Category — Property News

Germany’s structure as a Federal state has ensured that its real estate market is characterised by a number of key cities rather than one dominant capital. Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich are seen as the Top 5 cities, however international investors are frequently attracted to locations other than these such as Cologne, Dresden, Leipzig or Stuttgart. The reasons for recent growth in German property prices have been a mixture of low borrowing costs, the prospects for economic and rental growth together with reasonably attractive yields. The previous East and West differentiation appears to be vanishing and the top purchase prices are being paid in Munich (the most expensive real estate market in Germany).

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Luxury comes in many forms. There is gold taps and sumptuous chintz or there is bare minimalism where less is definitely more.

Hotelier Sonu Shivdasani believes in the second type. He thinks luxury is “space, privacy and simplicity” and has made a small fortune selling this dream to celebrities and wealthy business people through his award-winning hotel chain, Soneva Resorts.

Soneva Kiri

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BuyAssociation.co.uk property editor Paul Collins predicts the best countries for overseas property in 2008.

Predicting the next big markets for overseas property buyers is becoming increasingly difficult as time moves on, as there are now few developed countries where British buyers have not started to pick up property and develop or improve it. With the increasing influence of low-cost airlines on how we decide on and take our holidays, along with the demise of the traditional package holiday, owning a holiday home is more and more the norm for the general public.

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This time last year, we didn’t even know what a credit crunch was. Now, the term laces every property conversation, along with widespread apprehension over just how far its insidious tentacles will stretch. But the year began optimistically, with the European Union’s two newest members, Bulgaria and Romania, expecting to enjoy the boom that this seal of approval brings. As it has turned out, prices for off-plan properties in Bulgaria haven’t soared as expected, says Robin Barrasford, of Barrasford and Bird. Currently, they remain stable. However, the resale market is seeing bigger leaps in value, with demand for resale properties up 70 per cent on last year and sellers making profits of about 45 per cent.

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BuyAssociation.co.uk Property Editor Paul Collins predicts the best countries for overseas property in 2008.

Introduction
Predicting the next big markets for overseas property buyers is becoming increasingly difficult as time moves on, as there are now few developed countries where British buyers have not started to pick up property and develop or improve it. With the increasing influence of low-cost airlines on how we decide on and take our holidays, along with the demise of the traditional package holiday, owning a holiday home is more and more the norm for the general public.

[Read more →]