I attach above the link to the Power Point presentation and below some pictures from the CIJ Progressive Learning Program – the first part of the double session workshop Real estate marketing in crisis periods. The second workshop will take place on the 18th of February, 2009. For attending, please contact Mrs. Adela Balan at balan@cijjournal.com.
Top Fittest Cities
1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. Colorado Springs, CO
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Denver, CO
5. Albuquerque, NM
6. Portland, OR
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Seattle, WA
9. Omaha, NE
10. Virginia Beach, VA
11. Milwaukee, WI
12. San Francisco, CA
13. Tucson, AZ
14. Boston, MA
15. Cleveland, OH
16. St. Louis, MO
17. Austin, TX
18. Washington, DC
19. Sacramento, CA
20. Oakland, CA
21. Atlanta, GA
22. Fresno, CA
23. Tampa, FL
24. Nashville-Davidson, TN
25. Pittsburgh, PA
Top Fattest Cities
1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. New York, NY
6. Houston, TX
7. El Paso, TX
8. Jacksonville, FL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Louisville-Jefferson, KY
11. Memphis, TN
12. Detroit, MI
13. Chicago, IL
14. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
15. San Jose, CA
16. Tulsa, OK
17. Baltimore, MD
18. Columbus, OH
19. Raleigh, NC
20. Philadelphia, PA
21. L.A.-Long Beach, CA
22. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
23. Indianapolis, IN
24. San Diego, CA
25. Kansas City, MO
This is how looks a recently top published by the magazine Men’s Fitness. Even though Miami has a high number of health-food stores per capita, Men’s Fitness found it also has nearly three times the fast-food restaurants as the average city. And while there are 79 percent more gyms and health clubs than average, residents are less likely to regularly use their memberships. Not many residents take advantage of outdoor activities, either.
On the other end of the spectrum… Salt Lake City got top marks for being the fittest city because of its abundance of park space, athletically motivated residents, and below- average obesity rates. It ranks highest in the survey in the number of people who take part in activities like beach volleyball, racquetball, aerobics, hiking, basketball, yoga, tai chi, swimming, cycling, running, and kickboxing.
I kindly invite you to attend this two sessions seminar, the first of them being held on 27th of January, 2009 at Radisson SAS Hotel Bucharest.
Real Estate Marketing in Crisis Periods
The workshop is entitled for marketing and sales staff and is focused on industrial, office and residential;
Part 1 – To make a difference in a crowded Real Estate Market
Topics:
In a period like this it is mandatory to invest in marketing to place the offers in front of potential customers and is very important to maximize the effect with the same or less budget than before – techniques, actions to be done, ways to measure the impact;
In a crisis situation, the communication of positive things about the company’s activity is very important. Why to do this and how?
Real estate fairs in Romania – analysis from the crisis point of view; key points for smarter attending both as visitor and exhibitor;
How to keep the regular clients warm and to attract new customers;
Internal communication – to grow the synergy between sales and marketing department;
Marketing for new projects on behalf of the developers – which are the main activities to be done with a slashed budget and how to maximize;
Part 2 – The newest trends which will influence real estate market during the crisis
Topics:
The growing importance of Green projects – how to market them and why
Everybody goes online – techniques and activities to be implemented for a better and smarter online presence;
Why is very important to appear in the news portals and how to to this cost-effective?
The power of blogging and how this works in real estate;
Case study – TBA;
Mistakes done in emerging periods which have to be avoided in crisis periods;
Why and how the crisis can work for us?
For registration and other details, please contact Mrs. Adela Balan at Tel: +40 372 123 408, or e-mail: balan@cijjournal.com.
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The individual governments of the UAE are continuing to clamp down on the property sector in a bid to restore investor confidence to the region that is being hit hard by the global economic downturn.
Yesterday, the Ajman government announced it is to create the Ajman Real Estate Regulatory Establishment to police the Emirate’s burgeoning property market, which has registered over Dh340bn worth of investment since 2006.
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The news comes as thousands of agents across the world face an uncertain future with several high-profile projects going under, putting commissions in jeopardy. Just last week, the RERA announced it is looking into plans to combat this by requiring a developer to fully own a plot of land before permitting construction to begin.
The government-backed organisation is also setting its sights on overseas brokers and said that, effective immediately, it will ban ‘freelance’ estate agents from operating in Dubai by ensuring that any broker who wishes to sell property in the Emirate should be over 18, take a RERA training course and pass a police clearance exam.
In addition, the Ministry of Interior is restricting visas issued to real estate companies who bring in foreign agents to work in the UAE, to curb the influx of temporary workers, which, it believes, might not act in the best interests of the country’s property sector.
“Due to such reasons the Ministry of Interior is taking measures to limit the issuance of these visas and confine them for large companies and that will be according to strict procedures to curb their exploitation for illegal purposes,” said a Ministry spokesperson.
However, as other Emirates clamp down on foreign workers, Abu Dhabi is looking to extend international buyers’ rights in the region by establishing more ‘free zones’ that enjoy flexible ownership and taxation rights.
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International agents are not marketing to Danish buyers effectively, missing out on the chance to reach the estimated 43% of investors that plan to buy abroad in 2009, said Ole Bolvig Hansen, MD of Denmark-based exhibition organiser Bolig I Udlandet. |
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Source: www.opp.org.uk
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Supported by a major media campaign to reach an estimated readership of 200,000 people “actively looking for property in their chosen destination”, the first edition of The International Retirement Directory is planned for February.
Providing information on over 60 countries, it will also offer advice on buying property overseas “and the importance of dealing with a company that is a member of a professional organization such as AIPP”, said Colin Miller of Millfield Publishing. “The Directory is the means to sell property and affiliated services to people who will actively be looking to buy,” he added.
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As part of the campaign to promote the new directory, Millfield Publishing has invited a variety of governments to endorse it by writing a letter to appear in their respective country sections. So far, the list of those who have agreed to support it include: Portugal, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Nevis, Bulgaria, Dubai, Costa Rica, Brazil, Malaysia, Cayman Islands, Philippines, Greece, Paraguay, Malta, Turkey, Belize, Bahrain, Honduras, Cyprus, Barbados, Spain, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, and Tunisia. “We are waiting on confirmation from a further 30+,” claims Miller.
Millfield Publishing is working with PRo Global Media, the organisers of ‘The Retirement Show’ to develop an International Pavilion at their London Show in July 2009. “This will showcase international property developers and agents, plus governments wishing to promote their countries as retirement destinations – over 20 countries already have specific programmes to attract retirees,” said Miller.
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As UK house prices fall by over 20% and the Pound crashes to record lows against the Euro, UK-based estate agents are reporting rising numbers of international buyers snapping up bargain properties, particularly in London.
“European buyers, especially Italians, are piling in to London’s property market and supporting prices locally,” said Peter Rollings, MD of estate agency Marsh & Parsons. “As far as they’re concerned, there’s never been a better time to buy. While the British economy is faltering, the Euro is getting stronger – and this is the result. This week we’ve seen two Italian couples competing over a £700,000 property in Battersea.”
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Ed Mead, director at London agency, Douglas & Gordon, commented: “We have seen 20% more online registrations from overseas buyers compared to last year this time. Nationalities showing the most interest are from Italy, France and the Middle East, who are registering on our website. Currently, 70% of our sales transactions in central London are to foreign buyers.”
Nathalie Hirst, London director at Prime Purchase, a UK property acquisitions company, added: “We have been busy with enquiries not only from existing international clients but also from French, Italian and German investors all wanting to see where and what they might be able to buy.”
Dollar buyers also active
For dollar denominated buyers, prices in London have nearly halved over the last year, paving the way for more US and Middle Eastern investors.
“It’s similar to what happened after Black Wednesday in the early 90’s,” said James Geddes, director of sourcing company Property Vision. “Then, almost overnight, the devaluation of Sterling and the reduction in property prices made London a cheaper place to buy. The number of Middle Eastern buyers registering with Property Vision is fairly constant y-o-y. What is different is that until last year no one was interested in buying in the UK due to the property market peak and the weak US dollar. Recently I have seen a much stronger interest in the UK market due to the reversal of these two factors. In December, 80% of the people we spoke to in the Middle East were interested in UK property, most of them looking to buy in summer this year.”
The falling Pound has also opened up new opportunities for a different level of Russian buyer. Inessa Falina, head of the Russian desk at Hamptons International, said: “There are considerably more Russian overseas property buyers than few months earlier,” she claimed. “Dropping property prices in Europe and the UK and the weak Pound means that property is becoming affordable to wider circle of clients. That’s why there are now more ‘budget’ Russian buyers”.
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Property owners in Spain hoping to provide some security for their children or spouses after their deaths could be leaving them a financial headache instead according to a Corporate property ownership specialist.
“Non-domiciled property owners in Spain are sitting on a ticking IHT time bomb,” said Mark Roach of Wincham Investments. “Most owners do not understand that their heirs and their estate may pay IHT in two jurisdictions, Spain and their country of domicile. In Spain, the individual inheritor is taxed whereas in other countries it is the estate that is taxed. This could mean that on the death of an owner the surviving partner, or the owner’s beneficiaries, could have a tax bill that virtually wipes out the entire Spanish inheritance. Added to this is the cost of probate in both countries too.”
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“Shares in the UK company can be dealt with in a UK will and, depending on the structure of the company, the shares may be exempt from Inheritance Tax in the UK. A further advantage of the company structure is that attributable expenses such as mortgage interest, council tax bills, water, electricity, repairs and maintenance can all be tax deductable by the company; this may also include car hire and flights for the directors. This is a simple solution costing less than most probate and legal fees in Spain when there is a death of an Owner of the property.”
Anticipating a huge rise in the number of heirs and beneficiaries facing substantial costs, Wincham Investments offers such services through a number of ‘approved consultants’. It is currently offering prospective consultants, or introducers, a three day training course to learn more about this service. “This is an exciting new opportunity to participate in an emerging and growing market introducing a concept that can only benefit and protect clients who are failed time and time again by both Spanish and UK professionals as they are unable to advise on more than one jurisdiction,” Wincham concludes.
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In a global economy where investors expect to be punished rather than rewarded, and consumers are wary of overseas home purchases because the developer may go bust, are we witnessing the death of off-plan?
“It is nearly deceased,” claims Mark Jeffery, founder of Landscope Capital. “Many developments will fall by the wayside, particularly in secondary locations. Developers will have to have outstanding locations, areas that people really want to live in or holiday in and which can genuinely stack up as a capital and/or rental investment”.
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Time to get creative
Proving that it’s not impossible to fund projects, Urban Exposure has been exploring alternative sources of funding. “It’s no secret that the lack of bank funding has crippled the construction market in recent months, with many developers unable to start projects even in countries where the sales market may still be strong,” said Urban Exposure’s MD Randeesh Sandhu. “We had to think of new ways to spread the risk between all stakeholders – including contractors, landowners and equity providers.”
The structure, which the company is currently using in Turkey, works by a developer paying a landowner a small deposit (20%) for their land, with a contract promising further sales-based stage payments from the developer to the landowner in the future. The developer is then free to inject more money into the project only if it is successful and pays out from the sales revenue – not its profit.
So there are options for funding, but what about demand from buyers? Buyer protection is close the hearts of many agents but, to put it bluntly, not as important as the commissions that allow them to keep trading. As more agents introduce new payment structures – like the payment of fees upfront from the buyer, escrow systems or trustee accounts – reassurances about the solvency of the developer are more important than ever.
Craig Anderson, commercial director of the International Development Registry – which also helps developers to source funding – believes title insurance is now one of the most important sales tools in the industry for creating confidence. “Those who include title insurance as standard have realised that investors are more conscious than ever of the risks involved with purchasing overseas property,” he says. “Developers who are open about what they have and haven’t got in terms of clean title, planning permission or construction permits can differentiate themselves in an overcrowded development market.”
Source: www.opp.org.uk
REVEALED: UK’s best-selling games of 2008
Mario Kart Wii and FIFA 09 lead the way as part of £1.9bn software market
Exclusive end-of-year ELSPA/Gfk-ChartTrack data supplied to MCV has shown that Mario Kart and FIFA were the big winners as part of 2008′s £4bn bonanza we detailed earlier this week.
According to the Top 10s for unit sales of both individual SKUs and the All Formats listing, Nintendo formats drove sales while multiformat efforts from the likes of EA, Activision Blizzard, Rockstar and LucasArts secured glory too.
Mario Kart Wii was the best selling single-SKU of the year, selling continually after its April 2008 release.
In fact five Wii games secured places in that chart – the others were Wii Fit, Wii Play (both Nintendo), Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega) and 2K’s Carnival Funfair.
Meanwhile, in the All Formats 2008 list, EA takes the top spot – no surprise after selling 2m copies in the UK as we revealed earlier today – but Mario Kart isn’t far behind at second.
And there are six titles exclusive to Nintendo formats in that list – Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, Wii Fit, Wii Play, Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training and Carnival Funfair.
GTA IV, Lego Indiana Jones and Call of Duty: World at War also put in good showings in the top 10s too. (In fact, as these lists are by unit sales rather than value, it’s possible that Activision Blizzard and Rockstar might have trumped the likes of EA in the revenue stakes as their headline games were released at higher-price points on 360 and PS3 – but you’ll have to wait until we publish our full year analysis to find out more about that.)
The full 2008 top tens for individual SKU sales (units) and All Formats (units) are listed below.
2008 TOP 10 – INDIVIDUAL SKUS
1. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) Nintendo
2. Wii Fit (Wii) Nintendo
3. Wii Play (Wii) Nintendo
4. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (DS) Nintendo
5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) Sega
6. GTA IV (360) Rockstar
7. GTA IV (PS3) Rockstar
8. Call of Duty: World at War (360) Activision
9. Carnival Funfair (Wii) 2K
10. FIFA 09 (360) EA
2008 TOP 10 – ALL FORMATS
1. FIFA 09 EA
2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
3. GTA IV (Rockstar)
4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega)
5. Wii Fit (Nintendo)
6. Call of Duty: World at War (Activision)
7. Wii Play (Nintendo)
8. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
9. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts)
10. Carnival Funfair (2K)
Source: www.mcvuk.com
