Hollingworth & Associates

Property overseas - how (and where) to live like 007
You've dodged every bullet, savoured every kiss - now, get real with our homebuyer's guide to the best Bond locations. Writes Zoe Dare Hall in The Telegraph.

The name's Bond, James Bond, and the business is profit. Big profit. This year is the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth, which is seeing the 007 industry - not one known for understatement - go into overdrive. There is the usual flurry of cars, watches and vodka that will be sold on the back of the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace, out in November; the Imperial War Museum London's Fleming-themed For Your Eyes Only exhibition, which opens next Thursday; and the new Bond novel, Devil May Care, by Sebastian Faulks, to be published on May 28, Fleming's birthday.

A lookalike car is all very well, but what about buying a glamorous home in one of 007's most unforgettable settings? Locations that were considered exotically remote while Bond was causing mayhem in them - Albania in For Your Eyes Only, East Berlin in Octopussy or Zagreb in From Russia with Love, for instance - now read like a list of emerging overseas hotspots.
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Portugal wants F1 return in Algarve 11/02/08 - ITV.com
Portugal is bidding to regain a place on the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 1996 with the building of a new circuit in the Algarve holiday region.
The country, which last held a grand prix at the Estoril circuit 12 years ago, hopes a new 200 million euro (£149 million) track in Portimao will entice F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone into making a return.
Reuters reports that the new venue, which has already been certified by the FIA and is set for completion in October, says it has already secured one F1 team for a test at the circuit next January.
And a Portuguese government official has said the country is determined to regain a slot on the F1 calendar at the new circuit.
"The Government will do its best for Portugal to become part of the world's main championships," deputy sports minister, Laurentino Dias told the news agency.
"This circuit is prepared to host a range of motor races, from the most modest to Formula 1."
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Mexican Housing Booms Despite US Crisis 20/01/08 - Yahoo news
"It's a time of hope," said Pulido, who has sold hundreds of homes to middle-income families since 1992. "The buyer today is more aware. People buy with more ease, they can plan long-term."

Long thrashed by swings in the U.S. economy, Mexico now boasts a thriving housing sector whose record growth leads Latin America-- a sign of increased economic stability and an outlet for investors looking to escape the U.S. downturn.

Giants including the California Public Employees Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension fund, are already bankrolling projects in Mexico, where they see "more bang for the buck," said Clark McKinley, spokesman for CalPERS, which has invested more than $300 million in Mexican real estate funds.

The trend could even slow emigration from Mexico, by generating millions in jobs and personal savings as a fresh supply of loans gives many their first chance to own a house.
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CEE MIGRANTS BUYING BACK HOME 26/11/07 OPP
Migrants from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are increasingly buying property in their local markets, providing a growing niche target group for agents.

Diaspora tourism, denoting people who return to their roots to discover their heritage or travel home for important festivals or events, is set to snowball in line with increased immigration to the UK and Ireland (230,000 each year. This trend, outlined in the World Travel Market Global Trends Report 2007, may provide a welcome boost to developers and agents active in Central & Eastern Europe.

Caroline Hollingworth of CEE investment specialist Hollingworth and Associates told OPP: “We have seen a noticeable increase in the number of enquiries from Eastern and Central Europeans looking to invest in neighbouring countries, as well as their own. We’ve received enquiries from Hungarians, Russians, Turks, Croats and Slovakians, among others. Many of them have made money in their local property markets, and are now looking to invest this in other places to spread the risk and take advantage of soaring capital growth.”

Uplifted interest from migrants is “definitely more noticeable now” for Richard Holmes, managing director of Hungary-based agent Gateway Properties. “We’re seeing an increase in Hungarians contacting us. It’s really because they probably think they’ll move back at some stage, and that it’s a good time to buy because it’s relatively cheaper.”

In terms of the scope for agents to target Diaspora tourism, Hollingworth thinks that the opportunities should be focused on various affluent groups. “Increasingly, there is a middle class which qualifies for mortgages and wealthy entrepreneurs who are looking to invest, especially the Russians. This group is actively looking abroad for investment opportunities,” she explained. “There is potential to target local investors, but ex-pat Eastern Europeans are more likely to use a local agent in the indigenous market than one based in the UK.”
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Montenegro: Small country, big future 17/11/07 Financial Times
The official announcement came in October 2006. Gold tycoon Peter Munk would invest half a billion dollars in Tivat, a coastal area in the tiny Adriatic country of Monte­negro. The project, called Porto Montenegro, would turn a former 24-hectare former naval ship repair yard into a luxury marina with world-class hotels, retail facilities, a 14-hole golf course, yacht moorings and luxurious homes. A year later, no more details have been released but, according to local agents, construction could start soon and prices might eventually rise to a staggering €15,000 per sq metre.

The speculation has added to the buzz surrounding Tivat and the Kotor Bay region of Montenegro, setting it apart from the rest of the formerly war-torn and still poor country. With stunning scenery, including a winding coastline cut with fjords, and historic towns, monasteries, castles and villas reflecting ancient Venetian hegemony, the area is starting to lure celebrity visitors such as actors Jeremy Irons and Sophia Loren and model Claudia Schiffer.
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The hanging gardens of Croydon? Plan to turn 'concrete hell' into a new Barcelona 13/11/07

• 30-storey greenhouse part of drive to win city status
• River to be brought back to life and parks to ring town

As one of Britain's bleakest urban jungles, it might seem an unlikely site for a green utopia of hanging gardens, flowing rivers and rolling parks. But Croydon will not be deterred.

Later tonight the much maligned town, once described as a "complete concrete hell" by David Bowie, will announce a multibillion-pound regeneration plan that will, potentially, turn it into a beacon of sustainability, drawing on ideas from other European cities including Barcelona.

The architect Will Alsop, who once tried to reinvent Barnsley as a walled Tuscan hill town, is to mastermind the transformation, which has as its centrepiece "a vertical version of the Eden Project" rising more than 30 storeys in Park Hill Park.

Effectively a giant greenhouse in the form of a skyscraper, it would become Croydon's primary visitor attraction with different species planted in "sky gardens" on each floor.

Alsop has proposed hacking back "a forest of car parks" choking the town centre, shutting eight-lane highways to through traffic and building a pedestrian-friendly "emerald necklace" of parks.

The river Wandle is also to be brought back to the surface 40 years after it was buried in culverts and Alsop hopes to revive fishing for Wandle trout.
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Investors 'can still get bargains in Cyprus' 28/09/07
Increasing numbers of investors are seeking to cash-in on cheap property in Cyprus, it is claimed.

Rising prices on the market are attracting many holiday home buyers to both newly discovered bargains in the north of the island, although good deals can still be obtained in the south, Cyprus property expert Kevin Moore has said.

However investors are advised to be cautious, noting that a lack of infrastructure exists in some parts of the north, in addition to territorial disputes with some Turkish Cypriots.

Mr Moore has recently claimed that beach properties on the island are cheaper than many parts of Europe and up to 40 per cent lower in cost than comparable inner-city apartments in the UK.
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Portugal 'escapes credit woes' 28/09/07
Portugal is likely to escape direct consequences of the credit problems facing international markets, a leading expert has said.

Carlos Tavarez, the president of stock market regulator CMVM, told local paper Diario Economico that Portugal's investors will face only a "residual" effect of the much-discussed credit crunch.

"We should not underestimate this situation saying it is temporary but on the other hand nobody can say that the situation will be amplified," Forbes cites Mr Tavarez as telling the paper.
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Cheap flights 'are signposts to good investments' 12/09/07
Overseas property buyers should look at budget airline routes to identify potentially good investments, according to experts.Obelisk International said that people could plan their investments strategically as new airline routes offered by cheap carriers often indicated the next investment hotspots.

The areas themselves were also said to benefit from cheap aviation, with countries such as Cyprus seeing "huge expansion" in two major airports.

In addition, Bulgaria was named as another place that was reaping the rewards, as increasing the number of flights led to both property and rental prices going up also
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Brits save £4bn by taking holidays in overseas homes of friends or family
UK holidaymakers are saving £4 billion a year by taking advantage of friends' and family's free accommodation, according to a Barclays survey.

The research, by Barclays Buying Abroad and YouGov, found that 41% of Brits regularly take a holiday at a flat or house abroad owned by someone they know, with 13% admitting that, to some extent, they stayed friends purely to use the property.

Over half (53%) thank the owners with only a 'thank you' card, a bottle of wine, box of chocolates or some other small token of appreciation.

Only 7% spend the value of what they have saved entirely on gifts and treats for their hosts.
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Green Light For Alanya International Airport 12/09/07
After ten years of speculation, the beautiful city of Alanya – southern Turkey – has been given the green light for its own International airport, to be operated by Turkey’s leading airport contractor and operator, TAV Airports Holding.

Tourists 'Flocking to Turkey' 04/09/07
Turkey is set to become one of the most popular international holiday destinations, according to experts. Analysts at Select Property said that the number of tourists visiting the country had gone up by 20 per cent for the past two years, making it an increasingly mainstream holiday choice.

This surge in popularity was said to have the potential to offer opportunities to overseas property buyers, as areas such as Gulluk were being substantially redeveloped.

The firm stated that a 300-berth marina was to be built by 2010, along with a range of leisure facilities including bars, restaurants and designer shops.
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Wet summer sends Brits abroad for property 22/08/07
The number of Britons keen to buy a property abroad has doubled in the previous twelve months, a study released today reveals. And the survey, carried out by Barclays Buying Abroad, cites the wettest British summer ever recorded as a major cause for the trend.

According to the report, Britain's recent terrible weather is replacing more traditional causes, including rising crime, ballooning UK property prices and a skewed work-life balance, as the main reason for more Brits looking abroad for property.

"Brits are familiar with the idea that we only have two seasons: the winter and July," commented Richard Exton, director of Barclays Buying Abroad.
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