Credit crunched, mortgages squeezed, investments wobbling... there's no shortage of reasons to feel nervous about the property market. But two professional property investors are feeling good about the future.
"The market is the best it's been for four years," says Rob Moore who, with his business partner Mark Homer, runs a property investment service, www. progressiveproperty.co.uk and is co-author of The 44 Most Closely Guarded Property Secrets, which aims to demystify property investment.
You may think Moore and Homer's upbeat stance is propaganda. But Moore tells me that in the 11 days leading up to our interview the pair have agreed sales on 10 properties. He is confident that they can still profit in hard times.
For a property investment service to be sending out such positive signals now is rare. Even Inside Track, which grew to be one of the biggest and persuasive of all the property clubs that sprung from the bull market, has called a halt to its hype-fuelled seminars.
"I'm not wholly surprised that Inside Track has stopped its seminars. Their investment model was built around buying off-plan, buying new-builds and buying overseas. Yields for those kinds of properties are down. With newer properties, the rent vs value ratio is lower," says Moore. "Mark and I jointly own 35 properties, 90 per cent of which are in Peterborough. Our rents were up between 18 and 20 per cent between October 2007 and March 2008."
Moore concedes that he benefited from a restructuring of the way in which public housing tenants' rent was paid – a one-off boost. But he says there are areas across Britain that are performing well. Moore quotes a paragraph in Mortgage Express's Buy to Let magazine, in which a spokesperson for the London-based Winkworth estate agency states that tenants renewing their agreements face increases of 5 to 10 per cent on a year ago, and that new occupants face rises as high as 20 per cent.
"It's logical," Moore adds. "When prices are coming down, there are fewer buyers but more people starting to rent. Therefore rental demand goes up, leading to a forced rental growth. It gives you the ability to charge higher rents.
So what makes his book different from the others out there? "Ours is the only property book that sets out a system showing you how to make money from property investment." But why would they divulge these potentially lucrative secrets? "Most other books are conceptual," he continues, "but we wrote ours to show readers that we are the experts and this is how you do it. If you don't make these mistakes and follow these rules, you will make money."
Sounds like there's got to be a catch, but Homer and Moore have written about their own experience of investing that's yielded a very successful business. And it's not all founded on grand, expensive gestures.
"The long and short of it," reveals Moore, "is buy small places under the stamp-duty threshold where the rental market is strong or growing. There's homework to be done, but if you trust us and stick to the rules, you'll be making £10k to 15k per property per year. When we started," he says, "we tried everything to see what worked. New-build, off-plan, overseas, but they were all a struggle. We also quickly realised that instead of having 50 properties scattered around, it was better to have 50 within one mile. It became much more manageable and contained."
"We operate in Peterborough," adds Homer, "but our model can be and has been applied anywhere in the country. We've built up relationships with all the local agents and we make 40 to 50 offers a week on properties. They know we will never pull out once we've made an offer and that the purchase will be quick. We've built up a high level of trust."
Estate agents' trust is one thing, but how do 50 cheeky offers a week translate into a growing property business? "Most offers are turned down, but one in 10 sellers doesn't have price at the top of their priorities list, because of their circumstances. That's where we make a potential 10 to 15 per cent saving. We'll then refurbish the property, taking care that every £1 we spend will add at least £3 of value.
"We'll then have the property revalued and refinanced," continues Homer, "allowing us to get our outlay back and benefit from 8 to 10 per cent gross yield in rent. It's far better now than it's ever been. Yields are working, rents have soared... it's the best it's been for four years." Ah, there's that statement again.
How do they pinpoint an area and type of property to buy? "We look for a town on the up but target low- to medium-income areas, as these will have more of a rental culture," says Homer. "Look for regeneration and investment. This could be expanding stations, a new hospital or jobs being created."
"New-builds and off-plan homes carry a built-in premium and are more difficult to cover with rental income. Stick to one- or two-bed properties in period conversions or ex-local authority. We've found these typically have voids of less than a week per year, and tenants tend to stay put rather than see the property as a stepping-stone."
Profiting from property is never a no-effort game, but Moore and Homer's book stops it seeming an unapproachable venture.
Trade secrets: how to make money in a falling market
1. Become an expert in your area
Once you've chosen an area, get to know it thoroughly. Use websites such as www.rightmove.co.uk to gather information, sticking to one- and two-bedroom properties at the lower end of the market. Get to know all the roads, streets and properties. Allow it to become your obsession.
2. Offer, offer and offer again
Put in offers on 90 per cent of what you view, and offer at least 10 per cent below the asking price. Expect that 95 per cent of the offers you make will be unsuccessful, but move quickly once an offer is accepted.
3. Make friends and influence people
Make the local estate agents your best friends. Buy them a drink, send them a bottle of champagne when you complete on a property they introduced you to, and make sure they ring you first about anything new that they are instructed to sell.
4. Know your enemy
Get to know the local lettings market inside out. Speak to the agents, find out about the areas with high demand for rented accommodation, and how much these rentals fetch. Find out how many properties the agents manage. Discover if the owner of the lettings agent also invests, and if the answer is yes, find out where those properties are located.
5. Stick to the rules
Look for smaller, cheaper properties under the stamp duty threshold, in areas where rental demand is high (so the property will hopefully be left empty for shorter periods between tenants) and yields are high, too – period conversions or ex-local authority flats are often best for this.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/is-buytolet-really-dead-817825.html
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Turkey stable
Turkey is a key factor for stability and peace in the Balkans, participants of International Balkans Congress agreed.
The International Balkans Congress, started Thursday at Tekirdağ's Namık Kemal University. Nearly 50 academics from 14 nations, as well as Turkey's State Minister Mustafa Said Yazıcıoğlu and Mahir Yağcılar, the environment minister of newly independent Kosovo, gathered in Tekirdağ to talk about current problems in the region.
Süleyman Şensoy from the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies, one of the organizers of the congress, noted that the Balkans with its complex ethnic and religious structure is of crucial importance to the world.
"But this ethnic and religious structure sometimes turns into an advantage, and sometimes into a disadvantage," he said. "When one nation tries to rule another nation or nations, disaster happens. And we have witnessed such events in the region."
"For Turkey, the Balkans is of military, economic and social security importance," he told the TDN. "It is a region of many alternatives, but there are also threats emanating from this quality. It is a conflict arena for major powers. Thus, it is vulnerable to chaos and manipulations."
With the meeting, Turkey delivered three messages to the region, he said: "Turkey wants to be close to the entire Balkans, not just its neighbors. Turkey wants to handle the problems in the region with a ‘realpolitik' approach, not an ethnic or religious one. Also, Turkey seeks strong alliances of cooperation and dialogue with the Balkan states. Similar to its role in the Middle East, Turkey wants to get involved in solving the region's problems."
"We have found a chance to discuss and specify the Balkan identity," Dr. Nikolay Vukov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences told the Turkish Daily News. "Here, participants can discuss problems with the Balkan identity. It is an opportunity for us to meet academics who are working on these ideas."
"Turkey, as a Balkan nation, is a key factor for stability and peace in the region. It has diverse historical and cultural heritage and traditions" he said.
Change in balances:
Borka Tomic, project manager of the Serbian Institute for Public Diplomacy, meanwhile, highlighted the significance of the congress in terms of the "European vision" for the Balkans. "Nowadays, the Balkans is witnessing a change in balances," she told the TDN. "For example, Kosovo became an independent state, and this goes against international law and also the resolutions of the United Nations and decisions of the European Union."
Kosovo's independence shows the region "faces short- and long-term problems," she said.
Tomic summarized the short-term challenges in the Balkans as: Economic growth, social construction and respect for international law.
"I believe in the importance of regional cooperation. Because we have common historical, cultural and social backgrounds," she said. "This congress, hosted by Turkey, raises our awareness of the country. Also for Turkey it is a good chance to create an EU perspective."
The International Balkans Congress, started Thursday at Tekirdağ's Namık Kemal University. Nearly 50 academics from 14 nations, as well as Turkey's State Minister Mustafa Said Yazıcıoğlu and Mahir Yağcılar, the environment minister of newly independent Kosovo, gathered in Tekirdağ to talk about current problems in the region.
Süleyman Şensoy from the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies, one of the organizers of the congress, noted that the Balkans with its complex ethnic and religious structure is of crucial importance to the world.
"But this ethnic and religious structure sometimes turns into an advantage, and sometimes into a disadvantage," he said. "When one nation tries to rule another nation or nations, disaster happens. And we have witnessed such events in the region."
"For Turkey, the Balkans is of military, economic and social security importance," he told the TDN. "It is a region of many alternatives, but there are also threats emanating from this quality. It is a conflict arena for major powers. Thus, it is vulnerable to chaos and manipulations."
With the meeting, Turkey delivered three messages to the region, he said: "Turkey wants to be close to the entire Balkans, not just its neighbors. Turkey wants to handle the problems in the region with a ‘realpolitik' approach, not an ethnic or religious one. Also, Turkey seeks strong alliances of cooperation and dialogue with the Balkan states. Similar to its role in the Middle East, Turkey wants to get involved in solving the region's problems."
"We have found a chance to discuss and specify the Balkan identity," Dr. Nikolay Vukov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences told the Turkish Daily News. "Here, participants can discuss problems with the Balkan identity. It is an opportunity for us to meet academics who are working on these ideas."
"Turkey, as a Balkan nation, is a key factor for stability and peace in the region. It has diverse historical and cultural heritage and traditions" he said.
Change in balances:
Borka Tomic, project manager of the Serbian Institute for Public Diplomacy, meanwhile, highlighted the significance of the congress in terms of the "European vision" for the Balkans. "Nowadays, the Balkans is witnessing a change in balances," she told the TDN. "For example, Kosovo became an independent state, and this goes against international law and also the resolutions of the United Nations and decisions of the European Union."
Kosovo's independence shows the region "faces short- and long-term problems," she said.
Tomic summarized the short-term challenges in the Balkans as: Economic growth, social construction and respect for international law.
"I believe in the importance of regional cooperation. Because we have common historical, cultural and social backgrounds," she said. "This congress, hosted by Turkey, raises our awareness of the country. Also for Turkey it is a good chance to create an EU perspective."
Friday, April 25, 2008
European Property Woes
Investment returns from European non-listed real estate funds fell sharply in 2007 as the credit crunch began to bite into fund performance, Institutional Vehicles Index of European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) has found.
INREV, which is celebrating its fifth year of operations this year, opened its annual conference in Istanbul Wednesday. The conference, which consists of networking sessions of almost 400 investment professionals and panel discussions on, among other topics, indirect property investments in emerging markets, risk management and the current challenging financial landscape, ends today.
UK worst hit
Measured in euros, the INREV Institutional index yielded a -3.9 percent total return in 2007, compared with 21 percent in 2006.
“The fall can be explained by the euro increasing against the dollar and sterling as well as a poor performance from the United Kingdom market for non-listed real estate funds,” said INREV Research Director Andrea Carpenter.
INREV Chief Executive Lisette van Doorn added the results mask the fact that continental Europe still turned in a strong performance at 12.5 percent in 2007, as is shown in INREV's new Europe Ex-UK sub-index. “This is still down on the 16.1 percent from 2006 but demonstrates that the impact of the credit crunch is varying greatly across the European markets with the U.K. taking the greatest hit so far,” she said.
“The majority of continental European funds have performed far better than vehicles in the U.K., as shown by the overall 2007 index figures. There was, nevertheless, an increase in yields, but the underlying market was not affected by the credit crunch as the U.K.,” said Michael Morgenroth, member of the board of Germany's Gothaer Asset Management. “With the return of risk considerations into pricing, there could be further rises in yields to come on the continent this year,” he added.
Currency effect
The strong influence of currency factors in the performance of the INREV Index in 2007 can be seen when the results were expressed in sterling producing a return of 4.8 percent, or in dollars at 6.6 percent, but the heavy weighting of the U.K. market in the overall index was also a major contributory factor in the low European total return. In sterling the U.K. market returned -5.9 percent compared with -13.8 percent in euros.
The INREV Index measures annual net asset value-based performance for non-listed real estate fund investing more than 90 percent of their portfolios in Europe. The 2007 release of the index covers 257 funds – including retail funds – with a total net asset value of 162.3 billion euros.
INREV, which is celebrating its fifth year of operations this year, opened its annual conference in Istanbul Wednesday. The conference, which consists of networking sessions of almost 400 investment professionals and panel discussions on, among other topics, indirect property investments in emerging markets, risk management and the current challenging financial landscape, ends today.
UK worst hit
Measured in euros, the INREV Institutional index yielded a -3.9 percent total return in 2007, compared with 21 percent in 2006.
“The fall can be explained by the euro increasing against the dollar and sterling as well as a poor performance from the United Kingdom market for non-listed real estate funds,” said INREV Research Director Andrea Carpenter.
INREV Chief Executive Lisette van Doorn added the results mask the fact that continental Europe still turned in a strong performance at 12.5 percent in 2007, as is shown in INREV's new Europe Ex-UK sub-index. “This is still down on the 16.1 percent from 2006 but demonstrates that the impact of the credit crunch is varying greatly across the European markets with the U.K. taking the greatest hit so far,” she said.
“The majority of continental European funds have performed far better than vehicles in the U.K., as shown by the overall 2007 index figures. There was, nevertheless, an increase in yields, but the underlying market was not affected by the credit crunch as the U.K.,” said Michael Morgenroth, member of the board of Germany's Gothaer Asset Management. “With the return of risk considerations into pricing, there could be further rises in yields to come on the continent this year,” he added.
Currency effect
The strong influence of currency factors in the performance of the INREV Index in 2007 can be seen when the results were expressed in sterling producing a return of 4.8 percent, or in dollars at 6.6 percent, but the heavy weighting of the U.K. market in the overall index was also a major contributory factor in the low European total return. In sterling the U.K. market returned -5.9 percent compared with -13.8 percent in euros.
The INREV Index measures annual net asset value-based performance for non-listed real estate fund investing more than 90 percent of their portfolios in Europe. The 2007 release of the index covers 257 funds – including retail funds – with a total net asset value of 162.3 billion euros.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Property in Brazil
International real estate investors I would advise you to take a good long look at Brazil for investment. Having returned from North East Brazil and seen for myself the sheer potential in this part of the region it certainly looks ripe for investment.
Setting the scene
Blue skies, great food, low price food and drink, stunning women, friendly atmosphere, and that feeling that you are truly away from home . I would want to buy a place in Brazil.
Natal Tipped for the Top
The property market in Natal is in its early stages and investors who get in early may benefit the long term. The coastline around Natal is development free and within the last few years land has been sold to property developers and is ready for construction. Buying a beach front plot of land in Natal could serve as a great investment. The area will have a new airport and will be the place for Brazilian s and international tourists to visit.
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil.
Fortaleza the capital of Brazil’s North eastern state of Ceara is stunning with miles of beaches and un spoilt landscape. Popular with Brazilian and South American holiday tourists it is now being recognised by foreign property investors as an area that is taking the overseas property market by storm
Fortaleza
Beaches, beaches, beaches, Hundreds of miles of untouched pristine beaches. Ocean surface temperatures are 82 F all year round with 65 feet of visibility underwater.
Tourism: a 270% increase in tourism over the last eight years this is expected to increase to nearly double the current number of foreign visitors to the area by 2008
Climate: Guaranteed good weather at least 90 percent of the time with more than 335 days per year of glorious sunshine. An endless summer
Low Crime: Fortaleza, Brazil’s fifth largest city, ranks 23rd in crime. Brazil is considered low risk in respect of war, terrorism SARs. You are probably more at risk where you are right now.
Setting the scene
Blue skies, great food, low price food and drink, stunning women, friendly atmosphere, and that feeling that you are truly away from home . I would want to buy a place in Brazil.
Natal Tipped for the Top
The property market in Natal is in its early stages and investors who get in early may benefit the long term. The coastline around Natal is development free and within the last few years land has been sold to property developers and is ready for construction. Buying a beach front plot of land in Natal could serve as a great investment. The area will have a new airport and will be the place for Brazilian s and international tourists to visit.
Fortaleza Ceara Brazil.
Fortaleza the capital of Brazil’s North eastern state of Ceara is stunning with miles of beaches and un spoilt landscape. Popular with Brazilian and South American holiday tourists it is now being recognised by foreign property investors as an area that is taking the overseas property market by storm
Fortaleza
Beaches, beaches, beaches, Hundreds of miles of untouched pristine beaches. Ocean surface temperatures are 82 F all year round with 65 feet of visibility underwater.
Tourism: a 270% increase in tourism over the last eight years this is expected to increase to nearly double the current number of foreign visitors to the area by 2008
Climate: Guaranteed good weather at least 90 percent of the time with more than 335 days per year of glorious sunshine. An endless summer
Low Crime: Fortaleza, Brazil’s fifth largest city, ranks 23rd in crime. Brazil is considered low risk in respect of war, terrorism SARs. You are probably more at risk where you are right now.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
tourism?
Turkey ranked 11th in terms of tourist arrivals and ninth in tourism revenues among the worlds' top 20 tourism destinations, the State Planning Organization (DPT) said.
The country, which hosted 722,000 tourists in January 2007, attracted 727,000 tourists in the same month this year, according to DPT data.
Despite the stagnation in tourism in the first four months of the year, Turkey, which hosted 18.48 million tourists last year, is expected to be visited by approximately 23.2 million tourists by the end of the year. Some experts predict that the number of tourists will rise to 1.5 million as of May and may reach 3-3.5 million during this summer.
The number of visiting tourists, which stood at 377,000 in January 2003, reached 602,000 and 690,000 in the corresponding periods of 2004 and 2005. The total number of tourists to enter Turkey was 13.2 million in 2003, and 15.89 million in 2004. Some 18.15 million tourists visited the country in 2005, but the figure declined by 7.2 percent to 16.85 million in 2006.
The number of tourists who visited France was 79.1 million, while Spain hosted 58.5 million tourists and Italy attracted 41.1 people in one year, said the DPT. The total number of tourists visiting France, Spain and Italy reached 178.7 million.
Turkey earned $18.6 billion from tourism last year, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO). For this year, tourism revenues are expected to total $19.5 billion.
The country, which hosted 722,000 tourists in January 2007, attracted 727,000 tourists in the same month this year, according to DPT data.
Despite the stagnation in tourism in the first four months of the year, Turkey, which hosted 18.48 million tourists last year, is expected to be visited by approximately 23.2 million tourists by the end of the year. Some experts predict that the number of tourists will rise to 1.5 million as of May and may reach 3-3.5 million during this summer.
The number of visiting tourists, which stood at 377,000 in January 2003, reached 602,000 and 690,000 in the corresponding periods of 2004 and 2005. The total number of tourists to enter Turkey was 13.2 million in 2003, and 15.89 million in 2004. Some 18.15 million tourists visited the country in 2005, but the figure declined by 7.2 percent to 16.85 million in 2006.
The number of tourists who visited France was 79.1 million, while Spain hosted 58.5 million tourists and Italy attracted 41.1 people in one year, said the DPT. The total number of tourists visiting France, Spain and Italy reached 178.7 million.
Turkey earned $18.6 billion from tourism last year, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO). For this year, tourism revenues are expected to total $19.5 billion.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Cruises to Altinkum
A TWICE-A-WEEK ferry service from Altınkum to Kos will be launched sometime during the summer, Voices can reveal.
News of the much-delayed service was unveiled this week as it was announced that Didim International Port, the newest on the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, will open officially on May 1.
Fatih Dağıstanoglu, deputy chief executive officer, of Yeşil Marmaris Lines, who will operate the service, said an announcement would be made within weeks confirming the days the twice-weekly service will run and when from.
However, the company confidently expects some result as it has begun to publicise two schedules for tourists coming on the Kos-Altinkum service on its website
It states the service will leave at 8.30am from Kos and return from Didim at 5.20pm, on the Swedish-built 220-capacity catamaran Aegean Jet.
The port will be operated initially by customs staff from Kuşadası Port.
Mr Dağıstanoglu said the port would also host at least four cruise ships, operated by the Seattle-based Windstar Cruises, with the first on Wednesday May 21.
Two more cruise ships will visit on Wednesday May 28 and one on June 4 – with passengers being given the option of taking pre-planned excursions to Ephesus, or to enjoy the delights of Altınkum.
The cruise liners, Wind Star and Wind Spirit, which each have a capacity of 148 passengers, will dock in Altınkum Bay, with passengers being taken on board smaller ships into the port.
Windstar Cruises has opted to call in at Altınkum as the time from Patmos to Altınkum is only one-and-a-half hours, as against four hours to Kuşadasi, and enable travelers to get to the likes of Ephesus quicker.
The announcements were made at the port on Thursday (Apr 10), with many officials in attendance, including Didim governor Mustafa Malay. A cocktail party for the official opening will be held, with many dignitaries present, on May 1.
Travellers on the Windstar Cruises can choose from 46 7-day sailings during May through October to visit beautiful locations, such as Altınkum, and the Greek Isles.
Windstar is the only cruise line that offers such an extensive season of itineraries and traditionally sell out very fast.
Itineraries start or end in Venice, Italy; Rome, Italy; Athens, Greece; or Istanbul, with one itinerary featuring Sarandë, Albania and two itineraries featuring Dubrovnik, Croatia.
A variety of Greek ports are offered including Capri, Messina, Gythion, Návplion, Ermoúpolis, Katákolon, Gythion, Mykonos, Santoríni, Rhodes, Monemvasia, Corfu, Cephaloniá and Kathira.
On Wind Star and Wind Spirit, the Lounge, Veranda and Pool Bar have been renovated. In order to take each ship’s comfort level to a new degree of luxury, Apple iPod Nanos and Bose SoundDock speakers, flat screen televisions, luxury linens and mattresses as well as L’Occitane bathroom amenities have been added in each stateroom across the fleet.
Cruise rates begin at $2,599 per person, based on double occupancy.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Properties in spain
Half of Spain's estate agencies closed their doors last year amid a sharp downturn in the sector, according to figures from the nation's main estate agents' association API.
Of the roughly 80,000 estate agencies that existed at the beginning of 2007, only 40,000 have survived the slump in sales, the figures show.
'The majority of the agencies that disappeared were businesses that many times operated with nothing more than a mobile telephone,' API head Santiago Baena said. 'It was the social climbers that closed, those who entered the sector because they sought easy money,' he added.
AdvertisementThe closure of the agencies led to the loss of some 100,000 jobs, an estimate that does not take into account the reduction in staff levels at the large real estate agencies that are still open.
During Spain's decade-long building boom property prices soared but they stagnated last year due to rising interest rates and the international lending crunch that has hurt its credit-fuelled expansion.
Many Spanish families have fallen into negative equity and estate agents report that the average time that it takes to sell a property has increased.
Of the roughly 80,000 estate agencies that existed at the beginning of 2007, only 40,000 have survived the slump in sales, the figures show.
'The majority of the agencies that disappeared were businesses that many times operated with nothing more than a mobile telephone,' API head Santiago Baena said. 'It was the social climbers that closed, those who entered the sector because they sought easy money,' he added.
AdvertisementThe closure of the agencies led to the loss of some 100,000 jobs, an estimate that does not take into account the reduction in staff levels at the large real estate agencies that are still open.
During Spain's decade-long building boom property prices soared but they stagnated last year due to rising interest rates and the international lending crunch that has hurt its credit-fuelled expansion.
Many Spanish families have fallen into negative equity and estate agents report that the average time that it takes to sell a property has increased.
Eco project in Turkey
Lebanese real estate developer Solidere is studying new projects in Turkey, Oman, Egypt and North Africa, a senior official at the company’s international arm said yesterday.
“We are looking into an ecological tourism development project with the Turkish Government,” Mounib Hammoud, executive director of Dubai-based Solidere International, said.
Hammoud said his company, which was established in July 2007 with the aim to make Solidere a regional real estate developer on both sides of the Mediterranean, plans to expand from Oman to North Africa.
Hammoud did not provide any information on the expected capital expenditure to finance these projects.
Solidere was founded in 1994 by then-prime minister Rafik Al Hariri and is seen as the most important force behind Beirut’s re-emergence after the 1975-1990 civil war. It is listed on Beirut and Kuwait stock exchanges.
The firm, which has a market capitalisation of $3.53 billion (Dh12.9bn), has a partnership with the Government of Ajman and has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia, where it is also expanding its projects.
“We are currently working on a large project in the main spine of the Saudi capital, which we did not announce before,” Hammoud said.
He added that a number of other projects are under consideration in Egypt, where Solidere has a strategic partnership with the Egyptian property developer Sixth of October Investment and Development (Sodic).
Solidere International and Sodic are developing two mixed-use city centres in the suburbs of Cairo, WesTown, on the highway between Cairo and Alexandria and EasTown in Kattameya, an eastern Cairo suburb.
“We are currently working on the master plan and are awaiting government authorisation,” Hammoud said.
“We expect to build the infrastructure of the two projects during this year and hopefully buyers will start to move in within three years’ time,” he added.
Hammoud estimated the cost of investment in the two projects at 26 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh17.3bn) and the expected sales value at 35bn Egyptian pounds.
“Although these are conservative estimations,” he said. (Reuters)
“We are looking into an ecological tourism development project with the Turkish Government,” Mounib Hammoud, executive director of Dubai-based Solidere International, said.
Hammoud said his company, which was established in July 2007 with the aim to make Solidere a regional real estate developer on both sides of the Mediterranean, plans to expand from Oman to North Africa.
Hammoud did not provide any information on the expected capital expenditure to finance these projects.
Solidere was founded in 1994 by then-prime minister Rafik Al Hariri and is seen as the most important force behind Beirut’s re-emergence after the 1975-1990 civil war. It is listed on Beirut and Kuwait stock exchanges.
The firm, which has a market capitalisation of $3.53 billion (Dh12.9bn), has a partnership with the Government of Ajman and has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia, where it is also expanding its projects.
“We are currently working on a large project in the main spine of the Saudi capital, which we did not announce before,” Hammoud said.
He added that a number of other projects are under consideration in Egypt, where Solidere has a strategic partnership with the Egyptian property developer Sixth of October Investment and Development (Sodic).
Solidere International and Sodic are developing two mixed-use city centres in the suburbs of Cairo, WesTown, on the highway between Cairo and Alexandria and EasTown in Kattameya, an eastern Cairo suburb.
“We are currently working on the master plan and are awaiting government authorisation,” Hammoud said.
“We expect to build the infrastructure of the two projects during this year and hopefully buyers will start to move in within three years’ time,” he added.
Hammoud estimated the cost of investment in the two projects at 26 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh17.3bn) and the expected sales value at 35bn Egyptian pounds.
“Although these are conservative estimations,” he said. (Reuters)
Easyjet in Turkey
The first flight from Easyjet landed in Dalaman, while Turkish Airlines (THY) became the 20th member of Star Alliance.
Budget no-frills, air carriers announced plans to fly into Dalaman Airport, a development considered to be an important tool in getting over the bottleneck in the northern Aegean Region, including Marmaris.
EasyJet planes, the first of which landed in Dalaman on March 31 flying from Gatwick Airport, will fly three days per week until May when the flights will increase to five flights per week.
Hamdi Guvenc, the General Director of ATM, stated that they aim to welcome three million tourists at Dalaman International Terminal, indicating that following the cooperation with a leading air carrier such as EasyJet, there will be a considerable increase in the number of tourists coming to the region.
Guvenc, emphasised that EasyJet, which for the fist time started flying to a holiday destination in Turkey, will make a significant contribution to the realisation of tourism targets, negotiations with other leading carriers are well underway.
The day after the news of the first flight of EasyJet, Turkish Airlines announced its full membership with Star Alliance, becoming its 20th member.
Following the full membership of with Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines passengers will have access to a network of air carriers with a total of 18.000 flights per day to 965 airports in 162 countries.
Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance CEO, expressed: “We have a new member. With the addition of THY, our passengers can reach new destinations.”
Budget no-frills, air carriers announced plans to fly into Dalaman Airport, a development considered to be an important tool in getting over the bottleneck in the northern Aegean Region, including Marmaris.
EasyJet planes, the first of which landed in Dalaman on March 31 flying from Gatwick Airport, will fly three days per week until May when the flights will increase to five flights per week.
Hamdi Guvenc, the General Director of ATM, stated that they aim to welcome three million tourists at Dalaman International Terminal, indicating that following the cooperation with a leading air carrier such as EasyJet, there will be a considerable increase in the number of tourists coming to the region.
Guvenc, emphasised that EasyJet, which for the fist time started flying to a holiday destination in Turkey, will make a significant contribution to the realisation of tourism targets, negotiations with other leading carriers are well underway.
The day after the news of the first flight of EasyJet, Turkish Airlines announced its full membership with Star Alliance, becoming its 20th member.
Following the full membership of with Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines passengers will have access to a network of air carriers with a total of 18.000 flights per day to 965 airports in 162 countries.
Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance CEO, expressed: “We have a new member. With the addition of THY, our passengers can reach new destinations.”
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