Dubai Theme Parks to be Magnet for Tourists in 2017
In preparation for the World Expo to be hosted by the Emirate in 2020, Dubai has been pouring investment into its tourist infrastructure with the aim of attracting more than 25 million tourists in five years’ time.
There are currently three theme parks under construction that are expected to drive Dubai’s tourism towards its target when they open at the end of 2016. The theme parks are: Motiongate a Hollywood-inspired attraction based on major DreamWorks Animation and Sony Pictures movies; Legoland Dubai, the first legoland theme park in the Middle East and Bollywood Parks, offering a Bollywood movie experience.
Timeshare companies are particularly buoyant about the prospects for Dubai’s tourist sector, expecting growth in its timeshare industry of around 50% in 2017, once the parks are open to visitors.
Mohannad Sharafuddin of timeshare sales and marketing company Arabian Falcon Holidays said: “Dubai Parks and Resorts, the operator of Middle East’s largest multi-themed leisure and entertainment destination expects over 6.7 million ticketed visitors in 2017. That’s a huge number in the first year and will aid in the growth of the timeshare market here”.
“The timeshare market will grow exponentially in 2017, surpassing the growth rates of 15 to 20% per year and heralding a new era with annual growth rate of 50%, primarily driven by tourists visiting these theme parks,” he added.
All three parks are located close to Dubai’s international airport, Al Maktoum and will be easily accessible from there via the Emirate’s Metro system. Real estate in Dubai is also expected to enjoy rising interest as a direct result of growth in its tourist numbers over the next five years and beyond.
Further large-scale investment has been made into the construction of the €6.2bn Mall of the World by Dubai Holding. The mall is set to be the largest in the world, featuring a glass-domed theme park and expected to be a significant attraction for visitors in the Emirate.
“Dubai’s location, significant existing attractions and strong tourism infrastructure position it well to benefit from anticipated strong tourism growth in the Middle East,” Sharafuddin said.
Dubai presents a great opportunity for strategic property investment ahead of the World Expo in 2020. As part of the Emirates spending programme in tourism, the hotel sector is growing rapidly representing a very attractive investment market at the current time for those interested in income-generating property assets such as hotel rooms.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
Emiratis Gain Visa-Free Access to European Real Estate
This month saw an important change in EU legislation, granting Emiratis visa-free access throughout the Schengen area that is expected to boost UAE buying in European property markets.
Global real estate services company Cluttons forecast a significant uplift in investor interest coming from the UAE as a result of an improved investment climate together with dollar strength. The Emirates’ currency, the dirham is pegged to the dollar and consequently Emiratis are currently enjoying considerable purchasing power, particularly in the Eurozone.
Cluttons’ international research manager Faisal Durrani said: ” There is no doubt that visa free travel to the Schengen area for Emiratis has unlocked the door for a significant potential upturn in cross border property investment. The added benefit of the weakness of the euro means that dirham buyers are now about 23% richer than this time last year, in euro terms. This clearly makes an EU based property investment particularly attractive “.
Spain seems set to be the main beneficiary of UAE investment , mainly due to its rich Islamic heritage, particularly in Andalucia. Property prices in Spain are considered to have bottomed-out, spurring further investment interest not only from the UAE but the UK, as the pound continues to respond positively to a decisive general election result.
Middle East outbound investment has remained significant in recent years and is now expected to receive a further push from the UAE. According to world-leading real estate advisors CBRE’s ‘Middle East In and Out 2015’ report ‘Middle Eastern buyers invested a total of $14.1 billion outside their home region in 2014, making the Middle East the third largest source of cross-regional capital globally’.
The report identifies Europe as the preferred market for Middle Eastern Investors, receiving $10.2 billion in 2014. ‘In line with other investor groups, the year saw a major shift in investment strategies, with activity growing across second-tier European locations, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Budapest and Madrid. While still the most popular market, London received 32% of spend in 2014 compared to 45% in 2013, with Paris and New York growing their shares in 2014 to 16% and 10% respectively. London and Paris were the only two markets to retain a top five ranking in 2014’.
Europe’s property markets seem set to become an investors’ playground with buying activity rising from the UAE, the US and the UK. With investors largely seeking income generating assets in preference to principal residences or holiday homes, buyers are less likely to be concentrated at the luxury end of the property market.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
British Expats Surge on UK Income Generating Property
Offshore bankers Skipton International have reported a sharp increase in expat investment in UK buy-to-let property , particularly among Brits living and working in the UAE.
Jim Coupe, Managing Director of the bank said: ” We’ve had interest from all over the world but particularly the UAE. Our customers are showing they are making the most of the buy-to-let opportunity and with many now viewing the London property market as overheated, demand is set to increase for properties in other areas of the UK where rental yields are looking far more attractive for buy-to-let investors “.
Investors started to look beyond London’s property markets towards the middle of last year, cautious of putting capital into a rapidly overheating sector. Regional cities particularly in the north of England saw considerable rental growth in Q1 2015 which combined with lower base costs for property presents greater margin opportunities for investors.
According to research from British property management agency Homelet, UK rental prices for the first quarter of this year increased 10%, with regions outstripping London on growth.
British Expats working in the UAE are very well-placed to take advantage of growth in the UK’s regional rental market, mainly because of substantial and tax-free incomes. Expats in the US or earning in a currency pegged to the dollar as in UAE, Hong Kong, the Caribbean among others, are also enjoying improved purchasing power. Expat investors see the UK as a dynamic investment market that represents a safe bet.
Mr Coupe added: ” The buy-to-let sector has certainly outperformed the FTSE by some degree since the millennium. Many expats are looking for long-term investments for which property is a potentially suitable option and will often utilise their own knowledge of a particular geographic area of the UK in which to select properties that represent good value and desirability to their target market of tenants “.
It goes to show that even among international property investors, home is where the heart is!
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
Agents Report Rising Investor Demand for Spanish Property
It’s no secret that the euro has been a little downtrodden by sterling since the beginning of the year. With the additional impact of 200,000 more British investors eyeing up the market since changes to regulations came into force in April, Spain is very much an investors market!
The latest Spanish Property Market Confidence Index (SPMCI) from Spain’s major property portal Kyero reveals that around 71% of agents in the country have more confidence in the property market in Q1 2015 compared to a year earlier.
Covering 160 English-speaking and 216 Spanish-speaking agents across the country, the survey indicates a much more bullish attitude towards the market among the English-speakers, almost certainly due purely to sterling strength.
Martin Dell, director of Kyero said: ” The strength of sterling has played a key role in the confidence divide that we are seeing currently between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking real estate agents in Spain. Some 30% of English-speaking respondents have highlighted stronger sterling as the most significant change over the past we months. For Spanish-speaking agents, increased marketing tops the table of significant changes with 26% of respondents flagging this up as the biggest change “.
It is very evident that marketing to English property investors has stepped up a notch in 2015, with agents vying for pole position with tempting offers of turnkey investment opportunities in coastal resort areas.
Properties removed from the market months ago have been re-introduced at huge discounts, some with tempting mortgage offers of up to 110% loan to value in attempts to attract British buyers into Spain.
Professional resort management companies are releasing old stock on to the market at heavily discounted prices, showing an eagerness not to miss out on British investor activity. In a bid to maximise profits, resort companies are appointing agents on a time-sensitive, volume sale basis, churning out whole developments that have become tired and worthless to them.
Although it is undeniably a great time for sterling investors to buy in Spain’s property market, analysts believe they will have to wait to see any marked capital appreciation. Many parts of Spain’s ever-popular southern coastline have become synonymous with swathes of empty, half-finished developments, many owned by banks.
As these are completed and released on the market with accompanying offers of low cost mortgages, property price increases in Spain will be stunted as a result.
However, for a straightforward investment that isn’t an issue. Spain is enjoying record-breaking tourist numbers meaning that good rental incomes are more or less guaranteed in the resort areas. British buyers who buy well and in the right locations can’t really fail to enjoy favourable returns at the current time.
A word of advice from the author: Many agents are piling pressure on British buyers to act swiftly, while they are in such an advantageous position. All property investments should be calculated and considered decisions and there’s absolutely no hurry to jump on the bandwagon in Spain. With the amount of poorly performing property assets remaining on the books of Spain’s banks, we have not seen the last of the bargains in its property market by any stretch of the imagination. It is also highly unlikely that price movement will be significant in the next two years because of oversupply and so there’s plenty of time to make a cracking investment purchase in Spain.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
Bulgarian Holiday Rental Portal Captures Tourism Growth
Bulgaria’s tourism minister Nikolina Angelkova recently reported a bumper winter season (December-February) that saw growth of over 9%, representing an increase of almost 80,000 tourists.
Commenting on this year’s summer season, she said the preliminary forecast was extremely optimistic. An increase of 5% of German arrivals, 10% Israeli, 5% from France and a massive 40% increase in visitors from Lituania, Latvia and Moldova is forecast for summer 2015.
Bulgaria has become an increasingly popular holiday destination in the last few years although its tourist sector is relatively undeveloped. With fantastic beach resorts and winter skiing, there’s something for everyone all year around.
Seeing a niche in the market, a new portal – Arendoo.com – is set to revolutionise Bulgaria’s holiday property market. This is good news for the many British and Irish investors in Bulgaria’s property market and presents an opportunity to capture growth in the country’s tourism and make a good profit from it.
Arendoo.com is a fully transparent, fully accountable rental portal that generates bookings as well as providing associated services such as cleaning, key exchange and linen changes. In a press release the portal states:
” Arendoo.com is Bulgaria’s answer to a decade of under-performing property assets. Charging owners only when property rentals are completed, arendoo.com’s clients enjoyed their properties being let for more than 40,000 rented nights last year. “
The portal’s director Christophe Gater said: ” Until now, British and Irish owners have had few professional options in the Bulgarian rental market. Most have naturally opted for the services offered by their complex reception but have suffered inexplicably low occupancy. It’s time for accountability and full transparency in Bulgaria’s holiday rental market “.
Arendoo.com fills the void and communication between foreign owners and their holiday properties in Bulgaria. It is currently the only rental portal offering videos of listed properties and online log-in facilities for owners where they can view all bookings, transactions and monies owed. They also cover check-in and check-out together with cleaning and linen services so that owners overseas have hassle-free rentals in their absence.
The portal arrives at just the right time as Bulgaria’s popularity among international tourists is rising. Owners of property in the country’s holiday hotspots now have a way to tap into visitor volume growth allowing them to enjoy more consistent rental income.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
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