Luxury Real Estate

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

Email: info@signatureresidencesworldwide.com

www. http://www.signatureresidencesworldwide.com

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 4^th 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.

By Jean-Yves Piton

History, the country of the Cathars, châteaux, sun, Mediterranean, Pyrenees, good food, vines, Canal du Midi and enjoyment of life? All of this is in the Aude. Straddling the Black Mountains, the Pyrenees, the plains of the Lauragais and the Mediterranean Sea, the Aude – a section of the Languedoc Roussillon region – has more than 310,000 inhabitants spread over 6,200 square kilometers. With its exceptional climate, varied countryside and fascinating history, the country of the Cathars invites you to learn more about it.

Carcassonne
Carcassonne is the only town in Europe fortified by a double enclosure that is still inhabited. The oldest parts of it date back to the 6th century BC. This magnificent fortress has been classed as an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997 and is without doubt the most beautiful jewel in the south of France. 2,500 years of history to be discovered...

Today, the best way to visit Carcassonne is to wander up and down its little streets and, even better, to do so with a guide. There are, however, certain sights which shouldn’t be missed: the Basilica of Saint Nazaire, begun in 925 AD and completed in the first half of the 12th century; the château, built in the 12th century by the Trencavel family, Viscounts of Carcassonne; the Porte Narbonnaise, the gateway recognizable by its two huge towers in the shape of a spur; and finally the Lices (Lists), the area between the two enclosures which used to slope up the hill but was leveled in the 13th century.

The Canal du Midi
14 years to build, 15,000 workmen, 350 works of art (bridges, locks...), 240 kilometers long, this is the work of Pierre Paul Riquet, who began in 1663 in the reign of Louis XIV. The Canal Royal du Languedoc, today called the Canal du Midi, was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It was built to link the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and is an exceptional architectural achievement to be enjoyed on boat cruises, cycling along the tow-path or simply strolling in the shade of the 300-year-old plane trees.

Medieval sites
There are a multitude of medieval sites to visit in the Aude. From Cathar castles to abbeys, from fortified villages to underground caves, not to mention churches and museums – all bear witness to the area’s rich and varied history.

The Mediterranean
As soon as the sun arrives, the Mediterranean awaits you just 60 kilometers away. You can spend the weekend or even longer on some of the most beautiful beaches in the “Golfe du Lion” either via the motorway or the very pretty road through the Corbieres.

The Pyrenees
The ski resorts of the Pyrenees are just over an hour away. These resorts are just as beautiful in the summer as they are in the winter. In addition to skiing, they offer snowshoe walking, sleigh rides, horse riding, fishing, climbing and rafting.

The Aude
The Aude is also an important wine-making area, producing a wide variety of very different appellations.

First, the oldest sparkling wine in the world (dating back to 1531) is Blanquette de Limoux, using Mauzac, Chardonnay and Chenin grape varieties. It is aged in bottles and is drunk as an aperitif or at the end of a meal.

The vineyards of Limoux also produce a fabulous Chardonnay. A large festival called “Toques et Clochers” takes place each year around mid-April. Some of the greatest chefs and vintners in the world come to this to buy oak barrels of the Chardonnay at auction. The profits from this go towards restoring local church towers (clochers).

The Corbières, with its narrow valleys cutting through the hilly landscape, is home to many well-known wine producers. Its reputation dates back to the time of the Roman occupation and its wines are full-bodied and spicy. They improve with age.

The Minervois is one of the oldest Mediterranean wine areas. Its name comes from the ancient city of Minerve, a Roman stronghold built in honor of the Goddess of Wisdom. Its wines range from the exceptional Muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois, to be drunk with “foie gras” or as an aperitif, to steely whites to accompany seafood and reds and roses to go with barbecues and main courses, and even “cassoulet” for the more spicy wines.

Fitou is a very dense area on the edge of the Mediterranean that produces full-bodied wines with flavors characteristic of the most famous “grands crus.” Wines to be kept and to accompany richer dishes.

Cabardès, on the chalky slopes of the south face of the Black Mountains, combines Cabernet, Merlot, Cot, Syrah and Grenache grape varieties. These wines are known for their aromatic complexity and balance.

And finally the Malepere, a wild area of stony terraces and gentle hillsides, produces wines that are strong, supple and generous with flavors of vanilla and red fruits. Merlot, Cabernet, Grenache and Syrah are combined to make wines to accompany red meats, cheeses and casseroles.


Editor’s Note:
Jean-Yves Piton is the Global Services Membership Manager for LuxuryRealEstate.com. He assists Bente Madtsen, the Director of Global Services, in expanding the LuxuryRealEstate.com brand into even more countries around the world. Wow, this is a long blog entry. There are lots of great details in here about southern France. R. Chayla Immobilier is a member of LuxuryRealEstate.com located in Carcassonne, France.