International Real Estate Blog

Cyprus is flying high

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:23:00 0000

Skydiving is a cool (if somewhat mad) activity, and I’m told that the island of Cyprus is now a trendy place to do it. It basically entails jumping out of an aircraft at about 10,000 feet, enjoying the exhilaration of freefall, before opening your parachute for a (hopefully) soft landing.

The Terror of Television

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:22:52 0000

Companies in general (and property companies in particular) are often scared of Television. No, not scared – terrified. It’s because they’ve all seen those undercover TV programmes where secretly recorded dodgy sales people promise clients the Earth in exchange for their hard-earned cash, with unrealistic claims over property appreciation etc...

The Seven Deadly Sins

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:33:32 0000

I was watching a property programme the other night, and pondering the fate of a couple who were complaining that the villa they’d bought in the Valencia region of Spain had turned out to be illegal.

The Next Big Thing?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:48:12 0000

When it comes to property investment, the question on everyone’s lips is always “where’s the next big thing?” By that, I mean the relentless search for a region which most people wouldn’t bother with at the moment in terms of property investment, but which will someday gain the investment respect that countries like Brazil, Panama, Morocco, and Dubai have achieved today.

On the crest of a wave

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:42:01 0000

And so there we were, messing around in a catamaran in the Mediterranean, taking in the view of the harbour and watching the sun glistening on the sea. There was a cool breeze wafting in across the waves and the sound of the water lapping against the hull...

Marvellous Morocco

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:45:14 0000

I have just returned from a weekend trip to Morocco. I went partly out of curiousity and partly out of pure shame – after all, here I am living on mainland Spain, almost literally a stone’s throw from another continent, and yet it was to be only my first trip. What was my excuse?

Back to the future

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:06:21 0000

I turned on the telly today, and what did I see? Presenters, commentators, and so-called property experts moaning on about house prices falling in the UK and what a disaster it all is, and how it’s now so difficult for the first time buyer to get onto the housing market. It’s enough to make you want to commit property suicide (if there was such a thing).

Deposit Bonds aim to attract new buyers

Fri, 16 May 2008 19:17:33 0000

A new product has been launched aiming to provide a substitute for cash down payments or deposits, when purchasing off-plan property abroad, particularly in Australia.

Brazil is Primed and Ready to Go!

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 18:46:02 0000

I’ve just come back from an interesting trip to Brazil. As the writer for propertyshowrooms.com and IPIN’s latest promotions in this awe-inspiringly vast country, it was with great excitement that I could at last ‘put a face to Natal.’ So, donned as a typical package holidaymaker to Natal, I was intrigued to get a first-hand view on just what this growing tourism region of Brazil has in store.

Frozen Turkey but Christmas has been postponed

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:17:42 0000

A shocking statement by one of Turkey’s newspapers Hurriyet reads:

“Turkish property sales to foreigners are to be temporarily halted from Wednesday, declared a Ministry of Public Works and Settlement inline with a Constitutional Court ruling three months ago. A new regulation was delivered to the Board of Ministers for approval.”