In an effort to justify her plans to regulate Spanish estate agents, Spain’s minister for housing, Maria Antonia Trujillo, said recently: “You need more qualifications to sell a lettuce in Spain than a property, and that won’t do.”
The previous government, run by the conservative People’s Party, liberalised the way property was sold in Spain in 2000. Before then, just 8,000 registered and qualified estate agents could legally intermediate in property transactions in Spain. The changes erased the need for qualifications and registration, and now anyone can sell property in Spain, regardless of how ill-prepared they are to do so.
The new regulations for estate agents are still being drafted but are expected to include minimum qualifications, a professional register, professional indemnity, and an office open to the public. People with a criminal record will be barred from the business.
No date has yet been given for the introduction of new legislation, though the housing minister has indicated her desire to do so before the end of the present parliament in 2008.
Investment in Turkish retail continues
Austrian property company Meinl European Land AG has announced its plans to develop a new shopping centre in southern Turkey at a cost of €100m.
The new centre in Kahramanmaras is expected to yield rental returns of more than 12% and will take the company’s property portfolio in Turkey to €1bn, the Jersey-based company said in a statement.
Spanish estate agents struggling for survival
If new regulations are introduced into the Spanish real estate sector in 2008, they will only apply to the estate agents that have managed to survive the downturn in the property market. Given the current oversupply of units most estate agents in Spain will be more worried about going out of business than draft regulations with no date for introduction.
An article in the Spanish daily ‘La Vanguardia’ describes the present downturn as having a ‘devastating’ effect on real estate agents. More than 1,000 agents have closed in Catalonia alone, some 20% of the agents in the region, according to data from the professional association of estate agents (Colegio Oficial de Agentes de la Propieada Inmobiliaria).
Joan Ollé, president of the association in Barcelona, is quoted as saying that the ‘tsunami’ hitting the sector is far from over, adding that, “60% of agents will close.”
Russia wins bid for 2014 Winter Olympics
The Russian resort of Sochi has been chosen to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, beating South Korea's Pyeongchang.
Sochi secured 51 votes at a meeting of International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates in Guatemala, beating its South Korean rival by just four votes. In earlier voting, the third contender, Salzburg in Austria, was eliminated.
The presidents of all three candidate countries had attended the meeting to plead their countries' cases. Russian President Vladimir Putin was credited with helping Sochi's bid, after he addressed delegates in three languages - English, Spanish and French.
It is believed to be the first time the Russian leader has been heard speaking English at a public ceremony. For Salzburg and Pyeongchang, this was their second consecutive defeat. Both had lost out in the bidding for the 2010 Winter Games, which will be held in the Canadian city of Vancouver.
Worldwide News
Housing shortage expected to worsen in Singapore
Singapore is reported to be heading for a property crunch that will send prices for rental and sale even higher, according to industry experts. The primary reason for this is the frenzy of ‘collective sales’ (entire developments sold en-bloc), which are being purchased for demolition thereby taking a large number of private residential units in prime district areas away from the market over the next year or so. The second factor is the ongoing increase in population, which has risen 100,000 annually for the past five years due to an influx of foreigners.
“With all the en-bloc sales since 2005, a total of around 9,000 units have been, or will be, demolished between 2006 and 2008”, explained Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.
“Though these are expected to be redeveloped into between 14,000 and 16,000 units, the first completions will only start to come onto the market in 2009, reaching a peak in 2011. We estimate that there will be a net new supply of just 2,000 apartments completed per year in 2007 and 2008, before the net new supply reaches at least 11,000 a year in 2009 and 2010”, he added.
In the latest set of statistics published by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), there are only 4,573 units scheduled for completion for the rest of 2007, nearly half what was predicted a year ago.
A total of 72 collective-sales transactions were made in 2006, generating S$8.14bn, four times more than the S$1.99bn transacted in 2005 and the highest in the past decade. In the first five months of this year, a total of 39 collective sales generated $6.87bn. Given the current pace, collective sales could top S$10bn for 2007, predicted Lui Seng Fatt, regional director and head of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle.
$4bn ‘Uptown Cairo’ development
Dubai-based Emaar Properties has unveiled a $4bn mixed-use project located in the Mokattam Hills of Cairo Egypt, called ‘Uptown Cairo’. The development, which will cover around 40m sq ft, will feature a business park, resorts, a spa, sports and leisure facilities, a golf course and several residential villages.
A mix of medium and low-rise buildings that sprawl over the Mukattam suburb, Uptown Cairo offers unparalleled views of Cairo and is expected by the company to be one of the most desirable addresses in Egypt.
Uptown Cairo comprises seven distinct communities with a variety of residential options ranging from high-end luxury golf villas to upscale town houses and apartment communities. The communities will be bordered by tree-lined roads with a network of pedestrian walkways linking each residential quarter. Uptown Cairo will become an integrated community with a world-class golf course and club house, vibrant town centre, restaurants and cafes, schools, fitness and leisure facilities, business facilities, retail centres and mosques.
National Bank of Dubai offers mortgages to Britons
The National Bank of Dubai has signed a deal with UK mortgage company John Charcol to provide mortgages to British residents buying property in the UAE.
Initially, the National Bank, Dubai's fourth-largest lender by market value, will offer mortgages of up to 70% on 14 different development projects that have been approved by the bank.
Barclays Plc is also offering mortgages for property in Dubai, where several developers are struggling to hit completion deadlines due to a lack of skilled labour.
$500m hotel planned in Lusail City, Qatar
Qatar National Hotels Co. has revealed details of a $500m twin hotel towers project in Lusail City, the new waterfront city being built in Qatar. The 45-storey towers will include a five-star hotel and hotel serviced apartments. Other facilities will include a shopping mall, restaurants and a cinema. Construction is due to start by the end of 2007 and finish at the end of 2010.
Lusail City is intended to be the biggest domestic real estate development in Qatar. It will eventually cover an area of 35m sqm and be located north of Qatar’s capital city of Doha, next to The Pearl-Qatar. The $5.5bn development project will contain two marinas, residential areas, commercial districts, two golf courses, an entertainment district, shopping malls, mosques, schools and medical centers.
Lusail City is eventually expected to provide accommodation for over 200,000 people with its 25,000 residential units. The development was originally announced in December 2005 and will permit foreigners to purchase property on a 99-year lease basis, while a few of the units will be sold as freehold.
