Overseas Property Blog :: guide to international real estate investment

Archive for July, 2008

Uncertain Times for Foreign Property Owners in Goa

by OP-Mall on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 in Goa Property, Indian Property

cidade-de-goa-resort-goa-vainguinim-beach | credit:ishitaa
Goa Vainguinim beach

We just read an interesting radio interview transcript between BBC presenter John Waite and some expat UK property buyers that purchased property in the little slice of Indian paradise called Goa.

It seems that one little word can potentially cost hundreds of them their home. The word in question is “uncertain” and it was the hook needed by the Goan government to change a perfect existing law into one that is causing disbelief, upheaval and costly court cases in the future for sure.

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International Property News Beat – Rio Ferdinand in Morocco, A UAE Hedge & Going Green in Dubai

by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 in Property News Summaries

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Mixed Signals from Indonesia’s Housing Boom

by OP-Mall on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 in South-East-Asia Property

jakarta-skyline | credits:aditchandra
Jakarta Skyline

Property stocks are hot property in Indonesia right now as reported by Reuters last weekend. Investors can get huge reduced gifting stakes in retail hotel complexes, commercial development and housing projects.

Some of these gifting (schemes) are reduced with a 70% discount against the property’s own selling price. While share prices have skydived in the country, reflecting a market crash, property stocks still provide investors with ways to make profits.

This strategy seems to pay off well right now as homes are sold like there is no tomorrow.

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Most Expensive Cities – Mercer 2008 Cost Of Living Survey

by Overseas Property Mall on Monday, July 28th, 2008 in Stats, Surveys

gum-shopping-arcade-moscow-russia | credit:Effervescing                              GUM Shopping Arcade: Moscow’s most exclusive shopping mall

Mercer have just released their new list on the cost of living in cities around the world. If you remember, we blogged about their list last year in the Mercer Global Cost of Living Survey.

There have been some interesting changes although the top position for most expensive city in the world has once again been awarded to Moscow. If this is too much of an expensive market for you, you can always escape to Asunción in Paraguay as the cheapest. The top ten places on the Mercer survey are clearly dominated by European and Asian cities.

The major blame to the changes and shifts in the rankings can obviously be attributed to the weakening of the US dollar. In total, the survey covers 143 cities across six continents, measuring the comparative costs of entertainment, household goods, housing, food, transport, clothing and more (200 each).

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Property Buyers’ Guide to China

by OP-Mall on Monday, July 28th, 2008 in Buying Property, China Property, Guides and Tips

China’s property laws are not easy to see through if you have never been there or are not familiar with local laws and customs. On our journey through the online world of information we came across many contradicting messages and while trying to sort through all the stuff we came up with the following information. To stay true to all the sources we have quoted many and hope the result is a somewhat informative guide to buying real estate in China.

According to a recent report by WorldBank, 120 cities and regions within China have been surveyed for their overall investment climate.

Taken into account were differences in the importance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in local industries, over staffing of labor, firm access to bank loans, confidence in protection of property and contract rights and overall adequacy of local transport and power.

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Is Greece Europe’s Forgotten Market?

by OP-Mall on Friday, July 25th, 2008 in Greece Property

naxos-greece|credits:arkntina
A Marina community in the town of Naxos, Greece

Greek islands are well renowned for their sunshine, laid back lifestyle, great food and not to forget Greek folk songs. While other European markets approach a stand still, there appears to be an increasing number of rich Europeans buying luxury properties on the Greek islands.

With popular second home property hotspots like Bulgaria and Spain coming to a complete halt and Germany slowly but steadily rising, Greece appears to be surging on strong.

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Consolidating European Housing Prices

by OP-Mall on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 in European Property

eu-flag | credits:squarcina(flickr)The need to consolidate European housing market data was emphasised in a recent piece from the FT. They stated that based on the current information available, there is difficulty in finding relevant European housing market data for market comparison purposes.

Creating such a database does make sense, however we also feel it might not be as easily done as said since there can never be a direct comparison between two markets anyway. For the purpose of information however it is certainly a great idea.

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Stylish Living At The Gramercy Residences In Makati

by Overseas Property Mall on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 in International Properties for Sale | Real Estate Listings, Makati Property, Manila Property, Philippines Property

Inspired by New York city, The Gramercy Residences will be the first residential tower to rise at the prestigious Century City in Makati. Makati is the consummate urban capital of the Philippines with one million people converging in the city every single day. It is the hub and the pulsating heart of the country and one of the cities that make up Manila.

Makati boasts top class shopping center, hotels, schools, churches and the most exclusive high rise villages and exclusive residential living in the country.

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International Property News Beat – Cooling Ha noi, Booming Ras Al Khaimah & Canada Housing Rise

by Overseas Property Mall on Monday, July 21st, 2008 in Property News Summaries

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Property Grand Prix Germany

by OP-Mall on Monday, July 21st, 2008 in German Property

Hockenheim’s race on Sunday was another win for Brit Lewis Hamilton, tallying his overall points to 58 which puts him into the Championship lead, ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa. Having started in pole position, Hamilton was leading the field until he was called into the pits for a late stop, due to German Timo Glock’s accident. Glock crashed into a wall when his rear tire suddenly deflated at lap 36. Luckily he didn’t carry any serious injuries and was later released from hospital. The accident brought out the safety car, which kept Hamilton on the track while the rest of the field did their final pit stops.

When he was finally forced for his pit stop Hamilton lost the lead to Finn Kovalainen, Brazilian Massa and rookie driver Nelson Piquet Jr., also from Brazil. But Hamilton couldn’t be stopped and with eight laps to go he snuck his way back into the lead and eventually into race victory.

His win gave McLaren their first win in Hockenheim since 1998 while rookie driver Piquet celebrated his first ever podium.

Biggest rival Ferrari didn’t have a particular great day but still managed to come away with third and sixth place.

  1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
  2. Nelsinho Piquet (Renault)
  3. Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

The race result must have been quite emotional for Piquet Jr., as it was the first time since 1991 two Brazilians shared the podium. Back then it was his father Nelson Piquet Sr. who was joined by legend Ayrton Senna on the winning podium.

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