Seminar on Investing in the US - May 19th

A seminar on US Property opportunities for investors and their financial advisors is to be held in Dublin.

The seminar, which will outline the current investment climate in the US among other topics, is to be held in the Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin on Wednesday, 19th May 2010 between 5.30 and 7pm.

The seminar will explore why there are those who consider the US to currently be an excellent opportunity for both personal and pension fund investments. It is being hosted by ClearSky Capital whose directors promise to share their own experience as well as bringing independent experts to highlight the benefits of investing in, and opportunities currently available in, the US market.

ClearSky Capital claims to be the first property investment company of its kind in Ireland offering the opportunity to invest privately in the US property market. It is an Irish/American company that partners with clients from purchase right through to sale and also offers a full property management service.

Advance registration for the seminars is necessary in order to attend. You can register online at www.clearskycapital.com or telephone Orlagh at 01 514 3780.

Topics and speakers:

“Global Market Fundamentals” – what you haven’t been told!

Brendan Slein, Global Reach Securities Ltd

“A Unique Window of Opportunity” – an experienced investors view.

Tom Ryan, Chairman & CEO Ryan International Corporation and Vice President – The Ireland United States Council for Commerce and Industry

“How you can use your Pension fund to invest in US property”

Richard O’Farrell, SSAS Pension Advisor, IFG Group plc

“Personal and Pension Investment – the opportunities”

Ciaran Hynes, Managing Director, ClearSky Capital Ltd.

The seminar will be followed by an informal panel discussion/Q&A.

For further information please contact ClearSky Capital on 01 514 3780.

Chicago Spire Halts Construction

It would appear that Garrett Kelleher's dreams of building the most stunning building on the Chicago skyline are rapidly tumbling to earth.



Launched in a blaze of glory earlier this year by Irish agent Savills HOK (now just Savills) the Chicago Spire tower, which featured lake view apartments from €500k, looks like it is going to be no more than a big hole in the ground for the foreseeable future. And boy is it a big hole at 76 feet deep by 110 feet wide.



Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune reports that spokesperson for the developer, Kim Metcalfe, has said that the construction will go ahead, but no commitment was made as to when this might happen.



The cracks started to show even before the launch tour for the project had completed last spring. As far back as last March Kelleher's Shelbourne Developments failed to pay nearly $430,000 in property taxes due on the proposed site.



Mind you, Kelleher is in good company, although that may not be much consolation, it looks like his isn't the only project that has ground to a halt recently.



According to project spokesperson Kim Metcalfe, Kelleher has spent at least $50 million on construction. She says that this investment is evidence that work on the project will resume and that it will open as scheduled in 2012. This would, however, look like wishful thinking, as there is an estimated 10,000 new condo units scheduled to become available in Chicago by the end of 2009 with no market to absorb them.



The Spire project is bedeviled with problems at the moment as its star architect, Santiago Calatrava, recently filed a lien on the property seeking more than $11.3 million in payment from the developer. The Perkins & Will architecture firm has also filed a $4.85 million lien against both Shelbourne and Calatrava's Festina Lente Ltd.



Foreign woes are starting to become somewhat of a recurring story for Irish agents and developers as high profile companies such as Harcourt Developments, Paddy Kelly, Simple Overseas Properties, KenDar Holdings, KMS, Larionovo, Pruntys Overseas Properties and France First have all run into problems overseas in the recent past.

Register now to receive our informative newsletter, save searches and tailor your OverseasCafe.com experience to your own needs.

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USA Property Links

For a selection of property in the USA click here.

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring American property click here.

Top 10 most Transparent Property Markets

People often query how do they even know where to start when they are starting looking at overseas property. Well there's no easy answer to this question but, as most people are looking for a fairly 'risk free' option, a list which compares the property markets in various areas and marks them accordingly would be a very good start.

Well we've good news for you, one already exists. Jones, Lang, LaSalle have had a global transparency index for a number of years now. If nothing else it will give you an idea of which countries have a mature and transparent method of transaction property and which ones are likely to be more risky. 

This is the Jones Lang LaSalle bumpf on the list: The 2008 Real Estate Transparency Index is a study of real estate market transparency in 82 markets worldwide.  Started in 1999, the bi-annual study was designed as a strategic tool to help the real estate market better understand the processes involved in and risks of doing real estate business in different countries and cities around the world. It can be used with other international metrics to develop a global investment strategy or  to refine a corporate expansion strategy.

The link to the index is here, you'll have to register with JLL to get access to it but there's no cost involved and the resulting report is well worth a read. For those of you who couldn't be bothered reading it, here is the top ten (the links take you to listings of property for the country on the OC site). 

Tier 1 - Highly Transparent

1. Canada

2. Australia

3. United States

4. New Zealand

5. United Kingdom

6. Netherlands

7. France

8. Sweden

9. Belgium

Tier II - Transparent

10. Ireland

14. Germany

16. Spain

19. Italy

20. Switzerland

21. South Africa

22. Portugal

25. Poland

Tier III - Semi-Transparent

27. Hungary

32. Dubai

35. Bulgaria

49. China Tier 1 Cities

50. India Tier 1 Cities

51. Croatia

Tier IV - Low Transparency

58. Morocco

59. Egypt

67. Turkey

Manhattan - the Mother of all Property Bubbles

Having spent the past week in the US has been extremely interesting to say the least. The timing was fortuitous, witnessing the 9/11 of the financial services industry in the USA and its attempts to paddle its way out of the mire through a 'bailout' that miraculously became an 'investment' in the space of a few short days. 

Some of the tax breaks included in the 'newly revised' bill, in an unabashed attempt to directly target those who voted against it first time around, include 'an exemption on exise for children's wooden practice arrows' (I kid you not, it's all there in black and white) along with sweetners for those who commute by bicycle, TV production writeoffs, commercial fishing incentives and extended writedown periods for motorsports complexes????????? Only in the good old US of A. 

The strange thing, looking at the US market as a whole, is that, despite the fact that there is an impression that the property market here is in dire trouble, no great affect has yet been seen in major metropolitan markets such as Manhattan. If you were to speak with a few estate agents around the city (and I did, although a few cancelled due to the workload the implosion of the financial sector was causing) they would seek to differ with you, as prices haven't been doing much for the past year. But neither have they dropped much - and I suspect they will. Manhattan is still, to the outsider, the mother of all property bubbles. 

Taking the Downtown Loop bus tour (highly recommended if you want to get a feel for the city) we were informed of some ridiculous rental and purchase figures for gentrified portions of the Lower East side (where most of the immigrants landed in the early portion of the last century), even for a basic studio apartment. In the greater scheme of things property markets don't allow that sort of thing to go on forever. It is a cyclical industry and the longer the upswing, the bigger the drop and the longer lasting the pain on the downswing.

While I don't expect that the Manhattan market will return to the nadir of the eighties, when you could hardly give away property on the island, an outsider would have to say that the concept of 'fair value for money' would have to enter the equasion at some stage - and it's a long way away just yet.

For those looking at Manhattan as an investment I would have to say 'steer well clear', the worst may well be about to come. This is a region that has built its reputation on trade, particularly financial trade. The fallout of the financial crisis hasn't yet hit shore, look at it like a hurricane hitting land. The affects of the winds are being felt but it is not until the aftermath the true havoc is unveiled. When the loss of jobs from the mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector hit and the fund and hedge managers that are currently twiddling their thumbs do eventually lose their jobs, there may be more than enough property in the Manhattan market to service everyone who wants it. This should lead to sharp price declines in the future.

To those who feel they are suffering problems in the Manhattan market at the moment you'd have to quote the old Bachman Turner Overdrive lyric 'You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet'. 

If you think the above is the rambling of an unqualified hack, then you'd probably be right. But we're not alone in this outlook. Just look at what none other than the eminent economist Robert Schiller has to say on the Manhattan property market. He's gone a lot further than we have by likening the current market as being akin to the cusp of the 'fall of ancient Rome'. Shiller says  "New York will self-destruct if prices don’t come down, it can’t keep going like this." If you have the time Schiller's books "Irrational Exuberance" and "The Subprime Solution" are excellent reads to get your head around global economic instability and the likely outcome down the line. 

If you're looking for some other corroborating evidence then this report, from the Overseas Property Mall, based on a recent Corcoran Report (incedentally one of our intended interviewees which was victim to the increased workload of the economic 'bailout/investment' meltdown this week) should give you some further food for thought.

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For a selection of property in the USA click here. 

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring American property click here.

 

Florida Property Links

 

For a listing of property in Florida click here.

For a listing of Florida Estate Agents click here.

For a listing of Exhibitions showcasing Florida Property click here.

Purchasing property in the USA

One of the most popular areas for Irish interest in overseas property over the past year has been the good old US of A. Whether it is the drop in the value of the dollar or the perceived value in this market, purchasing property in the USA has been a real hit with Irish investors.

For this reason we've decided to put a link to some of our most often visited pages when it comes to US property as well as articles, news and advice on the topic of purchasing property in North America. 

Just below that we've put a link to our most often visited pages when it comes to Florida property as well as articles, news and advice on the topic of purchasing property in the 'Sunshine State' which is still the most popular with Irish property enthusiasts.

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For a selection of property in the USA click here. 

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring American property click here.

Florida Property Links

For a listing of property in Florida click here.

For a listing of Florida Estate Agents click here.

For a listing of Exhibitions showcasing Florida Property click here.

US Foreclosures The New 'Big Thing'

They don't do anything by halves in the US, therefore the following shouldn't come as any great surprise in all honesty. The biggest trend in the US property market these days? Why foreclosure hunting of course - what else would you do in the midst of a full-blown recession and the worst economic crisis since the great depression. 

Business Week reports that foreclosures are up 53% on last year (report is from July but we doubt it's changed much in the past couple of months). US foreclosure website, www.foreclosure.com, is among the most visited sites on searching for the word 'foreclosure', it is visited by 14% of all surfers looking for the topic, and there are lots of them.

It's not all fun and games, however, because any foreclosed property obviously belonged to someone who couldn't afford to pay debts on it beforehand. It is reported that many of those searching for the term 'foreclosure' are desperate homeowners searching for ways in which to avoid having the bank sell their homes. There are some good hints and tips on www.hud.gov if this is your unfortunate plight. 

The Irish though, have no qualms about searching for cheap foreclosed property in the US. It is, in fact, becoming a national hobby. Irish investors are trawling the internet for bargains in what has always been one of its favourite marketplaces - the good old US of A. 

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For a selection of property in the USA click here.

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring US property click here.

Register now to receive our informative newsletter, save searches and tailor your OverseasCafe.com experience to your own needs.

Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae get US Government Bailout

The US government has bailed out Freddie Mac and Fannie May, the two struggling companies that underpin the US mortgage market.

The move is generally seen as good for the property market. As the Times comments; "The US Government’s decision to guarantee the two groups’ survival is good news for British banks and, in turn, British homeowners. British banks have billions of dollars invested in bonds that are insured by Freddie and Fannie and they could have translated into huge losses if either group had gone under – leaving the banks with even less money to make available for mortgages. "

The companies financed more than 80 per cent of US house purchases so far this year. Between them they are responsible for $5,500 billion worth of residential mortgages, just under half the value of America’s $12,000 billion worth of outstanding home loans.

The government have insisted, however, on big changes at the top of the two companies. Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron, the current chief executives of Fannie and Freddie respectively, will leave their roles. Herb Allison, formerly of Merrill Lynch, becomes chief executive of Fannie. David Moffitt, from US Bancorp, moves to Freddie.

The markets seems to have taken the news well with initial market surges in South East Asian and European stock indices. Owners of shares in the companies may not be as happy, however, as analysts expect them to trade as 'penny stocks' in the wake of the move. See report from Forbes here.

The full Times article can be found here.

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For a selection of property in the USA click here.

For a list of agents selling property in the USA click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing in the US click here.

For news on the US property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from US agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring US property click here.

Register now to receive our informative newsletter, save searches and tailor your OverseasCafe.com experience to your own needs.

Who's Been Looking Where - June 2008

The summer is here, not that you'd know that by the weather, but on the calendar it says July so we'll just take it as read that it is actually summer.

Our final Who's Been Looking Where for the Spring season, compiled from searches on Google over the month of June, has just been released and those selling in the US will be mightily pleased. Florida has topped the charts for the first time ever followed closely by the UK. The rest of the USA isn't that far behind in 7th position so the US is proving the market in which the Irish are interested these days. These two have been bedfellows at the top of the charts since the current 'great depression' hit on the back of the US banks' crazy decisions on lending policies.

Spain also seems to be attracting substantial interest and has climbed the charts significantly over the past year. France and Portugal are the big losers this year while both the Canaries and Italy have shown considerable strength this year.

At the bottom of the top ten places of most interest you'll find Turkey and Bulgaria.

You'll find the full report here.

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For a listing of property in Florida click here.

For a selection of property in the USA click here.

To view properties in Spain: Click Here

For a selection of property in the UK click here.

For a selection of property in France click here.