Real Estate Novedades

10/16/2015

06/29/2015

Chinese prefer high end US real estate

In the year to the end of March, Chinese buyers spent more than three times the average American buyer, paying an average of US$831,800 per property, compared with the national average transaction price of US$255,600

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/351606a8-159b-11e5-be54-00144feabdc0.html?utm_content=buffer086e4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Chinese are now by far the biggest foreign buyers of US real estate in terms of units, dollar volume and price paid, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors, which tracks property purchases across the country. In the 12

06/16/2015

CNN Money: Real Estate Special Report: Americans are scooping up real estate bargains... overseas

Yours truly quoted in CNN.
CNN Money: Real Estate Special Report: Americans are scooping up real estate bargains...overseas
http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/real_estate/cheap-real-estate-overseas/

More Americans are taking the leap to buy that overseas pied-a-terre they've been thinking about.
"The U.S. dollar is still strong and the economy is good and the rest of the world is a little softer," said Jason Kumpf, a real estate specialist at USForex. "It's a great time to increase your pieces on the international Monopoly board."

Property prices in some European markets fell 40-50% during the financial crisis and haven't fully recovered, according to global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Combine that with the strength of the U.S. dollar creating favorable exchange rates, and deals abound. For example: A €500,000 home cost around $683,000 last July, according to Knight Frank. Now, that property has a price tag of roughly $558,000.
Experts identified France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Canada as markets being pursued by American buyers.
This 10-bedroom, 8-bathroom wine estate in Tuscany is for sale and features vineyards, a winery and an olive grove.
France is looking particularly attractive.
The number of clients buying properties in France increased nine-fold in 2014 from 2013 at USForex, and this year is looking even more promising.
"High-net-worth buyers have been circling around properties in the south of France for the last couple of years," said Dan Conn, CEO of Christie's International Real Estate. "It's an incredible time to buy."
Paris is also seeing increased activity: today, 19% of Christie's buyers in the capital were American, up from 14% in 2010.
Germany has also been drawing in American buyers recently, according to Kumpf, as the number of U.S. buyers who transferred money to purchase property there has doubled in the last year.
Spain and Italy have had a slower economic rebound, which means better discounts and opportunities, according to Conn. For example, Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy, has experienced little buying activity since the downturn ... until now. "You are starting to see emerging interest from U.S. buyers," Conn aid.
Interest in rentals in Italy started to rise last year, and that's a strong indicator that sales will follow, said Rupert Fawcett, head of Knight Frank's Italian desk.
Tuscany, Florence, and Lake Como are the hot spots in the country at the moment, he said.
"I am not expecting the flood gates to open, but the tap had very much been switched off over the last four to five years, so to see any American interest coming back is already an increase."

This two-level, three-bedroom apartment in a 17th century building in Paris is listed for $2,113,858.
Spain, which has been a popular market for Europeans looking for a vacation home, is starting to catch the attention of Americans, particularly Barcelona. "It's a hybrid city and resort," said Conn. There's also been discussions of a new luxury waterfront development in the city, which could increase interest.
London is also seeing increased attention from American buyers, but the conversion rate to a sale is still relatively low, according to Jennet Siebrits, UK head of residential research at CBRE. "I think once the U.K. general elections are out of the way, that might be a catalyst."
In Latin America, Brazil is an attractive option for U.S. buyers, according to a report from Christie's International Real Estate, due to deflated property prices and a drop in its currency.

The strong dollar and lower home prices have some Americans scooping up real estate deals in Europe.

05/24/2015

12/11/2013

One Brickell City Centre: Tallest Building in the Southeast

The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing plans for a 1,100-foot-tall monstrosity planned for 700 Brickell Ave., currently the Northern Trust Bank building. One Brickell City Centre would be taller than any skyscraper in Miami or Atlanta or anywhere else in Dixie.
It would even be taller than Manhattan's Chrysler Building. And it would be a helluva lot higher than Miami's now number one, the Four Seasons Hotel, which is a pitiful 70 stories and 789 feet, or Atlanta's 1,023-foot, 55-story Bank of America Tower.

ExMiami reports the site for the tower at 700 Brickell Ave. will combine land bought by Swire Properties for more than $13 million, and land next door, which cost more than $64 million.

It would be the second stage of the enormous -- and now-under-construction -- Brickell City Centre just to the west. That project will include a luxury shopping center, two residential towers, apartments, offices, and a wellness center, featuring an innovative $20 million "climate ribbon" that will provide air flow, according to Curbed Miami.

Like the mixed-use monstrosity next door, the new tower is being designed by Arquitectonica. Steven Owens, Swire's president, said in a release: "The site is of great strategic importance for the development of Brickell CityCentre because it provides the project with a critical front door onto Miami's most significant boulevard.''

Whether it will be tall enough to withstand the flood created by global warming remains to be seen.

12/06/2013

Banesco USA today signed a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act - or anti-money laundering law - program.
In doing so, Banesco has embarked on an enhanced BSA program that will address the requirements of the order, the bank said in a news release.
While Banesco has grown over the past two years, including the purchase of Security Bank from the FDIC, it was unable to keep pace with the volume of work when it came to the policies and procedures of its BSA program.
Banesco USA Chairman Carlos Palomares said in a news release that the order deals with internal policies and procedures and it doesn’t affect the bank’s relationship with its customers or its loan portfolio.
Coral Gables-based Banesco grew assets to $806 million, deposits of $713 million and shareholders’ equity to $77.4 million at the end of Sept. 30.
"We discovered in late 2012 that the bank had deficiencies in its BSA/AML area and have been working very judiciously, and we are in ongoing contact with regulators to improve our systems, procedures and staff,” Palomares said in a news release. “We created a BSA Remediation Committee of the Board of Directors early this year. The committee meets weekly to review progress.”

12/05/2013

Arthur Hertz, CEO of Wometco Enterprises, which owns the Miami Seaquarium, is in talks to sell the amusement park to Palace Entertainment, owner of a string of amusement parks including Boomers in Boca Raton and Dania Beach.
A person familiar with the matter told The Miami Herald that Hertz had negotiated a deal to sell the Seaquarium to Palace for about $30 million. Hertz and a Palace spokesman declined to comment to the Herald about the matter.
The source told the Herald that the deal includes a provision that would allow Hertz's son, Andrew, to remain as manager of the Seaquarium.

12/05/2013

The Related Group has confirmed the purchase of the 444 Brickell Ave. site and the adjacent land on which it will build 1,200 residences and a five-star hotel.
The Miami-based developer announced the purchase through a statement released Tuesday. The planned three-tower, waterfront mixed-use One Brickell project will include more than 1,200 residences; a five-star, 200-plus room hotel with meeting and convention space; 200,000 square feet of office space; and street level retail.
Although Related did not disclose its price, the Business Journal broke the story of the $100 million purchase in November.