taking a slightly different direction.
The official presentation of the 2011 Vuelta took place recently at the new auditorium in the centre of Alicante and was attended by Mayor Lorente, President of the Alicante Council, Joaquin Ripoll and Gema Amor, Director General of the Costa Blanca Tourist Board. A full programme of activities to welcome the Vuelta to the Orihuela area was announced, including beach, sporting and gastronomic events, and Mayor Lorente emphasised the importance of the Vuelta to the Costa Blanca: “The whole of Orihuela will enjoy this event and businesses especially will benefit commercially from this great celebration of sport. As it takes place during the high season, the area will be inundated with tourists from all over Spain, Europe and the rest of the world; it will be a great way to showcase Orihuela Costa.”
The people of Orihuela have become accustomed to enjoying the spectacle of the Vuelta as it passes through their town, but this year the route will take the competitors – and the world’s TV cameras – in a different direction. The Mayor revealed that, “In 2010 the race passed through the heart of the city and traversed its surrounding districts, but this year it will end right in the coastal area of the municipality, which contains wonderful, award-winning Blue Flag beaches with great facilities. Orihuela Costa is also the capital of some stunning golf courses, including Campoamor, Las Ramblas and Las Colinas. We’re very proud that this part of the Costa Blanca has been selected as the location of the second stage finale.”
There is no doubt that the prestigious road race will introduce a new wave of potential visitors to this picturesque part of the Coast.
Courtesy of: Paula Maia of O & O
Unquestionably a prime area in Europe for golfing properties, the Algarve also offers the best golf property prospects in Europe.
Algarve’s overwhelming success as a golfing haven is a major factor in the region's continued capital growth figures, as golf properties continue to be highly sought after. This is mainly due to the fact that the golf properties are located in areas of low density and outstanding beauty. In some key areas of the Algarve rental yields are known to reach up to 8% per annum.
By Carina de Sousa of IRG International Realty Group
The European Real Estate Network is the only truly pan-European network of independent, top quality, boutique brokerage companies. It brings together their considerable expertise, international contacts and resources to the benefit of their clients, be they buyers, sellers, investors or developers. The network is an international platform at the highest level for the acquisition, marketing and sale of premium real estate.
Bi-annually the European Real Estate Network issues a market update for luxury residential tourism in Europe.
In general summertime has seen slight confidence coming back to the property market. Although the lower end markets have been hit severely, the high end residential tourism market remained steady throughout and especially in “isolated pockets” throughout Europe. In these areas sales have been steady and ongoing although often fuelled by realistic pricing or accepted offers.
From September 2008 to June 2009 all affiliates have seen a decrease in sales for the luxury residential market. Inquiries still kept coming in but were for 50% not serious inquiries or are still in the sales pipeline.
Our affiliate in Austria, Peter Marschall from Marschall Immobilien is not sure if the bottom of the financial crisis has been reached and expects the prices to go down slightly.
Though in Switzerland both affiliates, WETAG Consulting and CGI Immobilier have signaled that prices
remained steady and in the Lake Geneva area there has even been an increase due to the large demand and limited offer of real estate. For Wetag Consulting that is covering Ticino with its lakes, Lago Maggiore and Lago di Lugano, parts of Graubünden, the Italian side of Lago Maggiore and Lago di Lugano as well as some parts of Lago di Como, and 80% of the buyers are international, namely from Germany, Italy, The Netherland and United Kingdom. Due to the changed tax laws in Switzerland foreigners have a great advantage to buy.
By Ann Adenius of Signature Residences Worldwide
An outstanding, luxurious family home situated in La Moraleja, Madrid, is providing elegant and spacious accommodation – perfect for today’s family lifestyle and entertaining.
La Moreleja is the Madrileño version of Beverly Hills, a tranquil and spacious oasis of luxury villas with private gardens. Its residents include the internationally rich and famous, including film stars, impresarios, politicians and top company directors.
There are 26 schools in La Moraleja area alone (the Madrileño version of Beverly Hills) and about 16 of them are international. You can find for instance ICS (International College Spain), Runnymede College, King’s College School and others for French and Swedish students.
The villa features a living room with large windows, a dining room, a massive, high-tech modern kitchen and breakfast room. The stunning master bedroom comprises a reading and TV area, main bedroom, dressing room, a spectacular Spa bath and shower room. There are three further bedrooms, a music and TV room and a study.
4 bedrooms + 2 bedrooms in the service quarters. The villa offers approx. 1,100m² of living space, while the plot of land is 2,500m².
Price: Euro 9million
Signature Residences Worldwide
Tel: +44 (0)20 7095 8701
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What are you waiting for?
By Jason Leach of R.CHAYLA Immobilier
What should you be doing right now if you want to buy property in France? Are prices rising, falling or stabilising? Or should we just stick our finger up and try and decide which way the winds blowing. Having looked at the market long and hard and scratched my head a lot I think I have concluded that serious buyers can strike serious deals with serious buyers. 
Prices have reduced in most cases and now the adjustment in prices seems very much more realistic and the serious sellers are being more than reasonable. Do you wait a bit more? Do you take the gamble on sterling rising against the Euro or do you waste your chance and curse your luck the moment the Pound reaches parity with the euro and any advantage you had has just been negated!! I had a client back in August whi had sold up in England and was renting, waiting for the dream house to come along, cash in the bank and in no immediate rush who would blame them. I called them when a new suitable house became available and he informed me that his money had been frozen as it was invested in an Icelandic bank and they could not withdraw there life savings. If this wasn't bad enough the calculation on the exchange rate fell from approx 1.34 to 1.20 reducing his purchasing power by a further 28000.00 euros. Interestingly a large amount of hits on the website are coming from the United States and with the Dollar back to a very good exchange rate it seems the Americans are going to be investing and realising their dreams of owning a house in Europe, it couldn't be a better time for them to buy property.
By Serge Cowan
Cyprus offers a superb tax system whereby foreign pensions will only ever be taxed at 5 percent – maximum. “This is exceptional,” says Serge Cowan, MD at Unique Living, specialist property agents offering supreme luxury and lifestyle homes around the world including luxury homes for sale in Limassol.
“When looking for a retirement home, one has to consider not just what the country has to offer but also where you stand financially. Cyprus must come high on people’s agenda because it has so many benefits”.
In some countries you could be paying tax in your home country on pension income of 40 percent or even higher, so the 5 percent is something that really needs to be taken into consideration when buying abroad.
Cyprus also has many other benefits: good year-round weather, low crime rate, you drive on the left, a cosmopolitan atmosphere, quality golf courses, European Union membership and superbly located at the east end of the Mediterranean, providing convenient access to the Middle East and Far East as well as Europe.
In addition, the Government of Southern Cyprus is making big strides to be a serious contender in the world of “movers and shakers.” Developments are increasingly for the luxury market, and soon to be released is a Marina Resort in Limassol. This is to include a manmade island for residential villas, plus there is rumoured to be a 5-star hotel and berths for 600 privately owned boats. All of which is to be in the heart of the old town of Limassol and its rapidly growing commercial and business centre.
“Southern Cyprus is rapidly changing and those who are astute can be part of this altering picture – one that is creating a supremely elegant and sophisticated island to appeal to discerning buyers from around the world. A shrewd buyer looking at the current market place will not be disappointed with Cyprus and in particular luxury real estate in Limassol,” concludes Serge.
Editor’s Note:
Founded in 2002 by Serge Cowan and Sophie Hammond, Unique Living’s portfolio of luxury properties for sale includes new property developments, resale property, villas, townhouses, penthouses and apartments in prime locations around the world. Unique Living is headquartered in London and it is a member of Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate. Let’s see, in the past week or so we’ve received blog entries on Costa Rica, Mexico, the Caribbean, Australia, Vanuatu, France and now Cyprus. This is very exciting. Keep checking the Luxury Real Estate Blog for great information like this. Also, feel free to submit your own blog entries for consideration. The photo of the Limassol, Cyprus shoreline is from www.flickr.com/photos/mamchenkov/281322233 and it is the copyright of Leonid Mamchenkov.
By Jason Leach
From his blog: What’s the market doing? And the Russians ARE coming
There are a lot of mixed signals out there and different people have different angles on the French property market at the moment. The Brits are still buying, but not in the numbers that they used to. But then again July and August are generally quiet months for the Brits to buy.
On the other hand, there is still, and increasingly more so, lots more interest from the Dutch, German, Belgian, Swiss and Scandanavian countries, but more than ever it’s the French.
France hasn’t really been affected by the credit crunch due to the fiscal regulations that exist. We did see some small protests when the fuel prices were increased but even that’s come down again now to a more reasonable level.
Strangely, we’ve seen lots of clients with budgets of 1 million-plus euros and are just starting to see the spread of Russians starting to come across from the cote d’Azur and they’re really holding up and maybe inflating the prices at the top end of the market, saying that there are lots of properties on the market, and we are seeing stronger negotiating from buyers, but within reason.
With Languedoc becoming the fourth biggest in France for industry the prices should still see some rise and figures have been quoted at approximately 7 percent by a respected body of real estate agents which is up from last year’s figures. Personally, I think this might be a little on the high side and we should wait and see what the third quarter of the year brings us.
Editor’s Note:
Jason Leach is with www.simplylanguedocproperties.com, a subsidiary of R. CHAYLA Immobilier in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1991, R. CHAYLA has a multilingual team, agencies with cutting-edge technology and exposure on dozens of Web sites. They are known across France, and their international exposure grows daily. They are members of the Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate network. Wow! This blog entry is in English. It’s a good idea to keep informed on what’s going on with global luxury property markets. Thanks for the great information, Jason.
By Benjamin Pradel
From his blog: [Technologie] Des agences toujours à la pointe
C'est toujours avec le même souci d'innovation et de conserver une longueur d'avance que Rodolphe a fait équiper les 5 agences d'un système d'écrans plats dans les bureaux.
L'équipe commerciale dispose maintenant d'un outil performant et unique pour la présentation des biens; un diaporama prenant le relais lorsque l'écran n'est pas utilisé.
Parallèlement, des écrans transflectifs ont vu le jour dans les vitrines du Siège Social, le procédé est simple, plus la luminosité extérieure est importante et plus l’écran est lumineux!
Pour ne pas s'arrêter en si bon chemin, les supports d'affiches vitrine ont été remplacé par des modèles innovants avec un rétro éclairage à LED du plus bel effet.
Editor’s Note:
Don’t speak French? Click here for an English version of this blog entry. Benjamin Pradel is an Information and Technology Specialist with R. CHAYLA Immobilier in Carcassonne, France. Founded in 1991, R. CHAYLA has a multilingual team, agencies with cutting-edge technology and exposure on dozens of Web sites. They are known across France, and their international exposure grows daily. Be sure to keep checking back at the Luxury Real Estate Blog for interesting international content like this.
By Benjamin Pradel
From his blog: R. CHAYLA rejoint le réseau Luxury Real Estate (n°1 mondial)
Déjà membres depuis janvier 2008 du réseau Châteaux & Co., regroupant des agences immobilières indépendantes spécialisées dans les transactions de charme et de prestige en France, nous franchissons un nouveau cap en rejoignant le réseau international LuxuryRealEstate.com.
LuxuryRealEstate.com, n°1 mondial, est un réseau indépendant regroupant 2120 agences immobilières dans le monde dont 7 agences pour la France. Notre agence obtient donc l'exclusivité régionale de Luxury Real Estate.
Outre une fréquentation record du site internet à plus de 62 000 000 de visiteurs / mois, le site www.luxuryrealestate.com est classé n°1 mondial pour les recherches en immobilier de luxe (source: alexa.com). Il est également qualifié en tant que le "meilleur du Web" par le magazine Forbes et le quotidien international Wall Street Journal depuis les sept dernières années.
Notre agence fait donc partie maintenant du plus important réseau d'immobilier de luxe, ce qui devrait nous permettre de renforcer notre image et notre position auprès d'une clientèle à fort pouvoir d'achat.
Editor’s Note:
Don’t speak French? Click here for an English version of this blog entry. It's funny to see what the translator does to the parts already in English. Benjamin Pradel is an Information and Technology Specialist with R. CHAYLA Immobilier in Carcassonne, France. Founded in 1991, R. CHAYLA has a multilingual team, agencies with cutting-edge technology and exposure on dozens of Web sites. They are known across France, and their international exposure grows daily. It’s great to get so much global news and flavor in the Luxury Real Estate Blog. Whether you’re looking for information on luxury homes or luxury markets, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for on www.LuxuryRealEstate.com.
By Patrick Randi Real Estate
Patrick Randi opened his real-estate agency on the left bank of Paris in 1989. Since that date, our office has been playing an important part in the sales on the left bank, which includes the famous V, VI and VII districts and arrondissements of Paris.
While the V district is the oldest, it features many XVI-century buildings, made out of stones and beamed ceilings. It is a colorful district, attracting many students (the Sorbonne), and the apartments are generally smaller and charming.
The VI district is a mixture between the V and the VII centuries, with different periods of construction going from the charming little place to the more exclusive residences.
The VII district is prestigious since, historically, in the XVII, XVIII and XIX centuries enormous mansions with unbelievable gardens were built. Most of them are occupied by French government institutions (Hotel Matignon, house of our Prime Minister), therefore leaving less space for privately owned properties. It is divided in two different areas: St Germain, which is busy with hotels, restaurants and high-end shopping, and the Champs de Mars (Eiffel Tower), which is more residential and quiet. Foreigners adore these three districts, the entire world enjoy walking their attractive streets, where watching is an endless game to play. The Marais is quite similar to the left bank, very active and intriguing.
We also sell many properties on the right bank, the most exclusive being the VIII-century (Avenue Montaigne) and the XVI district (Etoile). These areas are glamorous and we have for sale there a choice group of XIX district apartments. Foreigners also find there the Museums (Grand Palais, etc.), the restaurants and shopping, they are attracted by wider avenues and very large flats (10,000 square feet on Avenue Foch or Avenue d’Iéna), suitable for clients from Russia, the Persian Gulf and United States. In Neuilly, the exclusive suburb of Paris, we handle sales of large mansions with enormous gardens, it is a greener space.
Old prominent French families(most of them a client) live in all these privileged arrondissements, in secluded and amazing properties, featuring the parquet floors, fireplaces and moldings, marvelous showcases for precious family antiques.
The attraction of Paris all over the world is always growing and therefore it may take some time finding the property of one’s dream. Private individuals, as well as investors, are willing to place their money on an ever-increasing market and take advantage of a unique lifestyle.
In Paris, the supply has never been able to keep up with demand, and the prices increase accordingly.
Our most important sales have been to French tycoons, Europeans, Americans, Persian Gulf residents and now we start to welcome Russians and Asians, all of whom are looking for a typically Parisian apartment.
We are lucky enough to be confronted each day with this diversity and vast history. It is fun to encourage and help our foreign clients to «play the French», showing them the open air-markets, the quaint unknown areas, all the little «codes» that make up the French mind or way of life. If we take good care of our long-time French families, we enjoy very much meeting and helping clients from all over the world to settle in Paris for a while or why not forever?
Editor’s Note:
Patrick Randi is the Founder and President of Patrick Randi Real Estate in Paris, France. He is a distinguished member of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate. This is a great blog entry, giving us a taste of the French luxury market and Parisian delights. By the way, Paris is where the 4th Annual Luxury Real Estate International Conference will be hosted. Be sure to sign up for it! The photo is from www.flickr.com/photos/tangysd/2139262874 and it is the copyright of skinnydiver.
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