Leona Living - New Presale Seattle Condos in the Queen Anne Hill Real Estate Community

Seattle Leona Brownstones and Penthouse West Condo - Over 50% Off Original List Prices - SOUTH SLOPE OF QUEEN ANNE - The Final 3 Homes at Leona Seattle Townhomes for Sale!

Representing the best Seattle real estate vealue on the South Slope of Queen Anne, the Leona Condos townhomes are now selling out. Seattle Leona Brownstones 1-A and 1-B are three story Queen Anne South Slope townhomes for sale with top floor home office and media room and large roof top decks offering incredible views. The final three homes here at the South Slope Leona Seattle townhomes for sale feature floor plans that range from 2668 to 2817 spacious square feet of inside living space, in addition to private street entrances. These new Seattle brownstone homes also have hardwoof floors in the living areas, stone slab counter tops with undermount sink in addition to natural stone bath floors and shower surrounds. Homebuyers here at the Leona Seattle brownstones for slae will also get a gourmet appliance package with SubZero, Viking and Bosch high-end kitchen appliances. For less than $350 per square foot, you can own in one of the most prestigious South Slope of Queen Anne Leona Seattle brownstones for sale today! Here are the 2 Leona townhome offerings: Brownstone 1-A is 2 bedrooms and den plus 2.5 baths and is 2668 sq feet. The price has been dropped from $1,895,000 to now $899,500, an incredible savings for savvy homebuyers. The Seattle Leona Brownstone 1-B is also a 2 bedroom and den with 2.5 baths and is slightly larger at 2803 square footage. The price of this townhome has been dropped from $1,495,000 to $975,500. In addition to these two new Seattle brownstones for sale, the Leona South Slope real estate development features the last Leona Penthouse West suite. This large Seattle penthouse condo for sale features a large south facing terrace with incredible views of Elliott Bay, the Space Needle and Mount Rainier. In addition, the Leona Seattle penthouse west unit has a gourmet kitchen with huge island and Subzero, Bosch and Viking kitchen appliances as well. Large windows that retain the scale and character of the original structure are very appealing and there is a historic tax credit with property tax savings in excess of over $80,000 over the next 10 years for the homebuyer. The Leona Seattle Penthouse West condo for sale features two beds and a den and 2.5 bathrooms. The Seattle penthouse is 2052 square feet and the price has been dropped from $1,995,000 to $997,500. Come see these spectacular final 3 Leona Seattle homes for sale today! The sales office and previews are available Wednesday September 16 from 11am to 1pm and Sunday Septmeber 20 from 1pm to 4pm. Located at 1 Word Street in Seattle real estate market, please call Erica at 206.251.1869 today for additional details.

A modern take on living history is what the Seattle Leona condominiums and apartment style homes will provide in addition to city sophistication, style, warmth and charm.

Located at the corner of Queen Anne Avenue North and Ward Street, the Seattle Leona Living condos and residences is currently marketed by Williams Marketing Inc. With a great history, the Leona Condominiums residential building has been completely rebuilt from the interiors standpoint including new quality materials, fixtures, features, finishes and more to create a unique condominium residence in Seattle Washington that has character and sophistication. Open living plans in addition to luxury high-end finishes are what you, as a home buyer and investor, can expect to purchase at the Leona Living apartment condos in Seattle WA.

Registraiton and Contact information

If you would like to receive construction progress updates and news events from the Leona real estate properties in Seattle, please visit http://leonaliving.com/contact.cfm to express your interest. In addition, if you would like to have a preview appointment or purchase meeting with the sales manager at Seattle’s Leona Living condominium suites, please contact Erica Clibborn at 206.371.5317 or eclibborn@williamsmarketing.com. For the latest press news about the Seattle presales condominium real estate market, please visit the Leona Condo web site at http://leonaliving.com/news.cfm for a Seattle Times: downtown living article and New Homes Saturday article about the real estate developer going the extra mile and historic homes undergoing careful renovation into luxury condominium residences in the heart of Seattle Washington. An established real estate team is behind the revitalization of the Seattle Leona Living condominiums and includes the following members listed here http://leonaliving.com/Team.cfm. The real estate development team includes Barrientos/Parkridge LLC and the architect for Leona Condos in Seattle WA is Ron Wright & Associates. The general contractor for this project is Saltaire Construction and the interior design of the amazing floor plan interiors for Leona Condominiums Seattle is by Mercedes Fernandez Interior Design. The financing will be handled by Seattle Savings Bank and the marketing and sales will be directed by Seattle’s best: Williams Marketing Inc. For a neighbourhood map of the Seattle Washington Leona Living community, please visit http://leonaliving.com/neighborhood.cfm for an illustrative view. In addition, if you are looking for hpotos of this quiet Queen Anne district along with photos of the surrounding community that you can call home if you purchase a residence at Leona Living Seattle, then click on this URL link: http://leonaliving.com/neighborhood.cfm?show=Photo.

The Building features at Leona Living

This Seattle real estate development will feature everything new in the interior design and finishes, leaving nothing except the exterior façade and building structure alone to preserve the historic character and culture of the community. The Seattle Leona Living condominiums are part of a prestigious address in the Queen Anne district of Seattle WA, and home buyers and real estate purchasers will note that the homes will have very high end new fixtures and finishes that rival the best other presales properties in and around this market area. Hardwood flooring throughout all the living spaces as well as one hundred per cent wool carpeting in the bedrooms will be part of every standard home at the Leona Condominiums in addition to flat panel wood cabinets and stone slab counters (much better than the new age granite ones that seem to generic now in other presales Seattle condominium developments). IN addition, the Leona Condos and luxury residences in Queen Anne District will also provide a gourmet appliance set that includes a Sub-Zero fridge, Viking gas cooktop, microwave, warming drawer (in the penthouse and townhome units only), and a Bosch dishwasher. In terms of the bathrooms at the Leona Living condominiums in the heart of seattle, homebuyers can expect natural stone tile flooring and luxurious shower surrounds. The building amenities at Leona Living will include elevators and reserved garage parking for all residences in addition to the original large windows that provide the best lighting throughout Residences one to thirteen. The Seattle real estate properties at Leona Living condos will also present two new two story penthouse suites that will be built above the existing historic building structure and will have south facing terraces and great city skyline views, as well as of Mount Rainier and Elliott Bay too. For those who are looking for something other than a presales condominium Seattle property, the Leona Living development will also feature three new three story townhomes with private street entrance in addition to very spacious and overheight ceilings on the main floor, unique family rooms and dens and bonus room on the third floor. There are very open and spacious townhome floorplans at the Seattle Leona Living property. For the history of the Leona building, please visit and read the following: http://leonaliving.com/building.cfm?show=History.

Floorplans at Leona

Leona 1 is a one bed and one bath unit with 1003 sq ft and nine foot ceilings while Leona 2 has 1.5 bathrooms and 1006 sq footage. The Seattle Leona Living condominium 3 is 1424 square feet and two bed, two bath plus den and Leona 4 is a one bed/one bath unit with 918 square feet. Jumping to Leona floorplan 10, this is a 1425 spacious two bed, 2.5 bath plus den condominium suite and Leona Living 11 plan is a 1 bed and 1.5 bath with 1180 square footage. 3 Ward Street at the Seattle Leona Living condominium development is a three story townhome with 2667 square feet, two beds and 2.5 bathrooms with a third floor family room and 5 Ward Street is similar but larger in size at twenty eight hundred and seventeen sq ft. 7 Ward street is the last Leona townhome/townhouse and is 2265 square feet in living space. The two Seattle Leona penthouse condominium suites include PH West which is two thousand and ninety six square feet 2 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom plus den and has eleven foot ceilings and PH EAST is two floors with 2078 sq ft and 2.5 bathrooms as well. Here are all the plans online: http://leonaliving.com/plans.cfm?planid=17.

If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, please check out these pre-sales Seattle condominium residences.

Introducing Leona- A New Project by Barrientos

Thank you for your interest in our upcoming Stadium Lofts project by Barrientos. We thought that you might also like to know about the newest community by the same developer, Leona Condos Seattle real estate properties, located on Queen Anne Hill. This historic presale Seattle Leona Apartment building contains only 18 brand new condominium homes located near all the shopping, dining and amenities of one of Seattle’s most sought after neighborhoods of Queen Anne Hill real estate community. We will be open this coming Sunday, September 28th from 1-4 or by private appointment. If you have any questions about this brand new pre-construction Leona Seattle condo community in Queen Anne Hill District please feel free to contact Erica Clibborn at 206.371.5317 or 206.251.1869 or visit leonaliving.com. We’d love to hear from you! Erica at 206.251.1869 or eclibborn@williamsmarketing.com. The presale Leona Seattle condos are located at 1 Ward Street - Corner of Queen Anne and Ward.

Discussion Corner – Finding the Right Key to Real Estate

From the March 2007 edition of the Australian Property Investor Magazine. Helpful hints on real estate investments to get you started on the right foot to success.

The Australian dream of working towards home ownership until the mortgage is paid off is all very noble, but often there are no extra lump sum savings factored in for other real estate property projects. That’s the traditional way many join the Equity Rich, Cash Poor Club.

There is, however, a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s called your home. If you’re an income earner, your home is something you can borrow against by perhaps taking out a standard mortgage or line of credit to free up cash you wish to use for other reasons. Perhaps, your financial situation has changed drastically, or your daily expenditure has soared, or you may want to invest in additional real estate properties.

There’s no doubt investments in real estate is the buzzword of the decade. Proeprty investing is certainly much more prevalent than it has ever been before. With home equity locked up in your real estate property house, real estate opportunities can pass you by unless you’re prepared. Other reasons for using the equity in your home are to improve cash flow and to cope with increased daily expenditure that may be partially due to a higher inflation rate.

For income earners, the answer to unlocking equity home built up in a property real estate is as simple as re-mortgaging. All lenders offer this facility but not all loans are suitable, so do your homework before deciding.

A revolving line of credit (RLOC) facility is something to consider. It’s a special kind of home loan that may be suitable for, say, a short term cash flow problem. In some ways, an RLOC operates more like a large overdraft. You’re given a credit limit which you can draw down at any time you like. Unlike a standard mortgage on a real estate property, however, a revolving line of credit doesn’t have a minimum repayment (with a credit card, for instance, it’s typically 2 to 3 per cent of the balance each month).

The only requirement with a revolving line of credit is to keep the level of debt below the loan’s maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) which is typically 80 to 95 per cent of the value of the real estate home property. This gives the borrower far more flexibility than with a traditional home loan that has set repayments.

With this flexibility comes the ability to pay off the loan faster than a traditional home loan. Alternatively, it gives you access to additional home real estate equity. Most lenders don’t insist that you pay as much as you can, so you can have an RLOC with no debt and available at any time you need it. There may be an ongoing fee to maintain this facility.

Access to home real estate equity is a good thing, except when the loan looks like it may never be repaid. And with a line of credit, this is a possibility!

Reverse Mortgages in Real Estate

Retirees can also be equity rich and cash poor, and a reverse mortgage is a way to access the home equity tied up in a family house. It means retirees don’t have to sell their property real estate and can unlock the equity in it by receiving a lump sum or regular instalment payments to support their lifestyle. It sounds good, so what are the catches?

Yes, a reverse mortgage does provide convenience in obtaining extra cash but it comes with a few potential hassles that everyone needs to consider thoroughly.

The first is long-term financial impact, especially on their inheritance. Perhaps the prospective home buyer borrower should discuss these plans with the family beforehand. This is a complicated issue and is one of the main reasons why financial advice should be sought from a real estate expert, before rushing in and signing on the dotted line.

Most reverse mortgage products require that you maintain the home property to a specified standard and may not allow you to make certain modifications to your real estate property. If you’re considering a reverse mortgage, make sure you plan ahead and know the real estate product with its risks as well as benefits because it’s not for everyone.

In the end, some people, whether income earners or retirees, just might opt ot go the old-fashioned and sometimes easier way – sell the real estate property and go back to renting!

For more information, please visit Australian Property Investor magazine online.

Rivergrove Village Condominiums Ypsilanti Michigan

A real estate development by BRG Custom Homes, the Rivergrove Village Condos and residences are located in the quiet neighbourhood district of Ypsilanti near Ann Arbor in Michigan. Check out more about this real estate property below.

Rivergrove Village offers homebuyers an attractive community of ranch and townhome condominium residences within a master-planned district real estate project by BRG Custom Homes in West Metro, Michigan close to Detroit. Just minutes away from Ypsilanti as well as the shopping and nightlife in Ann Arbor MI, the Rivergrove Village condos and townhomes are what quality real estate construction and urban living spaces are all about when these two terms come to mind. Offering a host of standard amenities as well as great floor plans, affordable housing and great exterior architecture, the Rivergrove Village Condominiums and townhomes in Ypsilanti Michigan are a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a large home at a reasonable cost in today’s real estate market.

For more pre-sales Michigan real estate and properties around urban Detroit condominiums, click here.

About the River Grove Condos in Ypsilanti near Detroit

The opportunity of a lifetime is now available at this real estate development at 2641 Ambassador Drive, Ypsilanti Michigan. Close to both Ann Arbor and the major centre of Detroit MI, the Rivergrove Village condominiums and townhome residences provide two and three bedroom homes for families and couples with two or three bath rooms per unit condo. In addition, the condominium unit sizes at the Rivergrove Village Ypsilanti Ann Arbor homes is between thirteen hundred and seventy five sq ft to one thousand seven hundred and eighty square footage in liveable urban spaces, which is very large for any new home built in or around the Detroit metro area these days. Classified as a new construction property in Ypsilanti, the Rivergrove Condominium Village homes are priced from just one hundred and fifty nine thousand, nine hundred US dollars, again very reasonable and competitively priced for any condominium townhome style residence in this area.

More about Rivergrove Ypsilanti Condos

Close to the Detroit Metro Airport in addition to many lake parks, walking and biking trails as well as outdoor recreational facilities, boating, fishing and Jazz and Heritage Festivals, the Rivergrove Ypsilanti Condominium homes and townhome residences are fit for anyone who loves the outdoors or enjoys a simple night at home cuddling up to a fireplace with their loved ones. The Ypsilanti Detroit Rivergrove Condominium homes is a great real estate community for both investors and homebuyers and the contract representative here is Tom Moore at 734.485.0550. The sales centre for the Rivergrove Village Condos and town home residences is located at Grove and Woodale Ave in Michigan and it is open every day between the hours of 1 – 5pm or by appointment too. If you would like to contact the real estate developers directly for the Rivergrove Condos in Ypsilanti, please contact them at 248.559.3880.

Ensuring Coverage in Real Estate Property and A Protection Primer for New Home Buyers in BC

Written for the Westcoast Homes & Design March 2007 edition by BFL Canada Insurance Services Inc. Insurance brokers will explain the ins and outs of home insurance coverage, including any available discounts, to arrive at a custom tailored policy.

Whether buying a house or condominium or renting an apartment real estate, it’s essential to protect your real estate investments. When purchasing insurance for the first time, do you know what questions to ask? It’s important to understand that not all home insurance policies are created equal.

Insurance brokers will help you when first purchasing an insurance package. As front-line professionals they represent the interests of the clients first and help you choose the right products for their real estate investments.

When building a relationship with your real estate insurance broker, be prepared to answer questions about your home, and insurance requirements. This allows a custom-tailored insurance policy to be built for you.

A prudent broker should review all applicable discounts to you, such as age of dwelling, alarm systems, and mature real estate market discounts. If you own a house, a homeowner’s package includes coverage for the dwelling itself, detached structures, personal contents, additional living expenses and personal liability.

If you’re renting a real estate property or apartment, a tentants’ package includes personal contents, additional living expenses and liabilities.

If you own a condominium, a condominium unit package includes your personal contents, betterments, and improvements to your unit, additional living expenses and liabilities. It’s important to understand that just because the strata building is insured, you are still required to insure your individual unit. This helps to minimize the gaps in coverage between the real estate strata corporation’s policy and your individual unit owner’s real estate property policy. Ask questions about additional coverage available specifically designed for condominium owners.

All real estate property policies have limitations on items such as, but not limited to, jewelry, bicycles, silverware and computers. Ask for an itemized list of these limitations and the cost of increasing these limits when needed.

Always request a copy of the real estate policy working, which is the legal contract between you and the insurance company. Read the entire policy carefully to determine your rights and duties and what is not covered. Clarification should be given on any item that you don’t understand.

If any real estate property coverage is excluded under the policy, such as earthquake, ask your broker if this is available and at what cost. All policies have deductibles that apply to various losses, so ask the broker to clarify these and how your insurance costs can be reduced by increasing the deductible. Brokers offer a variety of payment options, such as monthly and quarterly instalments and one-time payments by way of cheque or credit card. Check the options available to you.

From the BFL Canada Insurance Services Inc.

A Protection Primer for New Home Buyers in BC

Also from the Westcoast Homes & Design Magazine for March written by the Homeowner Protection Office. Legislation and regulations make sure that British Columbia’s new home buyers and real estate investors are better protected than ever before.

A booming provincial economy and a strong demand for residential real estate have persuaded many prospective homebuyers in B.C. that now is the time to invest in property. Consumer confidence in the residential real estate market has been further boosted by legislation and regulations that make buyers of new homes in this province better protected than ever before.

In addition to strong consumer legislation, home buyers of new homes built in British Columbia also have access to a wealth of free information to help them make informed decisions. Here’s a primer.

The Homeowner Protection Act

In July 1999, the rules in the new home marketplace in B.C. changed significantly in favour of real estate consumers and investors. The provincial Homeowner Protection Act was introduced to protect homebuyers of new homes and to bring about improvements in the quality of residential real estate construction. This legislation resulted in two key systems consumers should be aware of – one involves licensed residential builders and the other home warranty insurance.

The Homeowner Protection Act also established the Homeowner Protection Office to administer homeowner protection legislation and regulations and to provide information on these and other topics of interest to buyers of new homes.

Home Warranty Insurance

New homes built by Licenced Residential Builder in this province of BC must come with minimum home warranty insurance established by legislation. This insurance cover real estate buyers of new single family and multi-unit homes for a minimum of two years against defects in labour and materials (some limits apply); five years against building envelope defects, including water penetration; and 10 years against structural defects. Home buyers and real estate investors in BC and Greater Vancouver should check to make sure a project property has what is often referred to as 2-5-10 coverage.

New strata-titled condominiums in Vancouver are covered by two home warranty insurance policies. One applies to the unit for sale, and the other to common areas like building lobbies. The terms and effective and expiry date of coverage may be different for each home policy.

Licensed Real Estate Residential Builders

As of 1999, all residential property builders must be licensed with the HPO and must arrange for third-party new home warranty insurance for a real estate project in order to get a building permit or commence construction. Consumers should check to see if a builder is licensed by visitng the HPO website, where the HPO maintains a province-wide registery of licensed property residential builders.

Owner-Built Homes in BC

Prospective home purchasers of new property should be aware that owner-built homes are not required to be built by a licensed residential builder or to be covered by home warranty insurance in BC. Issues that arise after purchasing concerning defects would have to be settled directly with the owner-builder. Failing that, the purchaser’s only recourse may be in the courts.

Where to get More Information

For more information on licensed real estate residential Vancouver and BC Builders, home warranty insurance, owner-built homes or a free consumer protection guide for home buyers, contact the HPO by telephone toll-free: 1-800-407-7757 or by visiting the HPO website: www.hpo.bc.ca.

New Washington DC Presales Condominiums

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For more information about pre-sales Washington DC real estate condos and properties, click here.

West 58 Condominiums at New York WFifty8 Columbus Circle Apartments

A New York real estate apartment tower residence is now available at the West 58 Condo Homes and Condominiums which are also code named the NYC WFifty8 at Columbus Circle tower residences. Located in central New York City, West 58 WFifty8 Condominium homes are modern playful and indulgent urban spaces for New Yorkers.

Much like the other run down commercial buildings in Columbus Circle, the WFifty8 Condominium tower residences is a revival of the traditional and historical telephone exchange office of New York City. The renovation of this turn of the century architectural gem in New York West 58 commercial building has now been transformed into a luxurious modern chic yet sophisticated tower residence at NYC WFifty8 apartment condominium homes at Columbus Circle where you will have urban spaces, loft style residences and enclosed rooms. A low-rise of only five stories high, this West 58 New York real estate property condominium tower at WFifty8 NY loft style apartment condos features six new construction floors that are contemporary and will feature some exclusive penthouse suites as well as duplexes only for a lucky few. These luxurious West58 condominium apartment residence homes at New York City’s loft WFifty8 condos at Columbus Circle will also have spacious outdoor terraces with beautiful views. With all the modern features and amenities for today’s urban individual and family, the WFifty8 condominium homes at West 58 New York City real estate property lofts will be located in the newly revived community of Columbus Circle where you will find the best of what Manhattan has to offer that includes cultural and landmark attractions, restaurants, recreation and shopping, all within walking or a short driving distance away from your private homes and penthouse suites at the West 58 New York City WFifty8 residences.

The West 58 Residence Floor Plans at New York’s WFifty8 Real Estate Condominium Apartments

There are two current layout floorplans available online at the NYC WFifty8 web site that includes Residence B on Floors three, four and five as well as Penthouse Five on Floors ten and eleven. The luxury residence apartment floorplans at West 58 New York real estate condominium homes and loft residence apartment suites includes floor plan B which is a three bedroom and three and a half bath room condo. On floors three and five of the low-rise residential building at New York West 58 apartment homes at Columbus Circle, the square footage for Residence WFifty8 B is two thousand seven hundred and thirty two sq ft with an open style kitchen leading into a living and dining room and views onto West 58th street in New York City. Residence B on Floor 4 at the WFifty8 property homes and condos at New York City West 58 condominiums is slightly smaller at 2,721 sf. The Penthouse suite at the NYC West 58 condo apartments is actually a duplex condominium with three beds, two and a half bathrooms in addition to being a two level home with two open terraces with beautiful views out to the city. The WFifty8 New York condominium apartment penthouse home at Columbus Circle is a spacious three thousand six hundred and eighty square feet with a terrace space of nine hundred sf. You can view a Columbus Circle slide show gallery of the New York West 58 WFifty8 condo apartment residences online at their website located at wfifty8.com in addition to downloading PDF versions of both floor plan layouts.

Featured Specs

A luxury conversion of a previous commercial space, the low-rise revived building of WFifty8 New York condominium homes and residences features over height ceilings of ten to fourteen feet high in addition to hardwood flooring (cherry) and solid wood doors. In addition, all residents at the West 58 condo homes at Columbus Circle and residences in New York real estate market WFifty8 condominiums will also enjoy all pre-wiring required for security systems, cable, high speed internet connections and phone lines. The penthouse suite apartments at West 58 New York will provide large terraces and WFifty8 balconies at Columbus Circle with great unobstructed views of the surrounding city as well as open style kitchens with Thermador, KitchenAid, GE and Bosch finishes, appliances and fixtures. In addition, frost paneled doors on walnut wood cabinets in the kitchen of these New York City West 58 condominiums at WFifty8 apartment condo homes will provide an elegance and sophistication not seen at a Columbus Circle development in years. In addition WFifty8 at Columbus Circle New York City will provide luxurious master bath rooms that are spa and resort inspired that will include walnut, chrome and stainless steel finishes in addition to glass enclosed showeres and Kohler bath tubs and marble flooring. The guest bathrooms at the New York West 58 apartment condominium homes and residences at New York real estate properties in Wfifty8 at Columbus Circle will also have fine finishes that will include stone tiled flooring, chrome watermark fixtures and American walnut vanities with a luxurious and high-end Kohler sink. The residence apartments at West 58 WFifty8 New York condo homes and residence properties with powder rooms will see an exclusive Bizazza terrazzo flooring with marble vanities and stainless steel sink.

Contact

Within the amazing city of NYC in the Manhattan district where residential meets business meets retail districts, the West 58 NY condominium property homes and apartments at WFifty8 Columbus Circle are situated at 426 West 58th Street in New York, NY 10019. For more property information, please contact Elad Properties today and directly to Tom Elliott at 212-807-6161 or TElliott@eladproperties.com. You can also find out more about the West 58 New York WFifty8 at Columbus Circle residence apartment condos online at the marketing web site located at wfifty8.com.

For other East Coast real estate including Chicago presales condominiums and pre-construction Philadelphia properties, visit these URLs.

Slim Pickings in Vietnam’s Real Estate Commercial Market

Published as a cover story in the Vietnam Economic Times February 2007. Mr. Daniel Fancey, Senior Manager of Corporate Services at CB Richard Elllis (Vietnam) takes a look at what office real estate space exists in the country’s major centres.

With Vietnam officially becoming a member of the WTO at the end of 2006, demand is high for office space and commercial real estate in a market with little quality supply. Surprise awaits newcomers as the lack of availability forces rents to a much higher level than elsewhere in South East Asia. The strong demand in commercial real estate is also due to successful Vietnamese companies that are upgrading to higher quality office space. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are the main office locations, but other cities in the country are moving forward as well. Da Nang, in particular offers real estate space in new real estate developments for the growing demand in the international standard office space.

Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate

Ho Chi Minh City possesses only five Grade A buildings offering just above 73,000 square metres of office space – 28 per cent of the total office stock. All located in District 1, these Grade A buildings are full and the occasional available space is currently offered at a minimum of $32 per sq m per month (inclusive of service charges) an 8 per cent increase form a year ago. New supply in Grade A commercial real estate space will come online in 2008-2009. Until then, companies in need of expansion have to consider Grade B and C or decentralised alternatives. Foreign companies entering the real estate market are quickly snapping up the voids created when such movements occur.

A limited new supply of quality commercial real estate space in 2007 is of Grade B quality at monthly rates ranging from $25 per sq to $30 per sq m (inclusive of service charges), dpending on location and features. Occupancy in the 11 Grade B buildings in Ho Chi Minh City commercial space is at its peak. Of the new buildings, the 9 Dinh Tien Hoang buildings offer an excellent column-free floor plate of sufficient size for medium and large size companies.

There are numerous small buildings comingon to the commercial real estate market, typically with 1,500 to 2,000 sq m of useable space. They may become a viable alternative for large occupiers as a single-tenant option only if they offer a good location and an acceptable quality level. It is critical for real estate developers of such buildings to understand the needs of an international clientele in order to ensure adequacy in terms of space, tenant management and retention. This real estate commercial market segment may not succeed in influencing the quality office market by eroding the demand for larger buildings with international standard features.

Hanoi Commercial Buildings

Hanoi was on centre stage in November with the APEC meeting and the official announcement of Vietnam becoming the WTO’s 150th member. Demand for commercial office space in the capital is high and new quality real estate supply is scattered in and around the city centre. The capital is the logical address of many multi-national companies, diplomatic missions, international organisations and growing number of global-savvy Vietnamese companies.

The total leaseable stock of Grade A building commercial space in Hanoi stands at 84,000 sq m in nine buildings, that ended the year at full occupancy. An additional 22,000 sq m is coming online in Hanoi in 2007 with Pacific Place and the Opera Business Center. Nevertheless, monthly rentals are at $30 per sq m and up (exclusing service charges and VAT) in Grade A commercial buildings due to strong demand for high quality space.

The opening of the HRS Building and Hoa Binh International Towers pushed the Grade B sector stock close to 145,000 sq m from the previous 115,000. The sector in commercial real estate in Hanoi ended the year with a vacancy rate of about 8 per cent due to the new supply. Several new commercial buildings are under construction, like North Asia Tower, Viglacera Tower, VIT Tower, and Kinh Do Building and The Manor, all of which will add another 65,000 sq m to the commercial real estate market in 2007. Most of these new commercial buildings already have more than 60 per cent commitments from tenants with monthly rentals in the $15 to $20 per sq m range depending on the features and the location’s attractiveness, with most being in the city’s new clusters.

New Grade B commercial real estate supply in Hanoi will relieve some of the pressure on average rentals in Hanoi, but strong demand for quality features and location will remain the driver of any increases.

Da Nang Real Estate

The fourth largest city in Vietnam is clearly moving forward and tremendous change has been seen in recent years. Quality infrastructure, an international airport, port facilities, and industrial zones, proximity to major heritage sites and famous beaches for tourism all contribute to impressive GDP growth of 13 per cent over the last five years in Da Nang.

Total commercial real estate office space in Da Nang doubled in 2006 and the year ended with nearly 20,000 sq m of supply. Occupancy is at 96 per cent and demand is increasing, notably from the financial insurance and education secotrs, as well as from major distributors involved in central Vietnam and transport and logistics companies.

Located on the busiest street in Da Nang, just five minutes from the airport, Vinh Trung Plaza (VT Plaza) is currently under construction and will bring 6,000 sq m of international office space at the best location in the city in Q2 this year.

The IndoChina Riverside Tower will add more than 6,000 sq m of international standard commercial real estate office space in a high-quality mixed used development in the middle of 2008.

Should you rent or buy your next real estate property?

Stuart Wemyss of API Magazine (Feb 2007). Part 2 of 2 of this useful article that explains the differences in saving money for a real estate property purchase for primary residence versus one for investment purposes.

Cash flow and borrowing capacity difference

From a cash flow perspective, renting real estate may be a lot cheaper, especially for people with little equity or no deposit. Consider the example of two people who occupy a real estate property worth $500,000. The renter will probably pay a rental yield of say 3.5 per cent, depending on location. This amounts to an annual cash outflow of $17,500.

Assume the homeowner has a home loan of $400,000. Annual principal and interest repayments on this loan will be about $32,000. Therefore, the homeowner’s annual commitments are $14,500 higher than the renter ($32,000 less $17,500).

The renter can borrow over $220,000 more than the homebuyer because of this commitment difference (and also the fact that banks factor potential interest rate increases into their borrowing capacity calculations, which affects the homebuyer but not the renter). The homeowner’s loan would need to be less than $220,000 for the repayments to be less than the renter’s annual commitment of $17,500. The conclusion is, if you have little cash or equity, then you may be better off maximizing your borrowing capacity by renting rather than buying a home so that you can purchase more investment real estate properties.

Deposit Power

Real estate investors should understand that owning your home property may render some of your cash or equity to be unusable. Perhaps the best way to communicate this point is to consider an example. Consider two different investors in real estate property. One property investor has $200,000 in equity in his home (say a home worth $400,000 with an outstanding mortgage of $200,000) and another doesn’t own a home but has $200,000 in cash.

The real estate investor with $200,000 can buy about $800,000 of property (note, this figure will depend on the state the property is bought in as stamp duty charges vary), assuming a maximum loan to value ratio of 80 per cent is maintained (i.e. the $200,000 cash was used to pay for a 20 per cent deposit plus costs).

The real estate investor in property who owns his home can borrow up to 80 per cent of his home’s value in Australia (therefore, $320,000). He already has a $200,000 home loan secured by this property. Therefore, he can borrow an extra $120,000. This amount ($120,000) can be sued to pay for a 20 per cent deposit plus costs (eg. Stamp duty). Therfore, this investor in real estate can spend up to $480,000 on an investment property while maintaining a locan to value ratio of 80 per cent.

In these calculations, I’ve assumed that the investor in real estate borrows a maximum of 80 per cent of the property’s value. This is the maximum most lenders wil provide without charging Lender Mortgage Insurance, which can be a very costly upfront fee. However, it’s possible for the homeowner to bridge some of this gap between him and herself and the cash holder by borrowing more than 80 per cent (although as noted) this does come at a cost). This leads nicely into my next point about timing.

The Timing Issue

Most people intend to own a home or property some time in their life. Therefore, some investors in real estate are faced with the decision: “What do I buy first? A home or an investment property?” I would guess that there would be very few people who would decide never to purchase a home just because numbers don’t stack up.

Buying a Home and Then an Investment Property

The main advantage with this real estate investment strategy is that it allows you to balance your tax deductible and non-tax deductible debt more effectively. That is , you’re able to contribute all your cash towards your home purchase to minimize your non-tax deductible home loan. You can then utilize the home equity in your real estate property to borrow the total cost of your investment property, even if it means paying for mortgage insurance. The main practical downside to this strategy in real estate investing is that for many people, the subsequent investment property purchase may never eventuate. They may have every intention to purchase an investment property. However, due to constant distractions in life, time slips away and they may never actually complete the investment real estate property purchase. In this situation they would have been far better off purchasing the investment property before the home form a wealth building perspective. So, if you choose this strategy in real estate investments, make sure you follow through with your intentions and purchase investment properties.

Buying an Investment Property First and then a Home

Obviously the reverse of the pros and cons mentioned above apply to this strategy. Another benefit of this strategy is that buying an investment property a number of years before your buy a home may help you afford to purchase a more expensive home as you would have hopefully built up equity in your investment real estate portfolio.

Occupying an Investment Property

A really good “happy medium” is to purchase a property real estate purely on investment fundamentals (ie.e purchase the property as if you weren’t going to live in it) and then occupy the property as your home. Of course, this may involve you have to compromise on your personal lifestyle requirements. However, the main benefit in real estate is that you won’t compromise on the main reason for home investing in property. That is capital growth! You will, of course, be missing out on the income (i.e. rent). However, it’s capital growth that will increase your net wealth the most and allow you to continue to build your real estate property portfolio.

The biggest downside to buying a home is that home purchases are heavily influenced by personal, non-financial preferences (e.g. location, type of architecture etc.) This may result in someone purchasing a poor quality asset from an investment real estate perspective, whereas investment property purchases should be unemotional and only influenced by the question “which asset is going to perform the best?”.

Therefore, eliminating the “emotional” influences fro your home purchase in real estate should go a long way to helping you build wealth! This real estate strategy is particularly important for people who may only want to buy a home to occupy for a short period (say five years). Buying a good quality asset can help them tremendously after they decide not to occupy the home anymore and sell it or rent it out.

Buying: A Forced Savings Plan

One risk to taking the “rent a home and buy an investment property in real estate” option is procrastination. Buying a property, be it a home or an investment, is a bit like a forced savings plan. As discussed earlier, it’s cheaper to rent a property from a cash flow perspective (i.e. rent payments are lower than home loan repayments). That can be useful as long as you use the cash flow saving wisely (eg. Buying an investment property). However, some renters fall into the trap of spending the cash flow saving on their “lifestyle”. This is a common trap and is extremely “wealth destroying”.

By buying a real estate property, you’re essentially forced to contribute a greater proportion of your income towards buying an asset in real estate, rather than spending this money on your lifestyle. Therefore, if you’re not as disciplined with your money as you could be, make sure you have something in place to “force” you to buy an investment property (a good solution is to use a buyers agent to locate and purchase the investment property for you, because then you know it will definitely be done).

Focusing on Financials

I’ve written this article on the basis that people are focused solely on the financial pros and cons. I realize this isn’t realistic. I understand some people are mainly driven by personal preferences. For example, some people feel more secure if they own their home and would never want to rent. Some people prefer to rent near the city, because if they purchased, they could only afford to buy something in the outer suburbs and they aren’t prepared to compromise on location.

The only advice I have for people who are heavily influenced by their “personal preferences” is to be aware of the financial repercussions of your decisions and how they may affect your long-term wealth because they can be absolutely huge! The renting or buying real estate decision is not an easy choice to make.

Stuart Wemyss is a chartered accountant and director of mortgage broking firm ProSolution Private Clients. For more information, please contact API Magazine of Australia.

9T6 Condominium Residences Toronto

The downtown Toronto presales condominium market is on the rise as in many other major cities across Canada. As real estate prices push upwards, many first-time homebuyers as well as home owners are planning on moving into masterplanned condo communities such as Toronto’s 9T6 Residences.

Straight from the 9T6 Website

“It’s hard to put your finger on the pulse of what is chic. As soon as you begin to define it, to anchor it to a definition, you lose it. You either know it or you don’t. It is an intrinsic sense of style, of fashion, of trend. What is chic? If you con’t know, you don’t know. 9T6 Condominium Residences is situated in the downtown Queen Street district at the very heart of Toronto’s most sought after location. Toronto 9T6 presales condo homes was designed for people who know exactly what urban chic is.” This is a great marketing introduction to what has become known as the trendiest an most urban chic condominium real estate development to hit the largest city in Canada. The residential building itself is designed by renowned Atkins Group Corporation Architects and the glass and panel clad exterior is very Queen Street style. The area of Queen Street in Toronto where 9T6 Condominium Homes are located is the quintessential location for fashion, intellectuals, artists, the cool, hip and urban individuals and couples who live life everyday and wish to be surrounded by like-minded people. With coffee bars, bistros, open air restaurants, galleries, theatres, nightlife and entertainment districts just within walking distance from the presales real estate properties at 976 Toronto condo residences, the energy and style is unmatched by any other pre-construction condo in the city. Queen Street is an eclectic neighbourhood full of excitement and surprises waiting for you.

The Amenities List

The 9T6 Condos presents a gorgeous lobby entrance for you and your guests. Sleek and sophisticated in style, this urban chic lobby from Queen Street Toronto is designed by Mike Niven with backlit sculptured steel walls and panoramic floor to ceiling two storey windows with lots of natural lighting. The amenities on the ground floor of the Toronto 9T6 Condominium Residences includes a concierge desk that is twenty four hours a day as well as three high-speed elevators for convenience and speed to get you in and out quickly. The 9T6 Toronto condo presales properties second floor contains the spacious Club 9T6, an exclusive area with a backlit bar area for entertainment purposes. In addition to the excellent interior design with wood wall paneling, upholstered ottomans and more, this cozy area is free flowing, intimate and ideal for entertaining friends, family and business associates. In addition, the Club 9T6 lounge opens onto an outdoor terrace by way of glass sliding doors. Exclusive for use by 9T6 Condominium home owners and residents, the Club 9T6 is absolutely spectacular with it’s multi-toned hardwood flooring as well. This real estate property also contains an amenity space with a state of the art Fitness Facility that also includes a stunning Garden Terrace with plenty of outdoor amenities. The Garden Terrace at Toronto’s 9T6 residence condos is inspirational and represents an urban oasis away from the busy streets below. Through glass sliding doors from the fitness facility, one can meander into a multi-tiered exterior space for hot tubbing, relaxing, reading or entertaining. View images are located online at the 9T6 web site http://www.9t6condos.com/main_flash.html. Extraordinary is not even enough to describe the wonderful views you will have from your 9T6 condominium suite with perspectives of office towers, skyscrapers, the horizon, lake and communities.

Contact Information

The Presentation Centre address for the Toronto 9T6 Condo Residences is at 122a St. Patrick Street in Ontario and the sales office number is 416.484.9600. You can book an appointment via email as well as info@9T6condos.com today. The Sales Centre hours for the 9T6 Toronto condo presales office is Monday to Thursday between 12 – 6pm, Saturday and Sunday between 12 – 5pm and they are closed on Friday. The exclusive real estate agent for 9T6 properties is Milborne Real Estate Inc. Located within the urban chic district of Queen Street where you will find the perfect condominium community that is friendly, safe and ideally located, the 9T6 Toronto condos are the hot property this year in this city. For the latest radio commercials, you can click on the ‘Contact Us’ button on the website and click on the radio version links. You can also register online. Other features of the 9T6 Toronto condominium residences web site includes a VR Tour (that is excellent by the way) in addition to more builder information and the latest news updates on the construction progress.

The Team

The builder for the Toronto 9T6 properties is Camrost-Felcorp Visionary and the architect firm is Atkins Group Corporation with forty two years of proven experience. The landscape architect is Terraplan, established back in 1973 and the exclusive real estate sales is by the Milborne Group of Companies led by Hunter Milborne. Lastly, the interior designer is Mike Niven of Interior Design Inc.

The location of the Toronto 9T6 Condominium residences is priceless. Close to hospitals, the AGO, City TV’s media headquarters, restaurants, clubs and more, residents here will enjoy an ever changing and exciting lifestyle. For more information about floor plans and features at the 9T6 Toronto Condos, please visit their website at http://www.9t6condos.com/main_flash.html.

40 Bond Street New York Condominiums

No more driving. No more commuter headaches. A strip that rivals the best entertainment, cultural, dining and shopping arcades in the world. The New York City 40 Bond Street Condos are here and available to you right now. Was it worth the wait? You betcha!

The 40 Bond condominiums in NYC is an Ian Schrager Company luxury residence that is fit for those who love the luxurious nature of this real estate development. From the great location to the impressive string of well-appointed interiors and from the many wonderful amenities within the New York 40 Bond Street condo community to the services available, Ian Schrager does an excellent job in tantalizing the senses and creating a cool and trendy urban community while keeping all the traditional quality construction and design for this development. Impressive as it may sound, now is the time to visit the 40Bond Street New York condominium presentation center where you can find out more about the idea, lifestyle, residences, services, Ian Schrager details, H&Dem, press releases and contact information. It is all here online at: http://40bond.com/home.html, so what are you waiting for? These luxury residences in NYC will not last long.

The lifestyle choice

With any New York real estate property, lifestyle choice is of utmost importance to every home buyer as people are getting much more savvy in pinpointing the ideal location for their next home. The luxury residences on 40 Bond Street in New York City is one such boutique home community where you will find a lifestyle worth living with entertainment and relaxation areas, extraordinary architecture both on the exterior and interiors, unprecedented service and of course the lifestyle management of your home. Sophisticated and for the urban clientele, these luxury residence homes at the 40 Bond Street NYC condominium properties is what Schrager has come up with and accomplished a lot to improve the lifestyles of all home buyers here. The neighbourhood speaks for itself as the 40 Bond residences are located in the historic Noho district in Manhattan, NY. With amazing landmarks including impressive galleries, theatres as well as restaurants, the Noho community is a vibrant district that reflects the soul and culture of New York City as its best. The 40Bond Street residents will enjoy the first botanical garden in New York as well that was created and designed by John Jacob Astor in addition to the turn of the century architecture every which way you look around you. The richest of architectural gems are located in Noho, just outside your 40 Bond luxury residence, so again, what are you waiting for?

The Residences

A unique offering or urban city townhouses and luxury residences are available at 40 Bond Street in New York City. For the latest floor plans, images and videos, you can visit this web page on the 40 Bond web site for more information and details: http://40bond.com/apartments.html. The floor plans at 40 Bond Street condominium townhomes and residences include the following: Residence A on Floors 4 – 7 being three bedrooms plus family room plus three bathrooms plus powder room and a total of two thousand six hundred and seventeen square feet with north and south exposures, floor to ceiling windows, eleven foot ceilings and laundry room. Residence B at the 40 Bond New York residences includes two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a powder room with a total square footage of one thousand three hundred and eighty two with south exposure. Luxury Residnce C floorplan as three bedrooms and a family room with 3 baths and a powder with two thousand six hundred and thirty seven sq ft. The luxury residence at New York 40 Bond Street properties includes Residence D with one bedroom plus library and two bathrooms with a sq foot of one thousand two hundred and sixty nine. Residence 8A at 40 Bond NY includes 4 beds + library, 4 baths + powder room and an interior space of three hundred and six square meters a nd a roof garden space of one hundred and twenty five square meters in size. Residence 8B floorplan at 40 Bond condominiums will have 2 beds, 2 baths and a powder with interior space of 2076 sq ft and rooftop garden space of 1042 sq feet. Plan 9A at the 40 Bond has 4 beds, 4 baths, study and powder with 3288 interior and an entrance gallery. Residence Floorplan 9B is 2 and 2 with powder and two thousand and seventy six square feet in intetior space. The New York 40 Bond Street luxury residence 10A has four bedrooms and four bathrooms in addition to a study and powder and has 3288 sq ft and lastly, 10B is a two and two with powder room and a total interior space of 2076 sq ft.

The Townhomes

The luxury residential real estate development at 40 Bond Street in New York, NY presents five different townhouse each with their amazing plans and appointments. Townhouse 1 at 40 Bond Street has three beds, drawing room, recreation room plus four bathrooms and is twenty five feet wide and has 3 floors totalling three thousand seven hundred and thirty nine square feet interior and a garden space of one thousand one hundred and seventeen square feet. Townhouse 2 at New York’s 40Bond properties is also 25 feet wide and 3 floors with 3 beds, 4 baths, drawing and rec room with a total interior space of 3552 and exterior of 1117. The 40 Bond townhouse three has 3 beds, 4 baths, and is seventeen feet wide and totals two thousand eight hundred and seventy four square feet. The 40Bond Townhouse Four on 40 Bond Street New York includes 2881 interior and 601 exterior garden space. Lastly, the Townhouse Five on 40 Bond NY includes 3750 square footage of interior living space and 750 garden space on three floors.

Contact the 40 Bond Street New York luxury residences and townhouses today at 212.431.8500 or fill out their contact form online at http://40bond.com/contact.php.

For details about other pre-construction New York condominiums and luxury boutique homes, click here.

Real Estate Investing Books and Property Investment Resources

If you are looking to purchase a book on how to invest in real estate or property investments or guides to property management, renting, seeking financing or general personal financial help, please read below.

The following web site is a great resource for real estate investors across the United States and Canada to purchase the best investment books that will guide you through the process of building wealth through property investments.

The two books that are recommended by everyone before you get started in the property investing arena are written by world-renowned author Robert Kiyosaki who teaches you on how to get out of the 'rat race'. By reading these two books, you will gain knowledge on why you are investing in real estate and how to change your life so that you can maximise your time, wealth and prosperity.

Book #1 - Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not


For CD Version:



Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not
A #1 New York Times bestseller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a true story on the lessons about money that Robert Kiyosaki learned from his two 'dads.' One dad, a Ph.D. and superintendent of education, never had enough money at the end of the month and died broke. His other dad dropped out of school at age 13 and went on to become one of the wealthiest men in Hawaii.

Book #2 - Who Took My Money by Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad's Who Took My Money? : Why Slow Investors Lose and How Fast Money Wins


For CD Version:

Rich Dad S Who Took My Money? Why Slow Investors Lose And How Fast Money Wins! (Cd/spoken Word)


Rich Dad's Who Took My Money? : Why Slow Investors Lose and How Fast Money Wins
Kiyosaki starts this book by asking the reader to study one's paycheck. "Look at all the deductions that reduce your take-home pay-federal taxes, state taxes, FICA, 401k deductions, etc., etc.," observes Kiyosaki. "For every dollar you earn, you seemingly only take home 60 or 70 cents! What guarantee do you have ALL these monetary deductions, like your 401k or Social Security, are ever going to come back to help you when you decide to retire?"Using this platform as a jumping-off point, Kiyosaki shows how today's employees can finally start taking advantage of their OWN investments to put them on the fast track to become independently wealthy. In short, Kiyosaki explains "who took your money" -and what you can do to make sure you aren't short-changed!

Here are the categories listed:

1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
2. Donald Trump - How to get rich through real estate
3. Real Estate Investing for Dummies
4. Flipping Property and How To's
5. Real Estate Financing and the Banks including Mortgages
6. Renting Real Estate and Property Management
7. Home Renovations and Reno for Dummies
8. Recreational and Resort Real Estate Investing including Timeshares
9. Canadian Real Estate Investing and books by Don Campbell
10. Life, Wealth, Prosperity, Retirement - General Financial Help Books

Firming real estate market tipped for 2007

The Australian property real estate market stabilised through 2006 and most states can expect a stronger performance in 2007, according to a report from LJ Hooker Financial Services. Published in the Australian Property Investor Magazine March 2007. For more info, visit www.apimagazine.com.au.

First homebuyers are returning to the real estate market and owner-occupier activity is improving, the company’s general manager, Peter Bromley, wrote in a report, which went on to detail conditions in each state.

New South Wales Real Estate

Bromley said it was “genuinely difficult” to predict NSW real estate market movements at this stage. “Big price increases are unlikely through 2007, though the top end of the market - $2 million plus properties – should continue to climb,” he said. In what could be an interesting tip for real estate investors, Bromley said some regional NSW areas may outperform Sydney, naming the centres of Newcastle and Wollongong in particular.

Victoria Property

Melbourne had an “outstanding” 2006, with the LJ Hooker/BIS Shrapnel Residential Property Index showing growth of 17.8 per cent over the year. “This remarkable level of growth also shows no signs of slowing down, with the final three months recording growth of 4.8 per cent,” wrote local real estate analyst Warren Urquhart. The metropolitan real estate market property was very strong, while the outer suburbs were somewhat slower, mostly due to buyers “being very deliberate in their decision making,” Urquhart said.

Queensland Real Estate

Growth of 4.6 per cent over the three months to December 2006 suggested three interest rate rises during the year had little impact on the Queensland residential property market, the report said. Glenn Prior of LJ Hooker Financial Services in Queensland said the Sunshine Coast market real estate was particularly active in the lead-up to Christmas and the start of 2007 fround the Gold Coast unusually busy. Real estate investors were also active in Townsville and Chinchilla, on the back of ‘planned’ commercial activity. On these, Prior warned, “Caution is needed where a property market is being driven up by speculation.”

Western Australia Property

Perth was the standout performer of 2006, with the Residential Property Index showing 34 per cent growth for the year. However, Barry Hurst of LJ Hooker Financial Services said the unrelenting rises would have an impact on first time homebuyers. “The $440,000 median house price is already out of many first homebuyers’ reach,” Hurst wrote. “Some real estate market observers are expressing concern that the possibility of concessions for first home buyers, as mooted recently by the State Government, may cause this sector of the real estate property market to go to ground. Even the suggestion of the ‘carrot’ may result in a ‘wait and see’ attitude and that would certainly have an impact on the property market at large.”

Tasmania Property

Home loan activity for established homes was growing above the national rate in Tasmania and first homebuyers activity was also above the national average, Urquhart said. Prices also climbed. The northern suburbs had strong real estate sales through November and December, Urquhart noted, and the southern suburbs should see increased activity driven by land releases this year.

South Australia Real Estate

Andrew Morrison wrote in the report that the real estate outlook in Adelaide for 2007 was “one of general optimism.” “It’s fair to say that the overall performance of the Adelaide property market in 2006 was flat but there’s every sign that 2007 will deliver better results,” Morrison said. He said low property vacancy rates were attracting Australian real estate investors back into the market in “noticeable proportions.”

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT’s market has continued to defy market observers in Australian real estate, with the Residential Property Index recording a return of 4.3 per cent for 2006. “December was strong, with good auction clearance rates and above reserve prices achieved in most instances,” Bromley said. “Real estate developments are still going strong, especially in Canberra’s inner suburbs.”

Northern Territory Real Estate

The Northern Territory experienced browth through much of 2006 but there was some decline in the final two months of the year, Morrison said. Nonetheless, the Residential Property Index of Australia Real Estate showed a rise of 10.6 per cent over the year. “Relatively low sales volumes in the second half of 2006 may have had some effect on median house prices however Darwin property real estate owners should keep the positive annual rate of growth in mind,” Morrison wrote.

Washington Square Condominiums in Bellevue WA

A unique two tower real estate development has begun in Bellevue Washington, close to Seattle city center and loads of entertainment and recreational areas. Tower One and Tower Two – Platinum Washington Square condos in Bellevue have launched!

About the Washington Square residences

This is a mixed-use real estate development that consists of a Hotel, shops, Tower 1 condo residences and the Tower 2 platinum condominium homes. Currently, the Platinum series homes at Washington Square condominiums have just been released and they represent the utmost in luxurious living spaces that are well appointed and some of the signature homes in all of the Pacific Northwest. Washington Square is going to be the epicentre of everything that will go on in Bellevue, and just minutes away from Seattle and Tacoma, making it an ideal location for any lifestyle.

Contact information

The Bellevue Washington Square condo presentation center is now open and you can visit a sales representative to learn more about the Bellevue Vibrant Urban Village here. The sales office for the Washington Square Bellevue condominiums is located at 833 – 108th Avenue NE in WA 98004. The hours of the presentation center include Monday through to Saturday between 11am and 6pm as well as Sundays between 12 noon and 5pm. For more information, you can call the Washington Square Bellevue condominiums local number at 425.974.7000 or toll-free phone number at 866.841.6060. You may also register online at the Washington Square condos web site located at http://washingtonsquareliving.com/ and then clicking on ‘Register’. The website also includes News Room information (like press releases and marketing materials from newspapers and magazines) in addition to details about the real estate developer (Bellevue’s Washington Square condominiums are developed by Wasatch Development Associates) as well as a Gallery that includes numerous images of the community, neighbourhood and building renderings.

The Difference

Washington Square is going to be a hub of entertainment, shopping, facilities and amenities for Bellevue WA and it starts with the condominium development that includes The Club which is just steps away from your luxury residence. Where you can put your mind and body to work or at ease or if you prefer some spa services, the Club at Washington Square condominiums in Bellevue will have the perfect remedy for you any day and at anytime. In addition, what many people don’t realize is that this Bellevue development will also see luxurious accommodations in the form of the Washington Square Hotel that will be the city’s more premier boutique hotel and will be opening very soon. So for guests like family and friends visiting, the Hotel at Washington Square Bellevue will provide the best in accommodations for their holidays. The Washignton Square shopping arcades will create a neighbourhood perspective in this masterplanned community near Seattle Washington that will include fine dining, casual dining dafes, street side shopping and more. The retail partners currently at the Washington Square Bellevue real estate community include El Gaucho and Zupan’s Markets. Watch for more information from the retail partners side of this development project. Described beautifully on the Washington Square Bellevue condominium web site, Washington Square ‘is a gracious 10.5 acre neighbourhood in the heart of downtown Bellevue that will envelop you in the comforts of home.’ With distinct buildings, people friendly neighbourhood planning, high-tech features, shopping districts, retail and office space, the Washington Square condominium development plan for Bellevue will change the face of the entire city within a few years. You can see a detailed community map online. Location is very important in all real estate investment opportunities, and the Bellevue condominiums at Washington Square will be in the cultural district close to the Bellevue Arts Museum, Meydenbauer Center and the new Performing Arts Center Eastside.

Tower 1

The Washington Square condominium tower residence 1 will consist of twenty four stories. The Ground Level will have townhomes that will feature two or three bedrooms an the Garden Suites Level 4 will only have six residence condos. Terrace Suites located on Level 5 will total nine floorplans and City Suites on Levels 6 – 17 will have also nine suites per floor. The Sky Suites on Levels 18 – 22 will have nine spacious and luxurious condominium homes with striking views of the city including Washington Square’s surrounding neighbourhoods and the Penthouse Suites at Washington Square Bellevue development will only have six suites per floor. The signature penthouse condo suite here is Suite 2307 which has two bedrooms plus den, two and a half bath and a total square footage of two thousand three hundred and eighty nine sqft. Absolute luxury!

Tower 2

The Washignton Square Tower 2 Bellevue condo residences have not yet released the Ground Level Townhome floor plans yet but the Courtyard Suites on Levels 3 – 5 will consist of three residences per floor and the Garden Level Suites on 5 will have eight in total per floor. The Terrace Suites on Level 6, City Suites on Levels 7 – 18 will soon be sold out as they are very hot Bellevue real estate properties and have attracted a large number of out of city real estate investors and people wanting to move here.

Platinum Washington Square Condominiums

Located in Tower 2 of this luxurious development, the Platinum Series of Condos here includes the Platinum Sky Suites on Levels 19 – 23 as well as the Washington Square Platinum Penthouses on Levels 24 and 25. One of the most amazing Bellevue Washington Sq condominium Platinum home is 2424 which includes two bedrooms plus a den and two baths and has a living area of one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine square feet and a balcony of five hundred and twelve sq ft. Wouldn’t you want to live here?

For more details about other presales Seattle condos and Bellevue properties, click here.

IconVallarta Inspired by Yoo by Philippe Starck

Another collaboration of some of the greatest minds in real estate development and marketing have combined this time in Puerto Vallarta at the Icon Vallarta Condominiums. Designed by Yoo by Starck, the IconVallarta resort condos represents an excellent choice for any property investor to get into the resort real estate market.

Would you like more information?

If resort or recreational property interests you or if you are planning on moving or retiring to Puerto Vallarta, the Icon Vallarta condominium project may be a great choice for you and your family. You can read all the details online at the Yoo and STarck Icon Vallarta website at: http://www.iconvallarta.com/home.html. The Puerto Vallarta Icon Condominium project will be a development consisting of a twenty six story high rise that depicts a luxury residential yet resort tower. The total number of condominium suites at the Icon Vallarta in Mexico will be three hundred and sixty six and will contain seven magnificent pool villas that look out to the open Pacific Ocean. Spectacular in design and construction, the Puerto Vallarta Icon Vallarta condominium homes is designed by the Arquitectonica Architects and the interior design will be handled by YOO by Philippe Starck. Luxury condominium living is coming to Puerto Vallarta, so hold on, save your money and purchase your dream escape condo along the beautiful shores of the ocean. The real estate project will be enclosed by a private hacienda-style wall transforming Icon Vallarta into a private oasis and there will be landscaped entrance with private drop-offs in each of the condo towers. The lobbies will be furnished with the imagination of YOO by Starck and there will be professionally landscaped lush gardens throughout. For unsurpassed luxury resort and recreational condominium living, the Puerto Vallarta IconVallarta project will be the best of its kind in Mexico.

The amenities

Icon Vallarta will host a unique and contemporary architecture as well as the best in modern interior design that is minimal yet sophisticated and elegant. In addition, this Puerto Vallarta condominium resort real estate property will have five acres of stunning oceanfront property with exclusive beach access for all residents as well as great gardens and Mexican sculptures, two story lobbies in each of the three condo towers in addition to a five hundred foot infinity edge swimming pool, private gourmet restaurant, twenty seat state of the art movie theatre and an oceanfront gym with full spa service, sauna and steam rooms. Living and investing in this sort of resort real estate recreational property at Puerto Vallarta’s Icon Vallarta condominiums should be an easy decision for you to make. The Icon Vallart’s residences are designed by Yoo by Starck and will include two and three bedroom luxurious beachfront and oceanfront residences, many of which have private elevators) in addition to floor to ceiling glass windows, nine foot ceilings, state of the art modern bathrooms, spacious outdoor terraces and balconies as well as great views of the ocean, mountains and vibrant downtown Puerto Vallarta. The resort property at Icon Vallarta will also have the most high-tech pre-wiring in every room.

More resort amenities at IconVallarta Condos

The seven exclusive two story, two bedroom villas will have exceptional ocean and pool views, private roof top decks with private pools, direct beach and pool access and private lavish landscaped gardens. The kitchens at the Icon Vallarta condominiums in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta will be gourmet and the bathrooms will be completely designed by Yoo by Starck. In addition, IconVallarta resort condos will have over one thousand feet of pristine beaches on Bahia de Banderas and sprinklers, poolside private cabanas, outdoor fire pit, full service beach bar with grilling, gourmet kitchen on the oceanfront, Temascal (an old Mayan ritual spa) in addition to the Icon Vallarta Aqua Club for all your watersports and local recreational needs during your trip. The Spa and Fitness Center at the Puerto Vallarta Icon resort condominium properties will have free weights, cardio equipment, aerobics studio, in room massages, his and her lounges, relaxation areas, Whirlpool tubs, cold plunge pools, steam room, redwood saunas and personalized fitness training. The Icon Vallarta Resort services in Puerto Vallarta will include the following: multilingual staff, twenty four hour valet parking and security service, in room dining, concierge, full service business center, shipping, currency conversion, maintenance staff, housekeeping, dry cleaining, laundry, babysitting, shoeshine and pet services to name a few. You can see images of the views, location, photo gallery, virtual tour and video online at the Icon Vallarta web site located at http://www.iconvallarta.com/home.html.

The Floor Plans at Puerto Vallarta resort community

The recreational real estate property ownership in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta is exploding. With affordable condominiums and luxury villas for sale here, many people are opting to retire in this beautiful locale. Icon Vallarta is the first of its kind when it comes to luxurious condo residences along the oceanfront in Puerto Vallarta and the floor plans are just stunning. The team behind the Puerto Vallarta Icon resort condos includes Yoo by Philippe Starck, Related Group, Arquitectonia and Grupo Chartwell. Located along Mexico’s Gold Coast, you can find more information about Puerto Vallarta online at their website in addition to the Broker’s Login as well as press releases. For contact information about the Icon Vallarta resort condominiums, please contact 1.800.900.ICON in Mexico or 1.877.295.ICON (4265) in the US. The physical address of the IconVallarta Puerto Vallarta recreational resort condos is at NH Krystal Hotel. Av. De las Garzas, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. You can also still register online.

Villa Rachatewi Bangkok Condominiums

Your perfect fit & many specialties await you! Officially opened for sale on March 16 – 18th, 10.00 – 21.00 hrs. at the Discovery Plaza in Siam Discovery Center Bangkok Thailand. Ongoing condo purchase special for all sizes at the Villa Rachatewi Condominiums with a delightful discount of up to 11% at this event only.

Villa Rachatewi Bangkok Homes provides modern living in a modern condo master-planned community in the heart of Thailand. As the largest city in the country, Bangkok is now home to over fifteen million residents, and many of whom are beginning to make a lot more money in the progressive and every increasing Thai economy in South East Asia. As one of a few new presales condominium towers for sale in Bangkok Villa Rachatewi has a lot going for it including it’s cost/pricing and location as well as it’s ‘new residence’ marketing where young singles, professionals and couples can own only a handful of completely new condo units in the city downtown.

The overview of Villa Rachatewi Bangkok

The condominium tower at Villa Rachatewi is one of the most famous presales condo pre-construction buildings in all of Bangkok and for good reason. As seen in their presales condo marketing print advertisements, the Villa Rachatewi Bangkok on Phaya Thai Road is only two hundred metrew from the BTS Phaya Thai (the metro system that will get you anywhere you want to go in Bangkok) in addition to just being steps away from Bangkok’s trendiest venues. A hip condominium tower that will fit your sophisticated lifestyle, the Bangkok Villa Rachatewi condominium tower will provide new apartment homes for people wanting to live in a new construction building. With the minimalism design concept and finest materials applied, its Double Volume lobby area creates the simple yet elegant feel, giving you a sense of walking through the modern art gallery. The Villa Rachatewi also has a large Oasis Garden as well as full facilities to add to a great consummate living space for you in Bangkok Thailand.

The real estate developer

Contact information is located here for the Villa Rachatewi, located only 200 m away from PHaya Thai BTS station and close to the Rachatewi Intersection in Bangkok. For more information, telephone 02-653-8888 or visit the real estate development team’s web site at www.tccapitalland.co.th for floorplans and renderings of this condo development. Brought to ou by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, the project owner of Villa Rachatewi is T.C.C. Capital Land Limited at 195 Empire Tower, 56th Floor, South Sathorn Road in Yannawa Bangkok 10120. The total real estate project area is 4-3-6.1 and the construction start date for these presales Bangkok condos is December 2006 with the expeted completion date of the pre-construction condominiums at Bangkok’s Villa Rachatewi to be December 2009.

The contemporary collection of floor plans

If you are serious about purchasing a condo apartment unit here in downtown Bangkok, the Villa Rachatewi presales condominiums have the perfect minimalist floor plans for you to choose from. The first such floorplate is S with fourty one sq m studio plan with a starting price of Baht 3.2 million. Floorplan M at the Bangkok Villa Rachatewi presales condos is a one bedroom condominium with starting prices from Baht 4.5 million. The L plan is sixty four square metres and starts from 5.4 million and is considered a one bedroom duplex home. The presales Villa Rachatewi condominiums in Bangkok will also feature XL floorplan which is a two bedroom home suite with eight five and a half square metres in size and starting from Baht 7.9 million. Lastly, the Floorplan XXL Villa Rachatewi condominiums in presales and pre-construction stage right now is a three bedroom home residence with over one hundred and sixty four square m in living area and starts from Baht 14.4 million.

The Residences of Maple Leaf Square Toronto

This Toronto real estate property is not just another condominium project to grace the City of Toronto skyline. The Residences of Maple Leaf Square are an integral part of an urban architectural landmark that will prove to be one of the most exciting destinations in downtown Toronto according to their real estate marketing.

Welcome to Maple Leaf Square Toronto Residences, a unique condo tower development that includes two soaring glass towers on top of a nine storey podium that will change the downtown Toronto skyline forever. The urban Residences at Maple Leaf Square will not only contain some of the most spectacular residences, but also destination retail centres, a boutique hotel and a daycare centre for children. In addition, the Maple Leaf Square Toronto residences will also have approximately one hundred and fifty square feet of office space to top it all of. With the distinct advantage of providing soaring views of the Lake Ontario waterfront as well as the skyline, the Residences at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Square is the design work of two of the most experienced and well known architectural firms called KPMB and Page + Steele. Together, this urban real estate development team in Toronto will put together two high-rise residential glass towers soaring fifty stories and will contain over nine hundred luxurious condominium residences with over thirty five thousand square feet of residential amenity spaces with resident swimming pools, fitness facilities, recreational rooms, sate of the art home theatre and a business centre of course.

The North Tower Floorplans at the Maple Leaf Square Toronto Residences

With nine hundred condo residences available for purchase at this Toronto real estate development, it signifies one of the largest urban residential capital development projects in recent memory in this growing urban city. The Toronto Residences at Maple Leaf Square Condominiums will include floorplans in the North Tower in Bachelor layouts called the Miami and at four hundred square feet in addition to one bedroom condos in the Tampa Bay (four hundred and eighty four square feet), Orlando at 476 sq ft and Florida at approximately four hundred and ninety sq footage. The one bedroom and study (or den) include the Minnesota at five hundred and fifty four square feet as well as the Phoenix which has a large outdoor balcony and an indoor living space of six hundred and one square feet. The urban Residences at Maple Leaf Square Toronto condo homes includes two bedroom floor plans in the North Tower that come in the Boston layout at 736 sq footage and the Atlanta at over one thousand two hundred and sixty two square feet. The urban Two bedroom mand study condominium suite at the Maple Leaf Square real estate development has the Vancouver at seven hundred and eighty eight square feet and the Toronto at 1016 sq ft. Lastly, the two bedroom and den layouts for the Maple Leaf Square Toronto condominium residences includes Washington, Chicago, Montral, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles between the sizes of seven hundred and eighty four to two thousand one hundred and twenty four square ft.

The South Tower Condos

The Residences in the south residential tower of the Maple Leaf Square Toronto properties are just as spectacular and also have layouts between one bedroom (plus study or den) up to two bed (in addition to a den or study). With different names and layouts, it is preferable that you contact a sales agent today to get all the latest urban floorplan layouts, details, sizes and finishes for your specified unit at this Toronto real estate project. For more information about the A list features at the Maple Leaf Square residences in the midst of the downtown skyline, please read below for further details.

The A List Features at urban Maple Leaf Square Residences

This Toronto real estate development provides the utmost in urban living lifestyle and finishes. The building features at the Residences at Maple Leaf Square include a graceful urban entry lobby on the ground floor, two high speed shuttle elevators servicing the lobby and the sky lobby, a fashionable SkyLobby with lounge and hotel style amenities, elegant multi-purpose part room with kitchen, management office, business centre with boardroom, luxurious indoor pool and hot tub, well equipped fitness centre, home theatre, stylish outdoor pool, landscaped lounge and individual storage and bike lockers. In addition, the Toronto Maple Leaf Square residences and condominium suites will have nine foot ceilings, exterior glass sliding doors, solid core entry doors, veneer hardwood, laundry, gourmet kitchens, luxurious master ensuites bathrooms, incredible upgrade packages for the kitchen design, stainless steel appliances and hood fans and various electrical and security features that are unique to the Maple Leaf Square Toronto Residences and Condos. Other incredible features on the A List of the urban Maple Leaf Square Condominiums includes LEED certification, a green roof, district heating and cooling, intelligent building technology and RFID door locks.

For serious home buyers and investors, please visit the following link for information about urban properties, Canada, US real estate in California, Seattle, Washington, the Pacific Northwest and Virginia presales condominiums.

No Real Estate Vacancy in Vietnam

From the Vietnam Economic Times for Feb 2007. Most serviced apartment complexes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are full and rents continue to rise, presenting an opportunity for real estate investors and developers. Linh San reports.

After announcing in late 2006 that it would acquire a 206 unit serviced residenced from the HOa Binh Co., Ltd. in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, the Singapore based Ascott Group’s portfolio in Vietnam rose to 794 units in five properties of real estate. The acquisition of Somersat Hoa Binh was timely given the limited supply of good quality accommodation real estate in Hanoi.

“There is a shortage of internationally managed Grade A serviced apartments in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi, “Mr. Cameron Ong, Ascott’s Managing Director and CEO told Vietnam Economic Times. The average occupancy rate across Ascott’s Vietnam real estate properties is above 90 per cent, he said, while the real estate market average is about 85 per cent. “It is clear that there is potential for growth,” he believes.

Mr. Peter Dinning, Director of VinaCapital’s property investment real estate activities is of the same mind. “Our research suggests that almost all serviced apartment projects in Hanoi and HO Chi Minh City are full and rents continue to rise, with real estate projects such as Bitexco’s The Manor in Ho Chi Minh City now completed and attracting many international tenants,” he said. VinaCapital’s $205 million real estate investment fund Vinaland has invested in 14 real estate projects in Vietnam’s key population areas, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

There are 46 buildings from Grade A to C in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Chesterton Petty Vietnam, including 2,425 international and local serviced real estate apartments for relase, with nearly half of these being two bedrooms apartments and approximately 1,0000 are villas in various districts. The 30 buildings from Grade A to C in Hanoi now have 98 per cent occupancy rates.

“In general, the serviced apartment markets real estate in both cities are performing very well,” said Mr. Brett Ashton, Deputy General Director of Chesterton Petty Vietnam. “Occupancies are near 100 per cent and rents are rising. Demand for real estate is coming from new expatriates entering Vietnam as well as some Vietnamese peple now renting.” He added that with so many real estate developers deciding to change to apartments for sale, few new serviced apartments will be coming on to the market in the next few years.

According to CB Richard Ellis, Hanoi’s serviced apartment real estate market will be bolstered by 520 new units in 2007, with projects such as Skyline Tower in Dang Dung Street, Elegant Suites in Ha Hoi Street, DMC Tan Long in Kim Ma Street, Atlanta in Hang Chuoi Street and Syrena in Xuan Dieu Street.

Skyline Serviced Apartments, overlooking Truc Bach Lake will be the latest serviced apartment real estate building to come online when it opens in January. Eighty eight much needed serviced apartments will be added to a sector that is almost fully occupied and in great demand. Due to the shortage of serviced apartment condominiums in the city and the relatively high price per square metre, CBRE has noticed a trend for expatriates to consider moving out to Ciputra International City, where furnished and unfurnished apartment condos and villas can be rented from $600 to $3,500 per month from local homeowners.

New real estate condo projects in Ho Chi Minh City include Indochina Park Tower in Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Pasteur Court in Pasteur Street, the Lancaster in Le Thanh Ton Street, Phuong Nam Swiss Attis Riverside in Saigon South, Times Square in Nguyen Hue Street and Kumho Plaza in Le Duan Street.

“The supply of luxury real estate residential units in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has remained fairly static throughout 2006,” Mr. Martin Roumens, General Director of Chesterton Petty Vietnam said. “Notable additions include Elegant Suites in Hanoi, which was leased within four months of opening with only one or two units remaining.”

He noted further that real estate vacancy rates are slightly higher in Ho Chi Minh City than in Hanoi, which ahs very few condo units available, mainly due to the natural turnover of expats. “As the real estate property management company of the largest number of high-end units int eh country, we have seen demand continue to rise in 2006 and we expect this to continue in 2007. Hanoi will see a significant amount of new condominium supply this year, mainly in the West Lake area with Syrena Apartments leasing 171 apartment condos onto the market. We expect over 400 new units in total before the second quarter, which will have an impact on occupancy rates, but this will adjust with high demand so rentals will not be affected.”

Chesterton Petty predicts that serviced apartment condominiums rents in Ho Chi Minh City will remain stable until 2008 and thereafter will decrease as more apartment real estate developments are completed. Overall the company expects to see occupancy levels remain at around the 90 per cent mark.

Real estate investors have judged that the serviced real estate condo apartments in Veitnam is still in its infancy compared with other regional cities, and so has great potential. “The serviced apartment market in Vietnam is at a very early stage of development real estate with total stock of units being very small compared with cities such as Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok, and as a result rental levels of real estate are much higher than the other cities due to the limited supply but high demand,” said Mr. Dinning. “We expect this trend to continue for a number of years to come, making the real estate development of serviced apartments more profitable than in other regional cities.”

Mr. Ong from the Ascott Group agrees. “With GDP growth of 8.2 per cent in 2006, we see great opportunity here and Vietnam will continue to be a key real estate market for Ascott,” he said.

Other real estate investors are optimistic about serviced apartments in Vietnam. Recently, Lee and Co Development received a licence for a residential real estate and clean industrial complex on an area of 24.7 ha in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7. The $76 milion real estate project involves two Vietnamese partners: Saigon Electric Construction and Investment and Khanh Gia. The real estate joint venture involves five high-rise apartment buildings with some 2,000 units, in addition to recreation, health and school facilities.

In mid December, Posco Construction and Engineering and its partner, the Vietnam Construction Import-Export Corporation (Vinaconex), received a licence to develop Bac An Khanh, a new urban centre in the northern province of Ha Tay. The real estate development project of $1.4 billion is epected to be the most modern in Vietnam and be developed through to 2020, with 7,600 apartment condominiums and houses and a 75 storey office block and other facilities.

Both CBRE and Chesterton Petty believe that Vietnam’s WTO entry have a positive impact on the serviced apartment sector. So do real estate investors. “With Vietnam joining the WTO, we expect it to experience continued growth in terms of FDI,” said Mr. Ong. “With more expatriates coming to Vietnam, we expect the hospitality industry to experience growth in tandem. In the short term we see occupancy and price in the hospitality industry soaring until a significant level of new supply in the real estate market eases the demand.”

“The signing of the TWO has an overall impact on real estate in Vietnam by providing more demand for property in every sector, whether that be industrial, commercial offices, retail or residential,” Mr. Dinning said. “This continuing rising demand stimulated by the WTO entry will allow serviced apartment real estate developers to increase in number and still provide a decent return on their investments.“

The Time Is Now

With FDI almost certainly continuing upwards, the shortages found in Vietnam`s real estate market offer a golden opportunity to foreign investors writes Le Cam Le.

More than at any other time in the past, Vietnam’s real etate market has become an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. In just the opening weeks of the new year, a wave of foreign direct real estate investments (FDI) has poured into not only major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City but also to other areas not previously regarded as magnets for real estate investments.

Amberlamb, an independent online publication featuring expert overseas property investment research, advice and information, has assessed Vietnam’s two largest centres – Hanoi and HO Chi Minh City – as investment destinations of potential. Hanoi, Amberland wrote, has opportunities in the residential real estate and commercial rental markets and offers developers a chance to create anything from office and retail space to satellite towns to service Hanoi workers with affordable and desirable suburban condo properties. Ho Chi Minh City, meanwhile, has grown to become the largest centre in the country and accommodation issues are beginning to push real estate rental prices upwards.

A number of key factors have made real estate become more attractive in the eyes of foreign real estate investors. “As a direct consequence of the total absence of FDI in real estate for about ten years from 1995, Vietnam’s cities are now facing a chronic shortage of all types of space, including office and commercial accommodation,” said Mr. Rick Mayo Smith, Managing Director of Indochina Capital. “Office rentals have roughly doubled over the past five years and are now more or less on par with Singapore. Space shortages and inevitably, rental real estate increases look set to continue in the short term.”

This drives interest among foreign investors in developing sites – especially large plots close to the city centre where many perceive that rentals and values will continue to increase and remain consistently strong – and most insist on “owning” 100 per cent FIE licences of at least 50 years. However, the shortgage of suitable sites and the numerous legal obstacles have sufficiently deterred most from investing in real estate and so rentals have now climbed in both the main cities.

Described by Mr. May-Smith as the “Country of the Year” Vietnam’s official admission into the WTO makes it able to bring in higher levels of FDI. As the financial services sector better develops, more capital will be found for real estate investments in commercial real estate. “Because of the demand and supply imbalance and because office properties are the preferred real estate investment of many developers, we anticipate an enormous amount of new stock will come onto the market over the next 10 to 20 years,” said Mr. Mayo-Smith.

Therfore, while the domestic real estate market has become stagnant, many foreign investors see that now is the right time to develop real estate projects in Vietnam. Indochina Land with over 15 years of experience, is in a strong position to succeed. The company has financed and developed over $1 billion in real estate in the past and will build another $1 billion worth in the next five years.

In just a short period of time, more than 20 foreign invested projects real estate valued at hundreds of millions of dollars have flocked into Ho Chi Minh City. Those such as Saigon Sport City, invested by a Singaporean company and worth $130 million, the Taiwanese invested $428 million Saigon Happiness Square, and the Bonday Ben Thanh Tower belongs to Hong Kong real estate investors and worth $55 million. SP Setia, Malaysia’s biggest real estate group, came to Vietnam in October last year and is planning some major projects in the south of the country. Indochina Land has been a pioneer in Da Nang and has some key projects in this economic hub of the central region including Riverside Tower.

Across Canada, real estate markets pause for a breather | Slowest in the West - BC Real Estate Snapshot

Housing: Bank of Canada seen as welcoming price moderation. Originally published in The Province newspaper and written by business reporter Jim Jamieson.

New house prices for real estate in Canada stayed the same from November to December – the first time in 6 ½ years that month-to-month prices didn’t rise, Statistics Canada said yesterday. They were also flat in Greater Vancouver, but real estate industry insiders don’t see the lull as a sign that the bubble in the real estate market is about to burst in the region’s red-hot market.

“We’re just taking a breather right now,” said Peter Simpson of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association. “It’s going to be more of a minor correction and a return to a more balanced real estate market.”

Simpson said his association is forecasting price increases of between seven and nine per cent in the Lower Mainland this year for new homes, from single-detached to multi-family real estate.

He said high land prices and real estate development costs combined with a possible interest-rate reduction may fuel more real estate activity. “A builder is like any other manufacturer,” he said. “Any extra costs they incur have to be passed along to the real estate buyer.”

StatsCan said Vancouver was one of six metropolitan areas that registered no monthly change. The others included Halifax, Charlottetown, Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau. Among those showing decreases were Victoria, which saw prices of real estate fall 0.4 per cent, and Calgary, where they dropped half a percentage point.

Vancouver last had a zero price increase for new houses in March 2006, but the last time it occurred for Canada as a whole was in June 2000.

With real estate prices of single-family detached homes straining affordability, buyers have increasingly migrated to multi-family property developments – whose real estate market segment has now doubled to about 80 per cent of new home sales.

Jason Craik of Mac Marketing Solutions, which markets multi-family projects in Vancouver, said he sees a levelling off in that segment, although circumstances can vary.

“Demand will be good, but I just don’t think you’ll see buildings selling out on weekends anymore,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any crazy increases. “It’ll be four or five per cent. We’re into more of a normalized market situation in Vancouver real estate.”

Craik said affordability will be more of an issue, “which is why the government needs to be more creative in terms of density.”

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported that housing starts in the Vancouver area were up 22 per cent in January to 1,327 units, compared to the same month last year – including a 51- per cent increase in multi-family unit construction real estate and a 36 per cent decline in single-detached units.

Year over year, Vancouver prices were up 8.2 per cent – well below Calgary (up 42.2 per cent), followed by Edmonton (41.5) and Saskatoon (16.1). The moderation in new real estate housing prices should put less upward pressure on inflation in the coming months, analysts said.

That would be welcomed by the Bank of Canada, which has warned that soaring real estate housing prices, especially in Western Canada, are one of the major inflation threats.

jjamieson@png.canwest.com

Slowest in the West – BC Real Estate Snapshot

The average selling price for a home in B.C. went up a whopping 17.7 per cent in 2006, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. The CREA says that rate will slow to 9.4 per cent this year and even further in 2008, when the rate of price increases in real estate will be lowest in Western Canada.

Average residential real estate selling price, forecast % change 2007-2008.

B.C. +6.1%
Alberta +7.2%
Saskatchewan +6.5%
Manitoba +7.7%
Ontario +3.1%
Quebec +3.3%
New Brunswick +2.7%
Nova Scotia +4.3%
P.E.I. +3.1%
Newfoundland +2.0%
Canada +4.8%

For more information about the Lower Mainland Vancouver property real estate market, click here.

The Heights Resort in San Diego

Located in Carmel Valley in California, the Heights is a residential resort, one of the first of its kind in the state where home owners can live and experience urban living within a resort master-planned condo community. Luxurious and with many packed incentives now, the Heights Carmel Valley homes and condominiums are available for purchase.

A lifestyle like no other. A home that is truly luxurious and resort style. A community that is quiet and safe. The Heights San Diego real estate development within the beautiful Carmel Valley of California will provide every couple and family the opportunity to feel blessed with a wonderful and beautiful home that is close to San Diego downtown as well as to every amenity and recreational facility that you can dream of. With a cabana covered swimming pool, poolside grills and entertainment areas, a large clubhouse and many stylised resort amenities, the Carmel Valley Heights real estate property development in San Diego is a large undertaking that will transform the way you live life and view your future with your family and friends. The Heights San Diego is a gated community with very modern one, two and three bedroom condominium homes and residences so there is surely something for every lifestyle out there, whether you are retiring, single or married and planning to have kids. Featuring living spaces up to one thousand four hundred and forty four square feet (which is huge in comparison to many other pre-construction downtown city condos in San Diego), the Heights Carmel Valley community can be your home today.

Some preview and overview information

The Heights project will be presented by Crown Pacific Properties LLC real estate developers who have specialized in high-end communities and resort destination properties. Located in the north county of San Diego California, the Heights condominiums and resort development are located at 12356 Carmel Country Road in CA 92130 within the valley area. Many home purchasers and real estate investors do not know until they inquire for more information that the Carmel Valley Heights homes and resort residences are actually a condo conversion property that has seen extensive changes both from the exterior architecture and interior design and finishes standpoint. The residential buildings at the Heights in San Diego will feature only low-rise three story complexes with a total of two hundred and forty luxurious units. This Heights resort at Carmel Valley will also boast condominium suites between 1 and 3 bedrooms with unit sizes ranging from eight hundred and three sq ft to 1,444 square footage. The approximate price range for the Crown Pacific Properties Heights at Carmel Valley resort condos are between three hundred and ten thousand to five hundred and ninety thousand US dollars per unit. Currently undergoing extensive conversion renovations, the Heights San Diego resort will be ready for occupancy this year so consider your purchase now and move-in within the next few months.

Location and Sales Information

Located north of downtown San Diego, the Carmel Valley is home to some of the most unique and high-end boutiques, dining and other community amenities that are just not found in central SD in California. The Heights Carmel Valley resort development will be stylish, modern and exclusive to a point where it is a true gated community but you are within walking distance to everything you need as well as a short drive away from I-5, 805 and 56. Some of the hidden gems in the Carmel Valley where the Heights resort in San Diego is being converted include: Tio Leo’s, the Belly Up, The Brigantine, Spices Thai Café, Epazote, 15th Street Beach, Torrey Pines Glideport, Mt. Woodson Golf Club, Torrey Pines State Reserve and Yoga del Mar. To join the interest list for the Heights Resort in SD, please visit this following link to submit your claim: http://www.heightscv.com/your-info/. You can also visit the following URL from the Heights Carmel Valley web site for a map and other contact information: http://www.heightscv.com/contact-us.asp. The Heights sales office is open every day between 10am and 5pm and the office number is 858.793.4700.

The amenities at the Heights Resort

This San Diego Carmel Valley residential resort will include on site amenities that will feature a resort pool, spa and barbeque areas as well as many lounging and relaxation corners for you to unwind after a long day at work. Also, the Heights Carmel Valley resort will provide a high-tech fitness club as well as a business centre for meetings and a theatre room for you to enjoy the latest movies. A magnificent clubhouse with fireplace will be a perfect place to entertain family and friends or to watch a sports game on the big screen theatre lounge. Also, there is a full-service kitchen all part of the five thousand two hundred square foot Heights Clubhouse. For a detailed list of both exterior and interior features at the Carmel Valley Heights Resort in San Diego, please visit this link for details: http://www.heightscv.com/your-home/interior-exterior.asp.

Attention investors in San Diego presales condos and resort homes in California, click here for full listings.

Real Estate: Rent or Buy your primary residence real estate?

An investor’s viewpoint on whether to buy or rent a property by Stuart Wemyss of API Magazine (Feb 2007). Which is better, renting your home or buying? It’s a topic that’s been discussed ad nauseam, but there are important considerations specific to real estate property investors which need to be considered.

I was recently asked for my views on the ‘rent versus buy’ question. I sat down and prepared a spreadsheet which compared the two options, like a typical accountant! There are some important assumptions used in this calculation including:

- I prepared the comparison over a five-year period. Holding a real estate property for less than five years isn’t generally viable, because of the large transactional costs such as stamp duty and selling costs.

- I assumed the real estate property mortgage interest rate was 7 per cent. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the standard variable rate over the past 10 years has fluctuated between 6 per cent and 8 per cent. Therefore, 7 per cent is the midpoint.

- The real estate buyer borrowed 80 per cent of the property’s purchase price to avoid the cost of mortgage insurance (therefore, they had a deposit of 20 per cent plus costs).

- The renter had to pay a rental yield of 3.6 per cent (therefore, the rent payable on the real estate home worth $400,000 is $14,400 per year, or $277 per week).

- The renter is able to earn an interest rate of 6 per cent on any savings deposited in a bank (i.e. the money they would have used as a deposit).

- The real estate renter saves the difference between the potential mortgage repayments (principal and interest) and the lower rental costs. For example, if the renter bought a $400,000 property, the monthly momrtgage repayments would be $2130. However, renting a $400,000 property real estate would cost $1215 a month. Therefore, I assumed that the renter saved $915 per month ($2130 less $1215). This is a really important assumption. More about this later.

The results

What my calculation revealed was that the key variable was capital growth, which is the amount of rate at which the real estate property’s value would increase. I worked out that if you’re buying a home and you expect the capital growth to exceed 6.4 per cent per annum (on average over a five year period), then you’ll be better off buying that home rather than renting it. Therefore, in my opinion, the key question to ask yourself if you’re thinking of buying real estate a home is what capital growth can I expect if I buy the type of property I want (i.e. house, apartment etc.) in the area I want to live in? If you think the average capital growth over the next five years will be less than 6.4 per cent per annum, then you’re better off renting in the same area and not buying real estate property.

I based my calculations on the assumption that the real estate buyer would borrow 80 per cent of the property’s value. However, if you need to borrow a higher percentage of the property’s value, say 95 per cent, then the capital growth rate needs to exceed 7.6 per cent for you to be better off buying real estate rather than renting a home.

The higher the purchase price, the higher the capital growth rate needs to be. I based my numbers on a purchase for $400,000. Howver, if you’re spending $800,000 on a property purchase, the capital growth rate needs to exceed 7.9 per cent for you to be better off buying. If you’re spending $1.2 million, the capital growth rate of the real estate property needs ot exceen 8.4 per cent and at $1.5 million, the rate needs to exceed 8.6 per cent.

Achieving capital graoth of real estate above 6.4 per cent to 8 per cent

Many people reading this article may think property prices will be pretty stable over the next few years. From that, they may deduce that they should rent and not buy. However, their opinions may have been incorrectly influenced by “average” property real estate price data and media hype. It’s important to understand that the property market is very fragmented.

While real estate property values overall remain steady, values in some suburbs will increase and values in other suburbs will decrease. In fact, certain streets within a suburb may outperform the suburb as a whole, and other streets will underperform the suburb. Therefore, condluing that “because property values are expected to be flat across the board it’s not a good time to buy property” is ill informed. You need to research the particular area where you’d like to live.

Monique Walkin, director of Wakelin Property Advisory, suggest real estate investors should aim to achieve long term average capital growth rate of 5 per cent to 8 per cent in excess of inflation. The inflation rate is currently around the 3 per cent mark. Therefore, Wakelin believes real estate purchasers should be able to achieve a nominal (long term) capital growth rate of 8 per cent to 11 per cent.

“Astute real estate purchasers should be able to generate strong capital growth by selecting a quality asset that exhibits scarcity value,” says Wakelin.

For more information, please visit apimagazine.com.au or read on to the next blog string for the second part of Rent or Buy Real Estate.

The Point at Mission Hills in San Diego

Hurry up as The Point Condominiums are now available for purchase in Central San Diego, California. Priced in the mid-three hundred thousand to upper four hundred thousand, these affordable Mission Hills Point Condos are a condo conversion property development by Boyd Smith.

According to the successful marketing real estate team at The Point at Mission Hills real estate development, these condominiums are all about location, living and lifestyle and are presented by SD City Homes. In terms of living, the Mission Hills area in San Diego CA is one of the quietest and most beautiful communities to live in regardless of whether you are looking to date, having a family or retiring. There is something for everyone at The Point at Mission Hills condominium residences including short drives to downtown San Diego, speciality boutique shopping, groceries, cafes, restaurants and of course theatres. The SD Point Condos provides the utmost in low maintenance and comfortable living spaces and they blend in elegantly with the surrounding community, making you part of a master-planned residential district that has everything going for it. With a slightly urban feel yet still a quiet and peaceful neighorhood, the Mission Hills Point Condominiums in San Diego California is part of the oldest and most prestigious community in all of the city with a dedicated and awesome address to go along with it too. Come see for yourself how The Point Condominiums can be your dream home in San Diego at an affordable cost.

The numbers

For more information about the San Diego Point at Mission Hills condos, please visit their marketing web site located online at the following URL: http://www.thepoint92103.com/site.html. The Point Condos are built by the real estate developers Boyd Smith and are located in central San Diego California at 836 West Pennsylvania, SD 92103. This San Diego real estate development will consist of three stories and offer just forty eight luxurious condominium units. The Point at Mission Hills SD California will contain only thirty one bedroom and one bath units as well as eighteen prestigious two bed room and 2 bath residences. The two cross streets include West Pennsylvania Avenue and Goldfinch Street. As mentioned above, the Mission Hills Point homes are actually condo conversion property that will offer condominiums between the sizes of seven hundred and fifty all the way to one thousand and fifty square footage, very large for urban San Diego condo properties currently in the market. IN addition, the price range for the Point Condos at Mission Hill in California will be between three hundred and forty nine thousand nine hundred USD to four hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred dollars. This conversion real estate property at Mission Hill is actually now complete and available for purchase and immediate move in. The site plan for The Point can be downloaded from their web site at the following link: http://www.thepoint92103.com/images/siteplan.pdf.

Sales and other information about The Point San Diego

For any sales information and condo availability at the Mission Hills real estate properties, please contact them by telephone at 619.298.7688. The sales presentation centre is located on site at 836 West Pennsylvania Ave in San Diego, California. You can also email the sales manager at the Point at Mission Hills at magan@sdcityhomes.com. The office hours for the Mission Hills San Diego condo conversion is between 10am to 5pm Monday to Sunday. For a map of the area, please visit: http://www.thepoint92103.com/contact.html.

Interior and Exterior Features of the Properties

For any home buyer or tenant at the Point at Mission Hills condominium properties, you will be able to enjoy a huge list of different interior and exterior finishes and amenities not seen in other pre-construction or condo conversion properties in San Diego. The Point offers absolutely new and oversized windows to allow lots of light into your residence as well as secured property with a new intercom system. For health enthusiasts, there is a fitness center in addition to private lockers and secure underground parking for all residents. Also, the Point at Mission Hills in San Diego CA will also offer expansive decks, balconies and terraces in addition to professional landscaping throughout the community grounds and views of downtown San Diego and the ocean from select condo units. The San Diego Mission Hills Point Condominiums will offer interior features that include chrome hardware, designer paint (new), travertine tub, mirrored doors, plush carpets, tile flooring, maple wood cabinets, granite counter, stainless steel kitchen appliances, air conditioning as well as in suite washer and dryer. What more could you ask for in a condo conversion property such as the Point San Diego? The answer is: nothing!

Floorplans at the Point

The Mission Hills properties web site features four floorplans. The first two are one bed and one bath floor plans at The Point San Diego including Unit 106 which is approximately nine hundred square feet from $354,900 and with HOA fees of $160.00/month. Unit 102 is also a one and one at The Point at Mission Hills in California and features 775 sq ft and priced from $349,900 with fees of $166/month. The first two bedroom and two bathroom condo converted Point residence is Unit 101 at 950 sqft and is priced from $464,900 and has HOA fees of $185/month. The last floorplan online at The Point San Diego Mission Hills property website is Unit 107 and 110 with 1050 sq footage and pricing from $454,900 and fees of $197/month.

For more California real estate properties and San Diego condo projects, click here.

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Studios from 221K, 1BRs from 317K, 2BRs from 474K

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202.299.9223

More Tips on Real Estate Renovations for Homes from API

Time to hold

Though they were more than happy with the outcome of the duplex project, Paul and Cindy have changed their overall property real estate strategy in the months since then. Rather than renovating real estate and selling, they plan to hold from now on. The duplex halves would be worth another $50,000 each already, Cindy notes.

“We have in the past when we’ve renovated real estate properties always on sold them but we’ve finally tweaked that that’s probably not such a great idea because of capital gains tax, stamp duty and the like, so we’ve decided to start keeping the ones that we renovate.”

The Hendersons have made their decision with the aim of living off extra borrowings against their home equity gains. Paul explains, “Rather than sell our assets for our money, we decided to keep the assets and do ourselves three favours; firstly, we get to keep an appreciating asset; secondly, we don’t get to pay capital gains tax on what we make; and thirdly, we relive ourselvces of the need to instantly find another dump to do up. We’ve literally got rid of three problems by adopting that strategy.”

Paul and Cindy are well on their way to building an impressive real estate portfolio. They own 15 properties and homes and are about to settle on their 16th, with a combined LVR of about 50 per cent. They’re keeping busy with a number of real estate projects currently under way, including a triplex development in Perth, a house construction on a block in Busselton and a house and land packages in Karratha and Perth, as well as their biggest renovation real estate property yet at upmarket Carine in Perth’s northern suburbs.

Paul and Cindy say their accountant has sanctioned their idea of living off increased borrowings. It’s a grand scheme for a couple who only got their start in the real estate property world in 2003, after a wealth-building course introduced them to real estate property investing. In 2004, Paul and Cindy sold their office supplies business and devoted themselves to the property real estate game. “It’s been hammer and tongs at the property empire ever since,” Paul says.

Renovating for charity

At the suggestion of a real estate property mentor, Paul and Cindy recently teamed up with other real estate investment students to renovate a property for charity, as a result ofa challenge to raise $42,000.

“We decided pretty much the only way we were going to raise such a large sum was from a house renovation,” Paul said.

Paul and Cindy bought the house through their trust – for $205,000 – and again managed to negotiate a long settlement with prior possession. The real estate investment gropu then went about giving this “dump” a facelift. Some of the other real estate members of the group were very handy, so few tradespeople were required. A number of the suppliers gave discounts in order to help the charitable causes. Just 14 weeks after the purchase, the house sold for $285,000, with the selling agent donating her time.

“That was a really great result,” Paul says. “there were about $30,000 costs so there was about $50,000 to $55,000 profit from that.” The profits were split between the WA Children’s Cancer and Leukemia Socity and the Hebron Orphanage of India that was damaged by the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. All three groups were “over the Moon”, Paul says.

After their recent experiences, Paul says he and Cindy would be perfectly happy to invest with others again, adding “you just have to partner with someone you trust like you trust yourself.” I’m happy to do it but only under very strict guidelines because there’s so much scope for stuff to go wrong. You never quite see people’s nature as when money’s at stake,” Paul says.

That said, Paul and Cindy stress there were no problems during the duplex renovation. It just opened their eyes to possible risks.

“Imagine for one moment if we’d put $20,000 of costs into the real estate renovation and at that point something went wrong with the transfer of ownership such that the sale couldn’t go through,” Paul says. “How keen would the other people be to say, well okay, we were going to split the profits, now I understand that we have to divvy up the losses too. They might’ve said, no, we did the work, you did the finances and the finances this time have lost $20,000. Better luck next time but you’re not getting anyh of my money.”

API Interactive
Do you have a question for Paul or Cindy? Email it to forum@apimagazine.com.au. Answers will be published in a future issue of API.

Team Spirit in Real Estate Renovations

Written by Matthew Liddy for the API Magazine – January 2007 edition. Full-time investors in real estate Paul and Cindy Henderson have teamed up with like-minded investors on two recent projects.

Paul and Cindy Henderson don’t need any help to complete profitable renovations in real estate. They’ve been focused on building their wealth through property real estate investments for about three years, and have spent more than two of those years as a full-time renovation team. However, two of their recent real estate renovation projets have seen them teaming up with other investors to complete two very different projects – a duplex renovation and a home makeover aimed at raising $42,000 for charity.

In the case of the duplex renovation, Perth locals Paul and Cindy joke that it’s been one of the easiest makeover real estate projects they’ve undertaken – since their business partners did all of the work. That might now sound fair – but the Hendersons did put up the omney, handle all the payments and complete the settlements on purchase and sale.

“Our real estate partners had the time but not the money,” says cindy. “We had the money but not the time,. So it was a great real estate project which worked out extremely well for both of us – we couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.” Paul and Cindy financed the renovation using a loan with an 80 per cent loan to value ratio (LVR), with the 20 per cent deposit plus stamp duty costs coming from a line of credit they already set up.

These real estate renovations for the home masters generally work on their own but admit this particular partnership worked out very well. “We liked the idea of walking away with almost $70,000, for turning up for half an hour at the start and half an hour at the end,” Paul laughts.

That, of course, is understating the Henderson’s involvement in the real estate project somewhat, as they kept a close eye on the most aspects of the deal. Through a local real estate agent, the Hendersons’ business partner identified a duplex at Bateman in perth as a potential real estate target for the renovate and sell strategy they had in mind.

“We looked at the statistics on what was selling down there and similar duplex pairs – in fact, ours was better we felt – were going for $300,000 each, back when we were being asked to pay $440,000 for the pair,” Cindy says. “So we could see where good dollars to be had, even though we did need to spend some money on the renovation.”

Paul says upmarket Bateman real estate is an attractive area for real estate investment, partly due to its easy access to both Fremantle and Perth, but also due to the strong reputation of a local school. “It’s zoned for what is in effect the high school with the best record in all of Australia for passing out the youngsters (in terms of) scholarships marks and so on,” he says.

Conditions Attached

The Hendersons discovered that the real estate vendors had had the same plans for the property home as they did – strata title the two units, renovate and sell. However, changed circumstances meant they were now looking to sell them as a pair. The real estate home owners already had conditional approval for separate titles and just had to complete some building works – such as raising the dividing wall up through the roof space – in order for it to go through.

The Hendersons and their real estate business partners were able to negotiate a contract whereby they paid the full asking price for the home units but the owners completed the process of moving the property homes onto two separate titles before the purchase. In addition, they arranged to have access to the duplex during the settlement period.

This saved them about $10,000 on the strata title costs and gave them the benefits of a long settlement period during which they could begin the renovation, saving thousands of dollars in holding costs for the real estate property homes.

“You do take a risk when you do that because if a deal falls through and you’ve spend money on renovations, you have to walk away, “cindy says. “It was a risk for us but we couldn’t really see anything going wrong. We knew that we’d get finance and that things would proceed on our side.” The risk paid off – the home vendors completed the division of titles during what turned out to be a smooth three month settlement.

Paul and Cindy say that while they were pretty much hands off during the settlement renovation process, the makeover did fit in with their general strategy, meaning it didn’t involve any structural changes to the homes.

“We’ve seen friends of ours get involved with that sort of thing and year laters they’re still trying to put the walls back up,” Paul explains. For the duplex, the real estate renovation included remodeling the bathroom, kitchen and laundry, rending the exterior, new plubming, new electrics, installing air-conditioning, and some landscaping.

Because Bateman is an upmarket real estate market area, the Hendersons and their business partners opted for a high-class finish targeting professionals. “We decided to put granite beach tops and things like that in, whereas if it was a lower socio-economic group, we wouldn’t do that,” Paul says.

Blowing the real estate budget

Going into the real estate purchase, the new partners drafted an agreement setting out the terms of the deal. Paul and Cindy say they opted not to get legal advice on the document but did run it past their property mentor.

They also drew up a more comprehensive budget than they would have if going it alone. “We did a budget, which got blown,” Cindy laughs. “We do up a general budget when we’re doing a reno anyway just to make sure you’re not going to pay too much for the rela estate property home but we probably did this one more detailed to ensure the profit was there before we finished the offer.”

Those budget over-runs, Cindy says, were the most disappointing aspect of the real estate project. “We ended up paying something like $8000 just to do up the front yard and that was the removing trees, clearing the land, putting grass down and a small retaining wall,” she says. “But thought was too much. We probably could have done better there.”

Paul adds, “One of the major errors that I feel we made was that we agreed to look after the finances and pay the bills and tradies and so on but because (our home real estate partners) were doing the work really without our intervention – they were simply ordering the trades and passing the bills our way. “With the benefits of hindsight, if we’d had a bit more involvement, there’s no way in this world we would ever agreed to spend $8000 on a front garden.”

Despite the expense, Cindy and Paul were ecstatic with the outcome of the real estate renovation project – both in terms of the final product and the financial reward. After a $60,000 spend on renovating the real estate home property, the units sold for $335,000 and $332,000. The Hendersons saved money by welling without an agent in real estate. Both units sold within a single weekend, thanks to Perth’s hot real estate market and some clever tactical thinking.

“We looked for some agents’ adverts ont eh internet and we found that there was an auction just down the road from our property real estate that was going on the Saturday after we were ready to sell,” Cindy says. “We waited the extra week and we put our open house in to overlap the time the auction was going to happen.

They then set up their signs so that anyone going to the real estate auction would know about their open house. “I think we got about 75 people through and about half of those were from the real estate auction, so that worked quite well for us,” Cindy says.

The decision to go upmarket real estate paid off, as both units sold to professional couples. Paul and Cindy split the $134,000 gross profit with their business partners 50:50.

New York 200 Chambers Street Apartment Condo Residences

Since the launch of the sales and marketing strategy for the New York 200 Chambers Street luxury condominiums and contemporary urban living apartment residences, haven’t you wondered what it would be like to own a New York real estate property at 200 Chambers St

For more details about: NYC real estate investments opportunities and presales New York Condo properties click here.

Well, today is the day where it can all come true. The 200 Chambers Street apartment condominiums are located in the uptown Manhattan district of the ever bustling New York City NY. Sophisticated and stylish, urban and chic, the high-rise residential glass tower of thirty stories is what has become known as the luxurious New York City 200 Chambers Street high-rise condo which is located between the downtown Manhattan and Tribeca districts of NYC. From glass and steel architectural marvel to it’s new soaring high-rise tower that changes the New York skyline, the 200 chambers Street apartment condo homes and properties are a unique opportunity for you to own a piece of this urban chic residential property at an affordable cost. With views from all different directions both day and night, residents at the New York City 200 Chambers Street condo apartment homes and residence condominiums will have the most outstanding views of the Manhattan skyline, water, community districts and more. Please visit the actual 200 Chambers Street apartment web site located at 200chambersstreet.com for more information about this luxurious New York real estate development property which was in pre-construction and is now ready for immediate move-in once you purchase. How exciting is this for everyone who has followed the construction of this New York City real estate marvel at 200 Chambers Street condominium apartments. Your dreams can now become reality.

At New York City’s 200 Chambers Street Condominium Tower, the features and amenities on site are endless

If you would like to know more about the resident features provided by this luxury urban New York real estate condo tower, then the 200 Chambers Street condominium apartment web site will provide you just that. With an amazing number of unique and convenience features provided to 200 Chambers Street residence apartment residents, the New York real estate properties will be designed by the world famous Costas Kondylis and Partners LLP. In every way, this glass and steel designed architecture will provide signature amenities and services that will include an attended lobby entrance in which the NYC 200 Chambers Street condos will provide twenty four hour front desk staff. The lobby entrance at 200 Chambers St apartment residences in New York, NY will alos provided Chinchilla Mink marble flooring, some custom mill work and a private garden that is professionally landscaped by only the best in New York. In addition, the 200 Chambers Street apartment condominiums and real estate NYC properties will provide great river and city skyline views from expansive floor to ceiling glass windows throughout all directions of the condominium tower. The 200 Chambers New York residence condo apartment properties will also provide a state of the art fully equipped fitness center along with a skylit indoor swimming pool and a children’s playground to keep them occupied and fun. The residence condominiums at NYC 200 Chamber Street condos will also provide a private social lounge and amenity room for parties and events in addition to a business center with state of the art equipment as well as a landscaped terrace for relaxing. The condominium residential high-rise New York real estate tower at 200 Chambers Street apartments will also have a private indoor garage parking and elevator access in addition to full service living in the Tribeca neighbourhood.

Some interior suite features at the 200 Chambers Street New York condominium residences

As with most pre-construction New York and under development properties in this beautiful city, the kitchens are well planned and designed and also gourmet for entertainment or just simple casual dining. The 200 Chambers Street New York property residence apartments in Tribeca will have Calacatta marble back splashes with lava stone counter which are very unique in addition to glass paneled upper cabinets with framing in aluminum finishes. In addition, Sub Zero stainless steel appliances set with Viking and GE, Monogram and Bosch will round out your gourmet kitchen at the condominium apartments at 200 Chambers Street NYC condohomes. The master bath rooms at the 200 Chambers residences in NYC will also have Calacatta marble and Crema Marfil tiling with white cabinets, brushed chrome finishes and large Zuma soaker tubs that are very luxurious. All master bathrooms will also have a wall to wall mirror. Located in the Tribeca district of New York, this chic and trendy condominium high-rise tower at the 200 Chambers Street condo apartment residences in New York City NY is on West Street between Chambers and Warren. With all the entertainment, clubs, dining, shopping and recreational activities all around you, the New York 200 Chambers St condominium residences are an ideal place to grow old with your loved ones.

Contact the 200 Chambers NYC residence apartment condos in New York

For more details about the 200 Chambers Street New York real estate development project, please visit their web site at 200chambersstreet.com for information about the features, amenities, location, developer team, views, photo gallery and contact details for this magnificent trendy and chic NYC residential high-rise tower. You may also want to visit the Tribeca New York 200 Chambers Street apartment residences Sales Center which is located off site at 25 Hudson Street in New York, NY 10013. The phone number for the 200 Chambers Sales Office is 212-334-8383 and the fax number is 212-234-8384.

Banks Clamour to Provide Housing Loans in Vietnam

Vietnam real estate properties market is again on the rise as the younger generation has seen an explosion of economic times in the country's largest cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Hanoi - Banks are in a race to offer home loans on the back of rising demand for real estate property that sees consumers not only buying new real estate but also refurbishing their current residences.

Asian Commercial Bank (ACB) expects to increase the maximum an individual is allowed to withdraw without a mortgage to VND200 million (US$12,500) at 1.1 - 1.15 per cent interest rate per month, said Bui Tan Tai, director of the bank's Indidivudal Consumer Division. All that clients have to do is prove their ability to repay the real estate loan based on their monthly incomes.

ACB is one of the local pioneers in offering home loans without consumers having to take out a mortgage, and plans to offer more non-mortgage based financial services for clients in the mid to upper middle income bracket.

Orient Commercial Bank (OCB), Viet Nam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) and Sai Gon Thuong Tim Commerical Bank (Sacombank) are also focusing heavily on the home loan real estate market as people mirgrate to urban centres for work, increasing demand for apartment units.

In comparison, these banks are willing to finance up to 70 per cent, or between VND800 million to VND2 billion, of an apartment's value, with instalments made over 15 - 20 year period.

Axos Condominiums in downtown San Diego

Just steps from the city core and providing amazing views of the city skyline, the Axos condos in SD California are now complete and ready for immediate occupancy. Not only that, located in Golden Hill district the San Diego Axos residences is exquisitely finished as well.

Click here: California real estate investments and presales San Diego Condominium properties for more information.

Do you want more info about Axos?

Unique location and distinct location, the San Diego Axos real estate development is located in downtown SD California at 1150 21st Street 92102. For some great photos of the interior and exterior of the Axos condo residences, please visit their marketing web site at: http://www.axossandiego.com/photos.php and click on the back and next buttons to navigate through the image gallery. In addition, for more details about photos, floor plans, layouts, features, financing, map and contact information, please visit their online web presence at http://www.axossandiego.com today. For more details, you can also contact the San Diego Axos Condos sales staff at 619.544.1150 or via email at info@AXOSsandiego.com. The real estate development team at the Axos Condominium properties in downtown San Diego is the Urban Pacific Group, LLC and it is a condo conversion property meaning that it is not a pre-construction or under development new property in downtown. The development conversion has already started and completed as of late summer 2006, so you can actually purchase your dream property today at the San Diego Axos condos and move-in immediately or set a longer closing date so that you can prepare for your move. For a Google community map of the Axos Condominiums district within the downtown core of SD California, please visit this link: http://www.axossandiego.com/map.php. You may also submit an online form interest registration by typing your details here: http://www.axossandiego.com/contact.php. A sales representative will be in touch with you shortly to setup an appointment for viewing if that is what you are looking to do.

Residential Community Highlights at Axos

The Axos condo community in San Diego will provide great amenities that will include WiFi internet access throughout the compounds for all residents, open air private residences where you can have summer barbeques and parties as well as an open and relaxing courtyard with Mediterranean style landscaping and a fountain feature. Also, the Axos Condominiums in San Diego California will have security installed with video surveillance as well as an elevator to get up and down from your condo units. Lastly, all residents will have secure underground parking in a garage at the downtown San Diego Axos real estate properties. Some of the area highlights around this community include walking and biking distance to: Balboa Naval Hospital, the Gaslamp Quarter for shopping, nightelife and eating, PetCo Park for baseball games, and Balboa Park where you can find the cultural and entertainment heart of San Diego California.

The interior condo features at Axos

This property project by Urban Land Company will feature three story low –rise residential buildings with a total of only twenty nine condominium suites at Axos. Also, the floorplans at Axos San Diego will range between one, two and three bedrooms with one to four bathrooms. The Axos Condominiums in downtown will also range in size between a very spacious seven hundred and forty square footage all the way to over twenty five thousand square feet per residence. Of course, with any condo conversion property in San Diego, these unit sizes reflect much larger homes and residences than pre-construction condominiums in downtown at the moment as they are getting smaller and smaller as real estate developers try to cram in more and more units per floor. The pricing for the San Diego downtown Axos condos ranges from three hundred and fifty thousand US dollars. Many of the condo units will have panoramic views of the downtown San Diego skyline, Pt. Loma and Coronado Bridge. The interior finishes at the Axos Condominiums will include hardwood entries or ceramic, Emtek door handles, solid core doors, crown molding, wood burning fireplaces for top floor condo residences, spacious balconies and patios, Kohler kitchen fixtures, walk in closets in select Axos units, spacious master and secondary bedrooms, dual-glazed windows and water heaters for each unit. In addition, the downtown San Diego Axos Apartments will also have European cherry finished hard wood cabinets in the kitchen in addition to breakfast bar, oven, gas range, Kohler stainless steel sink, and ceramic tiling. The master bedroom suites bathrooms will have elongated toilets, Ladena style sinks with slab granite, oval tub with jets and double entry doors. Whatever you look for in luxurious finishes, you will definitely find at the downtown Axos Condo Apartments in San Diego California.

Floorplans

The layouts presented online include Plan A at Axos Condos which is a 1 br / 1 ba condominium apartment between seven hundred and forty to seven hundred and seventy square feet. Floorplan B is a 2 bedroom and two bathroom unit at downtown San Diego Axos real estate properties and is one thousand and one sq ft. Floor Plan C at Axos apartments is two bed and two bath as well but nine hundred and sixty six square footage. Lastly, the Axos downtown San Diego California condo apartment Plan D is a two and two with nine hundred and eighty seven square feet in living area.

Real estate market in Vietnam expected to further revive

Ho Chi Ming City – The country’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession and the fast development of the stock market has helped revive the real estate market in Vietnam, according to industry insiders.

Do Thi Loan, general secretary of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said the local property real estate market showed signs of picking up after Vietnam became an official membership of the WTO in January.

Independent real estate market watchdogs said the number of real estate purchases in the last quarter of 2006 increased more than 20 per cent over previous quarters. On the first days of the Lunar New Year, transactions at local real estate companies picked up dramaticaclly, they said.

Vo Dinh Quoc, deputy director of the Asian Commercial Bank’s Real Estate Company, said the company recently concluded a real estate transaction worth up to VND 100 billion (US $6.25 million) on the first working day of the real estate company in the new year.

A representative of the Phu My Hung joint venture in Sai Gon South also revealed that the real estate company had to refuse hundreds of potential customers as they expressed their wish to buy real estate apartments.

“Most of these customers are ready to pay in cash to buy our apartments, but we have no more,” he said. A similar situation was also seen as many other apartments trading companies.

Luu Thanh Huong, director of the Linh Phong Real Estate Construction, Investment and Development Company, said: “We have sold out about 1,500 real estate apartments and houses located in residential areas on District 7’s Nguyen Van Linh Street.

“This year along, we plan to build 700 more apartments of different kinds to fill customers’ orders,” Huong said.

The prospect of WTO membership has inspred new waves of foreign investment and has revived the dormant property real estate market in Vietnam. Experts said investors’ concerns over the country’s legal system and stability of the business environment have begun to dissipate recently.

As most real estate activities often require a great deal of capital, investors in real estate want the Government to ensure that their investments are protected. WTO membership will require that international trade rules be followed, they said.

Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said at a recent press conference WTO accession proved that the country’s doi moi (renovation) had been recognized by the international community. Tuyen said that institutional reforms and revamped real estate legal system have been the renovation process’s most significant achievements.

Foreign real estate investment experts have said that the Government’s recent politics on foreign investments, particularly in terms of property and housing, have encouraged more investors to do business in Viet Nam.

Loan of the HoREA said that her association had received more than 20 delegations representing major real estate companies from countries and territories including South Korea, the US, Australia, mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Most were very interested in real estate property trading in VietNam, particularly in big cities like HCM City, Loan said. Office buildings, luxury apartments, shopping centres, and housing for low-income earners were the primary interest, she said.

“there have been several memoranda of understanding and business contracts signed between Vietnamese and foreign property enterprises during the HoREA visits.”

Loan and other real estate market experts have the same view that the strong development of the domestic stock market, with many people earning high returns within a single day, has also contributed to the recovery of the real estate sector in Vietnam.

“Many of these people flocked to invest in the property market. This change has provided the real estate market in Vietnam with a new source of potential customers,” she said. Loan also predicted that the domestic property market will change as the government allows Viet kieu (overseas Vietnamese) to participate in the property market.

Quoc from the ACB said tha thte governemtn should issues policies allowing domestic investors to transfer their property projects to foreigners and simplify the property-related procedures.

Tran The Ngoc, director of the HCM City department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the city would adjust real estate property trading and management policies in ways that would make the local market develop, and encourage foreign and domestic investments in real estate. - VNS

The Epic Seattle Condominiums

Located on First Hill, The Epic is one of those Seattle real estate developments that cater to the high-end and sophisticated clientele who cherish living in a luxurious and finely appointed residence in a master-planned condominium community in the heart of the city.

The Floor Plans at Epic

The Seattle Epic condominium apartments will range in size and layout, depending on what you are looking for and the lifestyle you are looking to live with your family. Units 06 and 13 at the Seattle Epic properties are two bedroom residences and the downloadable PDF floorplans are located here: http://epicseattle.com/units_06_13.htm. Units 05 and 12 at Epic Seattle Condos are one bedroom condominium suites http://epicseattle.com/units_05_12.htm. Unit 04 at the Seattle real estate properties is also a one bedroom and more information is located here: http://epicseattle.com/units_04.htm. The smaller studio plans are all Unit 10. For a detailed site plan and palette, please visit the Epic Condominiums web site located online at the following URL for all the layout floor plan details: http://epicseattle.com/floorplans.htm.

The Amenities truly make life worth living

If you are one of those Seattle residents who just work and then go home, then this luxurious real estate development at Epic Condos will surely change your lifestyle forever. Located in First Hill community, the Epic Condominiums are luxurious from architecture to interior design as well as on site amenities that include things that make your life much simpler and more convenient. A display of Chihully inspired blown glass welcomes you in the common areas by Robert Williamson and there is also a full scale fitness center on site. For those Seattle Epic Condo residents who enjoy films and sports events, there is a movie lounge as well. Those people who need to do business at home can also take advantage of the business center that is well equipped. During those summer months, residents at the Epic Seattle Condos may want to invite friends and family over for barbeque and grills on the outdoor patio that provide great views as well. Lastly, the lobby will be absolutely stunning with marble floors and custom paneled walls of wood. Whatever it is, these on site amenities at the Epic residence condominiums in Seattle WA will provide an experience of urban living that you have never had before and probably never will again if you move.

Condominium Features and the Location

The Epic Condos will be lavishly appointed as this First Hill Seattle property is verging on the ultra chic and high-end clientele. The condo units will feature kitchens with slab granite and maple cabinetry as well as private balconies and terraces (depending on the unit) with spectacular view points. In addition, the Seattle WA Epic Condominiums will have slab countertops in the bathrooms in addition to granite flooring in the bath, kitchen and entry. All residences at Epic Seattle will have in suite laundry (washer and dryer) in addition to an appliance package for the kitchen. In terms of the location, there is no better area than the First Hill district of Seattle to live and experience the city. Views of the coastal mountain ranges including the Cascades and Mt. Rainier will grace the windows of many Epic Condominiums in Seattle. In addition to being close to the Seattle University and also medical clinics, local grocery stores and medical clinics, the community amenities are close and within walking distance for all ages. The Seattle Washington Epic Condo suites and residences will also be within walking or short driving distance to the downtown business core as well as Capitol Hill district and the Central University.

Do you want contact information?

If you are looking to live the Epic Experience in the heart of First Hill district of Seattle, the Epic Condominiums are cutting edge condos that are now available for both home buyers and real estate investors. The address of the presentation centre with model suites is located at 412 – 11th Avenue in Seattle Washington 98122. If you would like to book an appointment with a sales manager at the Epic Seattle Condominiums properties, then please call thema t 206.860.7400 or you can also email them at info@epicseattle.com. For more details about this Seattle real estate development, you can also visit the condo Epic website located at www.epicseattle.com today. For directions on how to get to this display suite, please click on http://epicseattle.com/contact_us.htm. Also, if you are looking to register online for the Epic Condos in Seattle WA, please visit http://epicseattle.com/Registration.aspx and fill out your details. The Developer for the Seattle Epic luxury condominiums in First Hill include Michael R Mastro Properties who have a long history of well planned and built residential communities across the United States.

For other Washington State master planned communities and Seattle real estate developments, click here.

Melbourne Legend Hill Homes

These luxury homes are located at Epping Road in Melbourne’s newest luxurious and prestigious residential neighbourhood that is designed for the growing families and retired people in this multicultural metro area. With panoramic views and rolling hills, this protected and genuinely irresistible real estate development in Melbourne at Legend Hill Homes is not available to the public.

An introduction to the Homes at Legend Hill Melbourne

If you are new to the Melbourne area, this is a perfect opportunity to purchase a new home at the Legend hills real estate property development in Epping North where you will find lush landscaped parklands and beautifully crafted family homes that is just north of Melbourne at forty five kilometres. With the most beautiful natural surroundings of greenery, plants, grasses and pedestrian lined walkways, the Legend Hill Homes in Melbourne Australia are a chance to get out of the urban rush and into the safe and quiet neighbourhood of Epping Road. For those families and couples currently living in the metro Melbourne CBD area, the Homes at Legend Hill will provide you with a slower paced lifestyle and environment to die for, or to simply relax, enjoy and soak up every day. The Legend Hill Homes at Melbourne’s Epping North district community will provide an amazing array of housing types that include contemporary homes that are extremely low-maintenance and provide the utmost in living spaces and functionality. In addition, the Melbourne Legend Hill residences and luxury homes will provide the best quality finishes, features and home automation systems for you, the real estate investor or home buyer to enjoy. The Legend Hill Melbourne homes in Epping North will also be backed by Australand, the Melbourne real estate developer and marketer, eighty years of experience in building, designing and construction residential real estate master-planned communities such as the Legend Hill district.

The Real Estate Development Plan

The Legend Hill homes will be located in Northern Melbourne and will be close to may primary elementary schools, secondary schools and colleges as well as other college institutions making it a perfect locale for families and couples looking to have kids. The Melbourne Legend Hill Homes will also be close to two local shopping centres called Dalton Village and the Epping Plaza in addition to recreational venues, stadiums, parks, gardens and the Northern Hospital, so all community amenities are either within walking distance or a short drive away. The Legend Hill residences in Melbourne is an Australand master-planned community and you can check out the real estate development plan online at http://www.australand.com.au/realestate/viewproject.aspx?projectid=129&typeid=1§ionid=32&folderid=35 for more details about the property site.

The Legend Hill Display Homes

Looking for a new home north of Melbourne CBD? If so, then the master-planned home site of Legend Hill Residences may be your choice because of its terrific location, great finishes and close proximity to local amenities. The Legend Hills Melbourne sales office as well as their display homes are now ready for viewing, so you can contact Australand at 13 38 38 to book an appointment for residential sales enquiries or you can email them through the Australand web site. The display suites for the Legend Hill real estate properties is located at 140 Epping Road in Epping North in Melbourne Australia. The Sales Center is open on Saturday through to Thursday between the hours of 12pm to 6pm.

The Australand Legend Hill Features

The most luxurious and high-end features will be standard in every Legend Hill Home north of Melbourne that will include double garages with secure remote controlled access as well as designer lighting with brightness controls. Also, interior finishes at the Legend Hill Homes in Melbourne Australia will include gourmet style kitchens with the high-end Smeg stainless steel appliance set as well as stone counter tops as well as master bedrooms with walk in robes and private balconies as well as direct access to the master ensuites. The Melbourne Legend Hill Residence properties will also have five star energy rating to make sure that this real estate development is environmentally friendly to your community in addition to many water savings initiatives so you won’t have to worry when there are water shortages in the neighbourhood or state. The community of Legend Hill Melbourne will also have professional landscaping throughout in addition to the most functional, bright and energy efficient homes in the entire area.

Floorplans of the Homes

For further details about the Melbourne Legend Hill Homes floorplans and layouts, please visit the Australand website at http://www.australand.com.au/realestate/viewproject.aspx?projectid=129&typeid=1§ionid=33&folderid=35 and look through the subpages for the homes details. The Legend Hill homes will range between three and four bedroom residences and between one hundred and fifty four square metres to over two hundred and sixty one square metres in indoor space, which is very large for any Melbourne property. There is also a location map online.

For those of you who are interested in buying new Australia real estate and condo presales in Melbourne CBD including homes and apartments, click here.

Your Real Estate Questions Answered

Our panel of real estate experts answers more questions from API Readers for the February 2007 edition.

Is it too late to invest in real estate?

Question: I’m 64 and have $320,000 equity in my house. I’m thinking of selling the house, renting and investing this amount in a real estate property. Unfortunately, I’ve moved too early from some previous properties and missed out on lots of money. I’m planning to work for another two years full-time and then work as a consultant. Is it too late for me to do anything in the real estate property market?

Answer: As you suspected, the key issue here is your age, which affects your investment real estate horizon, risk tolerance, and cash flow requirements. Investing in residential properties requires a long-term view; at least seven to ten years to give compound capital growth ample opportunity to do its work. Every time you buy real estate property, you incur entry costs including stamp duty and conveyancing. When you sell the real estate proerpty that’s generated rental income, you’ll pay capital gains tax as well as the usual agent’s commission and advertising fees. If you buy and then sell within a few years because you need cash to fund your retirement, entry and exit costs will chew up a substantial proportion of any capital growth the property has achieved. Additionally, because property real estate isn’t a liquid asset, it can take months to find a buyer and complete settlement. If you do need cash quickly, the ball is in the buyer’s court and you may be forced into selling for less than fair real estate market value. This may sound strange coming from a property adviser, but in your situation it may be better to consider investing in superannuation. I suggest you speak to a financial advisor about your options. – Mark Armstrong

After a big loan

Question: I’m a real estate investor in Perth. I want to take my investments to the next stage but the banks say my salary isn’t enough to give large equity loans. I want to borrow $1.5 million to $2 million to buy a house. I have equity on my present house as a deposit (20 per cent) and the remaining 80 per cent loan would be on the house I’m buying. My salary level is $100,000. How can I address this problem?

Answer: Despite your considerable equity, your problem is your income, which isn’t high enough to sustain the repayments required for such a large loan. The interest on a $1.5 million loan is more than $100,000 per year. This is more than you earn, so I can’t see how you would be able to meet you repayment commitments. And although you’ll receive rental income from the new real estate property, lenders generally only take around 75 per cent of the gross rent into account when determining ability to pay back the loan. I suggest you consider real estate investment properties in a more modest price range. If you buy several modestly priced properties over a period of time, you’ll build a portfolio that generates enough rent to boost your working income substantially and puts you in a much better position to pay back a $1.5 million to $2 million loan. Then you’ll find the banks will be more willing to come to the party – Mark Armstrong.

Making a joint real estate purchase

Question: My brother, his friend and I are looking to buy a real estate property in Cairns. We won’t be suing the first homebuyers grant as there are three of us, and we were wondering what we should do about the free stamp duty etc. for first homebuyers. As we’ll be getting the real estate property contract in all of our names we weren’t sure whether to take advantage of the first homebuyer perks or save them for when we buy our own properties separately. We were also wondering if a solicitor would be the best professional to write out the joint contract. We were also going to apply for a 100 per cent capital loan as we were looking at renting the real estate property out to start with. Is this wise?

Answer: You’re probably right to be cautious about using your first homebuyers concessions. If you receive the Federal Governments $7000 first Home Owner Grant for this particular puchase, none of you will be able to claim the grant for any real estate properties you may buy individually, further down the road. The same applies to the Queensland Government’s first homebuyer stamp duty rebate, which is available for real estate properties purchased fro less than $500,000. To get the stamp duty rebate, none of you must have owned property at any time previously, in Queensland or elsewhere. You must also be living in the real estate property as your principal residence, not renting it out. The rebate is calculated according to the value of the real estate property you purchase. The more your property is worth, the lower the rebate. For example, if you buy a property for $300,000 to $309.999, you’ll receive a stamp duty rebate of $2000. If you purchase for $410,000 to $419,999, you’ll receive $900.

If the three of you can afford to purchase without the first Home Owner Grant and the stamp duty rebate, it might be an idea to save these in case any of you decide to purchase a principal home of residence individually in the future.

Yes, it’s a wise idea to have a solicitor draw up a joint venture agreement so that all three of you understand your financial commitments. The joint venture agreement should also specify how long you will hold the property real estate, and spell out a contingency plan in the event that one of you decides to sell your share.

Regarding your questions about borrowing 100 per cent of the property’s value, I don’t know all the particulars of your situation, so I can’t advise on particular loan options. However, you should keep in mind that the more you borrow relative to the real estate property’s value, the greater your risk in the lender’s eyes, so they may charge a higher interest rate – Mark Armstrong.

For more Bricks & Mortar Q&As, go to www.apimagazine.com.au. If you have a question for our experts, you can send it to: editor@apimagazine.com.au.

This information is of a general nature only and does not constitute professional advice. You must seek professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances before acting.