Istanbul Most Popular Destination for Arabs in 2015
Istanbul has welcomed more Arab visitors to the world’s most Googled destination than ever before this year with numbers reaching more than 1.3 million in the first seven months of 2015.
According to data released by Istanbul’s Culture and Tourism Dir…
World’s Largest Indoor Ski Resort Announced in Dubai
Dubai is already home to the largest indoor ski resort in the world which was opened in 2005 in the Mall of the Emirates, boasting a 400-metre slope that saw it entered into the Guinness World Records.
Dubai , known for extravagant projects and scorching temperatures announced the construction of an even bigger ski resort that will beat the Emirate’s own world record as being the largest in the world.
The new indoor ski resort will have a 1.2km run, three times the length of the Mall of the Emirates slope and will form part of a huge hotel, residential, shopping and marina complex known as Meydan One .
The new covered ski resort comes as part of a project that will also include the world’s tallest residential tower at 711m, a dancing fountain sweeping up to 420m, a vast shopping centre and a 350-room hotel and marina, according to a government statement.
The project is estimated to cost up to €6.3bn and will extend from the Meydan race track in the Emirate’s desert to Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest tower, reported Dubai newspaper Al-Bayan.
Meydan chairman Saeed al-Tayer said: ” In a city which never stops innovating, today’s announcement is significant for the future of Dubai and the UAE. “
The first phase of the project will house up to 78,000 residents and should be completed in the next five years, in time for the UAE’s hosting of World Expo 2020, according to its promoters.
Dubai has a reputation for being a liberal city in a conservative environment making it a commercial and financial hub, attracting businesses and expatriates seeking to establish a presence in the Middle East.
Not one to do things by halves, the Emirate’s consistent delivery of cutting-edge innovation in architecture has made its skyline one of the most famous in the world.
Having enjoyed the housing boom for years before everything came crashing down in 2008, Dubai has learned its lessons and its property market has achieved a good level of stability. The Emirate’s hotels and hospitality sector is booming, with government investment pouring into its tourism infrastructure ahead of World Expo 2020.
Dubai has emerged as a tourist destination in recent years as a result of the Emirate’s capital investment in the sector, recording 13.2 million visitors in 2014 with a target of 20 million annually by 2020.
There’s no shortage of investment opportunity in Dubai as the Emirate steams ahead towards World Expo, particularly in its hotel rooms. 11.63 million tourists representing 88% of visitors to Dubai last year stayed in Dubai’s hotels, a number that is expected to increase in 2015 according to The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing .
The region’s press service Gulf News recently reported increasing investment in Dubai’s hotel sector, with buyers attracted by new and lucrative opportunities: ” Investors seeking up to an 8% return on investment are turning their sights on developments which offer such opportunities, particularly those on The Palm Jumeirah. Three developments in particular are worthy of further investigation and are the subject of intense interest at the moment — The Kempinski Emerald Palace Hotel, Anantara Residences and The 8, all on The Crescent. “
With Dubai’s property market holding steady so far in 2015 and the anticipated demand for hotel rooms increasing yearly, now may be the time for investors to strike.
 
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
Controversial Rent Caps come into Force in Paris
August 1st saw all new or renewed rental leases in the French capital being capped as President François Hollande made good on one of his key 2012 campaign promises for sweeping housing reform.
The rent control regulations will limit rents in Paris to 20% above and 30% below a neighbourhood’s average and is based on apartment size, year of construction and location with an additional surcharge for luxury homes.
However, critics say that real estate investors will be deterred from the Parisian market and while the wealthiest tenants stand to benefit from the new rent caps, less wealthy renters are likely to suffer.
Critics Warn New Regulations will Deter Property Investors
Jean-Francois Buet, chairman of FNAIM, France ‘s largest residential property-broker federation said the mechanism is ” dangerous because the framework is deterring investors who, faced with the lack of freedom will choose other investments “.
There are rising concerns that the regulations will slow renovation works by apartment owners, increase landlord-tenant litigation and create affordability issues for many existing tenants, according to residential property managers Foncia.
When the rent control proposals were published in June this year, Foncia Chairman Francois Davy said: ” The most expensive rents will probably drop but still won’t be occupied by modest-income earners. An apartment rented for €10,000 per month in a fancy neighbourhood will drop by 30%, while in more working class areas an extremely low rent risks climbing 10% on average “.
80,000 Paris Rental Leases affected by New Legislation
Around 80,000 new rental leases are signed in Paris each year with around one in five being subject to capping, according to Observatoire des Loyers de l’Agglomeration Parisienne (OLAP), the association mandated by the government to compile Paris rents. OLAP report that of these a third will drop by less than €50 per month, a third by €50-€100 and the rest by more than €100.
The measure could decrease the rent for around 60,000 dwellings in the capital in the coming years, according to business daily Les Echos. It could also raise rents for around 25,000 homes, the French newspaper added.
However there is strong public support for the new regulations and also from France’s main environmental party, Europe Ecologie-Les Verts with spokesperson Sandrine Rousseau commenting: ” It’s a strong step for social justice as rents have climbed by 42% in the capital over the past 10 years “. The party is calling for the rent cap to be extended to all cities that face a ‘tight’ housing market.
The rent controls are the first major step taken by Francois Hollande to make good on his manifesto promises for national housing reform. The new law seeks to cap rent increases from one lease to the next in the country’s largest cities as part of the reforms, known in France by the acronym ALUR.
Rent Reforms Ultimately to be Applied Nationally
Opinion polls in France have shown that 75% of the public supported the price-capping measure with criticism coming unsurprisingly from estate agents and landlords Associations who have denounced the law, vowing to drag officials that wish to implement it into legal battles.
France’s National Federation of Real Estate Professionals (FNAIM) said the law constricted the housing market and would dissuade potential buyers from investing, suggesting it could file a suit with France’s Council of State. Estate agents in Lille have reportedly blocked efforts to apply the law in the northern French city by withholding housing and rent data from authorities.
Just two French cities apart from Paris are considering establishing rent controls – La Rochelle and Grenoble. ” Housing in France is 50% more expensive than in Germany. It is a burden on families and limits their purchasing owner, ” Grenoble Mayor Eric Piolle told France Inter radio this week.
In many respects rent controls can work well for property investors and are particularly helpful when negotiating a price, because rental incomes are cast in stone making it easier to nail your margins. With a legally established framework preventing unscrupulous landlords from cashing-in on Paris’ massive popularity, property prices may well slip back into the realms of affordability sometime soon.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
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