What Will Be A Property Hotspot For 2008???

[deedee1]

Hi all,

THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION..!!!!

What will be a property hotspot for 2008!!

Me personally I think that ALBANIA and NICARAGUA Will start to see lots of changes and development!!

Albania with its EU support and funding and full EU membership preducted by 2014!

Nicaragua- Being located in central america next to the likes of costa rica with natural coastlines!

As I think that every year we are running short of options as so many markets are evolving rapidly and expanding on to the property investment radars!!

See ya D

 

[fuzz]

I think Italy, Panama and Russia

 

[europeanproperty]

Second cities

I would look at second or third cities in countries with established markets, that way theres no risk. Ostrava or Brno in the Czech Republic, or Wroclaw in Poland.

 

[Kim]

emerging markets vs emerging sector

The USA is fearful of recession and the markets are fearful that the trillions of personal debt will at last have an effect on the economy.
If the current UK banking situation and the USA problems continue in to be big news it will threaten the emerging markets first and what money is spent will be put into safer markets.
I think the emerging market is now overplayed and we are saturated with new emerging markets that are cheap and likely to stay cheap.
In my view the smart money is going to made by investing in development projects and taking a share of the developers profit in more traditional markets than relying on rising prices of built or off-plan in new emerging markets.
Kim

 

[The Soup Dragon]

Kim, I agree that being the developer / funding the developer is a better way to go. That way we aren't reliant on house price inflation to see a healthy return. Most will always prefer to own bricks and mortar, particularly after the rises in house prices witnessed at home. (We all know people that have made money doing Buy2Let and many will simply try replicate that rather than look at the climate in which the Buy2Let phenomenom occured and the climate applciable to where they are considering investing.)

 

[Kim]

Developers profit versus buy2let growth.

You are right most follow like sheep until the grass runs out then one sheep goes of and finds new grass and the rest follow again.
Buy2let,offplan,guaranteed rental income are great but it has become too overcrowded and so marginalised. The next phase has to be sharing in the developers profit or better still to buy into a buy2let or guaranteed income at an early stage so that you benefit from a share of he developers profit as well asthe buy2let growth. This is the new area to invest in especially if your invetsment is backed by owning a plot that is developed into a villa; so if it goes tits up you at least own the plot. Kim

 

[Stingo]

Kim - I agree but being an agent selling both investment opportunities for "off plan" developments with finance, long construction periods and rental guarantees as well as land and soon, fractional ownership of land through to development and sale, I see benefits for a cross section of individuals. Those wanting out and out investments often say that they are in it for the long term and they just want to hold, not necessarily use it and ride out any storms. The truth is most investors actually like these tangable investments as they do aspire to one day be able to use that property. Buying land as part owner of a subsequent development is a good investment at the right place right time but it does not give you the glamour ( although more so than the stock market of course).
We at will be marketing funds for emerging markets in the very near future to compliment the "off plan" deals as we do feel investors need the options to come in at a low level and make the strongest profits from build but without the hassle.

 

[Kim]

Stingo, I would be interested to learn about your funds how can I do this?. Kim

 

[MichelleAlison]

Hot Spots

Now that I am living in Argentina (after leaving London a year ago),there are definitely some bargains here. I live 250 miles south of Buenos Aires on the Atlantic ocean and properties are still really good value. You can pick-up a studio apartment in the centre of town for as little as US$25,000 and a luxury 5 bed/5 baths detached house with swimming pool and maid quarters in the best area for US$300,000.

 

[Gerry Pridham]

Deedee,

I think the hotspots (UK residential) will be
1 where current high yield properties (not HMO) exist. This will be terraced houses in good condition currently yielding over 7%. If and when the UK market flattens out, the race will be on for yield (cash flow) instead of perceived capital growth (psychologically negative growth).
2 where suburbian properties have been overpriced for some time (yields less than 4%). In a tight market, or a falling market, the sub-£500K properties will present some interesting BMV opportunities for those not stretched to 85% debt.

Overseas: Same thinking here.
1 Berlin. Severely underpriced apartments which can command long term stable tenancies
2 Spain. Distress sales approaching 50% BMV

All present interesting possibilities for a shift in portfolio strategy.

 

[dHeinwitz]

The answer is ALL OVER. The bottom line to me is always cash flow. As long as the yield is good, and the property is in good shape, then it's a good buy. Anyone who buy real estate property hoping for capital appreciation (hoping the housing price goes up) will be in for a rude awakening when the negative monthly cash flow force you into bankruptcy.

IMHO, real estate is a "local" investment. If you don't know the area and only read about the "boom" in the paper, chances are you'll lose money. The problems are many people don't share their bad experience. So the success often skewed the failure stories.

 

[pablo1uk]

I think Italy, Panama and Russia

I am a Brit who has been living in Moscow for 2 years, and was fortunate enough to buy my property in the centre of Moscow just at the beginning of a surge in prices, which saw our place rocket over 200% in around 16 months. Prices since have stabalised. I would say that Russia unless you have a huge amount of money to invest is no longer even worth a look, especially Moscow.

eg. 40m2 apartment USD320,000 - justifying its reputation for being one of the most expensive places to buy now. And this isn'tto mention the state of the building and entrance you will find...definately not an elite building for such price..

 

[fiona1]

I believe you are spot on deedee1 about Albania. Things in this country can only get better - and the coastline is magical!
Also more and more people are going to be looking for the REAL hotspots in Brazil, where the locals are buying, particularly down South.
Also Argentina property will attract some attention too.

 

[EDP24]

No new Markets I am afraid for some time the so called credit crunch still has to be played out in full. I remain convinced that Land is the way forward and that we will need to study micro and regional economies to obtain the best deals, i am concerned for example by over supply in countries like Bulgaria

 

[moe sizlak]

i agree with canada, canada is only really in the early stages of its property boom , it began less than 3 yrs ago in real terms as far as i know , its economy is doing well and the olympics in vancouver are sure to help an already great and thriving city

i would say india is a good bet , booming economy in a relatively politically stable country
im hoping that dubai will stay good as i own an off plan apt over there which will be completed next yr at which point if not before i inted to flog , when america attacks iran , i can see the likes of dubai sufferring big time
i also own property in budapest which right now is a disaster , im sorry i ever bought it and will sell as soon as i can break even which could be difficult as you cannnot give away property in hungary right now

having said all that i believe property is not the great investment it was , personally i if i had money of my own to spend right now , id put it in commodities , specifically food

 

[EDP24]

Moe What was the problen in Hungary? a couple of developers were in touch earlier this year and were providing government/local authority details of the redevelopment in Budapest, the strongest sales point was the potential strength of the domestic rental market.

 

[bulbasaurus]

Moe What was the problen in Hungary? a couple of developers were in touch earlier this year and were providing government/local authority details of the redevelopment in Budapest, the strongest sales point was the potential strength of the domestic rental market.

I have heard negative stories on Budapest also from other investors- poor yields, a great deal of over supply and a struggling economy.

 

[deedee1]

Hi all,

Unfortnately I too had heard negatives about budapest- Im glad my instincts told me not to buy before at the last minute!!

I thinks its due to general overhype, inflated prices, oversupply factors etc??

Take care-D

 

[moe sizlak]

the one saving grace i have in budapest is that im in a very good area and the rent is over 800 euro a month but even at that it still only pays a little more than half the cost of the mortgage , that combined with zero appreciation and its just not worth it

the economy is on its knees in hungary , the goverment is extremley unpopular and they are not due to join the euro currency for nearly 10 yrs , it was all hype that they were due to join in 2010

oh yeah and there are thousands of empty flats across the city aswell

avoid like the plague

 

[Gerry and Adam]

property hot spots for 2008

I do not think thier will be one or two major new countries, I believe it will be more of a pick and mix on some exisiting countries with some new ones coming in on the radar. True investors should be looking at real return on investment so buying into apart hotels and condos without personal use could be a wise move. Don't dismiss the Uk market here.

I think that Morocco will gain strength after a lull in the D'Azur plans delay, and watch out for Panama and Mexico and in Africa, Algeria and Tunisia, but also look at new city investment hot spots such as Istanbul, Bratislava and Cairo.
Slovakia also could warm up as could some of the Greek islands
Property Cold spots

But also those who bought in Dubai and Bulgaria should now realise they have probably reached their peak