Vietnam Real Estate

Before 1990, Vietnam had no real estate market as everything was owned by the state. As a result of the “Doi Moi” reform that was introduced in 1986, the first laws recognizing the concept of private ownership came into effect in 1990 and 1998. From 1998 to 2004, there were several revisions and reforms took place. Due to these new reforms and revisions, starting in 2004 the real estate market in Vietnam started to attract foreign interests and investments.

Starting in 2009, legal foreign residents (after meeting certain conditions set by the government) in Vietnam are allowed to purchase property in certain areas under a 50-year leasehold. The property can also be resold after 12 months of ownership. Vietnam does not allow foreigners to have freehold property.

Vietnam is home to about 90 million people. The majority of its population live in the countryside. However, the residential sector is currently showing strong growth due to the rising income of the middle class and their willingness to purchase their own residential places. Demand for Vietnam’s two major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi is strong and it is estimated that the properties that are coming to the market will not be enough to meet its demand. The office market also shows strong demand for quality spaces, as the occupancy rate is around 95 percent. The leisure and resort markets are also going through strong demand. Vietnam has 3,000 kilometers coastline and its tourist numbers and accommodations have increased significantly. Hotels, resorts, and villas have high occupancy rates in this sector and real estate demands will increase in the coming years. The World Travel and Tourism Council predicts that Vietnam will be one of the top ten tourist destinations in the next ten years.

The property market in Vietnam still offers low entry prices with growth potential in the future. However, because it is an emerging market, transparency still can be an issue. Having a local partner or agent is a huge advantage dealing with real estate issues in Vietnam. Also, keep in mind that all real estate transactions are carried out in pure gold. Real estate investors need to pay close attention to gold prices and conversion rates.

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The Tallest Building in Israel

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Israel is getting a new skyscraper – which will become its tallest building with a height of 241 meters (790 feet). The Tel Aviv Regional Planning and Building Commission approved the plan. The Infrastructure work has already started and construction will start in the coming weeks.

Currently, Israel’s tallest skyscraper is the 68-floor Ramat Gan Moshe Aviv Tower, which stands 235 meters (770 feet) tall. At that time when it was built in 2003, it was the tallest tower building in the Middle East. Today, it is the 3rd tallest building in the Middle East.

The new tower, called The Eurocom Building, will be built by Eurocom Global Real Estate Ltd and its partners. Its architect is Amnon Schwartz. Its location will be on the corner of Shefa Tal and Arvei Nahal streets. It will be connected to the Tel Aviv Central Railway Station and the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange via pedestrian and bicycle bridges and light rail.

The Eurocom building will have offices, a conference centre, a shopping mall, a hotel, and the Givatayim Municipality offices. The price tag to build will be approximately $270 million and will require five years to complete.

Currently, Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest skyscraper. It’s 830 meters (2723 feet) tall and has 163 floors. Recently, Saudi Arabia announced that it would build the world’s tallest building reaching 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) tall.

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Toronto Leads in North America Constructing Skyscrapers and High-Rise Buildings

In terms of completed high-rises and skyscrapers, Toronto stands in the second position in North America with 1,875 after New York with 5,000. According to Emporis, a high-rise building is 35 – 100 meters tall (12 – 39 floors) and buildings above 100 meters are considers skyscrapers.
   
Now, let’s look at Toronto’s top 5 skyscrapers under construction.

Trump Tower – Located in the heart of downtown Toronto’s financial district at Bay and Adelaide at 25 Adelaide St. West, this 900 feet (276 meters) glass and steel tower will be the second tallest building and the tallest residential building in Canada. The original plan was to make it a 70-floor building, but later the builder settled with 57 floors.

College Park Aura - Located in downtown Toronto’s Yonge district at Yonge St. and Gerrard St. at 444 Yonge St., this 873 feet (266 meters) 75-storey skyscraper will be completed in 2014 and will tie Ten York condo in floors. Aura will be Canada’s tallest residential condo.

Number One Bloor – Located in the heart of downtown Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville’s upscale neighbourhood, Toronto’s most prestigious address Number One Bloor is located at the southeast corner of Yonge St. and Bloor St. This 777-ft. (237 meters) skyscraper will be completed in 2015 and will have 65 floors.

Ten York - Located in downtown Toronto’s financial and waterfront district at York and Harbour St. at 10 York St., this 787-ft. (240 meters), 75-storey skyscraper is a joint venture between city-owned development agency Build Toronto and Tridel.

120 Harbour - Talks are underway to build a 75-storey skyscraper at 120 Harbour St.

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Malaysia Beach Property Real Estate

Beach properties anywhere in the world are hot and no, it is not because of the weather. When it comes to Malaysia, the beach properties become a little too hotter. It is the best chance especially for foreign investors to reap five star luxuries at two star prices. Though a rapidly growing real estate market of South East Asia beach resorts in Malaysia are still low cost option, not to forget that the beaches of Malaysia are some of the best in the world. Add to this the impeccable service available on most Malaysian beaches, the friendly locals, the high standard of living which is on par with that of any European city, it is little doubt that Malaysian beach resorts have gained the repute of favoured tourist destination.

For years now Thailand and Malaysia have been popular tourist destinations but it is only recently that Malaysia is being taken seriously as real estate hotspot as it is safe from the “ring of fire” that leads to natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. Malaysian beach properties not only hold lesser risk but with the government actively encouraging investments from foreign quarters these are providing greater rewards. The government has introduced new property laws that are buyer friendly, providing tax incentives for better foreign investments and also fast tracking approvals of licenses so that the government and international developers can mutually benefit from the booming real estate market.

With numerous beaches Malaysia offers plenty of opportunities to invest in real estate. The West coast has luxury island retreats, the east coast happens to be the ultimate diving destination, Sarawak and Sabah states in Bornea has an eco-friendly appeal, Sepang not only has the F1 grand prix circuit attraction but coined as the “Gold Coast” it is the weekend getaway resort for many people, Port Dickson is a holiday home to many Singaporeans and with its high profile projects is also a favourite with other international developers.

But what is it that makes beach properties in Malaysia a better deal than elsewhere or as compared to past? The government recently abolished the capital gains tax on property purchase in Malaysia thus the investor can save in a major by investing in real estate in Malaysia. Over 15 years foreigners investing in Malaysian properties can get 70% mortgages. Foreign buyers will not have any restrictions on renewing leases after 99 years. Foreigners owning property in Malaysia will automatically get residency permit. So what more could one be asking for.

Currently Malaysia is offering the best investment opportunity as far as global property market is concerned. There are many factors that are encouraging this rapid development. These are rental yields, capital growth rate, government policies that are investment friendly, spurt in investments by corporate companies. This combined with increase in tourism and creation of newer better equipped luxury resorts all are heating up the property investment market of Malaysia. Intelligent investors will surely not want to be left behind as low cost opportunities especially in real estate industry don’t really last for too long 

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Buying A Castle

Sure, the more money you have in the bank the wider the choice. If you are a millionaire then that makes things a lot more straightforward. However, it is still possible to grab a castle for as little as $50,000 in some countries in Europe. And also, there are castles that could cost range from 1 million dollars to 50 million dollars. It all depends on what type of castle you would like to buy and how fat your wallet is.

Most castles that are in demand in the international real estate market are located throughout Europe. Some of the countries where the castle concentration is high are:

- Scotland
- France
- Italy
- Germany
- Czech Republic
Some of the countries listed below may offer castles at bargains:
- Croatia
- Bulgaria
- Hungary
- Poland
- Romania

There are many other things to take into account when buying a castle. If you buy at the bottom price, you may need to make arrangements for necessities such as water supply, electricity, and other accommodation essentials. If you pay more, you should expect something with better facilities and readiness for human habitation.

There are numerous global real estate agents that are specialized in buying and selling castles. Keep in mind the phrase caveat emptor – buyer beware.  Always make sure what type of castle you want, how large it should be, what you intend to do with it, and what your budget is before you contact a real estate agency. And never make any decisions before seeing a few castles at first.

NB – If you would like to find global real estate agents that deal with buying castles, search on Google for “buy castle”, “buying castle”, “buy cheap castles”, etc.

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World’s Tallest Skyscraper Will Be in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia recently announced to build the world’s tallest skyscraper. The multi-purpose Kingdom Tower near Red Sea in Jeddah will stand 1000 meters tall (3,280 feet) and will be located in the centre of the $20 billion dollar Kingdom City Development project. This tower will have office space, a Four Seasons hotel, condominiums, the world’s highest observatory deck, encompassing about 5.4 million square feet of space.

Kingdom Tower will be designed by Chicago-based architectural firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill. The Saudis have awarded this $1 billion plus project to the Saudi construction giant The Binladen Group. The construction of the world’s tallest tower is expected to take about five years.

Once completed, Kingdom Tower would break the record of the world’s current tallest skyscraper Burj Khalifa in Dubai. 828 meters Burj Khalifa is not only tallest building in the world but also the world’s tallest free-standing structure. Canada’s 553 meters CN Tower (completed in 1976) held records for being the world’s tallest free-standing structure and the world’s tallest tower for 34 years until the completion of Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Canton Tower in China.

Saudi Arabia, an oil dependent country, recently trying to emerge from an oil-based economy to a diversified economy. Currently Saudi Arabia is working on various projects to build numbers of economic cities, complexes, and skyscrapers to become an economic hub in that region.

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Properties in BRIC Countries

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The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries are the world’s largest emerging economies advancing into the next generation with fast and rapid growth momentum. These countries likely to overtake the US economy and would make up 22 percent of the global economy by 2015. However, the property markets in the BRIC countries are still within reach and expected to flourish in the next 10-15 years. The time may be just right for global real estate investors to make some money investing in these countries.

A recent The Knight Frank Global Cities Survey shows that BRIC cities will rise to the top of the list, pushing top western cities like Washington DC, Geneva, and San Francisco to the bottom. Some present-day world-class cities like Toronto and Vancouver fall out of the list entirely. New York and London remain on the top of the list; however, skyrocketed prices in these western cities will be beyond the reach of most investors.

The biggest winners to lead the upswing in global real estate market would be BRIC cities, especially Shanghai, Moscow, Mumbai, and Sao Paulo. Rapidly developing infrastructure to support industrialization, massive land area, abundant raw materials, and taking futuristic steps in the right direction are some of the reasons that would make accelerated growth possible in BRIC countries.

For example, Brazil is now at investment grade status, so investors will probably not be reluctant to pour money into its property market. China recently approved a property tax to tame its overheated real estate market.  These are some of the elements that show this is the time to realise the future potential of the BRIC real estate market. Global real estate investors are keeping watchful eyes on these BRIC cities, as property prices are still within reach and it makes sense to invest in these cities before prices start to skyrocket.

The share of BRIC countries in global GDP is rapidly rising, and so is its real estate market’s potential. As the entry barriers are easing, global real estate investors are slowly and surely moving into BRIC countries.

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The Tallest Building In Canada

Canada is not-known for skyscrapers, even though it has one of the tallest buildings on the planet; The CN Tower. However, if there is going to be a tallest building in Canada, then it should come as no surprise that it is found in Toronto, the commercial and cultural centre of the country.

First Canadian Place is the tallest skyscraper in Canada, sitting in the financial district of Toronto. It is the headquarters of the Bank of Montreal and it stands at 951 feet. It is the 11^th tallest building in North America and the 68^th tallest in the world. Within Canada, it is the third tallest free-standing structure after the CN Tower and the Inco Superstack in Sudbury, Ontario.

The building was designed by Bregman and Hamann  Architects (Image via Wikipedia) and constructed in 1975, when it was called the First Bank Building. It  sat on the site of the Old Toronto Star Building.
It took many years for the skyscraper to be built, before anything was dug because of bidding wars for the entire block during a revitalization of the area in the 1960s and the 1970s. Eventually however, the building was built and completed. It is identical in appearance to the Aaon Center in Chicago, which itself was built only two years earlier.

When you factor in the spire on the top of the skyscraper, the building is 1,165 feet. It has a total of 72 floors, and four floors that are below the ground. The building is served by 29 elevators and has a total floor area of 2.7 million square feet.

When the building was completed, it was the 8^th tallest building to the structural top and the tallest building outside of Chicago and New York. It was also the tallest building in the British Commonwealth, until the Petronas Towers in Malaysia overtook them.

Until 1997, the ‘M’ sign of the Bank of Montreal on the building was the highest sign in the world.

In 2009, the building underwent a complete revitalization. Over 45,000 marble panels were replaced with new glass panels and white ceramic frits, along with bronze tint corners. New landscaping, handrails and water features were added in to change the look of the building even more and make it look more modern among the other buildings in the area. The total cost of the project was $100 million and it was paid by the owners of the building.

Canada may not be known for tall buildings but its three tallest structures just happen to be three of the tallest structures on the planet. That should say something about Canada, even though the world may not know that we have these structures, we find a way to sneak up onto lists and take them over.

While First Canadian Place may be the tallest skyscraper in Toronto, it is overshadowed greatly by the CN Tower. However, if you are in Toronto, make sure you check out this very tall building for yourself.

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Global Real Estate Market Overview: April 2011

Here is a brief overview of real estate news across the globe:

Brazil Real Estate Slows Down – Property prices in the major Brazilian cities predicted to slow down. The Sao Paulo State Housing Organisation recorded a 23.5% drop in new apartment sales in Brazil’s economic hub Sau Paulo. Average rental rates dropped in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil’s most expensive real estate city. Brazil has had a long run in real estate demand and prices. Falling interest rates and higher supply of housing credit spiked the demand – which may be coming to an end after market correction.

Portugal Real Estate Market Slowing Down – Recent economic turmoil in Portugal could make its real estate market to fall further. Latest figures show that the coastal region of the Algarv is the weakest in country. Although prices are falling in Lisbon and Porto, it is not as severe as Algarv. Record level high unemployment and low consumer confidence are to blame for causing weak demand in the real estate market.

Strong Real Estate Growth in Malaysia – Property prices expected to rise in Malaysia fuelled by political stability and strong economic recovery. However, Malaysia still offers the second lowest property prices in the region, only falling behind Indonesia.

Croatian Housing Market Stabilizes – Croatian real estate market is stabilizing after steadily falling since 2008. However, property prices seemed to be resilient in popular tourist spots such as places surrounding the Adriatic Coast

India’s Housing Markets Weaken – In 2010, Housing markets in major Indian cities weakened. However, hosing prices still rose in some Indian cities such as Chennai, Faridabad, Mumbai, Pune. Some of the cities where prices fell sharpest are Bhopal, Surat, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi, Jaipur, and Kochi.

Property Buying by Chinese Buyers Increase in Singapore – Property buying spree continues by mainland Chinese buyers and Chinese companies in Singapore. This trend is expected to increase as buyers are moving away from overheated Chinese property market.

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Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump

Donald Trump – A True Entrepreneur

Even in these days of severe recession it is only the likes of Donald Trump who can say, “Well, real estate is always good, as far as I’m concerned.” For him it has always been “It’s tangible, it’s solid, it’s beautiful. It’s artistic, from my standpoint, and I just love real estate.”

Being born to Fred Trump, a New York property developer on June 14^th, 1946, Donald Trump began his journey in the real estate industry quite early in his life and went on to stamp the Trump brand name on many prestigious properties in New York. Many prime properties including fine hotels, building complexes and casinos in New York City bear Trump’s name.

Since a young age, Donald was strongly influenced by his father’s business sense and he acknowledges the same by stating that his father was his mentor and that he learned tremendous knowledge from him especially in the construction industry. Donald Trump completed his studies at Wharton Business School and subsequently joined the real estate business developed by his father. During the 5 years that he worked in the family business under his father, Donald Trump made numerous profitable deals to an extent where his father even admitted to Donald’s having a Midas touch and said that whatever Donald touched seemed to turn to gold. Donald gained invaluable business skills under his father and then moved on to test the waters of the Manhattan real estate market. He successfully acquired numerous exclusive properties here, including Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Casino, Trump Tower, Trump Marina Hotel, Trump International Hotel, etc. Donald’s portfolio of prestigious properties just seemed to grow exponentially. All the real estate properties that become a part of the Trump Empire proudly carry the Trump name prominently, not only in their titles but also by the symbolic “T” displayed on distinctly visible areas of the building.

The Trump organization has been responsible for recognized developments across the world and also happens to be the only luxury super brand in global real estate. Its leadership in developing real estate, sales and marketing as well as property management is unparalleled. They have been able to maintain a high level of excellence and luxury in all their real estate projects that range from retail and office properties to residential complexes. Trump properties have been sought after for the quality and excellence they stand for. The Trump organization demands superior quality and perfection in minute details no matter what the project is; whether it is a hotel or a residential project, a luxury resort or a golf course, or even if it is a commercial and retail office – they all get the Trump treatment. The lifestyle and experience that Trump offers on owning one of their properties is unparalleled. The standard of perfection is visible in every aspect, from the design-driven facades created with cutting edge technology by renowned architects and the flawless interiors in which no detail is considered trivial. These are specifically designed to consistently maintain the world-class service that Trump is so renowned for.

The Trump organization owns 26 domestic properties in the U.S.A and 6 international properties. One such domestic property is the Trump International Golf Club and residences in Puerto Rico. This property has been developed to combine a beach resort with a world-class golfing facility and lavish residences over one thousand acres on a private peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean. The highlights of the property are pristine beaches and exquisite landscapes with an oceanic view in the front and the lush greenery of El Yunque Rainforest creating an appealing background. The property houses 3- and 4-bedroom residences, two world-class 18-hole golf courses, a 46,000 square-ft. clubhouse with an outdoor pool, a fitness center, a spa and many restaurants.

The Trump organization’s investment in global real estate encompasses Capcana in Dominican Republic, Dubai, Israel, Istanbul in Turkey, Panama City, Seoul in South Korea and Toronto in Canada. The Trump Farallon Estates in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic has been one of the most significant real estate developments in the Caribbean. The white sands, the crystal blue water, the coral reefs, the palm trees, the wildlife sanctuaries that all make up the mesmerizing Caribbean attract investors from across the world to the Trump Farallon Estates. This complex has more than 1000 residential units, a 350-room Club Hotel, an international golf course and 2 condominium residential units.

Future plans of the Trump organization include real estate development through hotels in Scotland’s Aberdeen, New Orleans, LA, Cap Cana in Dominican Republic and in Dubai, UAE. Almost all the hotels developed by Trump have luxurious guestrooms and suites, with most of them providing stunning oceanic views, golf courses and golf villas, private access to beaches, exclusive beach club, boutique shopping and fine dining.

The organization is not limited to only development and sales of properties but also has a division dedicated to providing real estate brokerage services in both commercial and residential sectors. They provide discreet, professional and quality service. Through a simple form on their website, the team of brokers dealing directly with Trump apartment owners or Greenthal managed buildings help provide the best brokerage in any area that one may be looking for. Their other services include portfolio expansion through ground-up development projects, existing property redevelopment, repositioning of properties that are under-performing as well as reflagging of currently operational hotels. The Trump organization has a stake in almost every aspect of real estate property development and with its 35-year history in hotel development and management they have proved themselves to be an unparalleled leader in the industry.

Trump has not only been successful as a real estate developer but in other areas of businesses too. Apart from this, he even bears a celebrity personality with many magazines and gossip columns frequently reporting news about him. He has also been the inspiration for television programs and he even starred in his own 2004 reality program, The Apprentice.

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