4 Aralık 2007 Salı

British Investor See’s US Commercial Deals Like After the S-L Crisis


It looks like the combination of a weak dollar and softening commercial market are creating opportunities for overseas investors to come in and buy cheap.

Capitalism is funny that way; money and assets will always be looking for value and what may not be a value for United States residents right now may be one for international investors.

Tchenguiz intends to invest as much as £200 million, or $411 million, globally over the next three years buying commercial property assets, including stores, offices and possibly debt.
“Some of the biggest opportunities will be in the U.S.,” the Iranian-born British entrepreneur said during an interview in London. “A big amount of property is going to get reshuffled in the U.S.”
The shortage of liquidity in credit markets following the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States has pushed up the cost of borrowing, prompting a fall in property values and putting borrowers who need to refinance debt under pressure from their lenders.
The opportunities that would present themselves in the United States in the next few months are likely to resemble those arising from the U.S. savings and loans crisis in the 1980s, Tchenguiz said.

Newspaper Advertising Down, Online Advertising Growing, You Make The Call


Hey Real Estate agents and brokers, are you still having trouble kicking the newspaper advertising habit. Well, don’t be the last one throwing money into dark, grainy pictures and smudged type. It looks from the new numbers released that many are fleeing the newsprint to online.

So if your boss thinks that putting ads in the local papers is still necessary or your customers are begging you to ego list their homes in the paper, here is more ammunition for you.

Total advertising expenditures at newspaper companies were $10.9 billion for the third quarter of 2007, a 7.4% decrease from the same period a year earlier. Spending for print ads in newspapers totaled $10.1 billion, down 9% compared with the third quarter of 2006.

Among the major print components in the third quarter, classified advertising fell 17% to $3.4 billion. Retail declined 4.9% to $5.1 billion, and national was down 2.5%, coming in at $1.7 billion.

Meanwhile online advertising in the newspaper industry is growing by double digits.

You make the call.

Why The Holiday Season May Be a Great Time to Buy a Home


If you believe conventional wisdom buying or selling a home in the holiday season makes no sense. The buyers are looking at real estate agents looking for a break and sellers who do not want to open their homes during the holidays if they haven’t already pulled their listing already.

My opinion, if you believe in conventional wisdom in this real estate market you are the greater fool.

Sellers who are listing in the holiday period are motivated. Odds are they have a job change, a life change, or a mortgage they have to get out of. They need to sell their home and want to do so as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the buyers in the market are motivated. Who wants to slog around looking at homes in the holiday season when it is cold and bleak and all their friends are drinking the egg nog and having parties? Not these buyers, they too are motivated to make a deal.

So when trying to decide whether to list your home right now expect fewer potential buyers. But be assured that these folks are actual buyers, not tire kickers.

In addition to the typical holiday sellers - those going through major life change or relocating for a new job - there’s another crop of homeowners who are deciding now is the time to sell, according to Coldwell Banker’s Droubi.
“We’re seeing some people with adjustable rate loans whose payments have come up and who are very overextended enter the market,” she said. “At this time of year you’re dealing with people for whom time is not on their side. They need to sell and they need to sell quickly.”

Ivanka Trump Interview Shows Potential With International Buyers


The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an interview with Ivanka Trump in the paper recently and this question and answer really popped out at me.

Q: And of those contracts, how many are foreign investors? We’re starting to see a lot foreign investment in the U.S.

A: We’re seeing that in all of our properties.
I think [the reasons are] two-fold: Our Trump brand is known throughout the world. So if a foreign investor is interested in the luxury sector and looking in Atlanta, they’re going to come to our property.
We always have a larger foreign base than is typical in a market, especially here in Atlanta.
And if you’re paying with a Euro, you’re buying at a 50 percent discount. And Atlanta is a less expensive market. So when you compound that with the discount due to the weakness of the dollar, it’s an amazing deal for a foreigner

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Ivanka Trump Interview Shows Potential With International Buyers
December 3rd, 2007 | 2008 Real Estate Predictions, Real Estate Internet, Real Estate Tools, real estate indicators, Real Estate Sales

The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an interview with Ivanka Trump in the paper recently and this question and answer really popped out at me.

Q: And of those contracts, how many are foreign investors? We’re starting to see a lot foreign investment in the U.S.

A: We’re seeing that in all of our properties.
I think [the reasons are] two-fold: Our Trump brand is known throughout the world. So if a foreign investor is interested in the luxury sector and looking in Atlanta, they’re going to come to our property.
We always have a larger foreign base than is typical in a market, especially here in Atlanta.
And if you’re paying with a Euro, you’re buying at a 50 percent discount. And Atlanta is a less expensive market. So when you compound that with the discount due to the weakness of the dollar, it’s an amazing deal for a foreigner. via ajc.com.

Now I know that few markets will sustain a very strong international marketplace. Easy access by air to Europe and the city offering either something Europe does not have such as sandy beaches would help greatly.

However, if you are selling in these markets and are internet savvy I would work very hard to try to market overseas. Ivanka has a great point that the Europeans are in a position to buy at a huge discount right now. Even if the market drops another 10 percent they will still be eager to buy quality properties as the savings and long term benefit will be amazing.

Here is a hint, if I was selling a condo project in Miami I would invest in a couple of amazing multi lingual concierges and concentrate all of my marketing dollars at Europe. Sell the property as a comfortable winter retreat for the European market. Bet you could make a killing doing so and move some real estate that right now is very stagnant.