OPP MAGAZINE MARCH 2014 by OPP Magazine

GET EXTRA MONEY ON YOUR INTERNATIONAL BANK TRANSFERS! Currencyfair.com will save you around 90% of the total cost of a typical international bank transfer, with far better exchange rates and a transfer fee of only £3

“That’s a saving worth checking out.” Liz Rowlinson, Editor of A Place in The Sun Magazine

Typical Transfer Lump Sum Transfer Monthly Transfer

Receive with

You Save

Send

Receive with a Bank

£150,000

€177,186

€181,961

€4,775

£3,000

€3,521

€3,636

€115

CurrencyFair

“Singled out as a cheaper way to transfer currency abroad”

CurrencyFair The Foreign Exchange Marketplace

Website: www.currencyfair.com • Email: theteam@currencyfair.com • Phones: +353 (01) 244 9585 (ROI) | +44 20 3384 6290 (UK) CurrencyFair Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and has passported its services into the UK on a freedom of services basis. * Based on an actual GBP/EUR exchange rate on 13 Feb 2014 of 1.2178. The CurrencyFair rate customers transferred at was 1.2131 while the average bank oﬀered their customers a rate of 1.1814. The transfer fee with CurrencyFair is £3. The average bank charges £20.

CONTENTS This month

Contents Features 20-24 New technology is making the business of selling property easier. Or is it? 28-32 Eco is back on the selling agenda, but how do you see through the ‘greenwash’? 36-40 Portals. We have rounded up the world’s portals experts to explain best practice 48-50 How do you convince older people they can retire safely and proﬁtably to the sun? 52-53 Another month brings yet more restrictions on selling alternatives. Be informed 72-73 News on the seminars and highlights at OPPLIve Asia, which is just six weeks away

Regulars 14-17 The Big Issue. Selling resort property investment has advantages, if you know the rules 54-55 What’s Up? News from the building sites 68-70 The OPP Interview: Rob Jarrett of the Resort Group: Saviour of Cape Verde 78 Life in the day of a magazine publisher

Data 42-46 Vietnam is a new holiday destination but it’s still under the communist yoke 59 The mortgages available in Morocco 67 The South Africa rand is on the slide

Business 19 Recruitment: how do you avoid being seduced by a professional salesman? 34-35 Business brieﬁng: a toolbox of ideas to run your business better. Or just amuse you

www.opp-connect.com

9-11 Canada: the freezing winter has sent the snowbirds south, despite the loonie’s fall

The OPP Team

HEAD OFFICE

ADVERTISING

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

15, Little Green, Richmond, TW9 1QH, UK ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2233 www.opp-connect.com

Sales Manager Reuben Gurunlian ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2224  reuben.gurunlian@opp-connect.com

Creative Manager Martin Lane ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2218  martin.lane@opp-connect.com

EDITORIAL

Sales Consultant Alex Martin ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2229  alex.martin@opp-connect.com

Editorial Director John Howell ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2225 ✆ +44 (0)7715 174415  john.howell@opp-connect.com Editor, OPP Magazine Christopher Nye ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2217 ✆ +44 (0)7711 183581  chris.nye@opp-connect.com Editor, OPP China Mina Mu ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2223  mina.mu@opp-connect.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2228  subscriptions@opp-connect.com

PUBLISHER

MD, OPP Asia Paciﬁc Harlow Russell  harlow.russell@opp-connect.com

OPP Media, part of RGG Ltd Chief Executive: Xavier Wiggins ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2222  xavier.wiggins@opp-connect.com

MARKETING & OPERATIONS

PRINTER

Marketing & Operations Manager Naomi Zammit ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2231  naomi.zammit@opp-connect.com

Editor, OPP Connect Adrian Bishop  adrian.bishop@opp-connect.com

Marketing & Operations Executives David Beaumont ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2228  david.beaumont@opp-connect.com

International Property Reporter Francine Carrel ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2221  francine.carrel@opp-connect.com

Tatum Ward ✆ +44 (0) 20 3540 2226  tatum.ward@opp-connect.com

OPP is printed by Pensord www.pensord.co.uk

The publisher accepts no liability for views expressed by contributors or advertisers or for any loss suﬀered as a result of information in OPP. No product or service is, unless expressly stated to the contrary, endorsed by OPP. © Copyright RGG Ltd. No reproduction in whole or in part without written permission.

OPP MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION SUBSCRIBE TO OPP FOR 12 MONTHS FOR THE DISCOUNTED PRICE OF:

UK - £49 | Europe - £75 | Worldwide - £99

www.opp-connect.com

News Analysis: What has been happening in the property world Country Report: The essential facts and figures on a country Letters From: What is happening in the real estate market around the world Legal Round-up: Updates on the legal changes we all need to know about Training: Tips from the experts on finding success in your business FX Report: A country’s currency – past, present and future

To subscribe please call +44 (0) 20 3540 2228 or email subscriptions@opp-connect.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

The selling issue

Salesmen and saleswomen: we at OPP salute you Editor, OPP Magazine Christopher Nye

matter. Everyone is in sales. It’s the only way we stay in business.” Well, okay. But it won’t be me cold calling potential clients and I don’t have to find the mortgage out of my commissions. Selling houses should be a doddle right? Maybe for domestic buyers it is. After all, it’s all there in front of them. Right number of rooms? Check. Garden? Check. Close enough to work? Check. So buy it. Selling a property abroad, however, and the customer has the whole world to choose from, which makes closing, getting the purchaser to settle on that property, so much harder. (Maybe bosses should use the line from the play Glengarry Glen Ross: “Put that coffee down! Coffee’s for closers only.”) Then there are, literally, a whole world of regulations that seem to change each day. We look at some

of the new rules on collective and alternative investments on page 12, and on page 52 we look at selling resort property. Technology tends to be a false friend doesn’t it? Soon, when you’ve ﬁnished kicking your 2D printer, you’ll be able to loathe one in 3D too. But new technology can’t be avoided and it can help you sell. On page 36 the world’s biggest experts in online property portals explain how to get the biggest punch from your pixels. On page 20 we investigate the new tech that will, maybe, help you in the years to come (and some that already can). To liven it up we have embedded the feature with interactive technology. You just download the free layar app to your phone or tablet, scan the page using the app and... well, I won’t spoil the surprise!

www.opp-connect.com

his magazine is dedicated to the sales staff. When I started out as a journalist there was a clear division in the magazine office between writers and advertising sales staff. If anyone from the sales floor was brave enough to risk an appearance in the editorial department, she would risk the sub-editor looking languidly up from the comma he was deliberating over, treating her with withering contempt and a witticism to her retreating back. Us ‘creative types’ didn’t want anything to do with the mucky business of money. Well, those days are over and that former sub-editor is probably an unemployed blogger or trying to make a living as a social media ‘consultant’. Or a poet. These days, sales and editorial are closely linked and the magazine follows the market as well as driving the trends. And guess what? In our much smaller offices, listening in to the sales conversations, writers and designers have discovered that the business of telephone sales is as creative as our own writing, and requires much faster footwork. The business author Harvey Mackay, said: “To me, job titles don’t

Yes, we would buy a house off this guy

GLOBAL NEWS

Top ten news stories What have overseas property professionals been clicking on this month at OPP Connect?

GLOBAL

For news as it happens visit the OPP website: www.opp-connect.com

Comparing residential rental prices around the world A new report from the property portal Lamudi showed a signiﬁcant variation for rental prices in the emerging nations that it covers. For example, Uganda and Rwanda may sit next to each other on the map, but rental prices in Rwanda are reported to be nearly ten times those in its neighbour. Berlin-based Lamudi, which launched last year, claims to

www.opp-connect.com

How much would it cost to rent precisely this much (10x10cm)

floor space of property, per month. Prices are in US cents.

be the world’s largest real estate classiﬁeds player. In the report, Saudi Arabian property tops the price list, renting for an average of $45psm per month. Lamudi’s Latin-American regions tended to be priced lower, at $6psm in Mexico and just $5psm in Colombia. It should be noted that Lamudi’s data covers mainly higher-end properties in emerging nations. So by way of comparison, we

have taken the data from the Global Property Guide to show how much city centre apartment rents in the most economically developed nations compare. Perhaps the most surprising discovery is how expensive property is in some of the emerging nations. Or, if you want to look at it that way, how cheap property is in the richest markets. This month Lamudi also took its 16 sites mobile.

UGANDA 3c COLOMBIA 5c MEXICO 6c TUNISIA 7c KENYA 7c PAKISTAN 9c GHANA 15c BURMA 18c MOROCCO 19c NIGERIA 20c TANZANIA 26c RWANDA 26c SAUDI ARABIA 45c

SHANGHAI 15c CAPE TOWN 15c BERLIN 16c MADRID 16c TORONTO 25c SYDNEY 30c SINGAPORE 43c BERMUDA 47c TOKYO 53c NEW YORK 55c LONDON 57c HONG KONG 62c MONACO 84c

Source: www.lamudi.com

Source: www.globalpropertyguide.com

MARCH 2014

GLOBAL

DUBAI

John Terry nets £10million from property sale

Bubble trouble in 17 countries

Amazing design and ecotech still a winner

Chelsea footballer John Terry sold his UK mansion and another property to the Sultan of Oman at a £10million proﬁt. Sultan Qaboos bin Said wanted the homes in Oxshott, Surrey, “at any cost”, which turned out to be £21.25m. Terry sold his original red-brick house for £5.25m and built the nine-bedroom white mansion in the grounds.

Economist Nouriel Roubini, says Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Israel, China, Singapore, Australia, HK & New Zealand risk a general market bubble, while Brazil, London Turkey, India and Indonesia face the risk in urban areas. It’s like watching “a slow-motion replay of the last housingmarket train wreck,” he said.

The next phase of the Zaal family’s über-luxury, low density development Al Barari got Connect visitors clicking. The developers said there was serious pre-launch interest for the 157 oﬀ-plan homes named Seventh Heaven, boasting they included some of the largest apartments in Dubai. Read more about the project’s eco-credentials on page 28.

HONG KONG

SPAIN

GLOBAL

Has most ‘unaffordable homes in the world’

Business surges ahead of plans for theme park

Wearable technology can help sell homes

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey 2014 found prices in HK 14.9-times median incomes in Q3, 2013. Vancouver was 10x and San Francisco 9x. The authors defined ‘affordable’ as up to three times incomes and said that prices exceeding that were an ‘institutional failure’, requiring a loosening of planning regulations.

A British estate agent in Murcia reports that on the ground, business is booming. Chris Mercer says that his sales rose 60% last year, mainly to UK buyers. He also believes that a long-promised Paramount theme park is now 80% certain to go ahead, bringing with it the promise of a boost to the whole south-east Spanish homes market.

Visitors to OPP Connect were clearly intrigued at the prospect of using smart glasses to improve property searches and neighbourhood tours for customers, tech consultant to the industry James Dearsley told OPP Connect. But at US$1,500, mainstream use is probably some distance oﬀ. Read more of James’s thoughts on page 20.

USA

SINGAPORE

FRANCE

‘Cooled’ market a turnoff for new agents

Mayor bidders promise homes & making Paris fun

A fishing and diving platform that sleeps up to 40 in five-star luxury was reduced in price by $2.1million. It includes a 70ft pool, 50 seat restaurant and aquarium. Built to be a private members off-shore club, the ‘fisherman’s paradise’ with a 900-bottle wine cellar is currently in waiting for you in Florida. www.skywaterexchange.com.

The Council for Estate Agencies recorded a 27% fall in the number of new property agents in Singapore in 2013. Total sales numbers declined 57% as government cooling measures kicked in after two years of double-digit growth, putting new agents oﬀ entering the profession. In 2012, there were 4,500 new agents, in 2013 just 3,336.

The two leading candidates in Paris’s mayoral election are each planning to build 10,000 new homes per year and create swimming pools in the unlikeliest locations - the Seine for one candidate, the Metro for another. Leading the poll is socialist Anne Hidalgo, with notably more modest promises than her centre-right opponent.

www.opp-connect.com

Floating resort on sale for US$9.9m

AGENTS REQUIRED TURNKEY RENTAL PROPERTIES

P H I L A D E L P H I A

U S A

ABC CAPITAL INVESTMENTS

We offer a totally passive way to invest in property. No physical or administrative involvement is required from our investors. Everything regarding your investment is cared for by ABC Capital Investments. This includes, incorporation, opening US bank accounts, sourcing of property, renovation of property, management of property, and tax preparation.

BENEFITS AGENTS Commission 10% of total investment Inspection trips welcome and subsidized by ABC capital White label marketing available Over 300 international clients The product sells itself

BENEFITS FOR YOUR CLIENTS Investments start at $50,000 Rental Income guaranteed by 3rd party insurance 12% -17% net yield Licensed property management Maintenance free property Optional 7 year home warranty

T: +001 267 324 3926 E: invest@abccapitalinvestments.com

WWW.ABCCAPITALINVESTMENTS.COM

NEWS Analysis

The Great Migration

Cold snap sends the snowbirds south in ever greater numbers

(NAR). Around four out of ten of those home purchases (median value of US$183k), are in Florida. Arizona (24%) and California (8%) are the next most popular targets. The International Buyers’ Report from Florida Realtors shows 30% of foreign purchases in the state were

With bone-chilling temperatures it’s not surprising that snowbird numbers are growing by Canadians, outnumbered as non-US buyers only by Venezuelans in Miami/Miami Beach. Most Canadians (44%) buy in resorts, 38% in suburban areas and 15% in city locations. More than half were for vacations and 18% for investment, 20% for both. Half of buyers intend

ADRIAN BISHOP: OPP Connect Editor Adrian.bishop@opp-connect.com

using it three to six months a year. US developer Garrett Kenny, whose Feltrim company is behind the Tuscana Resort, near Orlando, says it has seen a boost in Canadian visitors for the last three years, which he believes is attributable to escaping the cold and despite the rise in US property values. Brett C. Brown of Fiddler’s Creek Realty at Naples, Fl, says that Canadians are not looking at the CAD/USD exchange rate as much as the rising value of their investment, and that Americans are just as likely as Canadians to get fed up with bad weather and buy in Florida. “Weather comments as a purpose

www.opp-connect.com

ith Canada facing some of its coldest and snowiest winter ever, with bonechilling temperatures down to -40C with wind-chill – and I should know, I live there! – it’s hardly surprising that ‘snowbird’ numbers are growing. More and more Canadians, particularly those at or nearing retirement, are looking to rent or buy property in sunny southern states. But this year they are facing an extra obstacle to their purchases: the fall of the Canadian dollar to the US dollar. At the time of writing, the CAD is fetching under 90 cents to the USD and Canada’s TB Bank says it could hit 85 cents by the summer. When you factor in the steady rise in US home prices there’s less bang for the Canadian buck. Canadians are the biggest foreign property buyers in the US, with 71% of non-resident deals in the year to March 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors

NEWS Analysis for purchasing property in our community have been generated more by those that reside within the United States, mostly the MidWest and New England areas. “Over the past year, we have seen a signiﬁcant increase in Canadians buying at Fiddler’s Creek. Most of our Canadian friends remember the days of the loonie being around 70% of the value of the US dollar and once we were at par, trends to purchase by Canadians increased throughout Southwestern Florida. Prices and values of properties continue to increase in our area and we have seen the number of distressed properties diminish. Canadians see this as a double win; appreciating price of the commodity purchased and the improving value of the dollar which

will provide more return on their investment when the home is sold.” Marla Martin, of Florida Realtors, says it may be too early to know what impact the exchange rate change may have, “but whenever the weather turns especially cold, Realtors in Florida tell us they do get more calls and interest from buyers in the middle of winter weather in their home locales, whether that’s New York or Canada!” But, this year, even snowbirds down in South Carolina could not totally escape the bad weather. Specialist ﬁrm, The Snowbird Company, whose website has 60 million-plus hits a year, launched its East Coast Snowbird Fest event at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on 1 February, just as snow and ice hit

Canada: type of property purchased in Florida Single family/detached 43% condo/apt 43% townhouse/row house 9% time-share/other 5% commercial property 1%

The majority of buyers purchased properties located in resort area

15% 44%

www.opp-connect.com

38%

3% central city/urban 15% suburban 38%

small town/rural 3% resort 44%

the area. Chris Wright, co-owner of the company said: “We’ve seen tremendous success with South Carolina snowbirds interacting with property owners and managers on www.SouthCarolinaSnowbird. com for over a decade now, and wanted to expand that relationship to offer face-to-face opportunities combined with a fun festival environment of great food, music and entertainment. Our Snowbird Fests turn the virtual, online community into a real community, giving Snowbirds a chance to meet each other and learn more about their winter homes, whether along the Southern Atlantic Coast, from Virginia to Florida, on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Texas, or in the desert southwest and beyond.” The event attracted 500 people – others, ironically, put off by the snow and sub-zero temperatures. Michele and Joe Bowers of Finleyville, Pennsylvania, had been coming to the area for 20 years and arrived on 18 January with plans to stay until mid-March. “The highlight of being here is the sun,” “We were getting away from colder weather. It didn’t work,” they told the Myrtle Beach Online website. Long-term snowbirds Bev and Carl Cudmore of Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada, say the cold weather didn’t affect them. “We know all about this. We come prepared [with warm clothing].” But the Snowbird Fest was a success and the organisers plan to make it an annual event. Some snowbirds are looking for property even further south, with one Costa Rican online agency CostaRicaRealEstate.com (CRREC) reporting a surge of interest. CostaRicaRealEstate.com (CRREC). One buyer said: “We made the move in early 2013 and never looked back. There’s no Polar Vortex here!” CRREC’s Chief Marketing Officer, Don Halbert, says, “There’s no denying the impact of such a cold winter back home and how that impacts the real estate sector here. We’ve seen an incredible influx of foreign investment into the country as a result and anticipate that this trend will continue through 2014.”

WE KNOW THE TRUE

OF THE MARKET

JOIN US NOW I REAL ESTATE WITH A PROFESSIONAL TOUCH SPECIALISING IN REAL ESTATE IN SOUTHERN ITALY

Welcome to the Windrush Alliance Partners Programme - Creating and maintaining successful business relationships throughout the world Windrush Alliance is actively seeking professional partners to join our growing network of property professionals from around the globe. The Partners Programme is a concept designed to assist those already operating in the overseas property industry, and companies looking to promote overseas property more efficiently and successfully. The partners program was introduced for businesses and individuals to benefit from our experience, as a large proportion of our business is generated by way of partner sales. The partner program financially rewards those who introduce clients or close business directly.

Benefit from Real Estate Markets Our focus and partner program is designed to help people participate in the property real estate markets around the Globe with special focus on the Southern Italian region of Calabria. More than experience in the industry, we value your commitment to operate a successful business, whether you decide to dive in full or part time.

Tel: +44 (0)203 411 8590 Email: info@windrushalliance.com Skype: windrush.alliance Web: www.windrushalliance.com

A MEMBER OF THE WINDRUSH GROUP

BIG ISSUE Selling hotel resorts Words | Christopher Nye

Relax! You’re selling resort property

Selling – and building – properties on resorts rather than in the community has its advantages, but you need to know the investment rules

www.opp-connect.com

new generation of property hunters has – ﬁnally – been crowding the stands at A Place in the Sun in London, Second Home International in Belgium and all the other rejuvenated property exhibitions around the world. But these potential buyers have an extra choice that the previous generation had only begun to see before the crisis hit and people forgot about the joys of owning a home in the sun, by the beach, for a few years. That choice is, buying an apartment or villa that is managed and run by a hotel. For those of us

in the business it is easy to forget what a revolutionary concept this is for your everyday punter who wants his or her bolthole in the sun.

Working your assets Some of those are buying for investment, while others will have realised that spending so much money on an asset that sits empty for most of the time is, to many, simply foolish. For those agents who have not yet made the connections to sell this kind of property, or developers who have not yet considered building one, what are the beneﬁts,

where are the diﬀerences in dealing with non-resort property, and how do you get involved?

Spending so much money on an asset that sits empty for most of the time is to many, simply foolish Many holidaymakers enjoying a self-catering villa or apartment at a Melia, Marriott, Radisson Blu or

MARCH 2014 Club La Costa (CLC) won’t realise that they are actually staying in someone else’s home. According to the Alternative Investment Report, “The hotel and resort property market is dominated by directly

Under this arrangment the client buys a freehold but hands the property to a hotel to manage held investments which account for over 70% of the sector. This includes freehold, leasehold and fractional ownership.” Under this arrangement the client buys a lease or freehold title but hands the property over to be managed by a management company, usually a well-known hotel chain. They are paid a return, often guaranteed, and usually get to spend a certain number of weeks a year in their own property if they wish. Of course, it will not feel like their own home. The hotel management won’t allow owners to leave their nick-nacks or family photos around the place, or a locked drawer for

spare clothes. At ﬁrst glance, that seems a little annoying in a holiday home which would generally be what the word ‘home’ implies – homely, a bolthole, your own place in the sun. If they wanted to stay in a soulless hotel, why not do just that and stick the rest of their cash in the bank?

Wasted resources What you save most of all is wasting your resource. Why buy a property in a beautiful area and then leave it empty for much of the time? For many owners, the stress and hassle of finding renters themselves surely removes much of the relaxation of owning a property. Can they rely on smaller management companies – so often the friend of a friend or a ‘girl from the village’ – to prepare and clean the property to a sufficient standard, let alone to the equivalent of a Melia or Marriott? Who will meet the guests, handle deposits, talk tough to people who have trashed the place? Who really wants the call at 2am from a drunk guest who has forgotten the time difference and is complaining that the toilet is blocked? And that’s even if you are allowed to rent your holiday home in the community anyway. Many of the

best tourist destinations have wised up to the fact that not only are private renters damaging the local hotel trade, but they aren’t even paying any tax while doing so. In Spain, the Finance Ministry reckons on losing out on the tax from €2.9billion in undeclared rental revenue from private homes and short-term holiday rentals. Some of that accommodation is likely to be sub-standard too, certainly not enhancing the location’s reputation. So in summer 2013, for example, the Spanish government introduced the law on Spanish residential rentals (LAU), meaning that casas vacacionales will need insurance,

In Spain the Finance Ministry reckons on losing the tax from 2.9 billion euros of rental revenue energy performance certificate, etc. In the Canary Islands meanwhile, 7,000 holiday home owners taking illegal rentals were fined an average of £15,000 each, and in the US, fines for taking rentals breaking zoning

Your holiday home is ready for you

www.opp-connect.com

BIG ISSUE Selling hotel resorts restrictions can end in a $500 ﬁne, per night, per guest. Owners within the community also face the hassle factor of owning and managing your own property. Even if owners do not want the income from renting, who will prepare the property for their six monthly visit, who will clean the pool, air the beds, get fresh milk or a bottle of wine ready for guests’ arrival? Property buyers are not mugs – they know that behind the dream of owning property abroad are the everyday hassles of existence, but magniﬁed by the heat and cultural issues of running a household in a foreign country. Who will protect the property, sort out maintenance? And what does the hapless owner do when yet another relative wants a free holiday in your place – probably peak season? Okay, so renting out can be a hassle and historically, that’s proved a barrier to investment buyers. But not renting out is a major loss of income. Yet most of them are solved when you buy a resort property.

Guaranteed returns What is more, they are good investments, often with guaranteed

The Resort Group in Cape Verde is an investment success story

returns of 7% plus. For those customers looking purely for ﬁnancial returns, resort investments are usually SIPPable, meaning that UK buyers (the rules are similar in many countries) can purchase the property with their pension fund via a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) or Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS), which carries certain tax advantages. These have been well known in the commercial property world and can be used in hotel resorts because they are a commercial operation. While these investments do

not allow the owner to use the property at all. They can however, stay elsewhere on the resort if they choose to and are willing to pay the full commercial rate. Even for properties not bought with a SIPP, sellers and developers need to be careful of falling under the UK’s new (1 January 2014) unregulated collective and pooled investment rules. The two main criteria for deciding if an investment is collective and pooled are, ﬁrstly, is it under the day to day control of the investor? You could point out that most holiday homes are looked

Marriott apartments in the Caribbean, well managed and maximising revenue

www.opp-connect.com

BIG ISSUE Selling hotel resorts It’s a beautiful villa, but is the investment pooled?

reservation systems such as the OPERA Reservation System, which automatically divides use of the accommodation up and allocates revenue accordingly.

Who’s checking? Is anyone checking up on this, some developers might ask? And in truth there is no inspectorate, but if challenged and found to be in breach of the regulations, ﬁnancial penalties can be severe and those responsible can lose their licence. There are other pluses to developing or investing in resort accommodation. Some governments, for example in Portugal, Cape Verde and France, introduced laws governing tourist accommodation and encouraging these kinds of developments. Not least because being self-catering the guests are more likely to spend money in the community, rather than all the proﬁts being retained by big hotels, yet more rental revenue is also declared for tax than in private rentals. So while limiting individual property owners from renting them out, governments have created structures that allow for construction and management of integrated resorts and also give

If found to breaking the rules, financial penalties can be severe and licenses may be lost with your proﬁt, whistling. And lastly, exit strategies. According to the Alternative Investment Report, “there is a lack of established secondary market for investments in this sector with pre-owned resort properties rarely changing hands.” However, it is a model that is certainly here to stay. It will be interesting to see how the power of hotel brands matches up against the pull of the empty apartments that may soon be oﬄoaded cheaply in some popular tourist destinations.

www.opp-connect.com

after by a management company, but with those holiday homes the owner can sack the management company at any time and take it back under their own control. With a hotel development however, the owner cannot do that. It is under the branding of a hotel, and the owner cannot suddenly decide to come in and look after the laundry – they have no direct, day-to-day control. Secondly, is the revenue shared? If the rooms or vlllas are let out and the owner of that individual, particular property gets only the income from that property, it does not count as pooled. That raises certain problems. It prevents resorts from closing sections oﬀ during the quiet season, which can have grave implications for costs. It can lead to the resort owners having to juggle where guests stay to allow for an even distribution of rental returns between the owners. If one owner has a sea view and one is at the back of the resort, in quiet times the owner of the less attractive view would either get no income, or the guests have to be put in poorer quality rooms despite the best rooms being available. That is not ideal and it can be an organisational headache – although

big tax benefits for operating in that way. For example, they might allow VAT-free purchasing of all the furniture. Three downsides of creating resort developments are, firstly, problems in mixing them with regular holiday home owners or retirement buyers, secondly, being locked in to running resorts when some developers would rather move on to the next project, and clients’ exit strategies. For the first of those, resorts have very little sense of community. Many buyers of overseas property wish to live in a village setting among friends and neighbours. Clearly this won’t happen if you only have the villa for a few weeks a year. While there may be no sense of physical community, there is often a lively community of owners online, griping about any issues with the hotel services and a potential source of conflict and reputational damage for the owner/developer, apparently forgetting that complaints about services would normally be directed at the Melia or Radisson who are running it! Much easier, maybe, to sell properties in the normal away and walk far away

Could you sell a proven property investment with guaranteed returns?

The Resort Group (TRG) is the premier developer of 5-star properties in Cape Verde and is now actively looking for new agents to expand their successful sales network. TRG offer full training, sales and marketing support alongside excellent rates of commission. Why The Resort Group?  Safe, secure and proven Investment Model  Full due diligence and audited accounts  £10K for entry level fractional investments  7% p.a. return assured during construction  Delivering on-going rental income – projected at 6-9%  Capital growth anticipated between 4-6% p.a.  Partnership with Meliá Hotels International – world’s largest resort operator Why Cape Verde?  All-year round tropical climate with average temperatures from 24° to 30°C  World-class beach resort destination  Spectacular growth in tourism with a 115% increase since 2000*  Weekly direct flights from the UK, in just 5½ hours  Strict legislation and controls protects against over development  Political stability and a growing economy since late 1990’s *National Institute of Statistics of Cape Verde

EXCLUSIVE NEW

Agent Offer

There is no better way to sell a Cape Verde property than for your client to experience the Islands and our developments for themselves. We are currently offering our property inspection tours, staying at our 5-star Melia Tortuga resort for 7 nights all-inclusive, for only £500 per person. Plus, we’ll deduct this amount from their reservation fee if they go on to purchase!

Contact: Adam Ellis Tel: 01332 387 818 Email: info@theresortgroupplc.com Web: www.theresortgroupplc.com

BUSINESS Training

Find them – then follow up With so many of you recruiting salespeople again, how do you find great potential team members... and check that they’re as good as they first seem

Asking a candidate to watch and write about a video has several benefits

fact that it should be interesting and connected to sales in some way, it doesn’t matter what it is. Once they’ve watched it, their task is to send us an email answering the simple question: “Why have we asked you to watch this video?” If they’re willing to do the task we ask them to set a deadline. Answers should not exceed 200 words.

It is successful completion of this task that shows they are sufficiently interested in the job I don’t really care too much what the answer is. It is successful completion of the task that shows: – That they are suﬃciently interested in getting a new job that they’re willing to invest some time in a task with little immediate or obvious beneﬁt; – That they can write clearly and correctly. CVs are easy to have checked but a quick email about an

interesting video is rarely, if ever, proof-read so you see how they really write; – That they are organised enough and reliable enough to hit their deadline. Again, the timing of the deadline is less relevant than the fact that they meet or beat it. If they totally misunderstand the point of the video that would be a concern, but a winning salesperson will deliver well-written answers before the deadline set with, usually, reasonably correct spelling and grammar. Fewer than 50% of people pass this step. We use this exercise as the second step in our process, having already spoken to them on the phone. So we are only setting this task for those that have shown themselves as promising. Occasionally, I worry that we’re missing out on top candidates being interviewed by our clients. But could I seriously recommend a salesperson to one of our clients who couldn’t be bothered to invest 30-40 minutes to do a task properly? Are they really the charismatic AND committed salespeople you want?

www.opp-connect.com

hen recruiting salespeople, you want them to seduce you – in the sense of being captivated by their message and their personality, of course! But therein lies the problem. That ability to charm you can blind you to other important factors in your decision to hire. Too many business leaders remain endlessly disappointed because they hire the charmer only to see them fail to deliver. With more work on your part and theirs, you can significantly reduce that risk. The trick is to allow yourself to be seduced by the first impression, but then to build sufficient checks into the process. That’s why every applicant looking for a job with one of our clients must do some work before we even take them onto our books as a candidate, never mind put them in front of a client. The work needn’t be onerous and it certainly shouldn’t be dull – “work with us and do dull work like this,” is not the impression to give. We ask each applicant to watch a video; maybe a TED talk, or a Derren Brown sketch, or a short sales-training video. Other than the

PAUL OWEN: The Clear Path Company Tel: +44 (0)20 3004 9113

TECHNOLOGY Augmented reality Words | James Dearsley

Using Technology to Sell

Five technologies every property agent and developer needs to know about

aving just removed a pair of Virtual Reality Goggles I sit at my desk and ponder the future of real estate marketing. Not a lot had changed in the 11 years I was involved in the industry before setting up as a technology consultant (specifically for the property industry). I have worked with some of the largest developers and attended most of the global property shows and launch events and through all

SCAN THIS PAGE www.opp-connect.com

WITH

TO SEE 1. A 3D PRINTED HOUSE 2. A 3D PRINTED TOKYO CITY MODEL

of this I believed there was “another way”. Given the global scale and reach of property investment now is the time to experiment with what I have seen over the last 18 months. It is time to find new and innovative ways of reaching clients who may not be able to attend your roadshows or property exhibitions. For those that can attend exhibitions, plan them so that you do not need your sales people standing on the edge of the stand dragging them in or advertising that costs you the earth just to get people to attend. Do something so different, so new and so innovative that they come to you and it reflects positively on you as a brand. Having played with lots of cutting edge technology and equipment, I have picked five that I feel are having, or will have, a huge impact, on property marketing for the next 20 years. By downloading the Layar app onto your phone you will be able

to scan the pages and see example videos of what I am talking about which may be of interest.

3D Printing There has been an explosion of interest in this particular area and it is even said to be a contributory factor in the Third Industrial Revolution (combined with the growth of the Internet) and making us a “Maker” society. We will never replace mass good production from large factories but in the future we will become accustomed to downloading plans from the internet and plugging them into our desktop 3D Printers to print out what we need. There is already the ability to print in plastic, plaster, concrete, wood, metal and even organic matter and there is a great scope within the property market (there is even talk of printing houses in under 24 hours!). Architects are already buying 3D

MARCH 2014

Drones can give properties the Hollywood treatment, inside and out Printers to help their workflows. Printing their initial ideas cheaply so they can see their designs as scaled models in just a few hours is a big help in the planning stage. It helps in the process of visualization for architect, client and planning departments alike, helping the development move forward more eﬃciently. I have seen 3D printing replacing traditional wooden models in sales and marketing suites or at the very least used alongside – not only are they considerably cheaper but also quicker to being built. I have seen 3D printing combined with Augmented Reality triggers (more on this later) to add an entirely new and impressive dimension to a show suite. There is also an interesting installation in China showing the growth of one of their super cities. The designers used 3D printing to individually print each and every building in a scaled model of the city and then used a technique known as 3D projection mapping to project a presentation on top of the building outlay. The flexibility offered by 3D printing is one reason for its attraction and should be an essential consideration to your development plans.

Helicopter Drone Flying is already being used by a few forward thinking property companies. It has enormous potential not only for external views, but for wonderful and very different video footage of homes interiors too. Imagine flying in from the sea,

Wearable Technology In reality wearable technology, by its own terminology, could be anything that you wear and Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) especially the Oculus Rift (discussed later in the Virtual Reality section) and Google Glass grab most of the headlines. So to keep it current and looking at a few simple applications, there is another field that I will touch on first; smart watches. There are plenty out on the market and I am an owner myself but it all started with the “Pebble”– launched through Kickstarter; a crowd funding platform. Launch is too weak a word in fact. Within two hours the owners reached their funding target of $110,000. Within six days they had broken

GET A D EE PE R V IE W THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN EMBEDDED WITH LAYAR TECHNOLOGY 1. GET THE FREE LAYAR APP FROM THE APPLE OR ANDROID STORE 2. LAUNCH THE APP AND HOLD THE PHONE OVER THE PAGE 3. ENJOY THE SHOW!

SCAN THIS PAGE WITH

TO SEE 1. HELICOPTER DRONE FOOTAGE

2. DRONE PILOT INTERVIEW

www.opp-connect.com

Helicopter Drone Flying

low over the crashing waves and an empty beach, skimming through the palm trees, then through the entire development offering footage not otherwise possible. Alternatively, in urban areas, flying vertically from a development to show local amenities, transport links and important landmarks. There are other ways of using drones other than just marketing videos. Firstly they have been used to survey land or buildings proposed for conversion, pre purchase to give developers a different perspective of what they are buying or planning. There are clever ways to use drones in “off plan” developments. We have seen innovative footage using the ability of helicopter drones to remember GPS co-ordinates. Filming the same flight path at regular intervals on developments

with longer build programmes show progression and valuable footage for aftersales and deal advancement as well as marketing content. Using the same philosophy could give potential clients views from apartments that are not yet even built. Imagine being with a client and asking them which floor they were looking to purchase. Then just bring up panoramic footage of the exact view they would get. In this short article I haven’t space to go into the potential crossover implications of drone footage but even just on the simple applications drones should be considered as integral to your marketing plans.

TECHNOLOGY Augmented reality

Augmented reality apps bring 2D images to life (see page 24)

the Kickstarter funding record and after 37 days and 68,929 pledges of money, they had secured $10,266,845. Such is the interest in this field. The concept is simple; your wrist becomes your control centre – Michael Knight impressions are suddenly back in fashion. The ability to control e-mails, text messages, calendar notifications, incoming calls and more from your wrist rather than looking for your phone in your pocket or bag, makes it a very worthwhile bit of kit. I find the ability to decide whether I look or answer my phone and interrupting a discussion can be dealt with by a quick look at my watch. It is far less intrusive and does not disrupt what you are doing. Real Estate agents lead busy lives and that ability to prioritise but also organize from your wrist watch is quite liberating. Okay, having been practical for a minute, lets look at other exciting and innovative technologies. Google Glass has been a most anticipated project allowing you

SCAN THIS PAGE www.opp-connect.com

WITH

TO SEE 1. THE WEARABLE COMPUTER 2. GOOGLE GLASS & TRULIA PROPERTY PORTAL

to take photos and videos, send and receive e-mails through a tiny TV screen positioned by your retina and held in place by a pair of Glasses Frames. We already have Trulia, an American property portal using Glass to superimpose their listings into your vision using a GPS technique similar to that discussed later in the Augmented Reality (AR) section. Perhaps you would like to see a property, so Glass will then guide you using Google Maps to that particular listing. There are other applications of Glass (and other HMDs like Vuzix, Meta or Sony) where you can stream video to show live property viewings. I know several realtors in the US who are already doing this and providing a more personal service when it comes to viewings. Indeed there is also a UK based video production company offering packages that include the more “point of view” perspective offered by Glass – this is seen as a premium package above and beyond their normal packages. Wearable technology is getting a lot of attention which I have touched on here. Watch this space.

Augmented Reality Augmented Reality (AR) fuses the real world and the virtual world and traditionally uses mobile phones, tablet computers or webcams to carry out the process. It is the most comprehensive offering and is used throughout the development cycle from planning to marketing and sales and is often used in

conjunction with other techniques like 3D Printing, HTML e-mail campaigns and advertising. With the growth of mobile devices and the ease in which apps can be built, shared and downloaded AR has seen an explosion. In its most simplistic use we have seen newspapers adopt AR to breed interactivity into daily editions with videos, or questionnaires to gather opinion. We have seen large corporations use AR in far more elaborate and exciting ways and we have already seen property companies getting in on the act. Recently a piece of collaborative work I was involved with won the Best Innovation Award at the OPP show in London. This involved using AR within a traditional context; the property brochure. By embedding AR triggers (imagine a more bespoke and designed QR code) into brochures, users were able to view the development in

Real estate agents lead busy lives and the ability to organise from your wristwatch is quite liberating 3D (try it yourself on page 24) and allowed them to interact with the development from their own living room. This included live availability and price data, search functionality and interactive maps. Further developments are planned to place the users inside their chosen apartment and manipulate fixtures and fittings. Indeed there are already multinational firms building their furniture (Ikea) or fixtures and fittings (Villeroy and Boch) to have augmented reality features and let clients put their own stamp on their interior design. This form of AR has also been used successfully in planning stages. By showing planners (or local residents for that matter) the building in situ (using skylines or advertising hording as a trigger) and in relation to everything

MARCH 2014 around it, you get a far better idea of what is proposed and how it will affect the area. AR is a broad topic and there are many other forms. One bases the augment on GPS co-ordinates from your phone – known as Geo Location AR. Portals like Trulia in the US and Funda in the Netherlands have live Geo AR feeds with the former linking theirs to Google Glass and the latter doing something slightly different. By opening up an app users can view properties (and areas of interest) locally in the viewfinder as they rotate around, giving them a more immersive way of searching for properties based on where they are standing. AR is a natural fit for all aspects of a development build and it should be considered for immediate attention.

Virtual Reality I mentioned earlier a Virtual Reality Headset that I had been using. It was the Oculus Rift (pictured, right), still in a developmental stage. It started life at Kickstarter too and was one of their more successful projects, raising the targeted $250,000 in just four hours a further $1million in under 36 hours. Buy why the hype: Virtual Reality isn’t new? One reason is that by late-2014 it may be ready for the commercial market at a price that won’t scare people away.

Games designers are leading the charge, but the property market will benefit greatly from its drive to market. Being able to position a client “inside” a property that isn’t yet built is quite mindblowing. The sense of size and depth that you get inside an Oculus (and other VR devices) is impossible to describe. Large brands like Nissan and Topshop use it with great success as a PR vehicle but the rendering isn’t yet perfect (though the experience is unforgettable) and this is vital to real estate developers. It is in my top five purely because you need to be aware of it. The next generation of Rift called the Crystal Cove is both HD ready and gives additional degrees of movement in the VR environment that adds to an already impressive immersive medium. VR will sit nicely at launch events, marketing suites and possibly as special personal methods of marketing to VIPs. Rift and much of its competition are in a very interesting place with regard to the property market. I will let you know how it works out.

Conclusion

SCAN THIS PAGE WITH

TO SEE 1. AUGMENTED REALITY SHOWREEL 2. VIRTUAL REALITY PROPERTY APPLICATIONS

www.opp-connect.com

James Dearsley is the Founder of The Digital Marketing Bureau but is also an Independent Technology Consultant helping the property industry understand the application of using new technology. Follow the latest industry news on his blog at www.jamesdearsley.co.uk

I am already seeing developers wake up to the potential of some of these techniques and it is a joy to see the property world becoming a pioneer in these. Some of these technologies are going to test our very sense of what marketing is all about. They have the potential to change the nature of sales and marketing in the property industry.

We have relied on property events for decades and more recently websites. Now we have the potential to innovate and improve the way events are run. We can showcase apartments in people’s living rooms, giving them the power and control to build exactly what they want, when they want it. There are no longer geographical boundaries to how you market your properties. Some of this technology is relevant right now, some needs more work but you should be aware of them. Technology must help developers in every stage of the cycle from planning to marketing to sales. And it needs to be cost effective. The glory of using technology is that its use is multipurpose. The assets can be reused and repurposed. So as I raise my Oculus Rift to take another look inside a beautiful Tuscan Villa, I think it is now time to question traditional techniques and ask whether there are other technologies out there that could be helping you.

TECHNOLOGY Augmented reality

Check this out!

www.opp-connect.com

AR technology is not just helping to sell homes, it can give the printed page a helping hand too

ometimes more complex, bespoke solutions are needed, such as the one above, built by Inition, in Shoreditch for the company Drees and Sommer. They wanted an innovative presentation tool for a showcase event. To use it, just go to the Appstore and search for Drees and Sommer and you will be able to see what

was created in 3D. Working with the 3D engineering model they optimised it for real-time rendering, adding internal steelwork, plumbing, ventilation and external landscaping complete with moving cars and people. When the physical model is viewed through the iPad the AR models seamlessly integrate into the 3D print, allowing users to

explore the development, walk around it and zoom in to see finer detail. What an opportunity to have some fun with your marketing! Please search for Drees & Sommer and download. Open the app and stand back from the image. Point your iPad at the image above and voila! iPads only.

SELL TURKEY ONE OF THE LONGEST ESTABLISHED TOURISM MARKETS IN THE WORLD

WHEN WE DESIGN A NEW HOLIDAY ENVIRONMENT WE TAKE ALL THE BEST FEATURES FROM OUR EXISTING SUCCESSES AND MAKE THEM EVEN BETTER. NO COMPROMISES, NO CUTTING CORNERS, AND NO HALF-MEASURES: ONLY PERFECTION IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR US, OUR INVESTORS AND OF COURSE OUR HOLIDAYMAKERS. EVERYTHING HAS BEEN PLANNED TO PROVIDE THE PERFECT VISITOR EXPERIENCE.

A luxury resort designed, developed and constructed by the multi-award-winning developer Akbuk Resort Group Ramada Hotel & Suites – internationally recognised hotel BRAND Fractional ownership choices available from under £9,000 Income-generating prior to opening. 4% interest paid during the period of construction Delivering strong and sustainable ongoing rental income Well established and ever-growing tourism industry - since 2000 tourism has quadrupled to over 35 million FULL COMPREHENSIVE DUE DILLIGENCE AVAILABLE

Contact:

AKBUK HILLS

AKBUK RESORT GROUP Tel: 0845 230 5210 EMAIL: info@akbukresortgroup.com WEB: www.unitybayresort.com

LEGAL News

The loosens up while the Our UAE round-up of legal changes European Union looks to its finds tax hikes in Spain buttighten speedier hold on mortgage regulation processes in US, France and India BAHRAIN Abu Dhabi REDUCED REGISTRATION Foreigners can own property CHARGES On 20 May, Bahrain’s Shura Council ratiﬁed a motion to reduce charges for the registration of newly acquired real estate. The amendment, bringing the buyer’s fee down from 3% of the property value to 2%, is hoped to stimulate real estate growth. Furthermore, an incentive designed to push buyers to pay quickly was can approved – if the Foreigners now own property payment is made within 60 days on a freehold basis within the buyer will receive a 15% designated investment zones in discount on Previously, registration foreign fees. Abu Dhabi. [Source: could Oxfordonly Business buyers holdGroup, property www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com] under leasehold agreements (often under 99-year terms). Many of the investment zones BRAZIL being developed in the emirate REGISTRATION OFofFOREIGN are under the control stateowned Aldar Properties. CAPITAL The relaxed laws bring Abu Dhabi in line with more foreignerfriendly Dubai and are likely to encourage more foreign investment into the capital.

A series oftodirectives issued by According the Foreign Capital Dubai’s ruler,capital Sheik is Mohammed Law, “Foreign considered bin Rashid Al Maktou, haveormade to be any goods, machinery it easier to that buildenters hotels in the equipment Brazil emirate. The new guidelines with no initial foreign exchange mean that pre-approval for hotel disbursement, intended for construction be and reduced to production of will goods services, two months the current and any fundsfrom brought into the three tofor sixuse months. In addition, country in economic government land will be allocated

francine.carrel@opp-connect.com john.howell@opp-connect.com

More updates are available in our news section at www.opp-connect.com

level of professionalism amongst creditors and intermediaries, Dubai Land Department (DLD). principles for marketing The industry has been and waiting advertising, obligations 18 months for the law torelating be to pre-contractual information, passed and legal experts gave requirements their views on for theinformation draft to the concerning intermediaries Land Department last year, and the the borrowing rates, a No reports National website. requirement towere checkavailable the specific details borrower’s creditworthiness and but Ms Rashed says it is ready disclosure obligations and is being examinedfor by the consumer. higher authorities. The DLD first The member states of2011 the EU announced in October have transpose the experts directiveto that ittowas employing into theirand national law the within examine improve realtwo years. estate investor protection law by the end of the year, but to date nothing has been finalized. Finland [Reported by Adrian Bishop, Editor Binding cap on of OPP Connect.]

mortgages from 2016

Finland is set to impose a binding FRANCE cap on mortgages from 2016, CHANGE the MinistryIN ofCAPITAL Finance has announced. GAINS TAX The bill, which will be presented to parliament by late April, has states President Francois Hollande that financial institutions announced a change in thewould capital have mortgages at 90% gains to taxcap system on second home of pledged collateral. sales to provide more ﬂFirst-time uidity in the buyers would bemarket. able toThe qualify French property taper for mortgages of be 95% or less.so relief system is to changed Under bill,the the Financial that fromthe 2014 required time Supervisory of ownershipsAuthority before a (Fiva) property would have the power to tighten is completely exempt from capital these rules housing gains tax willwhen be 22the years, down market inyear trouble. from theis30 system which was Jan ed Vapaavuori, Minister ratiﬁ in September 2012. of Economic stated at that the Nicholas Affairs, Leach, Partner Athena timing of commented, the bill did not reflect Advisors, “This could the current real be considered as estate a bit ofmarket, a U-turn saying that there are currently by the government, reverting to no signs of overheating. Hetoinstead a system which is similar that emphasised to “equip” when Sarkozythe wasneed in power. Last Finland with “the tools year’s property taxnecessary changes put to guarantee long term stability”.

www.opp-connect.com

Dubai Hotel development easier

activities, that they belong for three-provided and four-star hotels, to individuals or corporate will entities while Dubai Municipality domiciled incorporated abroad.” work withor master developers to Foreignsuitable capital must be Any identify locations. registered by meanshotels of an that threeor four-star Electronic Statement of Registration begin operating before June – Foreign Investment Module 2017 will Direct also be exempt from (RDE-IED), on theMunicipality Central Bank the 10% Dubai Information System (SISBACEN). fee. The changes come after For the purposes of from the Electronic recommendations Dubai’s Statement of Registration, foreign private developers. direct investment is deﬁned as [Source: www.hotelmanagement.net] permanent holdings in Brazilian companies or, in accordance with European Union common market practices, longSingle mortgage market term ownership by non-resident investors; individuals or corporate directive entities residing, domiciled or incorporated abroad, through ownership of shares or stock in Brazilian companies, or investments in foreign companies authorized to operate in Brazil. The statement implies that the Brazilian companies receiving the investment and/or the representative of the foreign investor are responsible for the The Council of the European registration. [Reporteda by: Daniela Union has adopted directive Antunes, Maxwell Alves Solicitors, aimed at creating a single market www.maxwellalves.com] for mortgage credits in the EU, with a high degree of consumer protection. The directive DUBAI will “create an efficient and TANWEER LEGISLATION TO competitive single market for the benefit of consumers, creditors BE ANNOUNCED and credit intermediaries,” according to thelaw Council. A new property aimedThe at aim is to establish high levels improving investors’ rights of protection addressing looks set to bewhile announced soon irresponsible and in Dubai. The lending long-awaited borrowing – stemming Tanweer legislation willthe be flow of unaffordable loans, defaults announced “soon”, says Majida and foreclosures in the EU. Real Ali Rashed, the head of the The directive setsManagement out Estate Investment conditions for ensuring a the high and Promotion Centre of

Lawyers and accountants around the world tell us about new developments in the law. If you know of any interesting changes to the law or taxation in the country where you live or do business, contact

MARCH 2014 India Court allows forest development Mumbai-based property businesses saw shares rise after the Supreme Court allowed builders to develop on several plots designated as forest land. The ruling is expected to restart stalled developments in the area, resulting in several thousand new apartments. The move is expected to quash some developers’ plans to raise housing prices in the eastern suburbs. The court also overturned a 2008 High Court judgement which threatened hundreds of thousands of residents currently living on forest-designated land.

Israel Ghost apartment tax to cool market

Qatar New regulatory body proposed

Brokers in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, have said that they will petition authorities to cut an unpopular 37% property transaction tax. The tax, imposed in August 2012, replaced a top rate of 15% and was widely criticised as detrimental to the property market. Following a public invitation from the government for property agents to become more involved in policy, a meeting of brokers called to establish the Mandalay Region Real Estate Brokers’ Association. “We have to submit proposals by February 11 relating to property fixed standard prices. We will also suggest reducing the 37% property transaction tax,” said U Wunna Soe of Phoe La Min real estate agency at the meeting. [Source: Myanmar Times]

Qatar may soon have a new regulatory body to deal with its fast-growing real estate sector. According to Al Sharq, preparations have begun to create an authority with the power to ‘interfere effectively’ in the property market and monitor prices. The body would be able to monitor implementations of rent law and intervene in disputes. The authority would have to constantly monitor the real estate market, including prices and the activities of property professionals. A draft law has been written up to specify its role and powers. [Source: The Peninsula Qatar]

Netherlands Tax law change benefits REITs A new tax law means that Dutch REITs will become more competitive in comparison to their European counterparts, according to the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA). The rules, which come into effect this year, allow ancillary services to be qualified under the REIT tax regime alongside more core investments. The changes will allow REIT schemes to operate more flexibly and keep up with changing investor and tenant demands, EPRA said. [Source: investmenteurope.net]

Switzerland Capital controls tightened The Swiss Government is tightening controls on lenders in an attempt to cool the housing market. Banks will be required to hold 2% capital against their mortgage book (up from 1%) from 30 June 2014. The new regulation is aimed at making Swiss banks more selective in giving out credit to potential buyers, dampening the housing sector. It will not make a difference to interest rates. The government said that a sustained increase in mortgage loans and residential prices had caused a considerable risk to the stability of the economy and the banking sector. Growth in residential mortgage lending outstripped GDP growth last year. [Source: Bloomberg]

www.opp-connect.com

Owners of Israeli properties who live abroad and do not inhabit their apartment for a total of nine months will have to pay an additional municipal tax. The tax will range from 31.62 shekels (US$9.07) to 219.14 shekels (US$62.84) per square metre. Authorities have introduced the new law to encourage absent owners to sell up or rent out their properties, making residential property more affordable. According to the Finance Ministry, there are over 46,000 ‘ghost’ apartments in Israel, with Tel Aviv (4,700 empty apartments), Haifa (3,445) and Jerusalem (3,429) the worst affected cities. Figures could be even higher – the Times of Israel spoke to Jerusalem deputy mayor Ofer Berkovitz, who said the figure in the city could sit closer to 10,000.

Myanmar Brokers will fight 37% property tax

FEATURE Selling eco in 2014 Words | Adrian Bishop

Developers can make money and save the planet

“You can get rid of all the green crap”. So said UK PM Cameron to his aides. But ‘green crap’ can be a profit generator for brave developers, say experts in the field

www.opp-connect.com

ith flooding in the UK, ice storms in the US and yet more bush fires in Australia, global warming – or at least climate change – is back on the agenda. You don’t need to be a student of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to work out why, during a financial crisis, developers were more worried about merely surviving rather than focusing on the ‘luxury’ of being green. But now the economy is improving, while the weather appears to be getting worse. However, the new austerity has changed the agenda and

these days to sell ecologically sound homes and hotel rooms to investors and resort groups, developers need to show potential buyers and partners that eco isn’t just sucking cash out of the business, but that they’re using it to boost profits higher. Developers building environmentally-friendly projects around the world, which combine eye-catching design with eyewatering energy savings, can actually enjoy higher returns than others, says the US Green Building Council. Its Media Specialist, Jacob Kriss, tells OPP, “The appetite for

eco-friendly residential spaces is unquestionably robust. It’s not a case of diverting profits into ecofriendly measures; but rather, it is using green building and such measures to increase profits, because there is great demand for green homes.” A report from CoStar’s Property and Portfolio Research last summer shows the second highest attribute for maximising rental returns in apartments in the United States is having a LEEDcertified building (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) – also because it is likely

MARCH 2014

to be newer and have better materials and finishes than other properties.

Green growth

A study claims that eco-friendly builders grew their businesses faster in the downturn landlord differentiation in a competitive leasing market, and supportive government policies are just a few of the prevailing factors. “Coupled with these market forces is the significant growth in Corporate Social Responsibility

mandates among investors, tenants and organizations in general. Corporate North America continues to move in the same direction as Europe and Australia,” it states. Eco expert Gordon Miller, cofounder of SustainWorldwide.com says that although no particular country is taking the lead on green issues, customer demand is often the biggest incentive for developers: “No doubt, due to the economic downturn, in the last couple of years there’s been precious little mainstream resort investment in eco-sensitive development over and above the minimum legal requirement. “On the plus side, most nations are incrementally increasing energy, water and waste efficiency requirements, so there’s a net gain. That said, no country could be seen as taking a particularly strong leadership role. “The other main driver that is compelling developers to engage with the agenda is the expectations of stakeholders

www.opp-connect.com

The point about making more profit is backed by the Green Home Builders and Remodelers Study, which claims eco-friendly builders have grown their businesses more rapidly during the global financial downturn and that more have remained in business. Eco-friendly homes made up 23% of the overall residential construction market in 2013 and are expected to take up between 26% and 33% of the market by 2016, with a total value rising from US$36billion in 2013 to $83-$105billion in 2016, according to the study from McGraw Hill Construction. Green growth is occurring because communities have incorporated eco-friendly principles into building codes and regulations, it states. Organisers of the Green Real

Estate conference in Toronto, Canada, being held on 25 March, say the business case for greener buildings has never been stronger: “Market interest in ‘greening’ new and existing buildings is at an alltime high. Many pre-conditions are contributing to this trend: the objective of improving operating cost efficiencies of buildings,

FEATURE Selling eco in 2014 – investors, buyers, local communities. So, in the main, corporate social responsibility and the need to manage reputational risk are the main factors stimulating environmentally-aware resort development,” he says.

Dubai in bloom One prime example of a luxury development that embraces nature and sustainability is the Al Barari resort in Dubai, flagship creation of the Zaal family. The pioneering project, which features 80% landscaping, is described as

Sustainability standards When it comes to measuring sustainability in developments there are various recognised standards and schemes around the world. BREEAM (the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), which is claimed to be the world’s foremost environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings, is used by 70 countries. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) says 250,000 buildings have certified BREEAM ratings and more than a million have registered for assessment since it launched in 1990. Moves are being made to use BREEAM standards in Mexico and the Qatar Green Building Council (GBC) has just joined BRE’s International Sustainability Alliance. Around 30 countries are so far reported to have adopted LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) standards that have covered 10.4billion square feet, with an extra 1.5million feet being certified each day. In January, the first LEED-homes in Greater China were certified in Guangling, in Yanzhou, Jiangsu Province and it is dominant in the Middle East. By 2015 it is estimated that, in Brazil, 83% of firms will be planning new green commercial projects; in Singapore, 69% of firms will be planning green renovation projects; in the United Arab Emirates, 73% of firms will be planning green institutional projects; and in the United Kingdom, 65% of firms planning green renovation projects.

www.opp-connect.com

The US Green Building Council says LEED is, “transforming the way built environments are designed, constructed, and operated. The internationally-recognised mark of excellence offers developers a framework for identifying and implementing green building design, construction and maintenance.”

Jacob Kriss of the US Green Building Council tells OPP, “Just last month, we certified our 50,000th housing unit under LEED for Homes, which speaks volumes about developers’ willingness (actually, eagerness) to invest in creating sustainable homes that are better for the planet and the people who live in them. In fact, of those 50,000-plus certified units, 65% were certified in the last two years, which indicates a significant trend and momentum for green development. Also, in 2013, LEED projects had more than 12% market share in the multifamily market.”

“a botanic haven, unrivalled in its ecological sensitivity and its utmost attention to detail – where neighbourhoods thrive on the beauty of nature and the quality of life that it brings.” Kamelia Zaal, Creative Director of Al Barari, tells OPP the development is packed with ecofeatures. “All our water used in our waterways and irrigation is recycled Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) water that is polished on site to an international Grade B before being dispersed through our system. All our outdoor lighting is Light-Emitting Diode (LED), saving on energy consumption and home automation systems within the houses help to regulate energy consumption in the villas.” In addition, the exclusive duplexes, penthouses, sky villas and garden homes, which start from AED3million (US$816k, £488k, €595k) in the recentlylaunched Seventh Heaven project,

The Al Barari resort in Dubai is described as “unrivalled in its ecological sensitivity and detail” harness as much natural light as possible, so electrical lighting is kept to a minimum. Even the weather is harnessed. “Al Barari is a micro climate with a 2º to 5ºC cooler than the rest of Dubai. This is due to our overall master planning that allows prevailing winds to circulate through the site, waterways, shade, planting and maintaining the natural typography of the land. For Al Barari, assets like this are our hallmark, it is what we pride ourselves in and we knew likeminded people would appreciate their environment that they lived in just as much as the quality of their villas. Al Barari is about quality of life in every way.” But she is unsure if others share the eco philosophy so strongly.

MARCH 2014

Green dreams: home-grown trees ready to be planted out at Al Barari

When asked how strongly residential developers in the Middle East are embracing eco features, she says, “Unfortunately, not enough; but we believe Al Barari has set the benchmark and has a part to play in making other developers realize the value in caring about the environment and sustainability.”

Greenwashed resorts

Mean, not green “Look at their websites, however,” says Jill, “and you might be misled into believing that green-hotel

Many hotels and resorts now laud their lack of services as ‘green’ when it’s really just mean initiatives are booming. What’s actually booming is green-hotel marketing – i.e. greenwash. “Many hotels and resorts that offer few amenities now laud their lack of services as ‘green’, when it’s really just mean. No toiletries in the bathroom? It’s because we’ve gone green. Cutting back on daily cleaning services? It’s because we’re green. Limiting your breakfast to a piece of toast and jam? It’s because we’re green,

I tell you!” A few, however, are making the un-green industry a little more ethical. The Six Senses brand has long been a champion of the luxury green experience, though recycled water, off-the-grid energy and locally sourced staff and food. The big boys, Ritz-Carlton, Marriott and Movenpick – as well as Starwood and Fairmont – are trialling eco-initiatives at some of their newer hotels. “It’s easier to implement green technologies in a new build than to retrofit them, so this makes sense from a financial point of view. However, in every brand, these ethical initiatives are happening in only one or two hotels in their portfolio, so there’s still a long way to go,” adds Jill. It is perhaps an inescapable fact that resort accommodation, second homes and international travel are always going to be less green than staying at home. But, especially when climate change is hitting the headlines all over the world, people want to believe that they are being less damaging to the environment than they probably are, and that is a great opportunity to sell property. And that’s not crap.

www.opp-connect.com

Globally, the overall move has been away from genuinely green initiatives that reduce carbon emission and help preserve environments and resources, says UK journalist and editor of the www.EcoLuxHotels.com website, Jill Starley-Grainger. “Guest priorities changed to focus heavily on price, and many hoteliers followed, abandoning green programmes in favour of cost-cutting initiatives,” Jill tells OPP. “There are exceptions, mainly from a handful of small independent hoteliers, but a few large business chain hotels have also unexpectedly stepped up to the plate.” Among well-known global resort chains that do retain excellent green initiatives is Starwood, which has launched its Element

brand of green hotels aimed primarily at business travellers, and Fairmont, which has been running a green partnership programme since 1990.

FEATURE Selling eco in 2014

The NEW eco-top five O

ur pick of some of the most impressive, new, eco-friendly resorts around the world.

Above-par: Kittitian Hill, St.Kitts

estimates vary from US$35,000 to US$150,000. Finca Bellavista is still in development, but its “base camp” is complete and hasa dining hall, an open-air lounge, a campfire ring and a wedding garden. There is also zip-wire sky trail. www.fincabellavista.com

Say hello to evolo: Montreal, Canada

This US$600million sustainable development features private villas, a boutique hotel, spa, plus “the world’s most edible golf course” on a mango fruit farm. Every building at the 400-acre Kittitian Hill is being constructed with local or sustainable materials by 50 local contractors and craftsmen. The farm will become a self-sustainable landscape, producing organic produce for Kittitian Hill residents and guests The 84-cottage Belle Mont Farm Hotel is set to open later this year Cottages start from US$401,000 www.kittitianhill.com

Tree-mendous opportunity: Finca Bellavista, Costa RicA

The evolo projects on the water, at Pointe-Nord, in Nuns’ Island, close to downtown Montreal, combine an enviable location, stylish design and sustainable features. The evolo, pavilion and evolo2 condominiums, built by top developer, Proment Corporation, include condos from 625 square feet to over 2000 square feet. One bed luxury condos in evolo 2 cost from CAD$257,500, before tax. They feature a geothermal heating and cooling system that reduces energy consumption by up to 30%, and various recycled materials. www.pointenord.com/evolo/ Condos-Nuns-Island

www.opp-connect.com

Mill-ions of options: Lower Mill Estate, the Cotswolds, UK

For those who want ‘an authentic’ home, Finca Bellavista is a residential treehouse community in the south Pacific coastal region of Costa Rica. Investors can purchase land and build their own treehouse or stilthouse, which they can own or rent out through a Finca Bellavista management company. Build cost

Well, maybe we exaggerated a little – not quite millions of options, but this special eco estate allows investors to choose their plot, select

an award-winning eco property design with a range of interiors, layouts, sustainable materials and finishes, or build their own bespoke design. Lower Mill Estate is an awardwinning community of sustainable vacation homes, from luxury lakeside Landmark Homes lockup-and-go Somerford Reserve apartments, set in a private, fully managed, 550-acre reserve at Somerford Keynes, near Cirencester. The estate’s Pevonia spa, includes the UK’s first eco-pool purified entirely by plants. Freehold plots cost from £250,000 to £2million and there are various leasehold properties available. www.lowermillestate.com

Flower tower: Bosco Verticale, Milan, Italy

This tower block ‘vertical forest’ will be home to 900 trees and more than 2,000 plants, providing the equivalent of an impressive 7,000 square metres of forest. Bosco Verticale consists of two towers designed by Boeri Studio and built by developer Hines. The 110-metre-tall Bosco Verticale Via De Castillia contains 73 residential units and more than 1,000 different species of trees, small bushes and flowering plants surrounding the terraces. The smaller Bosco Verticale Via Confalonieri will comprise 40 units. Completion is expected by late spring/early summer 2014 and an application for LEED Gold certification has been submitted. www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net and www.hines.com

The sales team was so desperate for leads that no one saw Neglected Nellie, the social media elephant, in the room.

It pays to tweet

Never forget the power of social media Over 1 billion monthly Facebook users, 500 million Twitter accounts, 225 million Linkedin members and over 6 billion hours of YouTube videos are watched every month. The numbers clearly add up; can you afford not to be engaging in Social Media? Through ABPM’s expert property-specific Social Media services, connect with existing clients and potential buyers; create relationships of trust and loyalty which will ultimately give your business the thumbs up.

So don’t be a Nellie, Call today on +44 845 054 7524 to register for a FREE 1 hour ABPM Social Media consultation

ABPROPERTYMARKETING

charlotte@abpropertymarketing.co.uk 91 – 93 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0RP www.abpropertymarketing.co.uk

BUSINESS Brieﬁng

Business briefing Ideas and inspiration to help you run your business BOOK: What agents learn from: Thinking, Fast and Slow Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman explores the ways in which we think. “Thinking, Fast and Slow” separates thought processes into two basic categories which he dubs System 1 and System 2. System 1, which works on intuition and subconscious association, is what gives us quick impressions of environment. System 2 is in charge of the more laborious, deliberate thoughts that are often required to clarify and correct System 1’s snap judgements. The book is entertaining and almost overwhelmingly insightful (be prepared to overanalyse your every thought and action for quite a while after reading). It holds invaluable lessons to transfer into the world of business. Take advantage of… Cognitive ease. You feel good when something’s familiar and easy. Repeated messages, easy-to-use sites and clear fonts are important if you want your client to feel positive about and trust your brand. Anchoring. Setting a high asking price ‘anchors’, or primes that as a reasonable value in the buyer’s mind, helping the seller in subsequent negotiations Watch out for… The halo eﬀect. If you like one element of a proposition, you illogically transfer that positive feeling to other, unrelated elements of the deal. So a charming salesman can sell awful properties. The law of small numbers. Even trained statisticians usually guess way too low when deciding on a sample size for research. Always compute sample size with a formula rather than going with your intuition.

BRANDING: Please love me

Stat of the month

www.opp-connect.com

By OPP Marketing, powered by D2E

Super Bowl Sunday is the highlight of the American football year and the biggest event for the marketing community. A 30 second ad can cost $4 million, so it has to be special. Best ad this year was for electronics shop Radio Shack. Pop culture icons from the 1980s, including Hulk Hogan and Alf, ‘reclaimed the 80s’ by clearing Radio Shack’s shelves ready for a bright new look. Search ‘Radio Shack Super Bowl’ on Youtube. It’s funny. Admitting to an audience of 110 million that they’d fallen behind the times is a brave but risky strategy for Radio Shack. Admitting a mistake shows the human side of a brand and consumers can relate. Another way of showing a human side, without admitting fault, is to introduce the people behind the brand. Consumers need something personal to develop a deep emotional bond, which is the point of building a brand! Oddly, the Super Bowl ads didn’t really claim that their products were better than a competitor, it’s more about “love me, love my products”.

From January 2008 to January 2014, according to Cyprus Property News. The country’s blighted housing market is still not showing signs of recovery.

MARCH 2014

What you need to know about: WhatsApp The instant-messaging service was bought by Facebook for US$19billion, partly to eliminate a threat and partly betting on big increases in users – Zuckerburg predicts hitting a billion users. Why? It’s cheap. It’s either free or 99cents per year and if you’re hooked up to wiﬁ, it’s free to message even across borders – avoiding text charges – but beware roaming data charges. It’s easy. As simple as texting, it’s über-intuitive, takes seconds to sign up and works on all smartphones, automatically adding your phone contacts. It’s globally popular. There’s a pretty good chance that the person you want to contact already has the app, which currently has 400-plus million users. It’s the most-used messaging app in, among others, India, Brazil, France and Germany. Will it sell houses? Not directly, but you can send a message to a client’s phone attaching an image of a house, or a whole gallery of images, or a video of the area. You can even take a snap using WhatsApp. You can leave a voice message, saying how wonderful the house is, and how there has been a lot of interest in it so “get over here now!” You can add your location or the location of the property, using Google maps. In our test it pinpointed the exact house. You can hold group chats, allowing your team to communicate wherever they are in the world. Eastern contenders WhatsApp dominates the West and Hong Kong and Singapore but Asia is a battleground for messaging apps and 300 million Chinese favour WeChat, which has ads and shopping functions.

Time share solutions A minute with… Paul Gardner-Bougaard, Chief Executive of the Resort Development Organisation

Classy glass

Say goodbye to ugly solar panels – German architect Andre Broessel has invented an elegant solar device which can track the movements of the sun. The spherical lens concentrates light onto a small photovoltaic panel, while a dual-access pivot keeps it facing the sun. According to Broesell’s company, Rawlemon, the invention is 35% more eﬃcient than normal photovoltaic panels, and can even work at night by capturing diﬀused light. www.rawlemon.com

www.opp-connect.com

Timeshares have suﬀered like the rest of the property industry, but the timeshare business has survived remarkably well, says Paul, because for each problem they have found a solution. Problem: Aging buyers. “Peak selling was in the 80s and early 90s and now many of those buyers are getting too old to want to travel.” Solution: “We have put in some exit strategies for the aging demographic. In fact now our members are required to have an exit strategy for deserving cases”.” Problem: A new generation with less money. “The 30, 40-year-olds, unlike our generation, have not had it so good and are struggling to buy houses, getting married and having children later.” Solution: “Shorter term products, with more ﬂexibility and focused on the experience, more than just the location.” Problem: The industry’s bad apples. Getting authorities to prosecute companies (not members of the RDO) who break the rules. “We are frustrated with trading standards.” Solution: “We have set up the ‘time share task force’, working with the police and trading standards to do something and we are doing some private prosecutions to get these people out of the market.” www.rdo.org

Innovation:

FEATURE Experts advise Words | Francine Carrel

12 ways to sell via a portal

Property portals have transformed estate agency – but how do you get the best out of them?

ou might have hoped they’d go away, but property portals are now most clients’ ﬁrst call for overseas property. “Agents should be putting their arms around property portals and kissing them” said one of our experts. We have gathered the top portal experts from four continents to spill the beans on how to convert views to leads.

www.opp-connect.com

Information, information, information!

The more a potential buyer can ﬁnd out about a property, the more likely they are to make the commitment to view. Shameem Golamy, of Rightmove Overseas says: “Buyers are ruthless when it comes to wanting all the information up front to make comparisons. Don’t hold back,

put all the information you have on the listing, add brochures and include all the information you can. The concept of ‘freemium’ really comes into play here. The overseas buying cycle is quite a long one but a buyer will stick with an agent they

Buyers are ruthless when it comes to wanting all the information up front for comparisons view as the most helpful. Present information, not just about the property but about your agency and give them an open invitation to contact you for help through the

buying process.” Andrew Taylor, co-founder of Chinese giant Juwai advocates a thirds rule: “The best listing description for an international buyer is one that is one-third property info, one-third about the local lifestyle and one-third about the long-term investment prospects.”

Be honest

Paul Hermann, cofounder of Lamudi, a portal working in 17 emerging markets, sums it up: “Be honest: Don’t oversell but focus on what you have to oﬀer and describe it positively but honestly. Any other tactic will backﬁre and ruin your reputation.” It may be tempting to upsell a property by being overly ‘generous’ in its description, but how will this play

MARCH 2014 with a client who ﬂies thousands of miles to see a property? Don’t doctor images any more than to balance light levels. DON’T use images that aren’t of the property. That may sound obvious, but is apparently such a problem that a product has been developed to solve it. US start-up MoveMent (www.movement-app.com) is an iPod app which veriﬁes the location of the photograph on a listing by locating the agent using GPS and requiring them to take the pictures while logged into the app. The app can also send GPS-enabled listings to the smartphones of potential renters, or post the listings to other portals – Realtor.com, Zillow etc. It will be interesting to see whether this kind of thing catches on in other markets.

Be specific

It’s irritating when a listing leaves you wanting to ask supplementary questions – if you wanted to do that you could have phoned in the ﬁrst place. So consider it from the client’s point of view – what would be their next question? For example, when noting square metres, specify which of those are balcony or courtyard space. The house is “ﬁve minutes from the beach”. What – by car, foot or donkey?

Consider niche

A neat little trick to keep things fresh is to rotate the lead image on the advert every few weeks for and even specialized real estate agents are keen on providing their oﬀer to a broad audience. It is similar to Google, no one uses a specialized search engine when looking for niche products.”

Keep it fresh

Golamy stressed the importance of catching a jaded eye: “Buyers keep coming back and scrolling the listings which can sometimes make them blind to ones they have seen before. A neat little trick is to rotate the lead image on the advert every few weeks. It can make a potential buyer see your property in a whole new light and can result in you getting a new enquiry where previously they had ruled you out.” Don’t forget that users may have

PA N E L O F

EXPERTS

Andrew Taylor, co-founder of Juwai, China’s largest overseas property portal Website: www.juwai.com Email: Andrew@juwai.com Dr Paul Hermann, Co-Founder of Lamudi, which operates in 17 countries Website: www.lamudi.com Shameem Golamy, head of Rightmove Overseas, the leading UK overseas property portal Website: www. rightmoveoverseas.co.uk Email: shameem.golamy@ rightmove.co.uk Gilles Blanchard, Chairman of Zameen. Founder of France’s largest portal, seloger.com Website: www.zameen.com Email: gilles@zameen.com Simon Baker, Executive Chairman of Property Portal Watch, former CEO of RealEstate. com.au Website: www. propertyportalwatch.com Email: sbaker@cavih.com

www.opp-connect.com

Every market has its market leading giant (see box, below), which attract the most views. You would be foolish to ignore the opportunities that presents. But could you be reaching more appropriate, more targeted eyeballs at the same time? Simon Baker of Property Portal Watch, the online portal publication, said, “It’s worth ﬁnding a niche portal that’s relevant, yes. But make sure it is relevant. If you’re using a site that specializes in the Scottish highlands, then great, put up your Scottish highland properties… but it’s not going to be worth putting up your listings from Spain!” Simon added that with niche portals it’s best to use a pay-

per-lead plan rather than fronting the cash. Andrew Taylor agreed, “Niche portals are vital for obtaining the benefits that the number one portal can’t provide. Whether it is Juwai.com for the Chinese market or some other niche portal, most estate agencies in the UK will use some sort of niche advertising business, in addition to relying on Rightmove.” Gilles Blanchard of Zameen stressed the advantage of a more specific site: “Niche will bring you customers looking on Google for the particular “niche” property. And for a cheaper price than any printed media. So today, an agent with a clever media plan should publish its whole portfolio on the leading portal, and some targeted property on several niche portals or on some successful local services.” Paul Hermann disagreed, though: “I believe that people want one place to find what they are looking

FEATURE Experts advise spent hours browsing similar pics.

The winner will be the site that offers the best mobile

DOn’t be cheap

“Every agent’s situation is diﬀerent, but one important rule always applies: don’t be cheap and don’t be short-sighted,” said Andrew Taylor. “In a newspaper, you know that if you buy a small ad, you get limited consumer attention. If you buy a full-page ad, you get more visibility, but you probably still need to repeat that ad the following week and so on. The same principles apply online. If you identify a vital online audience, make sure you spend enough to get their attention.”

Use it all

Portals have so many features now, it can be all too easy to stick up the basics and ignore the extras. Add floorplans, links to maps, look into whether your portal offers GPS technology to target buyers in a specific area. Andrew Taylor, of Juwai says: “Make sure you are using all the features of your packages with portals. Use portals to grow your reputation, obtain exclusive listings, and naturally, market interest in listings and leads. Use portals offline as well as online.”

Compare the market

Simon Baker warned against becoming complacent and staying with a site that isn’t producing results. “Monitor sites and compare them. Make sure they’re delivering the value for the money you’re spending.”

www.opp-connect.com

Shameem Golamy. “Buyers of overseas property don’t have the luxury of being able to pop over and see the property so images have to do most of the work.” Simon Baker agreed, “It narrows the choices down for cross-border buyers. They can look at ﬂoor-plans and pictures and get an idea of

Monitor sites and compare them. Make sure they’re delivering value for your money

Pictures

You need to include pictures. This is true for domestic listings but doubly so if you’re trying to sell across borders and oceans. Potential buyers need to visualize it properly, from every angle, inside and out, with all the views. All of our experts cited “lack of pictures” as their pet peeve. “It’s the old cliché, a picture speaks a thousand words – but in this instance it really does,” said

what they want before they visit rather than going to look around and saying ‘I don’t know, I didn’t realize…’ it reduces time wastage for them and the agents.” (See our tips for photographers, below)

Be Mobile

Mobile becomes more important by the day as the public switches on to the possibility of bringing up house

details as they walk the streets. When househunters can run their finger around a map on their tablet or wave their iPhone camera in the air and have properties that are for sale pop up on the screen, who needs offices? Simon Baker says a large percentage of new innovation is coming from the continued popularity of mobile. “Realtor.com in the US and immobiliernscout24 in Germany have good mobile experiences and some of the stuff around is quite interesting. They’ve started using very good locational data, based around knowing exactly where you are – so they can present to you the most quality properties in that area.” Especially if you have a product that will be sold to a sophisticated tech-savvy market, you need to be on a site that makes full use of mobile.

Follow up

This is an inexplicable problem all over the industry: property professionals will pour money into getting leads then let them slip through their ﬁngers! Taylor said, “Use portals oﬄine as

WHERE THE INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY INDUSTRY MEETS… OPPLive has been bringing together the top names in the international property industry since 2005. In that time the event has led to countless business partnerships being formed and commercially vital industry knowledge being gained. OPPLive Asia 2014, taking place in Singapore’s prestigious Marina Bay Sands, will attract agents, developers, financial advisors and other industry professionals from across the Asia Pacific region: from Singapore itself to Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and beyond. In addition, senior non Asian property people will gather from over 40 countries. As well as bringing an estimated 2000+ global real estate professionals together the exhibition and conference will feature almost 100 seminars, round tables, networking events, and “speed dating” sessions together with an expected 150+ exhibitors.

IT’S NOT AN EVENT TO BE MISSED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SPEAKING OR EXHIBITING AT OPPLIVE ASIA 2014 PLEASE CONTACT US ON: +44 (0) 20 3540 2233 REGISTER NOW AT WWW.OPP-LIVEASIA.COM

FEATURE Experts advise well as online. With Juwai.com, for instance, download your translated property details, and have them printed, ready to hand in person to Chinese buyers you come across during the day, or to hand out at key Chinese businesses in your area. Most agents sit there, put up a listing, and passively wait for leads. They are not getting all the juice out of their orange.” Baker added, “Ensure your own internal systems are fantastic. Hundreds of leads come in and get ignored; this can’t happen.”

TIPS FOR

PHOTOGR APHS The camera: Just because they are made low-resolution for the website, doesn’t mean you can use a cheap camera. Nothing says “rubbish real estate agent” better than a fuzzy, lame embarrassing image. Even entrylevel cameras are usually high-quality nowadays so you don’t need to worry about breaking the bank to upgrade from your ﬁve-year-old piece. Get used to the camera before taking it on a shoot, playing with the focus and other settings in your own oﬃce or home.

Start your own!

Irritated by rising fees from the leading portals, some of the biggest agents in the UK have together put £6 million into a pot to launch Agents Mutual. Could you launch your own? Most of the experts shook their heads and said “forget it”. But not all were so negative. Andrew Taylor advised against taking on the giants: “My advice would be to ﬁnd a niche or a market that no one else yet

Timing: Show the property in the best light, literally. That means blue skies and sunshine. But not too bright as this may wash out a photograph, especially in exterior shots; mid-morning or mid-afternoon is usually best. Finding the perfect day might be harder for some agents than others (California – you have it made!) but how much do you want that sale?

www.opp-connect.com

Find a niche or a market that no one else yet dominates. It’s much easier than taking on a leader

dominates. It is much easier to take over an empty niche than to take on a company that is already a leader. You need to play a diﬀerent card. Instead of leadership, go for a niche and establish yourself as the best in it.” Gilles Blanchard agreed: “It depends where, but I would advise to look for something disruptive that would bring value to the consumer. Either something very local, or fully focused on mobility.” One advantage for portals is that many of the general buying public are relatively uneducated about portals. They may know a brand name but they are unlikely to know who are the major players or who has the most properties. A new upstart portal has it all to play for. Reckon you have what it takes?

Perspective: Taking shots from various heights can improve the look of an image. Keep a small ladder in your car for that over-hedge shot. When taking exteriors, a photograph from a high position can reduce the ‘wonky’ look by centering the building, giving a more realistic result. For good interiors, a tripod is a vital bit of kit and they cost pennies these days. The little things: Tidy up; it’s all about making the space as desirable as possible. If necessary, do a quick de-clutter yourself. ‘Interesting’ nick-nacks and other personal effects should probably be tidied away for the duration. Keep yourself out of it. People want to imagine themselves living there; seeing the photographer reflected in a mirror is just a tiny bit creepy. If you’re using a camera or phone with a small screen, bring along a laptop so that you can see how it looks full-size Take lots of pictures; it’ll be a lot easier to sort through the duds in your office than going back to the property for a second shoot

COUNTRY REPORT Vietnam

Vital, verdant, Vietnam V

ietnam has been considered part of the ‘world market’ since the early 90s, after beginning to open its market in the 80s and experiencing quite a boom in the last two decades – though an ‘iron fisted’ communist government stifles change to an extent. Nevertheless, the government recently started a privatisation programme with the hope of attracting more foreign investment. The Vietnamese population is young and fast-growing, rising by one million each year. The middle class now numbers 12 million and,

The Vietnamese population is young – and growing by about 1 million people a year according to a survey from the Boston Consulting group, is set to double in size between now and 2020. They’re also confident – the same company noted that 90% of consumers expect to live better than their parents and expect

their children to live better than themselves. Although the country is still mainly rural, Vietnam’s small cities are expanding and increasingly important. Six cities (Hanoi, Haiphong, Da Nang, Nha Trange, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City) account for 40% of Vietnam’s product consumption. As a destination, Vietnam has soared in popularity in recent years. Dubbed ‘the new Thailand’ by a few tourist publications, it’s now very much part of the Asian backpacking trail, attracting large numbers

of US and Australian tourists as well as the more traditional Asian visitors. Apart from the obvious factors of increased infrastructure, a freer market and more choice of resorts and hotels, visitors flock to Vietnam as it becomes more well-known because it is, quite simply, very beautiful. Tourists can easily arrange trips to lush forest, dramatic mountains, pristine beaches and otherworldly caves. The cities boast ancient architecture and a lively nightlife... as well as notoriously diﬃcult-to-navigate road systems!

www.opp-connect.com

GEOGRAPHY

Area: 331,212km2 Similar to: Finland, Malaysia Coastline: 3,260 (excluding islands) Highest point: Fansipan, a mountain in the Northwest of the country (3,143 metres) Capital: Hanoi, Vietnam’s second largest city with a population of around 6.8million. The largest city is Ho Chi Minh City, with a population of around 7.6million. Climate: Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate which varies by region: northern Vietnam can get very cool, seeing days of mist and even frost thanks to the northeast monsoon (from November to March); while further south the weather is dictated by the southwest monsoon (from April to September), which brings hot, humid weather. Temperatures are high all year round in central and southern Vietnam, usually hovering around 30-34ºC. Looks like: Vietnam is largely covered in mountains and forests – three quarters of the country is mountainous or hilly. It is criss-crossed with thousands of rivers, with a river mouth every 20km along the coastline.

CHINA NAM DIN

Haipong

Nam Dinh Vinh HAINAN ISLAND

LAOS

VIETNAM Da Nang

THAILAND

Qui Nhon CAMBODIA

Ho Chi Minh City

MARCH 2014

PEOPLE

Ethnic demographics

Viet 85.7% Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.8%

Muong 1.5% Khmer 1.5% Mong 1.2% Nung 1.1% Others 5.3%

Population: 92,478,000 Population density: 280 per sq km Language: Vietnamese (oﬃcial), English (increasingly favoured as a second language) Ages: 0-14 = 24.6%, Over 65 = 5.6% Average age: 28 Life expectancy: 72 Religion: Non-religious 81%, Buddhist 9.6%, Christian 7.48%, Others 1.23% (According to the 2009 census of the oﬃcially atheist Vietnamese government, anyway – other sources vary considerably and generally have non-religious at a much lower percentage). Politics: A single-party socialist republic – the President (Truong Tan Sang) is the head of state and the Prime Minister (Nguyen Tan Dung) is the head of government. Currently led by the Communist Party of Vietnam.

THE ECONOMY GDP: $336.2 billion (2012 est.) Inﬂation: 9.1% Based on: Agriculture, manufacture, services & tourism Public debt: 48.1% of GDP Tax: Progressive to 35%. Non-residents taxed at a flat rate of 20%

EXCHANGE RATES:

Corruptions Perceptions Index: 116 out of 125 countries

VND34,482

Human Development Index:

US$1

VND21,205

109 out of 178 countries

EU€1

VND28,761

AU$1

VND18,910

INR1

VND338

Ease of Doing Business Index:

CNY1

VND3480

99 out of 189 countries

www.opp-connect.com

GB£1

COUNTRY REPORT Vietnam

TOURISM Tourism in Vietnam is growing quickly. International visitors to the country in January 2014 totalled around 722,350 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Â 20.79% up year-on-year. Total international arrivals for 2013 reached 7,472,352, a 10.6% growth from 2012. In the last few years, hotel construction in the country has increased dramatically, drawing ever more tourists in. Visitors are drawn to cities comprising a mix of old-world rambling markets and modern commerce; incredible landscapes of jungles and beaches; and tiny villages and paddy-fields. Tours in most regions are readily available. Though the government has asked hotels to keep room rates steady during influxes of tourists, they inflate rapidly during successful tourist seasons (Nha Trang saw some room prices go up 50% during the busy Jan/Feb period this year). Booking well in advance is therefore a good idea! TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL VISITORS IN VIETNAM

Data Source: Ministry of Culture, Sport & Tourism

Rank

Country

2011

2012

2013

China

1,416,804

1,428,693

1,907,794

South Korea

536,408

700,917

748,727

Japan

481,519

576,386

604,050

United States

439,872

443,826

432,228

Cambodia

423,440

331,939

342,347

Taiwan

361,051

409,385

398,990

Australia

289,762

289,844

319,636

Malaysia

233,132

299,041

339,510

France

211,444

219,721

209,946

Thailand

181,820

225,866

268,968

travel

www.opp-connect.com

APPROXIMATE FLIGHT TIMES TO VIETNAM

Rio de Janeiro:

20.5 hours

New York:

17 hours

LA:

15.5 hours

Vancouver:

14 hours

London:

12 hours

Paris:

12 hours

Auckland:

11 hours

Sydney:

8.5 hours

Dubai:

7 hours

Delhi:

5.5 hours

Beijing:

4.5 hours

Singapore:

4 hours

Hong Kong:

2 hours

Phu Quoc International Airport

MARCH 2014

Residential real estate

Optimism after tough times E

arlier this year Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam told the media that prices in most housing segments of Vietnam have fallen by 10-30% since 2011, but experts are saying that the market is close to bottoming out, if it hasn’t done so already. The market is experiencing increased transparency, which should improve buyer confidence. CBRE Vietnam said that increased sales and new low- to middle-end launches buoyed the residential market at the end of 2013, and forecasted further consolidation this year. Ho Chi Minh City saw 6,114 launches in 2013, an 84% increase year-on-year, the company said. Meanwhile, Colliers noted in their Q4 2013 Vietnam Knowledge Report that that the market in Hanoi was showing signs of bottoming out as buyer confidence increased. Analysts expect the residential market to heat up in 2014. The luxury market in most cities is struggling with low sales as supply continues to exceed demand. High-end developers have started to roll out incentive programs to boost sales – Refico, from Ho Chi Min, is guaranteeing a US$4,000 monthly rental payment

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY FACTS Price (sq.m): n.a.

Rental Yield: n.a.

Rent/month: $1,286

Income Tax: 20.00%

Roundtrip Cost: 6.20%

Cap Gains Tax: 25.00%

Landlord and Tenant Law: Strongly Pro-Landlord Source: Global Property Guide

for the first year of ownership in its Hanoi Watermark complex, whether the unit is rented out or not, as well as offering furniture worth US$10,000. However, prices in the high-end sector have proved resilient through the market downturn. One exception to the trend is Da Nang, whose luxury market is going from strength to strength after a few sluggish years. Sales are strong as prices are more affordable than Hanoi and Ho Manh Chi; and an influx of new direct international flights into the city has increased optimism.

Foreigners buying in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

www.opp-connect.com

Currently, foreigners can buy apartments in Vietnam but not houses. Each individual or organisation can own one apartment which cannot be leased or used for anything but living in. Vietnam is also considering proposals that would make it far easier for foreigners to buy residential property in the country. Since August, there have been debates on draft laws that would finally allow foreigners to buy more than one apartment, secure apartment leases for longer than the current 50-year limit, and buy land. More recently, lawmakers have put forward proposals for allowing foreigners to buy houses. More foreign investment in the country would almost certainly provide part of the boost it needs. Additionally, a bill is set to be presented to the National Assembly which would allow Viet kieu (overseas Vietnamese) to buy luxury apartments and houses without restriction – part of an effort to clear a huge property inventory in the luxury sector. Vietnam’s real estate sector was the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) last year. Although the cash value of FDI into real estate fell yearon-year from 2012, the number of projects to receive investments was higher. Foreign developers are having problems in the country, as banks are reluctant to lend and the sluggish economy leads to low liquidity.

COUNTRY REPORT Vietnam

Property Portals Batdongsan.com.vn Muabannhadat Dicoconline fair-realestate.com www.real-estate-vietnam.com

Useful links www.mofa.gov.vn/en - Ministry of foreign affairs www.vietnamtourism.gov.vn - National Administration of Tourism realestateinvietnam.blogspot.ie - Vietnam property news www.vietnamnews.vn & www.talkvietnam.com - Vietnam general news www.realtor.org/intlnet.nsf/pages/VietnamVREA - Contact details for the Vietnam Real Estate Association www.vcci.vn - Chamber of Commerce www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm - Guide to train travel www.investinvietnam.vn/default.aspx - Investment news

PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS

Pictures , clockwise: Vung Ro Bay, Caye Sereno, North An Khanh New City Residential Development

www.opp-connect.com

East coast The Vung Ro Bay development will be built on the south-central coast of Vietnam. The project, which is to be developed by Rose Rock Group and Vung Ro Petroleum Co., will cover 200,000 square metres and include 4,300 residential apartments and 100 townhouses and retail shops, as well as hotels and marina berths. www.vungrobay.com

Tuan Chau Island Caye Sereno, on Tuan Chau island (south-west of Ha Long City) comprises 18 signature villas designed by Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan. Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned for its iconic clusters of limestone islands. www.cayesereno.com Hanoi The North An Khanh New City Residential District was designed by Perkins Eastman. The 93-hectare projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first phase includes 350,000 square metres of luxury residential space: 410 villas, 470 terrace residences and 270 waterfront apartments overlooking a 17-hectare central park and lake. www.perkinseastman.com

The quesTion isn’T wheTher To invesT in Brazil... iT’s how? With two world class sporting events coming to Brazil over the next few years, all eyes will be focused on the country, and its property market will enjoy the benefit of the global spotlight. Brazil is South America’s leading economic power and due to its fast economic growth a national housing deficit of 8 million developed. To resolve this problem, the government launched the Minha Casa, Minha Vida social housing programme, which will create 3 million affordable homes for Brazilian families. EcoHouse Group is the only company in the UK building under Government authorisation.

To geT involved wiTh The Brazilian social housing program or To enquire aBouT JoinT venTure opporTuniTies speak To us Today. T. +44 203 540 2200 • e. info@ecohousegroup.com • w. www.ecohousegroup.com

FEATURE Selling retirement abroad Words | John Mather, Managing Director, Thor Estates

Challenging assumption

Some retirees are reluctant to retire abroad. But an effective explanation of the tax advantages can be very persuasive

www.opp-connect.com

e tend to live by a certain set of assumptions that come to us over the years. That’s natural, but it’s not always logical. When it happens with tax and investment planning for our retirement, it’s not just illogical but can be very expensive too. I had a client in Yorkshire who typified an attitude among many retired people in Britain, and in many other parts of the world. He told me that he didn’t want to buy a property abroad because he would miss his grandchildren. Two years later, after we closely analysed his situation, he sees more of his grandchildren and his daughter. Moreover he is a generous grandfather, helping with school fees and paying for holidays. Indeed, he entertains a lot in his new, larger house in Mauritius, playing golf for a third of what he

used to pay, with someone doing his cooking and cleaning, living his retirement healthily on half the medication he used to be taking. To effectively explain the benefits of retiring abroad, there are three basic assumptions that often need to be challenged. They cover the likely length of retirement, where the retired should register as a resident and the range of investments they should make.

Live long & prosper Firstly, people constantly underestimate how long they are going to live. As Figure 1 shows, the traditional lifespan of 70 years that many people still anticipate is wrong. In reality, for someone aged 65 there is still a 50% chance of them getting to 85 and a 25% chance of getting to 92. For a couple aged 65, it seems that one

of them should get to 97. That’s great news. But it does mean that they should be planning for a 30-year income, and that means thinking about how and where they are taxed. Not all countries are taxed equally. In

The grandfather is now living his retirement cheaply and healthily on half the medication most of Europe tax is increasing – we’ve already got stamp duty and property taxes at above 4% on average, up from about 1.8%. But there are quite a few countries with good tax treaties where the

MARCH 2014

Figure 1. Average Life Expectancy

25% chance of living to

50% chance of living to

Male age of retirement

couples age of retirement

Figure 2: Ties required to verify residence status in the UK Family – spouse, civil and common law partner, or minor children in the UK Accommodation – having accommodation in the UK which is available for a continuous period of at least 91 days (ignoring breaks of less than 61 days) and you spend at least one night there Substantive work in the UK – 40 working days or more (defined as more than 3 hours of work) UK presence in the previous two tax years – more than 90 days in either of the previous two tax years More days spent in the UK in a tax year than in any other single country. This applies to leavers only and is designed to catch leavers who do not take up residence in any other country following a period of UK residence

Ties related to days (midnights) allowed in the UK

Days in UK

Arrivers – not resident in the UK in previous three tax years

Leavers – resident in the UK in at least one of previous three tax years

Less than 16

Always non-resident

16 - 45 days

Always non-resident

Resident only if at least four ties apply

46 - 90 days

Resident only if at least four ties apply

Resident only if at least three ties apply

91 - 120 days

Resident only if at least three ties apply

Resident only if at least two ties apply

212 - 182 days

Resident only if at least two ties apply

Resident only if at least one tie applies

183 days or more

Always resident

www.opp-connect.com

tax rate is significantly lower than almost anywhere in Europe. In Mauritius the tax rate is down at 15% and the cost of living is half that of the UK, effectively meaning that people are four times better off on the same income or, depending on their situation, they need a quarter of the capital. And there are other traps coming at them left, right and centre. In the UK pensions area, one of the big traps is the business of fixed protection. If they are not going to put more money in their pension plan and the pension has a risk of going over £1.25million, then by filling out a simple, free form for fixed protection they fix the new maximum at £1.5million. That very simple form could save them £137,500 in tax. The Government has done this very deliberately, hoping that, like a frog in boiling water, they won’t notice it getting hot until it’s too late! Perhaps the most important point in convincing people to retire abroad are the changes to the statutory residence test that came in April 2013. Clients should think seriously about where they are going to spend 183 days of each year. How long people can stay in the UK while being taxed abroad depends how many ties they can tick off in Figure 2.

feMale age of retirement

FEATURE Selling retirement abroad

Spend a little time thinking about tax and reap the rewards...

The more ties people have, the fewer days they are allowed to be in the UK and still count as non-resident. But they could have as many as two ties and still be allowed to be in England between 91 and 120 days. That gives 183 days in Mauritius and 91 days in the UK, while still being taxed at Mauritius’s 15% rate. So simply changing residence can seriously and dramatically reduce a client’s tax bill. There are a number of countries that qualify in that way. Mauritius

www.opp-connect.com

Simply changing residence can seriously and dramatically reduce a client’s tax bill

is a simple example I use because it has some 40 tax treaties rather than just being a tax haven. When it comes to where to invest, we find that people fall prey to another assumption: that spreading risk is safer. Let me quote John Maynard Keynes here: “As time goes on I get more and more convinced that the right method of investment is to put large sums into enterprises which one thinks one knows something about and in the management of which one thoroughly believes. It is a mistake to think one limits one’s risk by

spreading too much between enterprises about which one knows little and has no reason for special confidence.” I’m with Keynes – also Warren Buffet, who is also a concentrator rather than a diversifier. Why? If you look at the research into funds, the actual process of diversification dulls and dampens performance. The manager’s first five stocks that he picks are his favourites and tend to do very well. Then he is forced to add another five and another five and another until eventually he is spreading things over 30 stocks – effectively choosing stocks he or she doesn’t really want – all in the name of diversification. It’s like betting on every horse in a race. As a result they tend to buy and sell those things, the portfolio is turning over, that increases the charges and dulls the performance. That is why investors should focus on what they know and on management that they trust. An investor who has spent his time in the pharmaceuticals business will know what are the good longterm companies, same with the oil business – you will know which ones to go for. By concentrating on things they know about and can take a more direct interest. That takes me back to property. With stocks, we are in a regime now where sense has gone out of the window and people are going to start overpay for equities. This often happens at the end of the business cycle but it is starting to

happen already. This year although the markets will probably go up it will be a bumpy ride, yet people will be paying up to 24 times earnings for shares, but that is not supported by corporate profits going forward. Companies are just not making the profits to justify it. The other concern is over cash. Who knows if Cyprus could have been a rehearsal for the real thing – and, just recently, the German finance minister was saying that countries should look to their own citizens first to reduce deficits, with one-off wealth tax, before they start asking for central funds. So with all these traps and risks ahead, people should be looking at property in a more positive light – there are still bargains out there!

Case study

The UK has a shortage of housing but an 18% surplus in commercial property. The solution, converting oﬃces to homes. Working with an architect and a surveyor, we have projects in Slough, Crawley and Twickenham. Not glamorous, but all areas that are commutable to London. The properties are not exotic, but they generate around 18% over the two years. essentially, we are a matchmaking service between the money and the project, putting the deal together, vetting the people, writing the report and taking a small fee. It’s an area that we know about, where the numbers are simple and clear John Mather, Thor Estates, j.mather@thorestates.com.

28th - 30th March 2014 Olympia London

The proven way to meet British buyers ‚ The three-day exhibition at Olympia London is our first event of 2014 and the twentieth consecutive show since 2005 ‚ A Place in the Sun Live has a proven track-record of attracting an audience of British buyers excited at the prospect of purchasing overseas property ‚ A marketing campaign across national and regional newspapers, magazines, radio, online and PR - no other shows attract the same volume of motivated property hunters ‚ The biggest and best-attended events in the calendar and the ideal opportunity to meet thousands of buyers face-to-face

For an up-to-date floorplan and to find out more about exhibiting at A Place in the Sun Live call +44 (0) 20 3207 2920 or email sales@aplaceinthesun.com

aplaceinthesun.com/exhibit O F F I C I A L A I R L I N E PA R T N E R

5,500+ visitors expected at London Olympia Spring 2014

FEATURE Selling alternatives Words | John Howell, Editorial Director, OPP

Danger! Are you breaking the law?

It’s time to check (yet again!) that you are not operating illegally. Thousands in our industry could be breaking the law as a result of newly introduced or proposed changes

round the world, the noose is tightening, on people selling property and property-based investments without the paperwork needed to sell that particular product in that particular place to that particular type of customer.

www.opp-connect.com

What’s happening, where and why?

Many countries are tightening up their rules. The reason is simple: they see too many of their citizens buying apparently high-risk property investments and want to stop them losing their money. Sometimes the property they are buying is in their own country but, often, it is abroad.

“Alternatives” & Investments Things are about to get a whole lot tougher for any agent or

developer dabbling in the world of alternative investments or selling certain types of property for investment. Throughout the European Economic Area (EEA), by July

Things are about to get a lot tougher for anyone dabbling in alternative investments at the latest, anyone selling, marketing, managing or administering Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) will have to be registered. So will anyone operating outside the EEA who

wants to sell such investments into it. On the face of it, these regulations are not aimed at our industry – but there are claims that some of the common products currently on offer fall within the definition of an AIF and so will be caught by the new rules. There will be a further article about this legislation in next month’s OPP. In the UK, the courts have just decided that it is no good trying camouflage to make it look as if your product isn’t really regulated at all. If it’s got two tusks, big flappy ears and a trunk, it’s an elephant – however much you attempt to argue it’s a large rabbit. Result: a criminal conviction and a penalty of up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine! This ruling could

MARCH 2014

be a threat to people operating in or selling to the UK and selling most crop-based investments or investments where the owner does not exercise effective day to day control over the management of the project. Storage facilities? Car parks? Student housing? Elsewhere, regulators and legislators are also looking closely at how to save the public from themselves: how to control the tidal wave of (usually email) invitations to invest in doubtful projects all over the world. Their task will not be easy. The internet is hard to control.

“Normal” Property Sales

Regulators and legislators are looking at how to save the public from themselves How many will want to do so? How many projects can afford to bear the cost? The end result must be far fewer foreign properties listed for sale by local agents. Of course, trying to sell in Singapore other than via a registered local agency or your own locally employed staff is illegal. Foreign estate agents who try to sell without a local licence may be fined (maximum

Staying “under the radar” The enforcement authorities are getting smarter and tougher. Many are staffed by former police officers. All are trying to make a point. However much your friends in the industry tell you that they have been ignoring these type of rules for decades and never had the slightest problem, you will not be able to do this in the future – and the more successful you are, the higher the profile of your marketing and online presence, the sooner you will be caught. This subject is as complicated as it is important. We will be looking at parts of it in more detail in future editions of OPP but, if you have the slightest doubt about the legality of what you are doing or planning, take advice from an expert. It could save you enormous amounts of stress and wasted time as well as an awful lot of money.

www.opp-connect.com

You will notice that these rules apply mainly to property-related investment products. Don’t assume you are free and clear if you stick to “normal” property – houses for people to live in or vacation homes. You still face an environment of increasing regulation. For example, in Singapore – since the beginning of this year – only the KEOs (the small number of key executives holding the licence to actually run an estate agency) can agree to accept an overseas project for sale by

their agency… and before doing so they have to carry out due diligence by travelling to the country concerned and visiting the company and the project. Your fully built – and 100% legal – development in London or Melbourne will be subject to these new rules. How many KEOs will have the time to do this due diligence?

US$75,000), imprisoned or both. It is not just in Singapore where things are changing. In the US, in a world of increasingly tough enforcement of the rules, many Realtors™ have been disciplined and several are serving time in jail: Barbara Bell Olsen has even written a brilliant book telling you how to avoid joining them (www. stayoutofrealestatejail.com) – $20 well spent. In Turkey, the government is in the final stages of considering a draft law beefing up the requirement to be registered in order to work as an agent in Turkey and proposing minimum qualifications, compulsory training, certification and the standardisation of commissions across the country. It also sets out severe financial penalties for estate agents (including overseas agents) found operating without a licence. There are many more examples of the trend: tightening regulation for local agents and imposing restrictions on foreign agencies wanting to sell property in the country.

NEWS Development news

Keeping track of major developments Berlin’s highest homes Architect Frank Gehry will design Berlin’s tallest skyscraper, it has been announced. Gehry Partners won the commission to design a 150-metre residential tower for developer Hines, beating firms such as David Chipperfield Architects. “The quality of the designs submitted was extremely high and reflected the importance of this prominent location in the centre of Berlin,” said Christoph Reschke, MD at Hines. The design will feature rotated cuboids which relate to some of the city’s landmarks, he says, while the outside of the building will be stone clad. The tower will comprise 300 apartments and a hotel. Gehry has already collaborated with Hines on two occasions. www.foga.com

www.opp-connect.com

New housing “concrete step” for Qatar

A Qatar minister says expat worker housing is a “concrete step” towards improving conditions. The units at Barwa Al Baraha (Workers’ City) will house 53,000 workers, giving private companies “no more excuse to skirt the law”, according to the Minister of Labour and Social Aﬀairs. Project manager Abdulla Hiji says at least 32 buildings, capable of housing 24,000 workers, will be ready by Q3 of 2014.

CAMBODIA PROJECT ON TRACK despite political uncertainty

A spokesperson from Borey Kuch Asia say that their apartment and villa complex in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, will be completed in 2017 despite political uncertainties. The ﬁrst and second phases are already completed with 400 apartments, 38 villas, a market and a 19-ﬂoor hotel – which is still under construction. Condo prices start at US$120,000 and villas start at $200,000.

Launches, milestones, openings... please send news and images of your development to chris.nye@opp-connect.com

Saadiyat Island development makes progress

Construction is well under way at the Abu Dhabi development Hidd Al Saadiyat. The project, on Saadiyat Island, covers 1.5million square metres and will eventually include 450 villas as well as resorts, apartments and retail and commercial centres. Construction on the development started in Q3 2012, and developer Saadiyat Development and Investment Company says that 80% of coastal works and 35% of infrastructure is now complete.

MARCH 2014

North Dakota hits Montana

Dakota Developments is building executive hotel accommodation for Bakken Formation energy workers in Culbertson, at the eastern edge of the Montana. Phase 1 of the developer’s Great American Lodge Montana site, consisting of 300 fully serviced hotel studios, is already under construction. The project follows the success of their Great American Lodge Watford City site in neighbouring North Dakota, which attracted considerable investor interest and sold out in record time.

Mulberry first in Dubai Hills

Emaar have launched the ﬁrst residential apartment complex in Dubai Hills Estate (the ‘city of the future’). The Mulberry at Park Heights project will include 330 elegant luxury apartments, aimed at families. The complex will include common terrace areas, a tennis academy and an outdoor pool. Prices have not been revealed at the time of writing, but Emaar are running Preferred Access programme for long-term investors, hoping to secure at least a percentage of non-ﬂippers.

Building bulletins

Football stadium will be village

New high-rise residential projects in inner Brisbane could top 100 this year, according to property research company Urbis. Jon Rivera, a director at the company, has said that they are already tracking around 90 projects under construction, just completed or selling oﬀ plan. Iranian companies are scheduled to construct 200,000 residential units in Iraq, an Iranian oﬃcial has announced. Secretary of the Committee for Economic Development of Iran and Iraq Rostam Qasemi said he regretted that the work on reconstructing Iraq had not seriously started yet.

Green Valley International Real Estate has unveiled a new project in Fujairah. The development will be made up of 48 villas and is expected to be complete in three years. Planning has been granted for a major new mixed use development in Ealing, which will see the creation of 323 units of high quality student accommodation, alongside 35,000sq ft of commercial and retail space, within minutes of central London.

www.opp-connect.com

UK football club West Ham is selling oﬀ its historic home ground Upton Park for redevelopment. The project, which will be the biggest of its kind seen in London, will be made up of 700 homes arranged into an East-end “village” around central public gardens. The development is expected to particularly appeal to international investors... and football fans!

Greenland revealed details of its US$1billion mixed-use project in Los Angeles in a ground-breaking ceremony. Phase one of the Metropolis project, expected to be complete by 2016, will include a residential tower and a 4-star hotel.

THE COMPLETE PROPERTY MARKETING SOLUTION ALL UNDER ONE ROOF DRONE DRONE FILMING FILMING Our drone camera will give you

VIDEO VIDEO BROCHURES BROCHURES Presenting valued clients and

GLOBAL GLOBAL MARKETPLACES MARKETPLACES With offices in the UK, Scandinavia

LEAD LEAD GENERATION GENERATION The original lead generation

pitch-perfect aerial shots of you your Our drone camera will give projects for a fraction of the pitch-perfect aerial shots of cost, your going places full-sized projects for aafraction ofhelicopter the cost, cannot reach. helicopter going places a full-sized cannot reach.

customers with your films Presenting valued clients and in our interactive video customers with your films brochures adds hugely to the in our interactive video impact of adds the content brochures hugelyitself. to the impact of the content itself.

and Singapore ideally With offices in the we UK,are Scandinavia placed to work with youideally across and Singapore we are global placed to workmarkets. with you across global markets.

solution fastgeneration moving The originalfor lead businesses, are solution for our fastleads moving delivered to you real time. businesses, ourinleads are delivered to you in real time.

FILM FILM PRODUCTION PRODUCTION Whether a corporate film or

BRANDING BRANDING AND IDENTITY AND IDENTITY Our studio will provide you

CAMPAIGN CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT Our teams will manage your

MEDIA MEDIA BUYING BUYING Encompassing full advertising

project-specific promotion, Whether a corporate film or get broadcast quality video project-specific promotion, to stand out from the crowd. get broadcast quality video to stand out from the crowd.

with front-to-back corporate Ourastudio will provide you identity in line with core values with a front-to-back corporate and aligned to your market. identity in line withtarget core values and aligned to your target market.

online presence with experts Our teams will manage your in PPC,presence SEO, public online withrelations, experts copywriting social media. in PPC, SEO,and public relations, copywriting and social media.

agency services full including media Encompassing advertising planning buying across outdoor, agencyand services including media print, broadcast andacross digitaloutdoor, media. planning and buying print, broadcast and digital media.

BUYASSOCIATION, THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING MEDIA PLATFORM, OFFERS THE OVERSEAS PROPERTY INDUSTRY THE BEST ROUTES TO MARKET. TO FIND OUT MORE, CONTACT INFO@BUYASSOCIATIONGROUP.COM OR CALL +44 (0)333 123 0320 BuyAssociation, the multi award winning media platform, offers the overseas property industry the best routes to market. BEST DEVELOPER SERVICE PROVIDER | BEST MEDIA | BEST MEDIA BRAND | BEST INNOVATION

BUYASSOCIATIONGROUP.COM

BUSINESS OPP China Words | Christopher Nye

Golden opportunities If you’re selling property to the Chinese, meet Sophia Liu, OPP’s new Commercial Director in Beijing

The character on the lanterns means “be wealthy”; an apt sentiment!

Central Business District (CBD). “My role is to bring developers, agents and buyers together, ﬁnding joint venture opportunities between Chinese and overseas developers, helping to produce the dedicated Chinese version of OPP magazine, and bringing my expertise to OPPLive Asia in April.” Why do Western ﬁrms need Sophia’s expertise? “In my experience they don’t understand the market.

The first thing Chinese investors will ask you is “do you have an office in China?” The Chinese mentality is different: how business is done, how the customer thinks, totally different.” This goes beyond cultural factors like feng shui and avoiding the number 4 (in China it means ‘death’). “The first thing they will ask is, ‘do you have an office in China?’ They need to feel comfortable and safe, so it is essential to have a good, established Asian agent to sell.”

When selling to the Chinese: Do, translate everything. Websites, brochures, sales messages, it must be in Chinese. Do, facilitate trips to your city. You might sell at an exhibition, but most Chinese want to see a property before buying it. Do, remember the extended family. Keep the head of the household happy and you may sell to many more of the same group. Don’t, bring the wrong properties. Wrong style, wrong price range (too high or too low), or ‘wrong’ area. Chinese generally want new-build apartments for investment or houses for living in. Don’t, forget the pull of education. The Chinese value being close to prestigious universities. Don’t, ignore cultural diﬀerences. (There is a reason why the url homes4chinese.com is still available!)

www.opp-connect.com

t’s nice when you meet a cultural phenomenon in person. Such as, the gogetting Chinese who believe in a Western education, the family unit and business. Sophia Liu, our new Commercial Director in Beijing, represents all of those. Sophia was born in Beijing in 1982, came to study in Scotland 10 years ago, worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Glasgow, then marketing for Sky TV, before heading to London to be Senior Manager International Properties for Empire Aliance Capital, building up a huge network of property clients in America, Russia and China. “My Dad is a big property developer in China, so I grew up in this industry and environment. I have established a good sales network across China, and good referrals and sales connections. Immigration ﬁrms, banks, management companies, businesses and associations all refer clients to me,” she says. In the last couple of years she has lived in China and London, a gobetween for HNW Chinese looking to buy properties in London and the rest of the UK, and has now opened OPP’s oﬃce in Beijing’s

SOPHIA LIU: E: 623266154@qq.com T: +86 139 1077 7524

Earn 10% commission on all of our large property portfolio Sell exclusive owned foreclosed assets in Florida all with tenants in place

• All our properties are in central Florida • Foreclosed properties start from $56,000 • Average ROI for your clients 6% to 10% • Commissions paid promptly

MORTGAGES Morocco

Mortgages in Morocco Can a foreigner obtain a mortgage in Morocco? What types of mortgage are available? Type of mortgage

Available

Interest rates from

Max LTV

Lending

Maximum Term (Years)

Max Age at Repayment

Repayment

Yes

5.07 %

50 %

From 70,000 MAD

25 years

Fixed Interest

Yes

5.75 %

50 %

From 70,000 MAD

25 years

Variable Interest

Yes

5.07 %

50 %

From 70,000 MAD

25 years

Hybrid (part fixed, part variable)

N/A

Interest only

N/A

Purchase

Yes

5.07 %

50 %

From 70,000 MAD

25 years

Remortgage

N/A

Equity Release

N/A

Buy to let (assessed on rental income)

N/A

Self Certified

N/A

What are the lending criteria?

This depends on the individual mortgage provider. However, typical lender requirements for Moroccan mortgages can be found below: Aﬀordability requirements: The cost of the applicant’s existing liabilities and new mortgage should not exceed 30% of their net income Employment history: Minimum three months required Self Employed History: Minimum 24 months required Regions accepted: All regions are considered Property types accepted: Existing properties and new builds Applicants accepted: Residents from the UK, Spain and France. Individuals only, companies not considered

Further information Currency options for mortgage paymernts: Moroccan Dirhams. Some lenders will require you to open up a bank account and insist that you present all the orginal documentation in person so to be approved for a mortgage. Securing a mortgage oﬀer can typically take between four and six weeks.

www.opp-connect.com/ category/data-and-reports

www.opp-connect.com

The OPP monthly mortgage report is brought to you by Connect Overseas, international mortgage advisers. They are based in the UK but deal with mortgages in over 50 diﬀerent countries around the world. See www.connectoverseas.co.uk. They can be contacted by email at info@connectoverseas.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)1708 676134.

This guide was accurate at the time of production.The mortgage market changes all the time. For more industry reports see:

EVENTS Review

Wish you were there? Reviewing the exhibitions of winter 2013-14 Second Home International in Ghent, Belgium, 21-23 February Visitor numbers: 7,600+ Exhibitor numbers: 150+

Belgians continue to be stars of the property scene

Our reviewer: Constan Stotijn, Owner of Azur Living Was it your first time there? No, my second time. It’s improved since the first time, due to a better atmosphere among buyers and the changing property markets. What did you think of the pre-publicity? They are very active on the internet, using the latest technology. It’s working – it was incredibly busy! What did you think of the location and venue? A far drive for me from the Netherlands! But for a lot of people it’s easy to reach, easy to find… for us exhibitioners it’s easy to set up and build the stands. How well organised was it? Brilliantly done! Especially compared to years before; now there’s new management, they work with the exhibitioners more and think more about them. They set up seminars for exhibitors at the end of the day which was a nice touch. If there’s a problem they try hard to fix it right away. Was the show big enough? Yes. If it’s too big, people leave even more confused than when they arrive! If they have too much choice, too much information, then they have less time to really talk to exhibitioners; which doesn’t help with the end result. As an organiser you could maybe make more money with extra square metres but if the exhibitors aren’t happy you’ll lose clients in the long run.

www.opp-connect.com

How were visitor numbers? Very good. I was on the stand with my wife and didn’t get to speak to her for three days!

Were the visitors of the right type/market? Yes, for us. We work in Spain, France and Italy (most people were interested in Spain) and we were writing out appointments for viewings right there on the stand. They were in the right phase of their buying process, deﬁnitely ready to take ﬁrm steps. What could the organisers have done better? The catering! Organisation-wise, one thing is that there

Were we busy? I was on the stand with my wife and I didn’t get to speak to her for three days were several seminars at the same time so it was hard to organise your time. Was exhibiting there value for money? Yes. Well, it looks like it, anyway! I’ll know for sure by the end of the year when we’ve followed up the leads and see if they have bought or not… but we’ve had more leads than we have in years! Will you rebook? I think so, yes. It does depend a little bit on the regulations in Belgium. www.azurliving.com/en Second Home International’s next show will be on 28 March in Utrecht. Www.second-home-expo.com

MARCH 2014

2013 Triple Play REALTOR Convention & Trade Expo, 9-12 2013 Where: Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA Visitor numbers: 7,300 Stands: 300 Hosted by: New Jersey, New York State and Pennsylvania Associations of Realtors Our reviewers: Alexandra Damon and Allison Rosen This year’s show had 90 educational oﬀerings – over 40 including continuing education credits – covering a variety of real estate topics, from technology and social media, to short sales and foreclosures. “We strive to provide the latest in education from the best in the industry,” said Maureen Murphy, Director of Professional Development for the New Jersey Association of Realtors. “Based on trends in the industry and new technologies available, each year, we work to enhance both the courses oﬀered and our services at Triple Play to allow our members to get the most out of their time at the convention.” Technology and the future of the industry were strong focuses, highlighted by keynote speaker Jim Carroll, who delivered the Grand Assembly address to 2,500 of us. Carroll, a trend and innovation expert, looked at the tech sector, emphasizing the importance of mobile-optimized websites available on a smartphone or tablet. He discussed the role drones may play and the importance of being social.

Another highlight was Sonya Gulati, who shared insight into state and regional diﬀerences in housing developments and forecasts, presenting her evaluation of the US economic outlook for the next three years, the path of monetary policy and the housing market. Triple Play 2013 also hosted a trade expo of 300 stands. Exhibitors included a variety of companies, including mortgage services, home inspections, home

If you’ve been to an exhibition and would like to write a review, please email chris.nye@opp-connect.com insurance, environmental services, publications, marketing and technology services, and government agencies. The convention oﬀered networking opportunities at social events, as well. From the Young Professional Network to hospitality suites hosted by local Realtor boards, attendees had many chances to meet other professionals doing business in their areas to make new connections. www.realtorstripleplay.com

OPP MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION SUBSCRIBE TO OPP FOR 12 MONTHS FOR THE DISCOUNTED PRICE OF:

UK - £49 | Europe - £75 | Worldwide - £99

Overseas Property Professional is the must read magazine for Developers, Agents, IFA’s and all other international real estate professionals. Packed with features and the latest real estate news from around the globe. Each issue contains – News Analysis: What has been happening in the property world Country Report: The essential facts and figures on a country Letters From: What is happening in the real estate market around the world Legal Round-up: Updates on the legal changes we all need to know about Training: Tips from the experts on finding success in your business FX Report: A country’s currency – past, present and future

www.opp-connect.com

To subscribe please call +44 (0) 20 3540 2228 or email subscriptions@opp-connect.com

AGents WAnteD seLL QuALity fLoriDA reAL estAte

Park Square Homes has 30 years experience in designing and constructing residential property in Central Florida. We are currently recruiting proactive agents to sell our quality homes to overseas buyers. Our innovative designs, superior construction and commitment to homeowner satisfaction has helped us become one of the largest and most respected independent residential development and home building companies in the area.

Benefits to the Broker 1. 12% commission. 2. Multi-lingual staff on hand. 3. Well established overseas buying processes 4. We can arrange financing. 5. We can arrange a management company if you want it – or not, if you don’t. 6. Advance Commissions for ‘Super-Brokers’

Benefits to the Buyer 1. Orlando prices on the rise. 25% in the last year. 2. 57 Million tourists came to town last year – so massive accommodation demand. 3. The 3rd most popular place to buy in the whole US for foreign investors. 4. Location – Minutes from Disney, but with an exclusive feel. 5. Much lower buying costs than Spain, France, Portugal etc. E: Dpickering@parksquarehomes.com • T: +19413570049 • W: www.parksquarehomes.com

EVENTS Preview

Where will you be? Real estate events of March and April 2014 A Place in the Sun Live

Moscow Golf & Luxury Property Show

OLYMPIA LONDON 28-30 A Place in the Sun is the biggest European consumer brand in overseas property and its MARCH ﬁrst exhibition of the year takes place in the spring at Olympia London, followed by the autumn event at the NEC Birmingham. Each exhibition attracts thousands of motivated, knowledgable British buyers. The centre-piece of the event is The Hub where the TV presenters and industry experts give advice and insight on buying overseas property. In each of the four corners of the hall are the country-speciﬁc areas – The French Village, Florida Pavilion, Portuguese Pavilion and Italian Pavilion – with other exhibitors between them. www.aplaceinthesun.com/exhibition

TISHINKA EXHIBITION CENTRE 25-26 The aiGroup’s show last year attracted thousands of visitors interested in luxury APRIL overseas property (and, presumably, golf). Exhibitors from a variety of countries – mainly nice, hot ones with investment visas – will attend the show, hoping to catch the attention of some of Russia's large supply of people looking to buy for lifestyle as much as investment. Luxury property near golf courses has long been popular with Russian buyers, so the 'synergy' of the two in an exhibition seems sensible and so far has been successful! www.luxurypropertyshow.ru

Fair Media Helsinki

WANHA SATAMA 29-30 Fair Media’s Helsinki exhibition is drawing interest as Finland’s economy starts to show MARCH signs of picking up. Last year’s event broke the record for visitors and the organisers hope for a repeat performance at the March show. Exhibitors from 10 countries have been conﬁrmed so far – a mix of agents, brokers, builders and other property-related sectors. The show will include a free seminar programme, focusing on overseas markets and tax and legal advice. www.fairmedia.se/en/helsinki

OPPLive Asia 2014 23-24 APRIL

International Property Show Dubai DUBAI INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

The International Property Show is a major event on the UAE circuit. The show is expecting to draw 20,000 visitors this year. At the time of writing 300 exhibitors from 80 countries had been conﬁrmed, including developers, ﬁnancial organisations, brokers and architects. The IPS conference will cover subjects such as regulation, transparency and sustainability in a real estate market. www.internationalpropertyshow.ae

08-09 APRIL

The Property Investor & Homebuyer Show

www.opp-connect.com

EXCEL LONDON 11-12 Over two days at ExCeL London, a large visitor audience – comprising buyers of UK and APRIL international property, landlords and property industry professionals – will attend the Property Investor and Homebuyer show, a well-established event that is sure to take advantage of the improving UK property market this year, though around 40% of the exhibition will be dedicated to overseas property. The show is expecting over 100 exhibitors. The conference programme has over 70 seminars scheduled. www.propertyinvestor.co.uk

23-24 APRIL OPPLive Asia 2014, taking place in Singapore’s astonishing Marina Bay Sands (above), will attract agents, developers, IFAs and other industry professionals from across the Asia Paciﬁc region: from Singapore itself to Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and beyond. OPPLive has been bringing together the top names in the international property industry since 2005, leading to countless business partnerships and opportunities. OPPLive Asia is a unique event focused solely on bringing together top names in the international property industry. On top of the invaluable networking and business opportunities, OPPLive Asia will include a large scale exhibition and conference dedicated to help international companies increase or begin their Asia operations. The conference will feature key subject seminars, round tables, networking events, and “speed dating” sessions. See pages 72-73 for more details. www.opp-liveasia.com

EVENTS Preview

Cityscape Qatar Qatar National Convention Centre 2-4 June 2014 Qatar has weathered the downturn better than many economies around the world. In the years prior to Qatar’s World Cup 2022 bid, the government had embarked on ambitious real estate, construction and infrastructure projects. Following the success of that bid, Qatar has introduced over $100 billion in new projects, many of which are already underway including residential and commercial developments. Cityscape Qatar is targeted towards investors from around the world as well as architects, developers and government authorities. In its third year, the exhibition is expected to grow signiﬁcantly. Qatar’s property market is booming and catching the eye of investors globally. The event will include a series of networking opportunities such as Investor Round Tables, Business Matching Services, Business Breakfasts, Networking Lunches, and the Qatar Real Estate Awards; as well as an informative summit with updates on the sector and lively discussions. Notable conﬁrmed exhibitors include United Development Company (UDC), Barwa Real Estate, Ezdan Holding Group, Al Bandary Real Estate and Mazaya Real Estate. www.cityscapeqatar.com

www.opp-connect.com

Inman Real Estate Connect

San Francisco 16-18 July 2014 “It’s where real estate and technology converge, where thousands of leaders gather to explore current trends and technology, network and make deals to grow their business and shape the future of the industry.” This confident statement, lifted straight off the conference website (www.inman.com/connect/real-estate-connect-sf-2014), pretty much sums up the two annual Inman conferences (New York in January and San Francisco in July). Brad Inman, foun der of Hundreds of “Inmanites” – the Trekkies of the real estate Inman News world – attend year after year; some are veterans of the very first conference in 1996. Such loyalty tells you a lot about the value of these Inman events. Of course, there are also hundreds of first time attendees. What can they expect? The first thing is that this is a conference, not an exhibition. There will be exhibitors, mainly displaying technology of use to real estate agents, but the raison d’étre of Inman is the seminar programme. The July programme is not yet finalised. There will be dozens of sessions and well over 100 speakers. On past performance, almost half the sessions are likely to be game-changers: events that will inspire you and make you change the way you do business. The others will just be fascinating! Being an Inman conference, with New York and San Francisco being the twin centres of the world’s software innovation and with Brad Inman’s expertise and focus on technology, you can expect a good percentage of the sessions to have an IT component. The second thing a first time visitor should expect is a lot of Americans & Canadians – probably a couple of thousand of them. This event is aimed squarely at Realtors™. Few will be selling foreign property to US residents but most will be desperate to help sell US property to the Chinese, Russians, Canadians, British etc. In other words, there is a great networking opportunity if you want to introduce buyers into this market. I defy anyone to go to Inman and not to come away inspired and full of new ideas. This is $650 well spent! Add in the opportunity for a few days in San Francisco – one of the world’s truly great cities – and the package looks irresistible. See you there. www.inman.com

Do you want to buy & sell properties now? We Have a Unique Financial Solution which is dramatically changing the international property market.

• Have you, Properties to sell but buyers can’t get ﬁnance? • Are the banks taking ages to approve lending, and or demanding huge deposits? • Do you need a new solution to sell your new or resale properties? • WE have a process that can take a matter of weeks, not months, commissions paid out fast! Founded in 2006, Immediate Property Solutions has successfully tackled the financial problems in the UK property market during its biggest decline in history. We achieved this with great success!!! We have used our experience and knowledge in the property industry to create a unique financial solution that will take the European market by storm. Forget using the banks and try our unique financial solution. This knowledge and solution is now available to the overseas market where they are experiencing some of the worst results ever known in the property sector. Wake up to the new opportunities in 2013. Contact IPS for more information or to discuss how we can sell properties for you. 0845 257 9667

• Developers, we will sell your properties faster and without any complicated procedures. • Agents sell properties faster with commission paid out within 14 days. • Contact IPS Today on the contact details below.

INTRIGUED?

You have everything to gain so contact us today. UK: + 44 845 257 9667 (Head Office)

We have properties available in

Spain, Florida & Cyprus

USA: + 1 321 247 6741 Spain: + 34 607 607 403 Cyprus: + 357 26 81 1155 Portugal: + 34 607 607 403

info@ipsproperties.com

www.ipsproperties.com

For more information, call +44 (0)208 545 4910 or e-mail keith@d2e.co.uk Official stand design and production partner for

FX REPORT South African rand Words | Charles Purdy, Director of Smart Currency Exchange

Rocky roads for the rand T

he South African rand has been suﬀering. It has a whole range of problems, some of which are self-inﬂicted and others which are the result of actions that have been taking place elsewhere. From outside the country, the

Within South Africa there are two key problems: unrest within the workforce and high inflation

liquidity to their economy, which reduces the amount of money that is being invested globally in assets such as the commodities produced by South Africa. Within South Africa there are two key problems. Firstly, there is unrest within the workforce, especially within the mining industry – which is always destabilising for an economy and a currency. Energy infrastructure is also failing, resulting in power cuts. Secondly, we have high inﬂation, averaging nearly 6% in the past year. This has been exacerbated by the weakening currency, which boosts the costs of imports, resulting in

rand has been undermined as prices for South Africa’s natural resources have fallen, along with falling demand from China – a core and key part of South Africa’s export income and a great foreign currency generator. The US has also started to taper its programme of supplying

increased interest rates – which can themselves be counterproductive if investors don’t believe they are sustainable. The net result of all this is that we have seen the rand weaken to over ZAR18/£1, losing over 15% against sterling in the last three months and nearly 35% in a year. It is a similar story against the US dollar, weakening ZAR11/US$1. Worse, there appears to be no end in sight, as the demand for commodities is not going to increase any time soon; and the unrest in South Africa is unlikely to see resolution in the short term.

Get your live quote today or discuss your property business and impact of the foreign exchange – call the partnership team at Smart Currency on +44 (0)207 898 0541

ZAR per Euro

ZAR per £

ZAR per US$

14.5

13.0

11.5

10.0

2010

2011

2012

2013

8.5

2010

2011

2012

2013

2010

2011

2012

2013

www.opp-connect.com

THE OPP INTERVIEW Rob Jarrett

The Saviour of Cape Verde

After a pre-crisis flurry, Cape Verde went horribly quiet. Now one man has almost singlehandedly restored hope

e spoke to Rob Jarrett, Honorary Chairman of the Resort Group PLC

www.opp-connect.com

How/why did you get into property?

Originally I was in financial services, but I established links with high volume estate agents involved in selling overseas property. I wasn’t over-enamoured by the way the developers were treating the clients or the sales agents and thought I could do a better job.

Cape Verde – inspiration or analysis? There was no blinding inspiration, more a complete technical analysis of various locations which

left Cape Verde in the number one slot. Why? The macro factors were political stability, the economy, touristic flow and the ability to recruit local talent.

We tested the building regulations by putting down plans for things we wouldn’t want to see In terms of demand for property, in 2006 when the analysis was done, pre-crisis, there were a lot of businesses in the market, airlift was

strengthening and we felt that as a touristic destination it would grow. We knew the Government felt the same that way and were really going to push tourism. There was available beachfront land, but pretty stringent building regulations meant it would be protected in the future. We even tested that by putting plans forward for the kind of thing we wouldn’t want to see, to test their resolve and see whether they would decline our application. Which they did.

You succeeded while others failed. Why? It’s to do with how we structured the sales initially. When the sales were coming in thick and fast

MARCH 2014

Age: 39 FROM: Leeds Work: Yorkshire Bank 1990 to 1992 First Direct Bank Credit Control – 1992 to 1994 Prudential, Financial Consultant – 1994 to 1995 Financial Services, Managing Director – 2000 to 2002 International Property Sales/Development – 2002 > Honorary Chairman of The Resort Group PLC (incorporated 2007) and 100% shareholder.

Rob Jarrett email: lk@theresort groupplc.com tel: +350 216 21 000

Achievements include: The acquisition and re-sale of four floors of Trump International Hotel & Tower, Toronto. Innovatively identifying undervalued land opportunities for UK residential property.

Where’s home? “Officially Gibraltar, but I spend lots of time in Cape Verde and Barbados. It’s quite a nomadic existence, but I also spend some time in the south of England, where my two children go to school.”

What do you do for fun? “Not a great deal. I spend most of my time at 36,000 or on conference calls. I don’t spend huge amounts of time doing much else.”

unless they have substantial funds themselves. And, low and behold, that’s what happened.

What should the industry learn from that?

the contract they have signed allowing you to slow down a build programme, or indeed speed it up if the market dictates. Go project by project, planning well in advance for various eventualities.

Make sure that the numbers are right before you embark on the project. Make sure there is a

How big is your commitment to Cape Verde?

Have contingency plans. Go project by project, planning well in advance for various eventualities. guaranteed maximum price build contract available with a financially strong contractor. Make sure that you understand what the costs of bringing materials to the island are and what the taxation regime will be. Build in contingencies. Make sure that, should sales slow down, your clients are aware that there are contingencies in place within

We are the only 5-star resort on the island and when we extend to Llana Beach we will have three linked together. We’ve also acquired 750 metres of Santa Monica beach on Boa Vista, on which we will build just over 4,000 rooms within six resorts. The first of which will be White Sands Resort and Spa, which will be with Melia, and we are in discussions with other hotel brands for the other five, which we are confident we will secure. The other thing we are looking at and have done an analysis on is another smaller business hotel in the capital, Praia on Santiago, for which we have already earmarked a hotel operator. That will also be a 5-star commercial hotel of around 200223 rooms.

www.opp-connect.com

for us and our competition, we found ourselves competing with companies offering their off-plan products to the general public at what would be, in our opinion, un-commercial deposit rates. So we were looking quizzically at how these off-plan sales were being procured by our competitors at such low rates, and in fact our sales volumes diminished a bit – but we fought back with how our sales packages were offered to market. Because we were asking for higher deposits, we knew we would be able to see the build programme through. We thought their dependence on third-party finances was very risky in an emerging market, where the liquidity even at precrisis in the banking fraternity in Cape Verde was relatively low. So we stuck to our guns and explained to the clients about the risks of taking the other products available at such low deposit entry points. If there’s a problem procuring third party finance, then there will be a problem with them delivering the build programme

THE OPP INTERVIEW Rob Jarrett

How helpful has the Cape verde government been? It’s been one heck of a learning curve! We have regular direct contact with the Prime Minister, Ministers of Tourism, Finance, Foreign Aﬀairs… And we are very well supported by them. They have provided us with our own investor incentives to renew our investments here, which have been welcomed by us both financially and in terms of their wish to support what we are looking to do. They know what we have planned doesn’t just benefit the Resort Group and its clients but is of huge social benefit to the islands we are investing in. As a consequence we have a very strong relationship with the government. But it has been a learning curve because we are moving away from a dynamic environment to becoming big in the economy. That has thrown us into the political melting pot as well. People now look to us to give advice and suggestions on policy within the government as well as investing there.

www.opp-connect.com

Such big investments, does it give you sleepless nights?

Not particularly! If anything is a clear and present danger to our business we would have a risk register for it. We have demonstrated that through good and bad times we have still been dynamic enough to steer our business in the right way. Between myself and the management team we have been able to get around problems that are external, like economic issues, and have put things in place to cushion those external impacts. Don’t get me wrong, we are not leading stress-free lives. We all work extremely hard and there’s no-one at any grade in the business that doesn’t put in 100%. But what makes me wake up in the middle of the night? Not a great deal, to be honest.

Who is buying?

Europeans. We get the odd enquiry from the Middle and

Far East but 99% of buyers are European. We have just started to look at Asia Pacific in terms of a distribution mechanism; seeing what the demands might be for our product in China. We are quite far down the road to understanding how we might be able to distribute our product there, what changes may need to take place in our product design and distribution mechanism and what demand might be there. But it’s not something that would be happening this year.

Will you develop elsewhere? We don’t want to pioneer anywhere. We prefer other people to deal with the test-bed issues and we will follow on from them, producing something of a better quality. What will we do on Boa Vista diﬀerently? Nothing. We will do exactly the same things – embarking on sales from an investment perspective and building resorts that generate touristic flow and income for our clients. The beaches are slightly diﬀerent; there is slightly less infrastructure than in Sal. Our build programme will probably last for a decade, so we need to be sensitive to the fact there is not a huge amount of housing there but a lot of employees will need to be housed somewhere. So we are working with the government on housing for workers, which will not be a quick process.

Therefore we need to taper the build programme and allow that to fit hand in glove with the other things we are discussing with the Minister of Finance re: housing. We like islands, so we are looking at areas of Europe, including the Balearics, very generally, and also some city centre European destinations.

What advice would you give to a protégé? I know it sounds like a cliché, but hard work and tenacity are two big factors. Self belief is another. When other people are running for cover, innovate and you will come out on top. Plan well. Use the information that is around you to plan it out before you put your hand in your pocket. Cover all the major bases financially, because cash is king and if you run out of it that tends to be that.

But where do the innovative ideas come from? Through an awful lot of discussions. My responsibility is to understand the undercurrent of every constituent and component part of my group. And if you understand everything that is happening within every discipline, then that provokes enough thought for you to innovate. So you need to have the discussions to understand your business. I spend between 10 and 12 hours a day on conference calls.

The Melia Tortuga hotel on Sal island

The leading Alternative Investment Summit is coming to Asia...

23rd to 24th April 2014 Marina Bay Sands SINGAPORE

Why should I attend OPPLive? 1500+ delegates, 30 speakers for 20 sessions 2014 set to be a record year for Alternatives Hear the views of leading industry experts

...can you really afford not to be there? The AI Summit Asia will comprise a dedictaed seminar programme taking place alongside OPPLive, including presentations and panel sessions from some of the most interesting product and solutions providers in the alternative investment industry today. Alongside the seimnar programme will be sector specific presentations, one2one meetings, networking opportunities and a select number of exhibitors showcasing relevant opportunities and solutions for delegates within the Alternative Investment Zone.

Why should I exhibit? Unprecedented demand from agents in Asia Tailored packages for exhibitors and sponsors Meet and present to pre-qualified agents

What people said about our last event: “Great opportunity to network.” “Well researched and 100% worth it” “High quality speakers and attendees” “It was extremely innovative and the panels were exceptional.”

Organiser

For more information please visit:

WWW.AISUMMIT.CO.UK/ASIA Contact us at: events@intelligent-partnership.com or +44 (0)203 375 1700

SEMINARS — EXHIBITION — NETWORKING — ONE2ONE MEETINGS — PROVIDER PRESENTATIONS — GALA DINNER

FEATURE OPPLive Asia

OPPLive ASIA

After eight successful events in the UK, the industry’s only international B2B cross-border residential property trade show will be making its Asian debut in the prestigious Marina Bay Sands

www.opp-connect.com

PPLive Asia 2014 will attract agents, developers, financial advisors and other industry professionals from across the Asia Pacific region: from Singapore itself to Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and beyond. OPPLive has been bringing together the top names in the international property industry since 2005. In that time the event has led to countless business partnerships and opportunities for delegates and exhibitors alike. We’re expecting dozens of exhibitors and

thousands of visitors, each one representing an opportunity to further your business. You can’t afford to miss it.

The conference OPPLive Asia will include a large-scale conference dedicated to help international companies increase or begin their Asia operations. Featuring around 100 seminars, round tables, networking events and business ‘speed dating’ sessions, it’s well worth planning ahead to make the most of your time there.

“Of all the shows we’ve done this year, this has been the most valuable for my company. I don’t remember having a single meeting that wasn’t valuable in some way for me. Of all the money I’ve spent on business development this year, the money per square metre here has been the most profitable.” R O B I N B AR R A S F O RD , B A RRA S F O RD & B IRD

MARCH 2014

“We’ve met a lot of very influential agents – a lot of people we’ve been dying to meet for a long time. The event is exceptionally well organised. We’re very happy and looking forward to the event next year.” SHAU N H AL ES, C I P RO P E RT Y S O L U T I O N S

Highlights WHAT’S NEW WITH GLOBAL VISA PROGRAMMES?

Residency for investment programmes are proving extremely popular with Asian buyers, who want the freedom to live in a country they’ve invested in. As more and more countries introduce these golden visas, it’s important to understand them and take advantage of the opportunities. The seminar will be hosted by Thjs Stodder, CEO of the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations (ICREA) and Chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); and Garrett Kenny, founder and CEO of Feltrim Developments and EB5 Select. Both are experts on investment visas. What programmes are there? What is in it for the client? What are their key characteristics? What are the risks? What is in it for the agent? How do you get started? HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL SALES IN CHINA

One of the most important aspects of creating new sales channels in Asia is to meet the decision makers who choose what products and developers to work with. These decisions are usually in the hands of the owner of the business or executive management. In the lucrative but crowded Asian market, it is vital to meet the decision makers face to face. So, to make sure you get the most value out of exhibiting at OPPLive Asia, we offer a complimentary meeting service for paid exhibitors.

HOW IT WORKS Complete the form in the exhibitor pack; we will then discuss the completed form with you so that we know what agents you require and any prequalification factors. A few weeks prior to the show we will start contacting registered attendees This helps to ensure our target attendees are attending the show During this conversation we will provide some information on your product We will ask if they are interested in having a one to one meeting with you If the attendee is interested in the product we will schedule a time and day for the meeting We will reconfirm the appointment three days before the scheduled meeting We will provide you with a list of confirmed meetings before the exhibition We target four to five complimentary meetings a day at the show. We can also arrange further meetings before or after OPPLive Asia.

www.opp-connect.com

Home prices in China have continued to set records in the past year despite cooling measures. Chinese buyers ﬂooding overseas continue to make the headlines. Adam Wu, CEO of China Business Network, and the panel will be discussing the gaps in the market and the cultural and practical problems that many face while selling and doing business in China.

OPP Meeting Bureau

AGENTS REQUIRED FOR SALE OF SEBASTIAN SOUVIRON

Salsa Inmobiliaria are looking for agents to assist in the selling of 37 dwellings and penthouses in a magnificent late nineteenth century building located in the historic centre of Malaga, the capital of the Costa Del Sol. The apartments consist of 1 or 2 bedrooms, fully equipped with maximum quality. Prices range from €197,000 to €383,000. The building also has garages and basement storage. In an unbeatable location the building is surrounded by all amenities, great cultural and gastronomic centres and is also next to the city’s beach. It is perfectly connected to the transport hubs of the area, 15 minutes from the international airport and 5 minutes from the railway station and the port of Malaga. The delivery of these homes will be in the second semester of 2014

W: www.salsa.es E: infocomercial@salsa.es T: +0034 952 22 4821 or +0034 666 42 83 72

Benefits for Agents Direct contact with the developer and good commission Unique building without competition Support to the agent at any time by the promoter. You can visit show flat Customer Service Promoter

BUSINESS Alternatives Words | Francine Carrel

Turning loss into profit Overseas burial plots can be a caring and eco investment and there’s morbid about making money Living memorials: Legacy Park’s peaceful country graveyard

tapped into the increasing demand for private cemetery plots. Regulated by the Financial Services Authority in SA, the company is selling burial plots in its ‘eco-graveyards’: sites working to conserve rather than destroy the environment they’re based in. The investment opportunity

‘Eco graveyards’ conserve rather than destroy the environment they’re based in comes from buying burial plot rights at below-market-value rates. When the plots have developed some capital appreciation, Legacy Parks then sells them back to the public for the investor. A minimum two-year hold is guaranteed 6% return per year, though the

www.opp-connect.com

he business of finding attractive final resting places for people, and sending them there, can be profitable. Graveyards and funerals are a big business and there’s nothing morbid about money. Historically, cemetery investments haven’t been too vulnerable to market fluctuations or inflation. In the UK, for example, prices of burial plots haven’t dipped within anyone’s lifetime. One company taking advantage of the lucrative market is Legacy Parks, in South Africa. Death rates in the Cape Town region are increasing by 2.5% each year, leading to a serious shortage of burial sites. Those plots that can be secured in a public cemetery (sometimes after an older last casket has been exhumed to make room) are all-too vulnerable to grave desecration or robbery – companies have emerged selling gravestone alarms to deter wouldbe pilferers. Legacy Parks have therefore

company says it has potential for a much higher turnover in that time (they estimate 38%). For the agent, they offer frequent commissions and quarterly bonuses. Check out www.legacyparks.co.za for more information. The “bereavement industry” is also attracting attention in other parts of the world. In the UK, especially in London, a shortage of burial space has led to less conventional cemetery spaces – in woodlands, for example – increasing in popularity. Even if ‘flippers’ are taking a cut of the profit, the comparison in cost when considering the price of burial in a London borough is attracting many of the middle classes. Also in the UK is the company making money out of crematoriums. Stock-market listed Dignity says it can offer returns in the high teens, which seems a little less realistic than the cemetery companies; but Dignity was tipped as a top performer by the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. It’s also a market attracting attention in China, which has only 3,000 cemeteries, according to the South China Morning Post – in comparison, the US has over 50,000. With China’s death toll at 9.3million per year, there are reports that all current cemeteries will be filled within the decade. The Fu Shou Yuan Group, a Shanghaibased funeral company that operates cemeteries in several cities, is launching a $200million Initial Public Offering in Hong Kong to build new sites. The industry will really take off if the government allocates more land to be used for burial plots; and with the current discrepancy between supply and demand, it looks like they might not have much of a choice.

AGRICULTURAL FARMLAND AGENTS WANTED GOOD COMMISSIONS AVAILABLE

AGRICULTURE HAS BECOME A MUST HAVE ASSET One of the best agricultural products on the market Clients receive a lease over existing farmland in Western Australia, the wheat belt of Australia

THE PRICE OF WHEAT IS STRONG

1 year wheat price. Source: Indexmundi • A lease – virtual freehold – on land already being farmed for wheat production • Lease issued, veriﬁed and registered according to Australian and British law • Projected 9% annual income from year two – based on historic wheat prices • Minimum all-in investment of £9,000/three hectares • Investment includes all administration and management costs • Harvest returns may be higher - rising in line with world wheat prices • Capital value of the land rising in line with accelerating value of arable land • Average farmland values rose by 15% in 2011 • Deﬁned exit strategy in 5 years

Brought to you by: Premier Alternatives Tel: 020 3598 1050 Email: info@premieralternatives.com www.premieralternatives.com

BUSINESS Next month

Coming next month in ETHICS

AROUND THE WORLD

… TECHNOLOGY

LEGAL

Greece

Keeping online in line

Investment funds

Mobile marketing

A year on from almost going bust, we find out how one of the world’s favourite holiday destnations is faring.

The AIPP has launched a major initiative to combat dishonesty on portals. Hear what it involves and what the portals have to say

A new European Union directive on investment funds comes into force in July. Here is what you need to know about it

“Obviously you need a mobile marketing strategy”. You’ve heard the experts say it, but how do you do it? And what will it achieve anyway?

Spain What is the real story behind Spain’s distressed property? How much is left, where is it and what does it cost?

SE Asian buyers A special report. Where they are, what they are buying and how to reach them. Your essential guide to the world’s liveliest market

BUSINESS

EXPERTS ADVISE

Social housing

Selling destinations

Governments in the ‘global south’ believe they can create a hard working, educated, tax-paying middle class by making nice homes. Which someone has to build. That sounds like an investment opportunity

How do you challenge potental clients’ preconceptions about your location? We ask marketers, advertisers and tourism chiefs from some of the world’s most desirable, and most misunderstood places

PLUS ALL YOUR USUAL… • News & comment • Branding ideas • Mortgage report • Currency report • Business and training • Correspondent’s reports • The OPP Interview • Statistics and data • Show previews, reviews • Legal round-up

Recruiting?

Advertise your job for free on OPP Connect www.opp-connect.com

Want to take it a step further?

If you would like a recruitment package tailored to your company’s needs contact: reuben.gurunlian@opp-connect.com | +44 (0)203 540 2224

BUSINESS The life of a ...

… Magazine publisher Stuart Shield, publisher of International Property & Travel magazine, gives an insight into his busy but never boring working life Once dismissed as ‘dead tree technology’, magazines are fighting back

Stuart and his Ferrari

STUART SHIELD www.ipropertymedia.com TEL: +44 1245 250981

www.opp-connect.com

y office is a charming old school building in Chelmsford, Essex. I employ 36 staff in two locations – Chelmsford and Newcastle. My northern office primarily researches developers, architects, interior designers and estate agents for entry into the International Property Awards, which I launched 21 years ago. This work is also undertaken in Chelmsford; as well as the production of my magazine, International Property & Travel. As a publisher I’m responsible for producing the magazine, looking after its distribution and acting as a steer to all the different departments. It is a position which requires creativity and so it is helpful that I have qualifications in graphic design and spent time working as art director for advertising agencies in London. The role presents many challenges, particularly with such a large staff. There will always be matters arising of a personal nature and we have to be compassionate. Others are largely electronic and include my pet hate which is fielding masses of emails. Compared with the first few years of setting up the business,

my position is now very rewarding. My company isn’t solely involved in publishing: we also operate the world’s largest property competition. The International Property Awards attracts over 2,000 entries from 93 countries which have to be processed before being judged independently. We have just experienced ﬁve years of the most challenging

Property and print have been two areas that have had a tough five years, but we saw growth economic times modern businesses have ever had to endure. Property and print have been two areas that have had a particularly tough time. However, we saw growth in both our magazine and awards programme. The magazine has a readership of thousands who travel ﬁrst or business class and, with the banks paying low interest rates, these cash-rich individuals have

been investing in property. We have also introduced an online and a digital tablet edition to promote an even wider readership. Keeping the magazine original is a major challenge – it is important for the product not to stagnate. I’m fortunate in having a very creative team around me. Last year we surveyed our readers and discovered that over 50% are foreign. This has led us to reduce the amount of text and increase the size of images. We will monitor feedback but I’m sure it will be a popular move. There is a perception that print comes a poor second to web advertising. It is surprising how so few understand that, by print advertising promoting a website address, readers are very likely to visit it. This has been misread by many as a signal that the web is all powerful while print is weak. Most of my advertisers travel first or business class and actually see their ads being read by passengers paying premiums to sit at the front of the aircraft. You would think that having an office based role make for a routine filled day but in reality my days are anything but routine.

The best property buyers & sellers travel first class

You can reach them from ÂŁ475 International Property & Travel magazine reaches ďŹ rst and business class passengers of 57 airlines with over 75,000 readers each issue

c o m p l i m e n t s o f th e air lin e t h e f i n e s t h o m e s , t r av e l a n d l i f e s t Y l e vol 20 no 3

Front Cover:

Mandalay by RA Shaw Designs See Page 6

Available for free on iOS and Android!

Official sponsor of the International Property Awards. To advertise or to enter the awards, call +44 (0)1245 250981 or visit www.ipropertymedia.com and www.propertyawards.net

www.rightmoveoverseas.com

TARGET OVER 150,000 BUYERS WITH EMAIL MARKETING “ Rightmove Overseas’ email marketing always generates targeted qualified leads for us and a good return on investment, which is why we continue to rebook.”

Robin Barrasford Barrasford & Bird Worldwide

Choose from 79 country and region databases Book your campaign today +44 (0)1908 712 044 overseas@rightmove.co.uk Available databases include: Andalusia, Valencia, Spain, Florida, USA, Algarve, Portugal and Tuscany, Italy. Complete list available on request.