Trump bumps India up the overseas property ladder

New York-based Trump Organisation has plans for India - big, big plans. On the one hand, US-based billionaire Donald Trump is wooing potential buyers from India for his 45-storey Trump International building coming up in Manhattan and on the other, Trump Jr is setting up a $1bn (£500.5m) fund to buy property in India.

Astute property investors are hedging their bets on the likely outcome of this sudden rush in Indian property investments and developments. It could all come crashing down like many other property markets or it could see an influx of foreign property investors.

The Indian property market is growing year-on-year, mainly because of the growth in the middle classes. However, the developments that will potenitally be on offer by the likes of the Trumps are high-end therefore not affordable by the middle classes.

Driving through the different towns in India, it's not unusual to see abandoned half-built developments. Once promising, these high-end property developments now lie barren due to investor pull-outs, untrustworthy suppliers and most of all, lack of interest from the Indian buyers. There is a definite over supply of properties in many parts of the country yet a rosy picture is being painted for foreign investors.

India’s "crunch-proof" property market brought to London by Navyroof.com

As house prices in London and surrounding areas are in freefall, some selling for over £50,000 less than originally purchased, London property investors are looking to India for profitability where Merrill Lynch has predicted a 700 per cent increase in property prices by 2015.

A seminar at the City Hotel, Brick Lane, London, at 7pm on September 17th will give London property investors valuable information on how they can benefit from investing in India’s thriving property sector.

It is hosted by Navyroof.com – the company that brings investment opportunities from the most up-and-coming areas of India to the UK.

Attendees will gain detailed knowledge of the Indian economy and the long term sustainable factors driving its rapid growth; they will also discover the areas that give the greatest capital appreciation on investment and will have the opportunity to listen to expert guidance on the purchasing process. The seminar will cover all aspects of the market, including Indian property law, to give investors all the information they need to escape the doldrums of the UK property market and to take full advantage of India’s booming economy.

Mother IndiaThe seminar will also explain how London’s non-resident Indian community can give back and profit by investing in their motherland.

India’s strong economic growth reflects the profound changes occurring in society. Over half of India’s current population is under 25, giving India the world’s largest population of workers and consumers by 2020. Increased urbanisation and modern young Indians preferring to live on their own means demand for housing has never been higher. Mortgage lending increased tenfold between 2000 – 2005 yet the ratio of mortgages to GDP remains low, which shows the massive potential in the property market.

Andrew Fassnidge, Managing Director of Navyroof.com said, “This seminar will show both UK investors and non-resident Indians how easy, effective and profitable investing in India can be. All the economic indicators project a bright, sustainable future for India with Merrill Lynch predicting a seven-fold increase in the Indian property market by 2015. In the last two years alone, property prices in India increased by 70 per cent. Industry commentators are mooting that whilst the USA and Europe look to be involved in an economic downturn, emerging markets such as India, may be the ‘crunch proof’ economies. Anyone with even a small amount of capital should come along to the seminars to find out what opportunities there are for them to escape the UK property decline.”

Invest In India Seminar Harrow 3rd September - 7pm

Invest In India Seminar Brick Lane 17th of September - 7pm

Invest In India Seminar Hounslow 23rd of September - 7pm

Attendance can be secured for the 17th of September by signing up at http://www.navyroof.com/ or calling 020 7242 2452

Morocco rules the roost this week

Morocco was rated one of world's top elite destinations in a recent article in the Home Overseas. This North Africa country has displaced other leading investment hotspots such as Australia and Slovakia. No surprises as Morocco not only offers affordable house prices but has recently seen a democratisation of public life, education and health, and strengthening of basic infrastructure leading to both social and political stability.

Investing in Morocco could potentially lead to high return and it offers great investment potential for overseas property buyers. Among the advantages of investing in Morocco, the low cost and the high quality of labour leads the way; closely accompanied by their policy of structural reforms which attract the interest of the investors.

Costa de la Luz in Spain and other beach areas have been overbuilt and are therefore over-priced. These escalated prices have lead investors to look to Morocco. It offers the same sunny weather, the same Mediterranean coast and is only 9 miles away in northern Morocco at sometimes 1/10 of the price.

As the property market in the UK shows no signs of improvng, investors can choose from a number of foreign destinations offering great returns.

Caribbean beaches can look at $25 million worth of investment and 1.4 million cubic metres of sand

The Dominican Republic is spending $25 million improving its beaches to make them more attractive to visitors. It is part of a wider plan to boost tourism as officials are worried that cuts in flights from the US and other problems such as the recent power cuts could seriously hit the number of people interested in investing in the country, the second largest island in the Caribbean. Full article

£18,000 drop in property prices in the UK

Daily Mail, in its latest article about property prices in the UK discusses a new report from property website Rightmove. The report said that in the past two months the average asking price across England and Wales has dropped by £7,281 to £235,219. Just two per cent below the average in July last year, this is the first time Rightmove has recorded an annual drop since it began in 2002. Full article

Aparthotels: the safer property investment option

The latest trend in property investment: an Apartment + a Hotel = Aparthotel

Aparthotels are typically a three-star or higher hotel property looked after by a management company that takes care of all the hassles of ownership, including maintenance and finding hotel users. They typically offer the investor the opportunity to own a plush hotel room that can provide a monthly income.

While the natural choice for a lot of the property investors in the UK would be to invest in London, with the 2012 Olympics on its way, many investors are also looking abroad at holiday hot spots where hotels rooms are in demand all year long.

This trend is still setting in but a few early adopters such as GuestInvest and HomesGoFast are already profiting from it. In their blog, HomesGoFast mention the surprising speed with which these properties sell out highlighting the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a 576-unit condo hotel, which was expected to sell out in two years but instead sold out in two months! The Platinum, a 255-unit property in Las Vegas, also sold out in just a matter of a couple months. The reason, they feel is that the armchair investor feels secure in this type of development and one that appears to look after itself.

As for us, we think only time will tell. In the current property climate one has to tread with care. The lack of flexibility, the concept of selling a hotel room to another buyer, renovations, and most importantly chances that the hotel might not do very well might make Aparthotels a less exciting proposition than it seems at the moment.

Dubai with a twist

With this new swirling building in the making in Dubai, UK property investors can add something unique to their property portfolio. The spinning skyscraper, the Dynamic Tower, is being designed by architect David Fisher. The 420-metre tower, offering a hotel, offices and flats, is permanently on rotation.


Fisher told The Times: “The idea came when I was in Miami. A friend told me that one apartment, which overlooked the ocean, was worth $3million but another, which, didn't was worth $1.8million. I started thinking about this dynamic tower.” Full article


(Image source: The Times, 27th June 2008)

The 10 worst property investments ever

The Times have put together a list of the ten worst property investments ever. Projects gone wrong, disagreement between developer and investor, property feud, financial difficulties and more. I'm sure you've heard the expression, ‘If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.’ Well, in the investment world, they say, ‘If something sounds too good to be true, it definitely is.'

Read article here