OPP
The UK buyer market finally showed signs of life at the first major overseas property show of the year last weekend.
Widely regarded as a key indicator of UK buyer sentiment, A Place in the Sun Live in London this year offered a seemingly busier crowd and a more positive atmosphere than at 2009’s show. Many exhibitors reporting an increase in leads, or at least that they were satisfied with the number they got, though the show was still incomparable to the much larger exhibitions of a few years ago.
“We were very happy with it compared to last year,” said Rob Gramson, sales consultant with agent Atlas International. “There was a mixture of buyers, some with cash in their hands ready to go and also a long stream of people just looking. But it was proof that the market is coming back.”
Peter Birkett, managing director of Property Repossessions Spain, said it was the best show his company had done. “We took 95 enquiries, 20 people have already booked to go out on inspection trips and a lot of them were saying they were going to buy if they liked the product.”
However, others were more sceptical, saying it could take months before they would have a good idea of how successful it had been. “At A Place in the Sun in Birmingham in October we took a good number of leads but it was four weeks until the first sales and several months until the second one,” said Richard Hattam of Turkey agent Landmark International. “But our first impression was that there was a better concentration of better quality clients this year.”
Ready to buy
Organisers admitted that numbers weren’t up substantially – just 8% compared to last year – but echoed exhibitors’ claims that buyers were more serious. “The marked difference was just how ready to buy everyone was,” said managing director Andy Bridge.
“Exhibitors reported visitors knew what and where they planned to buy and had the finances in place to move ahead. Buyers who were reluctant this time last year now seem to have the confidence to go ahead with their plans.”
The show was largely a return to the traditional, with holiday homes in established locations top of the list for most people. However, investors hunting for distressed bargains could also be found.
Florida agent Prudential Palms Realty expects to follow up on between 60 and 80 enquiries. “I would say that about half were pure investment and the other half holiday home with the intention to let when owners were not in town,” said international business director Carla Rayman.
Buyers’ spending power also indicated a return to a healthier market. “People were looking for a bargain but it wasn’t necessarily at the low end,” said Atlas International’s Rob Gramson.
“What surprised me were people’s budgets,” said Miguel Martinez-Marino, UK country manager for bank-owned Spanish agent Bancaja Habitat. “We were expecting people to be looking to spend around €60,000-€70,000 but they were more interested in properties for €100,000-€200,000.”
New faces, old places
The mix of exhibitors reflected how much the industry had changed over the last 18 months, with big-name developers largely absent and few companies representing emerging destinations or Asian countries. There were some new faces among the crowd, from US foreclosure agents to Philippines developer DMCI testing the market for the first time.
Showing posts with label MARKET. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MARKET. Show all posts
Middelland staat op de Secondhome beurs in Utrecht
Middelland staat met een grote stand op de Secondhome beurs in stand D055 onder de naam 'Middelland Kroatie". Wij staan in het BLAUWE GEDEELTE van de beurs (Frankrijk, Portugal, Griekenland, Kroatie).
Wij zien u graag daar!
Brits discover Croatia again
Travel Daily News, a tourism news portal, has also carried that news.
Alan Brown from Hidden Croatia says British guests have been surprised by the high standards of accommodations and cuisine and are going back time and time again.
Brown adds that Croatia has returned to the tourism map and standards have improved beyond recognition. He claims Croatia offers really good value, great accommodations and high-quality food.
He also notes the country is also very accessible from the UK. There are flights to Split, Pula and Dubrovnik from fourteen regional UK airports, and 50 flights a week during the summer, he says.
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Tourist Season off to a successful start
Croatian Times
More than 60,000 tourists have spent their Eastern holidays on the Adriatic coast, as many as during the best past Croatian tourism seasons.It was also ten per cent more than expected, according to the daily Slobodna Dalmacija.Istria welcomed 30,000, and Split-Dalmatian county 6,500, tourists. Two hundred hotels were open on the Adriatic coast.Zadar had the best results over Easter since the War of Independence (1991-1995).According to the Zadar tourist board, the Zadar area was visited by 5,000 to 6,000 tourists.Zadar tourist board head Zvonko Supe said today (Tues): "This was the best Easter since the end of the war. It appears the season will be good despite many negative prognoses. We are pleased that so many tourists from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Spain and Hungary were here this year. Also, thanks to Ryanair, we have had 450 guests from Scandinavian during the last three days." Supe added that many Croats had also visited Zadar this year.With 3,500 passengers thus far in April, Zadar airport has had double the number compared to the same month last year, according to the 057info.hr website.Most passengers arrived on Ryanair from London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Stockholm and on Germanwings from Cologne and Stuttgart.In the last three days, Split airport has seen the arrival and departure of 6,000 tourists, of whom 4,500 were foreigners.Twenty per cent of the hotels on the coast have reported better results than last year.According to the Dubrovnik tourist board, around 5,000 guests spent their Easter holidays in the Dubrovnik area, an increase of 30 per cent compared to last year. Most guests were from Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan, but there were also many Croats.
More than 60,000 tourists have spent their Eastern holidays on the Adriatic coast, as many as during the best past Croatian tourism seasons.It was also ten per cent more than expected, according to the daily Slobodna Dalmacija.Istria welcomed 30,000, and Split-Dalmatian county 6,500, tourists. Two hundred hotels were open on the Adriatic coast.Zadar had the best results over Easter since the War of Independence (1991-1995).According to the Zadar tourist board, the Zadar area was visited by 5,000 to 6,000 tourists.Zadar tourist board head Zvonko Supe said today (Tues): "This was the best Easter since the end of the war. It appears the season will be good despite many negative prognoses. We are pleased that so many tourists from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Spain and Hungary were here this year. Also, thanks to Ryanair, we have had 450 guests from Scandinavian during the last three days." Supe added that many Croats had also visited Zadar this year.With 3,500 passengers thus far in April, Zadar airport has had double the number compared to the same month last year, according to the 057info.hr website.Most passengers arrived on Ryanair from London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Stockholm and on Germanwings from Cologne and Stuttgart.In the last three days, Split airport has seen the arrival and departure of 6,000 tourists, of whom 4,500 were foreigners.Twenty per cent of the hotels on the coast have reported better results than last year.According to the Dubrovnik tourist board, around 5,000 guests spent their Easter holidays in the Dubrovnik area, an increase of 30 per cent compared to last year. Most guests were from Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan, but there were also many Croats.
No credit crunch for upcoming markets (2)
The Croatian economy is affected by the worldwide credit crunch, but is still scoring much better than Europe in average. Although the economy looks set to continue slowing during 2008 and 2009: industrial production and retail sales are already weak, credit growth is sluggish (given the 12% nominal administrative limit imposed by regulators) and the international environment is not doing great either. At the same time, inflation appears, as expected, to have peaked in July and should end the year slightly higher than 5.0% yoy. The recent drop in oil prices is a key factor behind this scenario. In the meantime, however, the current account deficit should widen to approximately 10% of GDP this year as the impact of higher oil prices in H1 2008 and a widening income deficit on profit repatriation and higher interest payments feed through. Hence, there is no prospect of looser monetary policy settings in the near term. Nonetheless combined FDI and medium and long-term credit inflows will comfortably cover the current account balance.
Thus, the kuna will remain exposed to appreciation pressures.
Check out this report from Bank Austria with the latest update from Croatia's economy
Thus, the kuna will remain exposed to appreciation pressures.
Check out this report from Bank Austria with the latest update from Croatia's economy
VALENCIAN UNSOLD PROPERTY TO BECOME SOCIAL HOUSING
It has never been more important to look at real growth rather than have emotions take the overhand in the decicion the country to invest in. Everyone who spends only a few weeks per year in his second home is an investor (a 'belegger'). Europe's tectonic plates are shifting quicker than ever and what always seemed a sound investment and a country that was so familiar to us now looks bitter. Our advise: do the homework, compare the prices, check the good old system of offer and demand. This article below was published on the OPP (overseas property professional) website explaining what can happen with a house abroad.:
VALENCIAN UNSOLD PROPERTY TO BECOME SOCIAL HOUSING
Valencia’s Generalitat regional government has asked the central government in Madrid for permission to introduce regulations enabling it to sell some of the thousands of unsold properties lying empty in the region as VPO or social housing.VPO, (Vivienda de proteccion official) classed property is offered to first time buyers, or people on relatively low incomes, subsidised by developers and government as way of helping certain sections of the community onto the housing ladder.Valencia’s regional councillor for housing, José Ramón García Antón, met with national minister for housing Beatriz Corredor, to discuss the proposal, which would initially offer some 10,000 properties under the VPO scheme with price reductions of around €15,000. The subsidised stock would only be available to households with a combined income of under €45,000 per year. Certain VPO projects in Alicante for example are only available to families earning under €20,000 per year.Reports vary as to the amount of unsold stock on the Spanish market, however according to CB Richard Ellis the figure stands at one million, with 50,000 – 100,000 of those located across Valencia. A recent report published in El Pais supports this and suggested that one third of the 1.8 million properties built in Spain since 2005 remain unsold.
Increase in interest
Analysts believe that as more stock languishes on the market, and developers struggle to find investors to take this up, more projects will be reconfigured to accept VPO buyers.“There are some advantages for VPO projects (Vivienda de proteccion oficial) for developers,” said Charles de Ros Wallace, director general of Spanish-based CAM Bank. “This means that the end buyers are subsidised if they buy a VPO house and therefore we are going to see some developers reconverting certain developments into VPO projects throughout 2008. This will take off, dependent on the price that the government establishes for VPO, and if it is economical for the developer.”One of Spain’s largest developers, Martinsa-Fadesa, has already taken this step and is offering 47 units in its Costa Esuri project in Ayamonte, Huelva to domestic first time buyers after an approach by the region’s Socialist government.The arrangement with Ayamonte City Council will offer “advantageous financing conditions” to young professionals under the age of 35 who are on low incomes and residents in the area. Those eligible can rent the property at €450 per month after which time they can buy the property at the same monthly rate fixed for five years.
VALENCIAN UNSOLD PROPERTY TO BECOME SOCIAL HOUSING
Valencia’s Generalitat regional government has asked the central government in Madrid for permission to introduce regulations enabling it to sell some of the thousands of unsold properties lying empty in the region as VPO or social housing.VPO, (Vivienda de proteccion official) classed property is offered to first time buyers, or people on relatively low incomes, subsidised by developers and government as way of helping certain sections of the community onto the housing ladder.Valencia’s regional councillor for housing, José Ramón García Antón, met with national minister for housing Beatriz Corredor, to discuss the proposal, which would initially offer some 10,000 properties under the VPO scheme with price reductions of around €15,000. The subsidised stock would only be available to households with a combined income of under €45,000 per year. Certain VPO projects in Alicante for example are only available to families earning under €20,000 per year.Reports vary as to the amount of unsold stock on the Spanish market, however according to CB Richard Ellis the figure stands at one million, with 50,000 – 100,000 of those located across Valencia. A recent report published in El Pais supports this and suggested that one third of the 1.8 million properties built in Spain since 2005 remain unsold.
Increase in interest
Analysts believe that as more stock languishes on the market, and developers struggle to find investors to take this up, more projects will be reconfigured to accept VPO buyers.“There are some advantages for VPO projects (Vivienda de proteccion oficial) for developers,” said Charles de Ros Wallace, director general of Spanish-based CAM Bank. “This means that the end buyers are subsidised if they buy a VPO house and therefore we are going to see some developers reconverting certain developments into VPO projects throughout 2008. This will take off, dependent on the price that the government establishes for VPO, and if it is economical for the developer.”One of Spain’s largest developers, Martinsa-Fadesa, has already taken this step and is offering 47 units in its Costa Esuri project in Ayamonte, Huelva to domestic first time buyers after an approach by the region’s Socialist government.The arrangement with Ayamonte City Council will offer “advantageous financing conditions” to young professionals under the age of 35 who are on low incomes and residents in the area. Those eligible can rent the property at €450 per month after which time they can buy the property at the same monthly rate fixed for five years.
Tourism in Croatia reaches record level
Croatian visitor numbers reaching record levels Visitor numbers in Croatia are likely to reach record levels this year, according to official estimates. Figures cited by IOL Travel showed that during the first nine months of 2007, there were more than nine million foreign arrivals, 6% more than during the same time last year. Meanwhile, tourists were found to have stayed for a total of 53.4 million nights, an increase of 5% on 2006 and a sign of growing demand for rental accommodation in the former Yugoslav republic. This has prompted officials in Croatia to predict further growth in its tourist market during the next few years. Commenting on the country's suitability as a holiday destination, Eduard Kusen of the Tourism Institute said it offered a good infrastructure and lots of visitor attractions. He added: "Croatia has an excellent geographical position as it is close to tourist markets."According to the Southeast European Times, Croatia is aiming to become a European tourism "superpower" that could rival countries such as Greece and Turkey in terms of its market share.
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