• The saga of Yellowstone, the super-expensive luxury residence club in Montana is finally over. At an auction last week, the less-than-surprising winning bid of $115 million came from CrossHarbor Capital partners. $35 million will be in cash, $80 million a promissory note to Credit Suisse, the original lender. Yellowstone residence club
• The Times, which has apparently become a government press release farm, is all excited about a new mortgage product by government-owned Lloyds TSB. “First-time buyer deal breaks mortgage deadlock,” says the Times, and the lead in is  “Lloyds TSB earns praise for new 95 per cent LTV.” 95 percent mortgages
• To say it has been difficult to buy (or keep) a home in the last year or more is an understatement. If the neighborhood you live in, or are looking to live in, falls in the jumbo loan price range the difficulties have been even greater. Jumbo loans“
• Are we there yet?” is the question on everybody’s lips. As in – are we at the bottom of the real estate downturn? If I could answer this question and be perfectly accurate, I would be a rich man. Real Estate bottom
• As the name suggests a homeowner loan is a loan to a homeowner. Usually using equity in the home to secure the loan, which often gets a more reasonable rate of interest than other types of loans. UK homeowner loans
• A 100% home equity loan is a loan against the value of your house. Or rather against the the total value of equity you own in your house. During the recent credit boom, these loans were freely available to… 100% home equity loan
• Foreclosures are rising in the USA, and repossessions in the UK. In fact, the amount of homes repossessed in the UK this year is likely to exceed 75,000 – more than double the amount in 2008. Adverse credit remortgage

Perfectly situated near the proposed gondola and co-located with The Ritz-Carlton Residences, the property will afford Members all the comforts of a second home coupled with the legendary, personalized services and amenities of The Ritz-Carlton. The Club residences will incorporate spacious two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans ranging from approximately 1,300 to 2,874 square feet, with magnificent views of Vail Mountain. Furthermore, they will boast fully-equipped kitchens with gourmet appliances and granite counters, beautifully-appointed room finishes inspired by contemporary Alpine-style architecture, fireplaces, coffered ceilings, hardwood flooring in living areas and high-speed Internet access.

“The Ritz-Carlton Club, Vail is a tremendous new addition to our portfolio,” said Peter J. Watzka, executive vice president and chief operating officer for The Ritz-Carlton Development Company, Inc. (an affiliate of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.). “We already have two exclusive Clubs in Colorado located in Aspen Highlands and Bachelor Gulch. Vail is yet another addition to the collection and will add to the unparalleled mountain experiences we offer our Members.”

The Ritz-Carlton Club, Vail is anticipated to include a variety of luxurious appointments and distinctive experiences, including: a dedicated concierge staff offering assistance with pre-arrival provisioning of the Member’s residence; twice daily housekeeping; ski concierge; fitness facility with a movement studio; Ritz-Carlton spa services and treatment rooms; Ritz Kids program; great room with a fireplace and bar; library; an outdoor heated pool and whirlpool spa; fire pit and a heated underground garage with valet parking. Occupancy is scheduled for late 2010.

With an annual average of 346 inches of powder, more than 5,200 skiable acres, expansive back bowls, 15 miles of recreation paths and surrounded by 350,000 acres of national forest, Vail has something for every member of the family. Activities include tubing, ski biking, dog-sledding and ice skating. In the summer months, golf, whitewater rafting, hiking and horseback riding are popular activities. Not only is the new Ritz-Carlton Club, Vail located within the revitalized LionsHead Village as part of the EverVail project, the resort will also be within walking distance of world-class shopping and dining experiences.

About The Ritz-Carlton Club
The Ritz-Carlton Club is a deeded, fractional ownership real estate offering combining the benefits of vacation home ownership with personalized Ritz-Carlton services and amenities. Designed as a private club, Members have the opportunity to access their luxuriously-appointed home Club or other Ritz-Carlton Clubs through reciprocal use privileges in accordance with reservation procedures. Members also have the ability to utilize additional time as available.

Panama Opportunities, Inc. is a licensed real estate enterprise in Panama City, Latin America. Panama Opportunities, Inc. has a wide variety of mountain, beach & city properties for long-term and short-term rentals. Other than Real Estate Services in Panama, the company also provides Legal Services in Panama, Financial and Banking Advice, Rental Management Services, Rental of Short-Term and Long-Term Properties, Interior Design Services, Personalized Furniture Shopping Services and Customized Real Estate Tours.

Panama Opportunities, Inc. has recently announced the launch of it’s new website. The website serves as a catalogue for the best beach, city and mountain properties such as condos and other rental properties. The website contains detailed information about the most popular properties with all amenities, their selling price and other relevant information. People can request for more information by filling a form at: http://www.panamaopportunities.com/panama-real-estate/contactUs.php.

Panama is the most sought after country in Latin America to invest in real estate. That is why Panama Opportunities, Inc. has acquired various reputable and diverse investment properties for its customers. In addition to its real estate knowledge and expertise, it offers additional value-added services to its clients. To know more about the recent additions to the property listings in Panama, customers can visit: http://www.panamaopportunities.com.

Maria Amelia Pezzotti, Administrative Manager of Panama Opportunities, Inc., says, “It’s our pleasure to serve foreigners & the local people with our value added services and to extend our reach and aura of services, we have launched our website so that we can closely understand the needs and wants of our customers”.

About Panama Opportunities:
Panama Opportunities, Inc. is a licensed real estate company in Panama City, Latin America. It’s a modern real estate enterprise, specialized in Property Management, Interior Design & Relocation Services. They are experts in assessing the investment goals of the public for city, mountain and beach properties in the Republic of Panama. The core values of the company are Responsibility, Compromise, Honesty, Excellent Reputation, Respect and Empathy. And their mission is to provide the best personalized services to their customers by providing a customized real estate portfolio based on their investment goal range, location, and type of investment as well as expected appreciated return.

Contact Details:
Maria Amelia Pezzotti
Administrative Manager
Panama Opportunities, Inc.
Phone: (507) 6611.4600
Office: (507) 270.0070
Email:map@panamaopportunities.com
Website: www.panamaopportunities.com

As you drive around the Las Vegas valley, you may notice bright yellow and black posters that are popping up on more properties. The signs represent the flip side of the foreclosure crisis — meaning what was one homeowner’s misery could soon be another’s gold mine.

Because there are so many Nevada luxury properties up for bid in this auction, it’s a two-day event starting Saturday morning and wrapping up Monday evening. There is no auction on Sunday.

The country’s largest real estate auction company, the Real Estate Disposition Corporation, or REDC, is organizing the event. Potential bidders were given the chance during an open house event last weekend to actually walk through the properties and inspect them which is always recommended.

Visit the REDC website for more information on the auction.

REDC Vice President Chris Alcedo says the opportunity created by Nevada’s current real estate market is what he likes to call a perfect storm.

“Because you have historically low pricing and tremendously low interest rates. You combine those together and it creates a great opportunity for people who otherwise couldn’t afford to buy a home to get into a home,” Alcedo said.
Many of the homes have low opening bids. For example, one 2,000 square foot home near Valley View and Washington sold for $215,000 and it’s starting bid price is listed at $19,000.

Leonardo DiCaprio has undergone a serious image overhaul in the last few years, transforming from a Romeo & Juliet/Titanic pre-teen dream to a bearded environmental activist.

The actor used some of his movie millions to snap up his very own paradise island in Belize in 2005 for £1.15 million and is now planning to turn it into an eco-friendly resort.

Leo purchased the island from Emerald Futures, who described it as a ‘beautiful, pristine island,’ and its famous owner is keen to preserve that natural beauty in a green manner.

The staunch environmentalist has great green plans for the 104-acre Blackadore Caye island which is lined with white sand beaches and dotted with coconut palms and rocky outcrops.

It lies between mainland Belize and Ambergris Caye and is just a 25-minute boat ride from the Belize Barrier Reef, a World Heritage Site.

Leo plans to fund the luxury layout, which will include an 80-room hotel and a selection of condominiums and luxury villas, all with private pools and a green theme.

The very latest in innovative green technology will be used, including hybrid power systems and eco tours, which will respect the island’s wildlife and tropical surroundings.

The Blackadore Caye project will be managed by hotel giant Four Seasons and construction is scheduled to begin next year.

Leo wants the island to become a ‘landmark example of sustainable development.’

Buying in Belize

Leo is not alone in wanting to build or buy Belize property. Known as ‘Mother Nature’s best-kept secret,’ Belize has become increasingly popular with foreign buyers over the last few years, fuelling demand for homes to buy and rent.

Although Costa Rica and Panama get all the publicity, Belize is renowned as one of the easiest countries in Central America for overseas buyers to buy Belize properties.

There are no restrictions on non-citizens owning property, no capital gains taxes and low property taxes and the country uses English as the primary language.

In response to heightened demand, there are a number of new residential developments being constructed across the country.

Belize also boasts one of most liberal retirement programs in the region, the Retired Persons Incentive Program, which was introduced in 1999. Under the programme’s terms, foreign citizens older than 45 can import their possessions duty free and gain special residence status as long as they meet some basic requirements.

For more information on Belize properties and the market in general, please visit http://belize.themovechannel.com/

Following extensive consultation with industry and unions, the Australian Parliament has finally passed the Migration Legislation Amendment (Workers Protection) Bill 2008, which is designed to give better protection to temporary overseas workers.

Thousands flock to Australia each year through the subclass 457 Australian visa program, to undertake fruit picking and other temporary work and this new bill aims to better protect their rights.

The 457 visa is an uncapped scheme driven by the demands of the labour market and enables employers to sponsor overseas workers needed to fill certain skilled positions and allows migrants to remain in Australia for up to four years.

Australia’s Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has welcomed the introduction of new laws.

“Over the last five years Australian employers have increasingly turned to the temporary skilled migration program to bring in the skilled workers they need,” Senator Evans said.

“The resources boom, low levels of unemployment, and the failure of the previous government to invest in the education and training of our own people, have contributed to endemic skills shortages across the country.

“The temporary working visa scheme is only sustainable if the community is confident that overseas workers are not being exploited or used to undermine local wages and conditions,” he added.

The amendments proposed in the Bill outline four main measures to protect overseas workers from exploitation.

These measures provide for expanded powers to monitor and investigate possible non-compliance by sponsors; the introduction of penalties for employers found in breach of their obligations; improved information sharing across all levels of Government and defined sponsorship obligations for employers and other sponsors.

Almost 60 000 primary visas were granted to overseas workers in 2007-08 and while the vast majority of employers did the right thing, there have been concerns about the incidence of employer breaches in the programme.

The recent Deegan report highlighted various employer abuses amongst the sponsors of some 60,000 immigrants issued with visas in 2007-2008.

Indeed, during the period, 192 employers were formally sanctioned with a further 1353 receiving formal warnings. The number of sanctions issued was double that in the preceding 12 months. In 2006-07 just 313 formal warnings were issued.

Under the new laws, specially trained officers will be empowered to monitor workplaces and conduct site visits to ensure that employers are complying with the redefined sponsorship obligations. The powers will be similar to the powers of workplace inspectors under the Workplace Relations Act 1996.

Fines of up to £14,000 are proposed for employers found in breach of the obligations in the Migration Regulations. The department will retain the ability to cancel an employer’s approval as a sponsor or bar them from making applications for approval as a sponsor for a period of time.

The new laws will also enable the Commissioner of Taxation to disclose tax information to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in order to ensure correct salary levels are being paid to visa holders.

In September of this year, the minimum salary levels for temporary skilled overseas workers were increased by 3.8 per cent after they had been frozen for more than two years.

For more information on Australian properties and the market in general, please visit http://australia.themovechannel.com/

The Luxury Property Blog believes that 2009 luxury real estate prices will not settle down until the financial institutions come under some sort of control.

International Property Investment has some dire warnings about property prices in the UK,

The Times Online has a selection of predictions on teh UK from a variety of sources, none of it good news for the British market.

The International Herald Tribune is prepared to admit they got it all wrong in 2008, but is not going to make any predictions for 2009 just yet. Looking forward to Kevin’s opinions soon though.

The Urban Land Institute is suggesting Asia is going to go through a major correction in 2009.

The Wall Street Journal suggests home prices in the US will continue falling in 2009.

The only pundits saying prices will go up are from press releases by desperate developers in the UAE, where, it would appear the credit crunch is not happening, despite the fact that developers are canceling projects and firing staff all over the place. The only glimmer of positive news is the opportunities presented when the real estate market reaches bottom.

Luxury Film, headquartered in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA, filmed FIABCI’s 2008 World Conference in Amsterdam and is providing the footage to all FIABCI members by creating an FIABCI World Congress Amsterdam Video Channel. This streamed conference is available for individual members’ websites, as well as all Regional and Chapter websites, who can embed the video for free by going to http://www.luxuryfilm.com/fiabci-2008-world-congress/embed

In addition, LUXURY FILM is working in partnership with FIABCI to offer members an economic yet sophisticated member centric FIABCI Video Network which includes custom branded players, hosting and streaming as well as a state-of-the-art technical team for member support. “It is a great opportunity to work with the world’s most prestigious Real Estate Federation,” said Shaun Stanley, LUXURY FILM Director of Video Solutions. “Our introduction to the high-quality standards of FIABCI was captured in the 2008 FIABCI World Congress in Amsterdam. We are committed to that standard of excellence and look forward to continually providing the same service to FIABCI members on a global basis,” he continued.

The International Real Estate Federation, FIABCI, is an organization of real estate professionals in 65 countries which represents more than 100 national real estate associations, over 2 million professionals, and serves as special consultant with NGO status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organization (ECOSOC). FIABCI helps members acquire knowledge, develop networks and optimize business opportunities throughout the world. For information, go to www.FIABCI.org or contact Alyssa Nightingale (631) 367-8599.

You are free to reproduce this press release on your own website, but if doing so, please leave all live links intact. Thank you.

Manzano Golf Resort will be the first golf resort in Cortona Italy. It will cover about 200 acres and will include an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Gary Player Design, and a four star luxury hotel with 40 rooms and 36 units.

The complex will be a polyfuctional resort offering a wide variety of choices: from the classic room of the hotel to the exclusive villas, from the wellness center to the conference room, from the restaurant to tourist info point, from the golf course to other sport facilities.

Fractional shares are now available with limited founders club ownership. Fractional ownership along with independent real estate investment funds seems to be the preferred investment tack in the current climate.

Construction to be started this months and phase I is estimated to be completed in fall 2010.

“The fundamentals of the vacation home market have changed,” Ragatz stated. “The days of buying a three-million-dollar house on the beach or at a ski resort with the expectation of 20% annual appreciation are gone for the foreseeable future.”
Ragatz noted that most luxury vacation homes sit empty for the majority of the year. “In the past, owners could justify the high cost and low utilization based on a significantly higher re-sale price,” he said. “Based on recent events, it’s difficult to imagine that scenario continuing in the next few years.”

The top-tier fractional products are known as residence clubs. These clubs typically are expensive resort developments in which six to ten households share ownership of each residence. A club staff cares for the property and provides hotel-like services. Club reservation policies dictate use — which is unlimited, subject to use by other owners — much like tee time privileges at golf country clubs.

Dr. Ragatz and his Eugene, Oregon-based company, Ragatz Associates, have tracked the resort real estate market for many years, especially the fractional ownership segment. He noted that fractional sales have increased dramatically during the past five years and grew in 2007 despite the real estate downturn. However, he expects these sales to be off in 2008.

“The financial crisis has affected every part of the real estate market,” Ragatz said. “But I believe, in the long term, recent events will enhance the attractiveness of the high-end fractional products as compared to whole ownership.”

Ragatz’s statements are echoed by Steve Dering, a pioneer of the residence club industry.

Dering is a partner in Chicago-based DCP International, a firm that has assisted real estate developers in bringing more than 20 residence clubs to market in the U.S., Mexico, Bermuda, Italy and Scotland. Locations include ski, beach and golf resorts as well U.S. and European urban locations. DCP’s first project, the Deer Valley Club in Park City, Utah, opened in 1992 and has served as the prototype for the industry.

“There’s no question that our sales have slowed during this downturn,” Dering said. “However, we are now in conversations with developers, banks, and buyers of distressed properties who are positioning themselves for the turnaround.”

Dering believes there are multiple reasons why his specialized product will be the first to rebound.

“Affluent households will always want a vacation home,” Dering said. “Research shows it’s second only to college educations for their children as the most desired, big-ticket discretionary expenditure.”

“Our clubs, on average, have eight owners per residence and are designed to provide the amount of vacation time that is typical for a homeowner in the same location,” he stated. “Therefore, the use is the same as whole ownership but the purchase price is far lower. Additionally, the shared annual ownership cost is significantly less than the cost of renting a comparable luxury home multiple times a year. When you factor in the abundant amenities and a private staff that takes care everything, it’s more for less without the headaches.”

“The game changer for us as compared to whole ownership is that our buyers do not have to sell other real estate to purchase at a residence club,” Dering said. “And many do not have to finance, although financing is still available.”

Dering said the increasingly influential “green” movement is also pushing buyers his way.

“Residence club owners buy only what they need,” Dering noted. “We build one residence and satisfy eight families rather than building eight residences that would sit empty 70% of the year. We eliminate waste and have owners who feel they made the right financial and environmental decision.”