Words: Ashley Rigg
Published: 21st April 2010
The world's "best" resort
We are operating in a world where the rules have changed. Properties that used to fly off the shelves may now never be sold. Russell Brag takes at look at the characteristics of the "ideal" resort in today's post-credit-crunch market.
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User Comments
I tend to agree with Russel, although we are 8 hours away from the UK so we are outside of the easy access area for a one week holiday. I believe that wanting more of a new life style experience where you can enjoy some of the local character and customs of the place you are visiting will become more important.
David Coombes,
CARIBBEAN ISLAND PROPERTIES
With investor confidence somehow dented by fairly recent rumblings of restructuring of debt by the big players inthe Dubai real estate development market,recovery has been tangible after positive repayment committments by these parties.
Some of the biggest investors on a Global scaqle has committed to the region before the meltdown and are now sitting with large investments in some of the most incredible developments on earth.Fantastic investment opportunities are now surfacing and none more so than on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah.
One of the largest hotel resort groups worldwide and based in Kuweir are offering a 10% guarenteed return on your investment per annum for 5 years and a guarenteed buy back after 5 years with 10% profit above the original capital investment.These returns are guarenteed by the company.
The cherry on the cake is allways the taxfree angle.
Tjokkie van der Merwe,
Navigator Real Estate Dubai
Russell is as usual spot on with his observations, but he omits to mention the tax aspect; this is a key motivation for an increasing number of HNW UK buyers, who want their hard-earned assets and to be protected from the taxman's claws as far as possible!
Just consider the current exodus of high rate UK taxpayers to Switzerland, which is seeing a boom, and top UK agents even running open evenings promoting this.
Several other destinations, e.g. Caribbean, Mauritius, are offering attractive tax environments, which provides added benefits to overseas property buyers over and above the lifestyle purchase.
Chris Graham,
Graham Associates
Russell obviously knows his onions, but may be running the risk of becoming a dinosaur regarding his views on... FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP.
This is nothing new, others have added their voice that fractional ownership may be a passing fad. This cannot be true. At yooPhuket, which is a 256 cutting edge, design led aparthotel, we originally set aside 30 apartments for fractionals and recently due to a high level of sales through our partners Absolute Group, we have increased that to 65 apartments. Established research has evidenced that buyers of second homes only use them for an average 40 nights per year, yet pay full capital cost to buy outright and run all the operating and maintenance costs themselves and generally are stuck with holidaying in the same place time after time after time.
A fractional product in Italy called Appassionata has a great slogan based on their 5 week (one tenth) fractional development, which is.... "Why pay 100% for only 10% of the time ... when you can pay only 10% for 100% of the time!"
Sometimes something new comes along that just seems to match everyone's needs and fits well with their financial logic. I too sell outright ownership, which will always have its place, but I can assure Russell there is a gathering ground swell on the fractional model. Its ability to let owners travel the world to other fractional properties, whilst retaining an interest in the bricks and mortar and save hundreds of thousands of pounds, makes a winning combination. Innovative UK lawyers will attest to the fact that properties in Europe can have their legal platform embedded in the UK giving the fractional owner surety of title. Russell come to the next 'Fractional Summit' conference and see and feel the future. Timeshare's Achilles heel was always resales, but you cannot translate that to Fractionals. Timeshare is just time. Fractionals is like outright, only better, because when reselling, it is much simpler and quicker than outright and far less expensive with a far greater and wider audience who can afford the product.
Sandy Blackwood,
PRD - yooPhuket
An interesting article and one which should certainly be considered by all Developers.
It is also good to see that Russell agrees with me that Egypt and the Red Sea Coast ticks all of the boxes for location; five hours from all European capitals, 365 days of sunshine, friendly people, great food, beaches and history and of course the best diving in the world, the list goes on and on.
AND NOW GOLF....few people have caught on yet to the potential demand for this sport in a country which has arguably the perfect climate, especially in the Winter and Late Autumn where the weather in Egypt is ideal..
How many people have heard of Sahl Hasheesh, just 15 kms south from Hurghada Airport? They will soon; this glittering resort has no less than 11 championship golf courses under construction and in the planning stages and is set to become a golfers paradise within two to three years.
And now to the ideal Resort; in my book; Azzurra in Sahl Hasheesh has it all, top Egyptian Developer, one of the best Italian architects, surrounded on three sides by Egypt's first links golf course, 95% of apartments with breathtaking sea views and, this is the important bit, 80% completed with just a year from delivery.
Azzurra has been one of Egypt's best kept secrets, sold by just a few International agents who were privy to it's existence. Egypt Real have been marketing Azzurra for five months and it is the only Resort in my experience where every client who goes there buys there.
Azzurra is also the first resort in Egypt to feature fibre optics throughout with full Domotic capability, it will have its own free transportation system using golf trolleys and will be managed by an International Hotel group.
Peter Mitry,
Egypt Real