Cyprus: Limassol marina site visit.

Last Thursday, March 8 2012, we visited the site for the new marina in Limassol. Having had the brochures, we were a little sceptical given the heady prices northward of one million euros for a two bed apartment and between two and sixteen million for a villa.

Within an hour our view had radically changed. The construction of the first apartments is well under way and a show apartment has been constructed and the shell of the main building is now complete.

Spread out across 120 square metres the show apartment is on the ground floor. Elegant and contemporary, the open plan lounge leads to an American style kitchen. Buyers now get the option to change the internal layout if this does not suit. Off the living area are three good sized bedrooms complimented by an en-suite on the master and a family bathroom. The property has all the latest mod cons one would expect from high quality developments.

At €1.4 million, the price is not cheap but this apartment benefits from two garden areas (total 240sqm) and views across the marina toward the sea, the grassed area unique to only a handful of apartments. The underground garage also has a further storage area. As a security controlled area, access to the Marina is controlled and limited to pass holders only.

Having looked at many developments over the years, you find yourself comparing against other countries and developments. My immediate comparison is Puerto Banus, not so much in its looks but from an investment perspective. When comparing on this basis, prices are in line and have room to appreciate significantly, hence our change of view on the the Limassol Marina development.

The apartments, called Nereids, are set for completion later in the year and hand over of keys in November. Mortgages are upto 70% of the cost and do not attract VAT. The whole development is built on land owned by the government and so all the properties are leasehold, on a 125 year lease, with the Cypriot government benefiting from the sale of each property.

We were then taken on a bus tour of the villa's. Construction of the villas has not started yet as the infrastructure is still being tested. Completion will be in early 2014. With prices starting at €1.8m and as high as €16m (this one has just been sold) this is the playground of the rich and famous. For this price it has to be special, and it does not let us down. We pass dozens of seventy tonne blocks that are testing the strength of the reclaimed land as these properties will be built in the sea, on land that has been built to accommodate them. The views that will afford these villas are second to none, the ultimate sea view with no chance of anyone building in front and not having to build high on a mountain side. Special. There is nothing else like this in Cyprus and it is hard to compare to anywhere else in the world aside from the palms in Dubai. Again, when compared to Dubai, the prices do not look expensive. The villas have a choice of a private sandy beach or with atleast one berth for boats and yachts upto 60m. There are e-brochures and plans and CGI videos to get a better idea of the Limassol marina development but you really have to visit to get a feel for its  beauty, uniqueness and potential.

So, from an investment perspective the numbers do really add up. With the middle East high net worth market right on its doorstep, the strong demand from the wealthy Russian market there will be no difficulty is selling the development and a strong after market is predicted. Footballers, with their wealth and a need for investment is another key area that we see investing. it is not cheap, but it never will be, properties like these are rare and will always demand a premium.

Guide prices 1 bed room apartment from €428,000
                    2 bed room apartment from €809,000
                    3 bed room apartment from €930,000

                    2 bed room villas Peninsula from €1,700,000
                    3 bed room villas Peninsula from €2,812,000
                    4 bed room villas Peninsula from €2,472,000 (without berth)

                     2 bed room villas Island from €1,782,000
                     3 bed room villas Island from €2,884,000
                     4 bed room villas Island from €4,017,000

For a picture gallery on some of the construction and computer generated images of the finished development please click below
For more information including E-brochure, CGI video, plans, availibilty and price list, Please CLICK HERE to receive more information.

Spain: Opportunity not demolition job

Immediately, after the Second World War in 1945, the general consensus of opinion was that there was a huge glut of ships.

You couldn’t give them away.  Ships cost too much to maintain and there was no use for them after the conflict.

The consensus was wrong.  The war had increased the desire for international goods (like Pizza from Italy) to such an extent that international trade doubled from pre-war levels by the end of the 1950’s.  

With hindsight, there was in fact a latent shortage of ships but the market didn’t recognise it.

It sounds like a crazy question but could there be a parallel with Spanish housing market today?

There are between 800,000 and 1 million empty properties in Spain today depending on which figures you believe. Roughly 65% of them are in coastal areas.

The consensus is that most of them are badly built and in sub prime locations.

However the truth is that most of the time, these two things are not built into the price.  Developers and banks are still trying to sell at prices that do not reflect what the market is now willing to pay.

The overseas property market is driven by convenience and price. If you could buy a completed (non-fractional) apartment for £10k, would you be willing to travel an hour and half from the nearest international airport to get there?  I might, provided I could visit it first to check the quality.

Spanish tourism numbers are the one bright spot on a dark horizon.  The crisis has if anything increased the desire of tourists to visit as they expect to get a good deal.  There will always be a market for cheap holidays and holiday homes in the sun.  

Many people tell me the overseas property market will never be the same again.  Over the long term, I’m not so sure.

It’s the entrepreneurs with the vision to buy in bulk now at rock bottom prices who will be the players in tomorrow’s market.

Some of the developments may have to be bulldozed but my guess is that these will be the minority.

Everything has its price even if that price is negative and you have pay people to take developments off your hands.

Source global edge

For spanish bank repossessions in Marbella CLICK HERE

For spanish repossessions across the country CLICK HERE

For repossessed plots CLICK HERE