Turkish Property Gaining Appeal with Overseas Property Investors

Turkey is a hot spot for property investors these days.  Its economy is growing very quickly and not only that, it has a stable, strong economy.  It’s no secret; Turkey is booming. 

Tourists love to travel to Turkey and the construction industry has taken advantage of this and is thriving.  As fast as developers are putting up developments, investors are taking advantage of competent, wise investments. 

Europe has countries with strong economies, but Turkey is shining right now.  The GDP has grown 10.3 percent in the 2^nd quarter and according to the OECD, it is predicted that the entire economy will grow perhaps 6.7 percent within the next 7 years, which is greater than all its neighbours. 

Why is Turkey gaining such momentum?  Many believe it is their powerful banking and financial system.  It is fiscally stable due to the government taking time and great effort to achieve stability.  Therefore, investors rest assured that their investments will stand and Turkish buyers are confident when they are ready to purchase a home.

Dominic Strauss-Kahn, who is the director of the International Monetary Fund, states that Turkey is, “the most suitable emerging market candidate for a seat on the IMF executive board.” 

Turkey’s property market is booming as well.  The Global Property Guide reports that Turkey is ripe for residential property investment as new laws now enable foreigners to purchase land.  Hard to believe this country was in such a financial crisis only ten short years ago and now it is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe.

US Property Portal Giant Realtor.com Goes International

Realtor.com, the property portal of the US National Association of Realtors, the largest portal in America, is to target overseas buyers, and enter the overseas market with a range of new services, including international listings, and translation services.

The portal says that it currently receives 575,000 non-us visitors each month, whom it makes no effort to cater for. That is to change as the portal tries to better leverage its international standing.

“Realtor.com will expand the exposure of U.S. real estate listings to global markets and add international listings,” said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I.

“While all real estate in the U.S. is local, the same is not true for property owners. The U.S. continues to be a top destination for international buyers from all over the world. Foreign buyers understand the value of owning a home in this country and can rely on Realtors(R) to help guide them through the process of buying property in the U.S. With expertise, knowledge and experience, Realtors(R) have a global perspective, reflecting the increasing importance of foreign buyers to U.S. home sellers,” Phipps said.

The industry is in doubt as to what impact the move will have on an already packed overseas property portal market. Realtor.com is known the world over, and Move Inc, the digital clout behind NAR in the operation is almost as powerful. However, dominance in the US doesn't immediately translate to dominance overseas.

What we usually see with something like this is a learning curve, as the company comes in with power, prestige and money but lacks experience. Success will no doubt be determined by how quickly Realtor.com can learn from its early mistakes.

Spanish Developers Lure Buyers with Great Deals

Despite the fact that Spanish property sales have reportedly been improving for the last several months, developers continue to take seemingly extreme measures to lure buyers.

Costa Almeria development Balcones de Palomares is a good example just added to the Azure Overseas portfolio. Anyone not bowled over by the price; just £68,469 for a key-ready 2 bedroom apartment in a quiet and secure development near the coast and with white good included, probably will when they realise that 100% mortgages are being offered with properties in the development.

Most buyers of Spanish property in the last 2 years have been cash buyers, equally because wealthy individuals made up the majority of buyers, and because mortgages were scarcely available. Slowly but surely buyers who need mortgages (low budget buyers) are returning, and thankfully more mortgages are coming up as well.

The price is the most impressive thing here though, well designed, quality 2 bedroom apartments in a nice development with a communal pool in Andalusia, Spain for not much more than you would pay in Turkey is truly a bargain.

Low prices like this in an established market like Spain is always good news for investors; the low price means you can set your rental rates lower and sill make a strong yield. Not to mention capital growth potential, in the fact that Spain will recover, and when it does these units will quickly double in value, then go to 150% of their current price.

American Property Market: Volatile but Bountiful in Opportunities

The US property market is probably the most volatile in the 1st world right now. We have reports of prices falling, and we still have tens of thousands of homes being repossessed every week, some reports talk of falling repossessions because of the freeze, other's say the freeze was barely a blip. On the other hand mortgage interest rates are at all time lows and most reports concur that sales are increasing in most regions.

Volatility aside, few can deny that the US market is currently abundant with opportunities, and that these opportunities are in their best presented to foreigners, or certainly out-of-state buyers. Foreign and out of state buyers needn't care about the effect that the rock-bottom price they are paying for a distressed or repossessed property, only that the price they are getting for will increase their rental yield (rents haven't fallen as fast as sale prices, and there is no such thing as a distressed rental -- not now anyway). Not to mention the potential capital growth when America finally gets back on her feet.

And what an opportunity it is:

The dozens of repossessions don't only increase availability of property at rock bottom prices, but they also increase the number of people and families in demand of rental accommodation. Thus, investors can buy in at low prices and with a large pool of potential tenants.

In fact, there is an even better way to invest...

Shrewd investors, developers and anyone else with the cash to do so, have decided to cut out the void between buying and finding a tenant, they are buying distressed homes and renting them back to the original owner. This is why we are currently seeing so many tenanted deals coming across the Atlantic. The average yield on the tenanted deals is 6%.

There is nothing average however, about the Village at Town Centre development in Orlando, offering tenanted 3 bedroom apartments just minutes from Disney World from just £47,300. Understandably, net yields of 10% are currently being achieved.

Berlin Property Prices Lowest in Industrialised World

Berlin property prices are lower than in any capital city in the industrialised world, according to a new comparative study by Engels & Volkers, although it is not the first time this has been reported, and it will probably not be the last either.

In Mitte, the upmarket district of Berlin, top end apartments currently go for an average price of 3,500 Euros per square meter, which is a fraction of the price of a comparable unit in the financial district of New York.

Engel and Volkers declared Berlin's history of division as responsible for its failure to grow like other capital cities.

"We have only begun to see things changing here in the last ten years. But, compared with other major cities, the impact of this on the property market is rather minimal," said Anne Riney, managing partner of Engels & Volkers in Berlin-Mitte.

"It will take a long time yet before the market reaches anything like the price margins of London, Tokyo, New York or Paris. Until then, Berlin will remain the world capital with the lowest-priced residential property," she added.

It is true; history is a huge part of the reason why Berlin property prices are so low, but not in the way laid out by Engels and Volkers.

Only 40% of Germans own their own homes, much lower than the developed world average of around 70%. The status quo has developed over the years, and the renters culture is now deeply entrenched in Berlin.

Because of the situation, the government imposes controls on rental rates, allowing rents to rise only when wages rise. Because the biggest buyers of property in Berlin are buy to let investors, price rises are governed by rental rates. This vicious cycle has kept the lid on Berlin property prices for years.