An agent is offering up £2 million new homes for sale in Spain – with gardeners thrown in for good measure. Barton Wyatt International (BWI) is marketing two prestige golf properties at La Reserva Rotana, in Majorca, and says both also come with waiters and cooks.

The idea is for property investors to be able to spend as much time as possible on the nine hole private golf course, with one of the villas even boasting its own vineyard. BWI said:

“Both villas boast five en suite double bedrooms, a solarium, 100-square metre pools, an office and 18,000-square metres of land, so the gardeners can be put to good use.”

La Reserva Rotana is just one of a range of elite golf properties marketed by the agent. Villa San Lorenzo, at La Zagaleta Country Club, features a home cinema and gym and is up for grabs for around £5 million.

Golf properties continue to be hot property in Spain. Former England Cricket Captain Ian Botham has snapped up a home in Desert Springs Resort and Golf Club, in Almeria. Here top-end, gated four-bed villas with private pools, fronting the championship golf course, fetch a cool £1.1 million.

BWI specialises in selling homes on golf resorts and also deals with corporate lettings, property management, portfolio management and refurbishment.

Qatari state property investors are reportedly gearing up to buy as much as £5 billion in UK and European commercial property. The news comes just days after it was revealed state investors from the Middle East were in the running to buy large swathes of commercial property in New York as they shifted focus from banks to buildings.

The Telegraph reports the Qatari consortium includes the Qatar National Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank, Barwa International and Qinvest. Assets in London and other prominent European cities will be the properties of choice as property investors seek to capitalise on falling property prices in the UK.

Quoted by the paper, chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank Sheikh Jasim said:

“It is our belief that the United Kingdom continues to be an attractive investment place in Europe.”

Over the weekend the Financial Times reported real estate in New York is now being snapped up by state wealth funds. Groups from Kuwait and Qatar are among those though to be in the running to purchase the GM building, overlooking central park.

An estate agent body has said the UK housing market is showing signs of stabilising, although buyer confidence remains ’shaky’. The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said its members were reporting stability in the number of sales agreed.

Officials added it seemed some buyers were keeping a close eye on the market before taking the plunge, as many were worried about a possible drop in prices. NAEA president Chris Brown said:

“Property supply is good but buyers are being cautious.

“It is apparent from the survey results that some people are adopting a ‘wait and see’ attitude, watching the market before making any decisions.”

He added first-time buyers feeling the effects of the credit crunch were particularly likely to be holding back from getting on the property ladder. Statistics released by the association showed the average difference between asking and sales prices remained at 4.7 per cent.

A regional breakdown showed agents in many areas say potential buyers have been withdrawing recently. The lettings market appears to still be strong in most areas. Mr Brown added:

“Some agents are also finding it difficult to stop sales falling through as people get ‘cold feet’ or fail to secure mortgages but we must remember this happens in the best of markets.”

photo credit: Mr.Thomas

Couples who are able to turn to the ‘bank of mum and dad’ make up the majority of young UK first-time buyers, a case study suggests. Linden Homes said young people who can borrow money from their parents are among the few who can currently make it onto the country’s property ladder.

The firm used two people who recently moved into one of their apartments as an example, with a family loan of £30,000 proving crucial to the purchase. Having made the decision to move in together, Richard Godbold and his partner Laura, both 20, were determined to avoid the increasingly expensive rental market in their home town of Tunbridge Wells.

The £30,0000 from Laura’s parents was used as a deposit on a £182,000 one bedroom apartment at Linden Homes‘ Viva development in Tunbridge Wells town centre. Richard said:

“We have been living with Laura’s parents and were eager to get on the property ladder as opposed to renting when we decided to move in together.

“The loan gave us the boost we needed to get off the ground, and meant we were able to access a more favourable mortgage package.”

Linden Homes South East managing director Paul Cooper, said:

“Parents offering children a helping hand to finance their deposit is a key way of getting first-time buyers onto the property ladder, particularly in the current climate.

“However, there is still a range of competitive mortgage products available, and developers are doing all they can to offer incentives.”

photo credit: kozumel

Officials have said the UAE will get a VAT scheme in 2009, although no exact date has been set. Dubai Customs’ executive director Abdul Rahman Al Saleh said value added tax would arrive in 2009 and would strengthen the region’s economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has previously said the implementation could raise inflation. Quoted by Gulf News, Al Saleh said:

“It is well known globally that implementing VAT in many countries has significantly contributed to boosting the economy’s sustainability, as VAT is considered the ideal tax for already strong economies.”

According to some reports these comments came after Mohsen Khan, the IMF’s Middle Eastern Director, said the arrival of VAT would mean inflation in UAE would go up by bewtween one and two per cent.

When it arrives the rate is expected to be between two and five per cent and will be imposed on consumer goods and services. Dubai’s current inflation rate is already high, with estimates ranging from around nine to as high as 12 per cent.

Earlier this month Dunbai Customs released details of the ‘Dubai Declaration’, a set of recommendations on how it intends to combat piracy and counterfeiting.

photo credit: joiseyshowaa

New York real estate is the new property investment route of choice for wealthy Middle Eastern speculators, according to reports. Gulf and Asian sovereign wealth funds could be moving away from banks in favour of property, the Financial Times says.

The paper states funding representatives from Kuwait and Qatar are among a group of buyers attempting to buy the GM building, which overlooks central park. Four other prime sites are apparently up for grabs as part of the deal, which involves the selling off of real estate belonging to the tycoon Harry Macklowe.

If the deal is agreed, it will mark a major stepping stone for Middle Eastern investors, who have previously concentrated on injecting cash into Wall Street banks. Quoted by the paper, senior managing director of broker GVA Williams Richard Warshauer called the planned sale a potential “watershed transaction”.

The deal could cause some murmurs in the US as sovereign wealth funds remain something of a enigma to the authorities. Late last year US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to develop guidelines for how such government reserve bodies should be permitted to wheel and deal.

One of India’s biggest real estate developers is set to handover a flagship residential project it has developed in a desirable Dubai area. Lokhandwala Infrastructure has finished and sold out the Lady Ratan Manor scheme, Indian Realty News reports.

Based in the central business district of Dubai’s International City, the development includes one and two bedroomed apartments for “gracious living”. Quoted by the site, Lokhandwala sales coordinator Jean Soriano said:

“Indians go back to Dubai instead of Bombay where real estate is more expensive.”

She added demand for the area is so intense people who have bought units in the development have already sold on some of them.

Back in Mumbai the company has already revealed it intends to build Lokhandwala Panorama, a prestige apartment development. The developer has also finished and sold out Lady Ratan Towers in Mumbai, located near the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. The complex includes two interlinked buildings of 22 storeys each offering one, two and three-bedroomed apartments plus penthouses.

Billions of dollars of investment opportunities are on show at a two-day real estate show in United Arab Emirate Ras Al Khaimah (RAK). The second Real Estate and Investment Show, known as RAK REIS, is showcasing the most prominent real estate projects across the emirate and delivering up a feast of business prospects for corporate and individual property investors.

Highlights include resorts, theme parks, desert and hill stations, as well as five and seven-star hotels. Organiser Electro Med says investment will be spurred by the growth of tourist footfall in the Emirate expected to grow from 500,000 in 2007 to 2.5 million by 2012.

Electro Med managing director Waheed Khaled said:

“Ras Al Khaimah is emerging as one of the most vibrant real estate markets not only in the UAE but in the entire region.

“RAK REIS provides the sales platform for exhibitors to showcase their portfolio to corporate and individual investors and thus realise the immense industry potential of Ras Al Khaimah.”

Held at the Ras Al Khaimah Exhibition Centre from May 22nd to 24th, more than 2,450 visitors were expected at the event. Ras Al Khaimah is at the north end of the coast of the Arabian Gulf, positioned between the Hajjar mountains to the east and the Arabian Gulf to the West, and shares mountainous borders with the Sultanate of Oman.

The UK government has unveiled a plan to meet the needs of an estimated 414,000 new homes set to be built in a North East region. Projections show new that the developement of new homes is set to explode in the Yorkshire and Humber area in the period up to 2026.

Around 23,000 new houses are set to be built in the area every year during this period, prompting officials to develop the Yorkshire and Humber Plan. Communities Minister Baroness Andrews said:

“Yorkshire and Humber needs a long-term vision for delivering much needed sustainable growth that addresses its housing shortages, tackles climate change and strengthens the region’s economy.

“If more homes are not built now in Yorkshire and Humber the housing ladder will get even further out of reach leaving the next generation with nowhere to live.”

Millions of pounds in government cash is set to be pumped into the region to speed up the development of new homes, with thousands of residential property investment opportunities set to spring up in the next two years alone.

Environmentally-friendly and sustainable housing will be a big priority, with officials also adding the area is ‘vulnerable’ to climate change. Key points in the plan include confirmation of expected annual job growth of around 29,000 and policies to support economic development in city and town centres.

[tags]real estate[/tags]

Foreclosure rates in an area of one US state are up 40 per cent and show no signs of slowing due to lending patterns. Tennessee’s Memphis Daily News reports the April number of foreclosed homes in Shelby county is up by 40.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.

Analysts used information from real estate company Chandler Reports and found 608 homes were foreclosed last month, even higher than a total of 545 from March. Quoted by the publication, executive director of the Frayser Community Development Corp Steve Lockwood said:

“Conventional wisdom is that it’s going to be tough for another year and a half, just because of the lending patterns.”

Foreclosed home auctions in other states have seen starting bids as low as $1,000 as real estate investors and first-time buyers attempt to snap up cut-priced properties.

The majority of the high Memphis number involved single-family homes.

Earlier this month the Memphis Area Association Realtors (MAAR) reported home sales in the area have dropped by 17.3 percent compared to the same time last year.

MAAR President John Snyder said: “While market activity remains brisk, elevated inventory and higher levels of foreclosures will continue to put pressure on pricing in the near-term.

“Buyers continue to have excellent opportunities in today’s market and should take advantage of these conditions while they can.”

MAAR has more than 5,000 members and is Tennessee’s largest Realtor organisation.