photo credit: Erik Charlton

Construction work has started on an ambitious Hawaiian real estate project featuring luxury condos.

Destination Properties has already begun sales of the two, three and four-bedroom Poipu Beach homes and has drawn interest from Hawaii itself, plus California and Utah.

Sales have steadily continued since then, with the first residences scheduled for occupancy towards the end of 2009.

Called Koloa Landing, the project is a 25-acre residential resort development based on the southern tip of Hawaii’s Kauai island at Poipu Beach.

It is the first major oceanside real estate development in Poipu since 1990, and features the most extensive pool and outdoor facilities on the island.

Sid Landolt of Destination Properties said:

“With the buildings taking shape, buyers can feel confident that Koloa Landing is more than a vision. It’s become a reality thanks to a combination of a strong developer and great real estate.”

A ‘limited number’ of phase one two and three-bedroom condominium homes are still available, Destination Properties said. Prices range from the low $900s to over $2 million.

Other popular Hawaiian property areas include Oahu, Waikiki and Maui. The islands became the 50th state of the US in 1959 and have remained popular with tourists and property buyers, with recent surveys putting the state’s population at around 1,211,537.

photo credit: bettyx1138

One of the last remaining plots on Dubai Marina has been snapped up by local firm Select Group and UK developer Select Property.

The partnership has already sold out six off-plan developments at the UAE marina and is spending AED 678 million on the latest tower.

A ‘luxury Manhattan-style’ complex, the West Avenue development will feature one and two bedroom apartments, along with two bedroom suites and luxury penthouses.

Dubai Marina is the largest man-made marina in the world and prices in the area have soared with the average value per square foot rising from around AED 800 in 2005 to over AED 2,000 this year.

Select Group chief executive Rahail Aslam said:

“Dubai Marina is undeniably one of the most desirable locations for residential property in the Emirate.

“It is perfect for investors looking to benefit from the ongoing Dubai property boom.”

Prices for a studio in West Avenue start at a pre-launch price of AED 1.77 million and are available with a 15 year non -status payment plan, the partnership said.

Select Property specialises in off-plan overseas investment property and only moved into development in March this year.

Select Group currently has £500million worth of assets under development and has already worked on on four off-plan developments including the Marina’s centrepiece Bay Central, the iconic ’super tower’ The Torch, The Point, and Botanica.

The price of a typical British home has gone down by 1.9 per cent so far this month, Nationwide’s regular index shows.

An average house now costs £164,654 compared to £169,316 in July, with the latest total a fall of 10.5 per cent on August 2007.

Further figures from the building society show more borrowers are going for fixed rate mortgages to protect their payments during the uncertain economic climate.

The annual price fall is now in double digits for the first time since the end of 1990.

Nationwide chief economist Fionnuala Earley said:

“Recent activity levels in the housing market have been very subdued. House builders in particular have been reporting significant reductions in site visits and reservations of new properties since this time last year.”

The figures were released a day after it was revealed housebuilding giant Taylor Wimpey had slumped to a £1.5 billion loss in the first half of 2008.

Ms Earley added house builders were saying a lack of confidence in the housing market appeared to be the biggest reason behind the slide in demand, with a tightening on lending also an issue.

She said:

“Estate agents’ data across all property types is a little more optimistic and suggests that there may be some glimmers of interest returning to the market.”

photo credit: dfhuynh

Real estate prices in three prime US urban areas are on the slide with some potential investment bargains on offer.

Prices in multifamily real estate are down by around 30 per cent on last year, according to a quarterly report from PropertyShark.com.

San Francisco prices have also fallen while New York investment property fell in areas such as Queens, while Manhattan values appear to be holding firm.

PropertyShark chief executive Bill Staniford said:

“The correction in the Los Angeles multifamily investment property market seems to have hit hard, with median sale price and median price per square foot down 30.4 per cent and 22.1 per cent respectively over the same quarter last year.”

A fall in sales is a common theme across all three cities, with New York experiencing the steepest decline at 29.4 per cent.

In LA, the foreclosed homes market appears to be dominating, with nearly half of all transactions in the region involving distressed properties.

Both California counties also saw significant price slides below previous two-year record lows.

Compared to the second quarter of 2007, the median sale price in LA fell 30.4 per cent and 15.3 per cent in San Francisco. The median sale price per unit fell 24.7 per cent in LA , and 13.9 per cent in San Francisco.

photo credit: anaru

Super developer Emaar Properties has unveiled a villa investment project designed by fashion icon Giorgio Armani.

The Armani Residences, in Marassi, Egypt, will be built in Sidi Abdel Rahman Bay, a picturesque and historic beach.

Around $1.74 billion will be spent on developing the project, which will be a gated community complete with a town centre, marina, golf courses and hotels.

The villa sizes range from 250 to 500 sq m with each unit featuring a private pool.

Giorgio Armani said:

“While designing the residences I integrated several elements that capture the serenity and calm of beach front living.

“I was also keen to present residents with personalised living spaces that conveyed the comfort, simplicity and understated elegance - cornerstones of the Armani Residences offering.”

Armani is also master-designing the furnishing and bespoke finishing of the homes, which will also include automated security systems and temperature control.

Emaar is planning to market the development to international property investors following the success of a similar Armani project in the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai, UAE.

Sameh Muhtadi, chief executive of Emaar Misr, the firm’s Egyptian subsidiary, said the scheme would build Marassi’s appeal as an

“unparalleled Mediterranean destination on a par with Greek, Italian or French beach resorts.”

Indian property sellers suffering from the country’s real estate slump need only wait for buyers to make their move, a leading firm has said.

Mastghar.com said although the present time was not ‘ideal’ for developers and sellers, buyers are only holding off due to an expected fall in prices.

Industry experts are predicting the current slide in Indian property will last four to six months, with prices dropping 10 to 15 per cent in some urban areas.

A Mastghar statement read: “The decelerated pace has affected the sector. The leading banks have increased the interest rates of home loans and the rate of inflation is also rising.

“Prospective buyers are delaying decisions because of a widespread conjecture of probable price reduction in times to come. How long one should wait and watch is not known, however.”

India’s property market began to boom around six years ago after developers rushed to build new property for a middle class experiencing surging incomes.

Supply outstripped demand in some areas, however, and builders were also hit by the credit crunch.

India’s long-term real estate future still looks bright thanks to a still-improving economy.

Confidence has also been helped by a planned hedge fund investment drive planned by the Donald Trump Organisation, expected to give a $1 billion injection to the country’s property market.

The fall in UK buy-to-let investment mortgages has been less dramatic than the slide in traditional home loans, figures show.

Statistics released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal there were 144,600 new buy-to-let loans in the first half of 2008, down from 176,500 in the second half of 2007.

However, this is a fall of 18 per cent compared to a drop of 28 per cent in house purchase and remortgage loans in the wider market.

CML figures also reveal there are now more than 1.1 million buy-to-let mortgages in the UK, worth £132.5 billion in total. This is a rise of 19 per cent by volume and 25 per cent by value from a year ago.

CML director general Michael Coogan said:

“The shortage of mortgage funding is creating similar problems for buy-to-let landlords as it is for other borrowers.

“However, we expect the rental market to remain underpinned by strong demand, partly because some people who would like to buy a home are being forced to carry on renting for now.”

The CML’s members are banks, building societies and other lenders who together provide around 98 per cent of all residential mortgage lending in the UK.

Reported incidents of US mortgage fraud shot up by 42 percent in the first quarter of 2008, a research firm says.

Florida led all states in frequency of the offence, with the region accounting for almost a quarter of the total, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI).

California was second, followed by a three-way tie for third place between Illinois, Maryland and Michigan.

MARI said:

“For all states, the top fraud incident type was in ‘general application misrepresentation’ followed closely by misrepresentations related to ‘income’ and ‘employment’. In addition, MARI continues to see multiple fraud types, such as identity theft and identity fraud, in loan transactions.”

The group added the American mortgage industry is currently in a ‘volatile’ state.

It also warned criminals were continuing to use the situation as an opportunity to commit more fraud and ‘inflict additional financial damage’ on lenders.

MARI has a database of more than 600 subscribers which represent the firms involved in more than 80 per cent of the wholesale mortgages taken out in the US.

Earlier this month property investors were warned of criminals bombarding buyers with unsolicited emails, ‘free investment seminar’ tickets and ‘infomercials’ to lure people to courses touted as ’secrets’ to US real estate-based wealth.

The Connecticut Better Business Bureau urged property investors to seek referrals and carry out thorough internet research.

Trump Organisation US is to enter the Indian property market with a bang thanks to a $1 billion hedge fund.

Indian Property management firm Maa said the flagship firm of American tycoon Donald Trump will make the move via Mumbai real estate.

Trump’s son, of the same name, first visited the region during the Cityscape real estate conference in Mumbai last year and said ‘now is the time’ to invest in India.

The younger Trump, who is 30, did not give specific details about the fund, but in an interview with Bloomberg, said it would start conservatively and expand ‘as the opportunities presented themselves.’

Last year Trump junior, the executive vice president of development and acquisitions at Trump Organisation US, said India’s red hot economy had fuelled demand for more residential development.

He pointed to luxury housing plus hotels and resorts for the fledgling tourism industry as growth areas.

In his speech at the 2007 event he said:

“We feel it is now time to invest in Indian realty projects as the quality has moved up and we see emergence of some high-end developers with a product level that will support our brand.”

When asked at the conference which cities Trump Organisation was interested in, he said: “Certainly, the city I’m standing on (Mumbai), Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, where the IT sector has witnessed a boom.”

The UAE’s real estate market has seen an average company growth rate of 1,200 to 1,500 per cent in the last eight years, it has been revealed.

Statistics have been released showing the full extent of the region’s property boom, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi leading the way.

Real estate giant Fakhruddin Group said figures from Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and the Dubai Land Department reveal the number of developers and related companies in the two emirates has risen to 4,047.

Fakhruddin Properties director Ali Fakhruddin said:

“The real estate sector is attracting the attention of investors from all over the globe, due in large part to the composed projects and environment that the market provides for investment.”

He added a Manpower survey had also revealed the UAE was rated the sixth most popular work destination, and number one for workers already based in the Middle East.

The 2008 Index of Economic Freedom ranks the UAE economy as 63rd, with a percentage score of 62.8 per cent.

Last month it was revealed property prices in some parts of Abu Dhabi have rocketed by more than 100 per cent thanks to high demand and short supply.

Gulf News reported areas such as Al Raha Beach, an area developed by Aldar Properties, is among the sites experiencing the huge growth.