People in Clifton Real Estate

Federico Sanchez, branch manager of Weichert, Realtors Clifton office, announced that several sales associates have received the New Jersey Association of REALTORS 2011 Circle of Excellence sales award.

The 2011 NJAR Circle of Excellence award recognizes the members that have demonstrated excellence in the field of salesmanship. There are four levels of achievement within the award. The criteria for bronze level is a minimum of $3 million in sales and 15 units, or 30 units; silver level, $7.5 million and 20 units, or 70 units; gold level, $15 million and 25 units, or 90 units; and platinum level, $25 million and 30 units, or 125 units.

The following sales associates rewarded for their accomplishments in 2011 include:

Alma Billings — Bronze Circle of Excellence award

Mary Holt — Bronze Circle of Excellence award

Lesia Wirstiuk — Bronze Circle of Excellence award

Invite these top producing real estate professionals in to learn about the real estate services that Weichert, Realtors has to offer. They can be reached at Weichert's Clifton office located at 791 Passaic Ave. or by phone at 973-779-1900.

Since 1969, Weichert, Realtors has grown from a single office into one of the nation's leading providers of homeownership services by putting its customers first. A family of full-service real estate and financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of mortgages and home and title insurance. Weichert leverages its customer website, www.weichert.com, one of the most visited real estate websites in the nation, to help families and individuals realize the dream of homeownership through quick and easy access to listing information and the services of its real estate professionals nationwide.

For more information, Weichert's customer service center can be reached at 800-USA-SOLD. Weichert franchised offices are independently owned and operated.

Source: http://www.northjersey.com/realestate/broker_agent_news/142889695_People_in_Clifton_Real_Estate.html

Count Halifax as real estate hot spot in Canada

Local investor to sell market's merits at national conference

Local real estate investor Richard Killeen-Payne isn’t holding his cards too close to his chest.

Instead, the co-owner of Invicta Property Investments will be flying the flag for Halifax and promoting the municipality as a hot real estate market that investors coast-to-coast should consider when he addresses the national membership of the Real Estate Investment Network in Toronto next week.

What the local real estate market has going for it is a long track record of modest growth, even before the shipbuilding contract came to town, Killeen-Payne said Wednesday.

“The number of multi-unit apartment blocks that have started over the last two years show that it’s not just about the shipbuilding contract,” Killeen-Payne said. “That contract has been a wonderful shot of adrenaline for the market and it promises more jobs ... and with more jobs comes (gross domestic product) growth.”

A recent Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. report shows there are currently 2,282 apartment buildings under construction in Halifax, one of the highest levels recorded in 50 years. About 1,000 units are expected to come on the market before the end of the year.

The construction of single-family homes was up 42.5 per cent in February over the same month last year and the corporation expects the construction of single-family homes will be robust in 2012 with about 1,100 starts.

The average sale price of single-family homes climbed to $396,622 in January, up from $383,329 in the same month last year, the report says.

Meanwhile, a report released by Colliers International last week put commercial sales volumes at $11.8 million, more than three times the amount transacted in 2010. The most sought-after assets were multi-family buildings, representing one-third of all sales volumes, followed by industrial and then retail properties.

The steady, upward-trending track record the Halifax real estate market boasts and the pending boon the $25-billion shipbuilding contract promises, is music to real estate investors’ ears, Killeen-Payne said.

“It follows the fundamentals of real estate investing, ..... which are population growth and job growth and, eventually, GDP growth,” he said. “Even in the days of the recession, property values in Halifax didn’t decrease.”

The shipbuilding contract has pushed prices higher in Halifax as savvy buyers make speculative purchases, Killeen-Payne said. But even with the increased market activity, there will unlikely be a so-called real estate bubble to burst.

“We will definitely see a cooling off in price but I think it will be more of a gentle exhale, to use the analogy,” Killeen-Payne said. “There is speculation taking place and the market is certainly busier at this time of year than it typically is but Halifax is still a sure place to invest. ... Unless you buy the wrong property, in the wrong area, there will be a return on your investment.”

Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/73608-count-halifax-real-estate-hot-spot-canada

China to maintain real estate curbs this year

SHANGHAI: China will maintain its real estate curbs this year but will make sure purchases of first homes are unaffected, the official China Securities Journal reported, citing a notice by the central government.

The government had urged financial institutions to continue to support first-time home buyers while keeping in place lending restrictions on property investment, the newspaper said.

Property sales fell 20.9% in the first two months of 2012 from a year earlier as the government had introduced a series of measures including property sales taxes and lending restrictions to curb speculation.

Despite Beijing showing its willingness to ease policy selectively to bolster growth, rhetoric has been unbending on the property sector.

Shanghai last month reaffirmed its commitment to real estate curbs in an apparent attempt to dismiss expectations that China's commercial hub will ease some restrictions on purchases.

The third-tier city of Wuhu in Anhui province suspended plans to ease property restrictions after they were slammed by experts, local media has reported. - Reuters

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/3/14/business/10909525&sec=business

USAA Real Estate acquires Square Mile Capital

USAA Real Estate acquired opportunistic real estate manager Square Mile Capital Management, confirmed Rick Matthews, a Square Mile spokesman.

Terms of the deal are not being disclosed, but Square Mile founders Jeffrey B. Citrin and Craig H. Solomon will retain a majority interest and oversee the day-to-day operations of the firm, which invests in distressed commercial real estate.

The firm closed its last fund, the $806 million Square Mile Partners IV, in 2009, Mr. Matthews said in an e-mailed response to questions.

USAA Real Estate is a subsidiary of USAA, a financial services firm serving military families. USAA Real Estate provides co-investment asset management services for institutional investors. It is a co-sponsor of a value-added real estate fund being raised by the real estate investment firm Admiral Capital Group.

“With this new strategic relationship, we are better positioned than ever to capture our fair share of opportunities in the growing CRE distressed marketplace,” according to a Square Mile statement. “Among other advantages, it provides improved access to sponsor capital.”

In a joint news release, USAA Real Estate Chairman and CEO Pat Duncan stated, “by investing in the Square Mile platform, we hope to broaden the investment opportunities we can offer our clients."

Source: http://www.pionline.com/article/20120312/DAILYREG/120319988/usaa-real-estate-acquires-square-mile-capital

Real estate sector to grow

ZAMBIA’S real estate sector is this year projected to register growth in the residential property segment with 3,500 units expected in North-Western Province alone.

Pam Golding Properties Zambia managing director Inutu Zaloumis said the real estate sector will register significant growth this year with residential property expected to see increased demand.

Other provinces will also see growth on the back of increased investment especially in North-Western and the Copperbelt Provinces.

“North-Western Province alone will see approximately 3,500 new residential units developed as investors such as First Quantum Minerals invest further into their mining operations in the province. This investment will spill into the development of retail, commercial and industrial real estate as the province looks to provide a self-sustained economy for its population,” says Ms Zaloumis.

Ms Zaloumis said in a statement that there is likely to be increased interest in the commercial sector on the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces due to the absence of structural retail property and increased economic activity in the provinces.

“Areas such as the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces still haven’t been heavily invested into when it comes to retail and commercial property and we will definitely see that these are two key growth areas for the local real estate sector in 2012 going into 2013,” she said.

Ms Zaloumis said Lusaka has registered significant growth with a lot of shopping complexes and office blocks constructed.

She however does not expect much growth in Lusaka this year as the market has become saturated.

She said as a leading player in the industry, Pam Golding Properties Zambia has seen positive strides registered where the interests of tenants, landlords and property developers are protected.

“As a member of the Zambia Institute of Estate Agents, we are confident that with continued sensitisation of the public by the institute, estate agents will support and understand the benefits of being part of a regulatory body,” she added.

Ms Zaloumis emphasised the importance of a regulatory body which will allow aggrieved parties to seek an audience with the institute which also acts to settle disputes between tenants and property owners in Zambia.

Source: http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/index.php/business/4327-real-estate-sector-to-grow

Abu Dhabi fund eyes Indian real estate sector

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds, plans to invest directly in Indian real estate in an effort to diversify from its current strategy of ploughing money into the country through realty or private equity funds, sources familiar with the matter said.

ADIA's investments in Indian real estate to date total $400-$500m, largely through property and private equity funds, and the fund is now scouting for direct investment opportunities, one of the sources said.

The sovereign fund, whose assets range from Citigroup bonds to a stake in Britain's Gatwick airport, is close to hiring a country-dedicated fund manager from a large private equity firm to look for real estate opportunities in Asia's third-largest economy, the sources said.

ADIA recently invested $50m in an India-focused real estate private equity fund run by Red Fort Capital, one of the sources said. In January, Red Fort said it planned to raise $500m for its second India-dedicated property fund, of which it had already raised $80m.

Red Fort officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The sources did not give the name of the person ADIA is hiring and spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter has not been made public yet.

A spokesman for ADIA in Abu Dhabi declined to comment.

Large sovereign wealth funds including Singapore's Government Investment Corp (GIC) are keen to invest in Indian property as the country's cash-strapped developers seek funds to kickstart development and reduce debt.

Debt held by Indian developers hit 1.8trn rupees ($35.74bn) as of September 2011, according to a report by Infrastructure Development Finance Corp.

International private equity firms, which have invested $13bn in the Indian real estate sector since 2005, are expected to exit from up to $5bn of investments over the next couple of years, according to property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

This will widen the funding gap for developers at a time when home sales are low and banks are cautious about lending to the sector.

GIC has been in talks with several Indian developers, including oil-to-steel conglomerate Essar Group's real estate arm, Equinox Realty, and developer Godrej Properties, to invest in their projects.

ADIA has expressed "keen interest" in investing in the country, India's Trade Ministry said in a statement in January, adding that it had agreed to speed up the creation of a joint working group to facilitate the fund's investment.

Real estate investments constituted between 5 and 10 percent of ADIA's overall global portfolio, according to its 2010 annual review. The real estate division is run by Bill Schwab, who joined the fund in 2009 from JPMorgan Chase.

North America and Europe accounted for a major chunk of the ADIA's investments, with 60 percent to 85 percent poured into those regions. Emerging markets constituted about 15 percent.

The fund returned 7.6 percent on an annualised basis over a 20-year period as of December 31, 2010, it said in its review.

While the ADIA does not disclose its net worth, analysts estimate its assets to range between $400-$600bn.

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-fund-eyes-indian-real-estate-sector-449155.html

Capital's Real Estate Transactions Pick Up

The number of real estate purchases and sales in Tallinn in February grew 8 percent compared to January and the total value of the deals increased by 20 percent in that period, according to figures from the Land Board.

The increases compared to January 2011 were 28.7 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

The managing director of 1Partner Kinnisvara realty, Martin Vahter, said in an analysis that the market is starting to emerge from its winter torpor and growth is likely to be expected in March as well despite a slight increase in loan interest rates. “The ratio of loans to real estate price is at one of the most pro-buyer levels it has been in quite some time,” said Vahter.

In the category of apartment transactions in Tallinn, number of transactions was up close to 6 percent and the total value increased 14.2 percent. Year on year, the growth was 33.4 percent more transactions for an amount 42.2 percent higher.

The price of apartment floorspace in Tallinn remained over 1,000 euros per square meter for the 11th straight month - at 1,060 euros. The highest priced apartment transaction in February in Tallinn was 360,496 euros, and the lowest, 969 euros.

Fifteen plots with residential buildings were sold in Tallinn in February. The most expensive one was sold for 451,300 euros and the lowest priced one for 20,000 euros.

Nine undeveloped residential plots were sold in the capital last month, the highest for 600,000 euros and the cheapest for 31,000 euros.

Source: http://news.err.ee/economy/3c67c691-c550-4de5-b98f-b103ca1a7850

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