At a Glance: Little Cayman is big property player

by Charlotte Ashton World

Little Cayman is the big property player for people investing in the Cayman Islands, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance report. The infographic shows that when it comes to real estate in the Cayman Islands, Little Cayman attracts the largest attention, accounting for almost two-thirds of enquiries.

Little Cayman is the smallest of the three-island archipelago but it outshone its big sister Grand Cayman in the 12 months to October 2013, attracting 65.09 per cent of property enquiries. Cayman Brac received the second highest number of enquiries (33.36 per cent). On Grand Cayman, the only districts to receive enquiries were Bodden Town, George Town and West End, although neither accounted for more than 2 per cent of enquiries.

In terms of searches, though, Grand Cayman is still the most popular: the biggest of the islands accounted for almost half (43 per cent) of all searches for Cayman Islands property on TheMoveChannel.com. Cayman Brac was the second most sought-after, receiving just over one quarter (27.66%) of searches. Little Cayman was the target of just one in five (19.21%) searches.

Some house hunters were more specific, looking for real estate within certain areas of Grand Cayman: 4.32 per cent searched for property in George Town, while 2.94 per cent searched for property in West End and 1.56 per cent in Bodden Town. Almost 300 hundred buyers searched for property in the Cayman Islands in general, without naming a location.

The At a Glance infographic also charts the number of searches for real estate in the Cayman Islands on Google. In the year to October 2013, the majority of buyers tended to search generally for “Caymans Islands Property”. Over the 12 months, searches for “property for sale in Cayman Islands” and “Cayman islands property” have both declined slightly, while searches for “property in Cayman Islands” have increased 77 per cent in the three months to October 2013 compared to the three months to January 2013.

“Houses for sale” were the most popular property type, occurring in more searches than “land for sale”, despite the proliferation of land opportunities on TheMoveChannel.com. Indeed, land accounts for almost half (48 per cent) of Cayman Islands property listings currently on the site.

Editor Ivan Radford comments: “Demand for property in the Cayman Islands has grown significantly in the last year on TheMoveChannel.com, with the country appearing four times in the top 10 destinations on the site in 2013 so far. Land in the Cayman Islands is the investment of choice among buyers on the site, so it is surprising to see so few searches for it on Google. The Cayman Islands, though, seem to be full of small surprises – not least of all Little Cayman.“Little Cayman accounts for one quarter of TheMoveChannel.com’s Cayman Islands listings compared to Grand Cayman, which is home to 53 per cent. Despite that – and even with buyers actively searching for property on the largest island – the tinier of the two generated more enquiries in the past 12 months. Is that because there were better returns from Little Cayman for investors thanks to softer property prices, or a sign that even Grand Cayman’s traditional hotspot of the Seven-Mile Beach has a new rival for lifestyle appeal? Either way, as the cold nights set in and buyers dream of Caribbean sun, the rising popularity of the Cayman Islands could yet surprise us all.”

Click here for the full infographic.

Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack’s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.

Map of the Cayman Islands courtesy of Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons licence.

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Property Inspector: How to tell if your house is haunted

by Georgina United Kingdom

TheMoveChannel.com’s Property Inspector, taking a closer look at global real estate each month.

As Halloween arrives once again, scary movies and spooky reality TV shows are everywhere. You hear that bump in the night or feel that cold shiver in your living room and it’s even easier to think that maybe your house has a ghost.

A haunting can make a big difference to a house: if you’re selling a home, you’ll probably have to lower the price to find a buyer. If you’re a buyer, you may be excited about the investment potential of a bed and breakfast with added tourist appeal. Or maybe you’re living in the home and you just want to be able to sleep at night.

But what are the signs that there really is a presence on your property? How can you tell your imagination isn’t simply spooked?

TheMoveChannel.com’s October podcast tracks down Loyd Auerbach, Director of The Office of Paranormal Investigations, to find out how to tell if your house is haunted.
Click here to listen to the full investigation.

He offers these eight easy steps:

8 steps to take if you think your house is haunted

1.Be rational
A lot of the time, there is a rational explanation for what you might think is a ghost.

“The first step is to assume your house isn’t haunted and look for normal explanations for things that might seem strange,” Loyd Auerbach, Director of The Office of Paranormal Investigations, tells TheMoveChannel.com.

“People make very, very bizarre conclusions about even the simplest explanations. It’s understandable. People are emotionally on edge, especially if they’ve been watching these shows that tell them that this stuff is evil – and it’s not. It’s not bad at all.”

“It used to be probably 20% of cases we could figure out even over the phone,” he adds. Of the others, 25% to 50% “have really good, understandable explanations”.

2.Don’t believe what you see in the movies
Room going cold? Footsteps on the stairs? The symptoms that the movies tell you to look for are often completely incorrect. Especially if your heating is on the blink.

“If it’s the room getting unusually cold, that is a complete stereotype and incorrect. I have been looking for a normal explanation for that more than anything else! It could be your insulation.”

3.Check for animals
Bumps in the night? Try animals in the attic…

“I’ve had cases where people hear footsteps from their attic or upstairs but it turned out to be acoustical. In other words, the set up of the floor or the room seemed to magnify simple noises. I had one, years ago, where it was a squirrel pushing nuts across the floor!”

4.Don’t call a ghost buster
Think you’ve got a ghost? Who you gonna call? Not a ghost-hunting group, says Loyd, if you want an explanation for your haunting.

“People don’t seek out parapsychologists any more; they seek out ghost hunters… If you contact a ghost hunting group, given that most of them follow the methods you see on TV, it’s probably more likely that you’ll be told you have a ghost then you’ll be told there’s an explanation… It’s what we do in investigations. We look for normal explanations… They’re not going to help you with understanding or dealing with the phenomena. There are exceptions, but that’s rare.”

5.Don’t panic if there was a death in your home
Homes where there has been a death are often stigmatised or presumed to be haunted. But that isn’t always the case.

“Ghosts don’t necessarily go to where they died. They go to where they lived. Sure, if someone died in the house, that may be where they hang around, but if they died in a car accident, they still might come back to the house – or they may go to the local bar where they used to hang out!”

6.Beware of living people as much as dead people
Got a bad feeling about your home? Check the previous owners – residual energy left in a property doesn’t always come from beyond the grave…

“We have a demarcation between an actual ghost and what we call residual hauntings or imprints. A lot of the second category is about who lived in the house before, even if they’re still alive. It really is more about the living leaving these impressions behind. It could be that the couple previously were continuously fighting with each other… You walk in the house and you feel it’s bad, like people were fighting there. That’s a haunting. That’s still the same kind of thing.”

7.Have a party
If all else fails, invite some friends round to scare the bad feelings away.

“It’s a little bit harder when people get that emotional reaction, that visceral reaction, like it doesn’t feel good and they don’t want to live there. That can be dealt with, if you really like the house… just by having people come in and having a really nice party – put some really good emotions into the house!”

8.Try talking to them
“Having direct communication with someone is the best way to deal with the phenomenon.”

“It really is about what the ghost needs. There’s the idea of ‘sending them into the light’ that you see on TV, but if they’re not ready, you can offer them another suggestion. We’ve done that. We had a case where a former owner [of a house] was asked if there was a place he had wanted to go but had never had the chance to… The reply was he always wanted to go on safari in Africa when he was alive. And we said ‘Why don’t you go on safari? The lions can’t hurt you anymore!’ The family never had an experience with him again…

Click here to hear more case studies of hauntings.
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information
For more information on Loyd Auerbach, visit www.mindreader.com

At a Glance: Toronto tops Canada property wish list

by Charlotte Ashton Canada

Toronto tops the wish list for people buying property in Canada, according to new research by TheMoveChannel.com. The portal´s At a Glance infographic reveals that the city is the most searched-for place in Canada, accounting for over one-third of all country searches in the 12 months to September 2013.

 

36.2 per cent of house hunters in Canada targeted Toronto, far ahead of any other city or town in the country. Quebec was the nearest runner-up, accounting for 13 per cent of searches, followed by Vancouver and Montreal, which attracted 11.6 per cent and 11.1 per cent respectively.

 

While Ontario´s capital city was the most popular with buyers searching for real estate, though, the province only generated the third highest number of enquiries. Nova Scotia dominated buying activity, responsible for a staggering 62.49 per cent of enquiries. One in five (18.02 per cent) enquiries were for property in Quebec, driven largely by interest in Montreal. Ontario accounted for just 9.48 per cent of enquiries, ahead of British Columbia (6.43 per cent), most of which were targeted at Vancouver.
Nonetheless, buyers were clearly interested in Ontario´s property market: the province accounted for three of the 10 most searched-for destinations (Toronto, Ottawa and London), the same number as Quebec (Quebec, Montreal, Ile des Soeurs), while British Columbia and Alberta accounted for two apiece. Nova Scotia, on the other hand, had no cities in the top 10. Its largest city, Halifax, accounted for just 0.7 per cent of searches, enough to make it the 13th most popular place.
The At a Glance infographic also analyses Google behaviour over the past year. TheMoveChannel.com´s research found that “property in Canada” were the most commonly used keywords, closely followed “homes for sale in Canada”, a rare example of searches for a property type coming ahead of general terms for the entire country. Apartments and hotels appeared in almost no searches at all.
TheMoveChannel.com Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“Toronto is the largest city in Canada. Just look at that map and it´s no surprise that the province of Ontario is such a bright spot – Toronto is regularly ranked in the world´s most liveable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit, along with Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary. According to Statistics Canada, just over 20 per cent of Canada´s population comes from overseas; expats are clearly keen on Canada and with Toronto´s renowned high quality of life, they head straight to the Ontario capital.
“Why, then, is Nova Scotia the province with the highest enquiries? Ontario has the highest number of properties for sale on the site (more than 5,000), followed by Nova Scotia´s 1,500 property listings: it is not a lack of homes that drives house hunters to another area. A closer look reveals that Nova Scotia´s real estate is more affordable: an average four-bed home costs approximately £302,000 in the province, compared to £451,000 in Ontario. With such a significant price difference, buyers are ultimately opting for Nova Scotia´s Atlantic coast rather than Ontario´s inland real estate. Expat appeal is one thing: money is another.”
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN. The website address of Lead Galaxy is http://www.leadgalaxy.com

Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Property Inspector: Can you really advertise your home for free?

by Charlotte Ashton United Kingdom

TheMoveChannel.com’s Property Inspector, taking a closer look at global real estate month.

 

Advertising property can be an expensive business. Online portals have helped to change that, allowing estate agents and developers to reach international audiences. Now, though, real estate lead generation company Lead Galaxy have introduced Nubricks – a portal that advertises property completely for free.
What’s the catch? Who can sign up? And does free real estate advertising actually work?
In this month’s podcast, TheMoveChannel.com’s Property Inspector quizzes Lead Galaxy’s Account Manager Kim Roberts about an unusual approach to property marketing.
Click here to listen to the full investigation. An abridged transcript of the interview follows.
Let’s start with the obvious one: what’s the catch?
“There isn’t one. You can advertise your property on Nubricks for free.”
How did Nubricks come about?
Well, Nubricks started life as an overseas property investment blog, with lots of tips and advice for investors. At first we planned to use Nubricks as a portal for new build property, but as everyone tries to recover from the global recession, what people need as much as information is something that won’t cripple their bank account. So we decided to reinvent Nubricks as a portal where everyone in the world can advertise real estate listings for free to an international audience.
You say “international audience”. Is that important?
Yes. There are several free property portals that will advertise your property in the UK, but even on certain popular classified sites, if you want to advertise a home to an international audience, you will be charged. Nubricks doesn’t do that: you can be seen by everyone in the world at no cost. After all, if you’re selling a house in London, someone in Russia may be just as interested in buying it as someone in Norfolk.
What kind of traffic does the site get?
Nubricks has visitors from around the world. UK buyers account for a third of visitors, but one-fifth comes from the USA, followed closely by Australia, Germany, Canada, Italy, France and the United Arab Emirates. Overall, Lead Galaxy´s network has more than 10 million buyers around the world, but while some sites are targeted at particular countries or sectors, Nubricks covers all types of property and an international group of investors.
So what´s the point? Are you saying your other services are too expensive? 
No, we have a range of services that are designed to be flexible for everyone´s budget. Advertisers can pay for every lead they receive – except for spams and scams, of course – or list properties on a fixed fee basis, but what we´ve been seeing from buyers this year is a major shift back towards the eurozone, not just from opportunistic investors but from budget bargain hunters – people are clearly still tightening their belts. Private sellers and estate agents are strapped for cash too. There are people who want to buy that struggle to buy, but there are also people who want to sell that struggle to sell. So we’ve introduced a service to help them.
 
Do you think free property advertising can work? You don´t think it might carry an image of inferior quality?
It could, but this isn’t a new site. Nubricks was an early-stage dotcom business. Because the domain has been active for a long time, it has a really strong SEO base and an existing, developed audience. People are already looking to the site as an authority on real estate: these are engaged users who are interested in buying property.
And will they ever have to pay further down the line? 
No – their listings can stay on Nubricks for free, although they will only be displayed on Nubricks. If they want to go on other portals within the Lead Galaxy network they will have to pay for one of our advertising packages, which are also affordable, starting from just £1 per lead. If they ever find they have money, it´s then easy for them to step up their marketing activity.
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with more than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world.
Nubricks is part of the Lead Galaxy network and advertises property around the world on behalf of agents, developers and private owners for free.
The website address is http://www.nubricks.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

At a Glance: Puerto Plata dominates Dominican Republic demand

by Georgina United Kingdom

Puerto Plata dominates demand for Dominican Republic property, TheMoveChannel.com’s latest At a Glance reveals. The infographic, which charts activity on the portal over the last 12 months, shows that Puerto Plata is the most popular place on the island, accounting for over three-quarters of enquiries.

Famous for its stunning beaches, the northern province attracted a staggering 76.85 per cent of Dominican Republic enquiries on TheMovechannel.com in the year ending August 2013 – almost four times as many as its closest contender. The second most popular area on the Caribbean island is Santo Domingo in the south, which accounted for 19.36 per cent of enquiries.

La Vega and Samaná received the next highest number of enquiries, responsible for just 1.51 per cent of activity apiece. Distrito Nacional, the home of capital city Santo Domingo, received only 0.61 per cent of enquiries, just ahead of eastern province La Altagracia (0.15 per cent). The rest of the Dominican Republic received no enquiries at all.

Puerto Plata dominates the earlier stages of the buying process too. Kite surfing hotspot Cabarete accounted for more than one in four searches (28.4 per cent) for property in the Dominican Republic in the last year, closely followed by the town of Puerto Plata itself, which was responsible for 26.5 per cent of searches. Together with Sosua, the ninth most-searched location in the country, the province of Puerto Plata was responsible for well over half (56.7 per cent) of all searches.

Buyers also showed interest in Puerto Plata’s northern coast neighbour Samaná: Las Terrenas and the town of Samaná both appear in the 10 most-searched locations, accounting for 1 in 10 (11.8 per cent) and 1.8 per cent of searches respectively. Other popular locations are spread across the island, including the inland area of Jarabacoa, La Vega, and the southern coast of Barahona.

The At a Glance infographic also analyses the behaviour of buyers searching on Google. “Property in Dominican Republic” was the most commonly used keyword, while the most popular type of property was “houses for sale in Dominican Republic”. Searches on Google peaked at the start of 2013 but have steadily increased since September 2012.

Editor Ivan Radford comments: “The Caribbean has always been a place where people dream of owning a home. The Dominican Republic is one of their favourite places to do so – and Puerto Plato is why. Known around the world for beaches such as Playa Dorada, it is no wonder that the coastal province dominates buyer demand.

“What is perhaps surprising is that houses are the most popular type of property on TheMoveChannel.com. “Houses for sale” were searched for by more people than hotels, despite the island’s strong income potential from tourists and several hotel listings on the site – confirmation that the Dominican Republic’s appeal lies with lifestyle buyers as much as investors.

“It is also interesting to note the lack of buyer interest in the rest of the Dominican Republic, with many areas receiving no enquiries whatsoever: Puerto Plata’s international popularity is similar, perhaps, to Florida’s dominance of the US property market, where the state accounts for over half of enquiries. That may change as the island’s overseas market develops. Indeed, it is revealing that Google activity surrounding the island’s real estate has increased in recent months – a trend matched by the country’s rising profile on TheMoveChannel.com, where it climbed 13 places in the Top of the Props chart to be the 16th most popular destination in July 2013. Puerto Plata has accounted for some of the most popular listings on the site in the last 12 months. The At a Glance infographic confirms that for Caribbean property buyers, Puerto Plata is an investment and vacation hotspot to be reckoned with.”

Click here to view the full infographic.

Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners. 

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN. The website address of Lead Galaxy is http://www.leadgalaxy.com .
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Property Inspector: How not to sell your home

by Charlotte Ashton United Kingdom
Selling your home can be a tricky business – sometimes a little too tricky. As the autumn house hunting season approaches, TheMoveChannel.com’s August podcast interrogates estate agents from around the world to find out the things that go wrong when putting your property on the market.
From awkward encounters to adult toys left on the table, TheMoveChannel.com’s Property Inspector uncovers the real estate horror stories no one dares to mention in public.
(Some names have been removed or details changed to protect people’s identities.)
This story came from an estate agent at Think Slovenia:
“I had an interesting experience once viewing an old house right up in the mountains of Slovenia – really remote, about 25 minutes to the valley floor up winding mountain roads. We arrived at the seller’s house. An old farmer who lives locally was going to take us to the house to unlock it. I called his name as I could hear someone outside and he came round the corner from the barn with both hands in the air covered in blood up to his elbows.
“He was in the process of slaughtering a pig.
“Suffice it to say, the rather timid English buyers didn´t buy the property.”
Animals in the barn can be a problem but apparently, so can people in the bedroom. One UK agent related this:
“I once showed a house and went into a bedroom which was pitch black… then I realised that the granny was sleeping inside! The rest of the family didn´t mention it when I started to take the clients round the house!”
Sometimes, you don’t have to go into the bedroom for things to get embarrassing:
“I took a house on the market where the daughter was a newly successful glamour model so they had pictures of her (she was probably about 17) proudly plastered all over the house, living room and kitchen with her… assets out.  Very odd. What do you say to that?”
Spain has its fair share of slip-ups too:
“Many agents over here share properties and often an agent has never been to the house or met the owners. We know of one agent who had travelled a couple of hours to meet his sharing agent at a dilapidated house but the sharing agent didn´t show up.  The other agent then proceeded to break into the house. The clients were baffled by the agent’s actions and wanted to wait for the other one to show up.  The “break in” agent said that if they wanted to wait, they were welcome to – and drove off!”
Once you have a buyer interested, you should always make sure he is above board:
“I have met with a Russian businessman who wanted to buy a house near us but he was not keen to get involved with lawyers. We arranged to meet and he literally sat there with a suitcase full of cash that he wanted to hand over for the house. I explained that he would need to go through some legal process to buy the house but he flatly refused.  I still wonder whether he had €700,000 in that case or whether it was just some elaborate ploy…”
And no matter what happens, always be polite:
“A chap I used to work with went on a valuation and was chatting to the lady owner and he asked her when she was due.  Needless to say, the lady wasn´t pregnant – simply a bit on the plump side – and rather surprisingly she decided not to instruct the agent to sell her house.”
With so many horror stories piling up, the Property Inspector tracked down David Rick from Creative Property Marketing, which sells properties in Spain, to find out how to sell a house without any funny business getting in the way.
Three simple steps to sell your house smoothly
The three P´s – presentation, price and paperwork.
1.Presentation 
This is absolutely vital – not just the presentation of the house when you have viewings but almost more important is the need to present your property in photos online as this is where it will be seen first. The decision to move on or stop and click for more details is almost always based on a decent photo.

2.Price 
It stands to reason that price is a key. If your house costs too much money you will not get any enquiries. If you are getting enquiries but not selling, then it will almost always be something to do with the home.  If your asking price is a little higher than it should be, the chances are you will struggle to get interest.

3.Paperwork 
This is particular to Spain (especially Andalucía) but if you haven´t got your paperwork 100% sorted anyway, it will inevitably lead to a cancelled sale. There is nothing worse than getting a buyer and then seeing them wander off into the sunset because your paperwork isn´t up to scratch!
Click here to listen to the full investigation.
Notes to Editors

Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.

The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

Britain’s becoming an upwardly mobile nation as popularity of home parks soars

by Georgina United Kingdom
The national housing market may now be showing much-welcomed signs of recovery as house prices rise at the fastest pace for 6 years but one sector has been enjoying a less well publicized boom even in the face of the worst recession for 40 years.
The mobile or park home sector has risen in popularity in recent times attracting not only those in their golden years but also younger individuals, couples and even families keen to take advantage of the lower purchase and running costs as well as strong community feeling present on many home parks.

•200,000 Britons now live in park homes (BHHPA)
•95% of residents are 55 years of age or older (BHHPA)
•New Mobile Homes Act introduced to protect mobile home owners in May 2013 
According to the John Boston, spokesperson of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BHHPA), some 200,000 Britons now live in park homes and whilst the dominant demographic, some 95%, is those over 55 years of age, the proportion of younger residents is growing.
Boston comments, “Far from the negative images of ‘trailer parks’ often portrayed by the media, holiday and home parks are aspirational not desperate places offering individuals, couples, families and retirees alike good quality, affordable housing within a community in some of the most stunning parts of the country.”
Yet despite their growing popularity, the supply of new mobile homes has not kept up with demand and waiting lists are now common at many parks.
Richard Patterson, Director of leading online estate agency, My Online Estate Agent which has just listed yet another mobile home, this time located in Preston, comments,
“Mobile homes have become somewhat of a rarity in today’s marketplace. Due to planning restrictions, few new mobile homes are constructed so when a property such as the 3 bedroom home now available in Preston comes up for sale, we always see a flurry of interest with a sale often agreed quicker than traditional bricks and mortar homes.”
Indeed so fierce is the competition for park homes that a new law designed to protect mobile home residents in England has just been introduced. The Mobile Homes Act, passed in May 2013, aims to stop park owners from interfering with mobile home transactions and purchasing homes themselves at knock-down prices. As mobile home owners do not own the land upon which their property sits, they had previously been vulnerable to unscrupulous or unfair practices by park owners but ministers insists that this new Act will no longer be able to block sales.
Patterson comments,
“The new Mobile Home Act 2013 can only be a positive step forward for mobile home owners. For too long park home residents have been at the mercy of park owners but now, as numbers grow, their voices are being heard with this new government Act offering much needed legal protection.”
On the market: 3 bedroom mobile home, Preston – £85,000
My Online Estate Agent is delighted to present this lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom mobile home located in Preston. The spacious property comprises master bedroom with walk-in wardrobe and en-suite, two further double bedrooms, family bathroom, shower room, new kitchen and living room as well as new carpeting throughout, large decked area, private parking for up to four vehicles and storage shed.
For more information please contact My Online Estate Agent on 0845 257 1101 or visit MyOnlineEstateAgent.com 

Perth is top destination Down Under

by Charlotte Ashton Australian

Perth is the top destination Down Under, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s At a Glance. The infographic, which charts activity on the site over the past 12 months, shows that Perth was the most searched-for place for Australian property hunters.

 

The capital of the Western Australian state accounted for one-third (33.8 per cent) of all Australia searches on TheMoveChannel.com. Sydney came in a close second, attracting 28.21 per cent. Melbourne was also highly desirable among international buyers, responsible for 19.98 per cent of searches.
Despite Perth’s popularity, though, most buyers ended up in a different state when it came to signing on the dotted line: property in Queensland generated the highest number of enquiries (37.96 per cent), ahead of Western Australia (31.48 per cent).
Queensland’s activity was mostly driven by Brisbane, which was the most popular destination in the state, accounting for one in 20 Australian property searches. But Queensland was also home to three of the 10 most sought-after locations on TheMoveChannel.com, suggesting that while a large majority preferred Western Australia’s Perth, the eastern state had a broader appeal.
New South Wales accounted for one in five enquiries and one in 10 respectively, with buyers mostly looking for homes in Sydney and Melbourne. Adelaideattracted 5.17 per cent of buyers, enough to be the fourth most popular Australian location on the site, but the state of South Australia was responsible for just 0.92 per cent of enquiries.
Tasmania and the Northern Territory were the least popular states, receiving no enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com at all in the last year.
The At a Glance infographic also depicts the activity on Google over the past 12 months, revealing that houses are the most popular type of property in the Australia. Indeed, while previous At a Glance reports have found that generic searches are the most common for each country, “houses for sale in Australia” was the most frequently used keyword, consistently appearing in three times as many searches as “property in Australia” and “property for sale in Australia”. Overall searches for Australian property peaked in January 2013 before falling back to the same levels as last year.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“Australia has long been a top destination for expats looking for a new home. Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth are all regularly ranked among the world’s most liveable cities. That lifestyle reputation drives the majority of buyer interest on TheMoveChannel.com; it is no coincidence that those three are the most looked-for locations.
“The surprise is that while many people searched for the main Australian cities, buyers tended to end up somewhere else during the purchasing process. Only 1 in 20 were looking to Brisbane, but Queensland was the most popular property market in terms of enquiries. Is it a relative lack of listings in certain areas on TheMoveChannel.com that drives them to other cities, or the discovery of lower profile locations that are not as well known among international tourists?
“They may be flexible about where they will live, but buyers are very clear about what they want: it is unusual for a property type to appear in more Google searches than generic property-related keywords. Chinese investors are driving up investment in Oz real estate, but expats – particularly Brits – remain a big portion of the buyer market. With interest peaking at the start of a new year, as the weather worsened in the UK, the focus upon “houses for sale in Australia” may well be the mark of expats already picturing their new, sunny life Down Under.”
Click here to view the full infographic.
Notes to Editors
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN.
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information

At a Glance: Croatia property is all about the Adriatic

by Charlotte Ashton Croatia United Kingdom

Croatian property is all about the Adriatic Coast, according to TheMoveChannel.com’s At a Glance infographic, which analyses the country’s real estate just as it joins the EU. What can European buyers learn about their newest neighbour? Split is the place to be, with the Split-Dalmatia County accounting for almost half of Croatia enquiries in the past 12 months.

 

The infographic, which charts the activity on the property portal over the last year, highlights the link between the country’s tourist industry and housing market, as investors look almost exclusively at real estate located along the country’s southern shore.
The Split-Dalmatia area, famed for its picturesque beauty, is popular with overseas visitors and dominates investor demand: the county was responsible for 44.69 per cent of enquiries, while the city of Split itself is the most sought-after destination in Croatia. Indeed, 15.4 per cent of people searching for property by location looked straight to Split.
Some buyers were torn between Split and another location: the island of Hvar, also located in the Split-Dalmatia County, which accounted for 14.93 per cent of searches. Together, the region’s two most popular destinations accounted for almost one-third (30.33 per cent) of searches on TheMoveChannel.com.
The only other location to attract significant attention was the city of Dubrovnik, which accounted for 1 in 10 (10.33 per cent) searches in the 12 months to June 2013. Indeed, Dubrovnik is another tourist hotspot next to the Adriatic. Its stunning shoreline helped drive up demand for property in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, making up one quarter (24.15 per cent) of all property enquiries.
The third most popular county in Croatia is Istria, another main destination for holidaymakers, which was responsible for 16.43 per cent of enquiries. Sibenik-Knin County also received 7.33 per cent of enquiries, located next to Split-Dalmatia, while Istria’s neighbour, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, took 4.59 per cent.
All of these counties have one thing in common: the coastline. Areas away from the Adriatic, including the capital Zagreb, attracted less than 1 per cent of enquiries, while counties in the east of the country received no interest from buyers at all.
 The At a Glance infographic also depicts buyer behaviour on Google over the past year. In the 12 months to June 2013, buyers searched most for “property in Croatia” and “Croatia property”. The most popular type of property in the country is “houses for sale in Croatia”, occurring in an average of just over 300 searches in each quarter. “Villas for sale in Croatia” occurred in far fewer searches, although they were noticeably more popular than apartments, which featured in no searches.
 Searches for “Croatia property” and “property for sale in Croatia” visibly dipped in the fourth quarter of 2012 before rebuilding from the seasonal slowdown in the first half of 2013. Searches for “Property in Croatia”, though, have steadily increased over the past 12 months, rising to be 140 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the third quarter of 2012.
Click here to see the full infographic.
Editor Ivan Radford comments:
“Croatia´s accession to the EU arrives at a point where interest in the country’s real estate is already on the up. The country has become increasingly familiar to people around the world thanks to the TV show Game of Thrones, which is partly filmed in Dubrovnik. But while the programme may see people fighting over who will rule Westeros, TheMoveChannel.com’s At a Glance infographic shows Croatia’s real estate is clearly dominated by one thing: the Adriatic Coast. Like many property markets, Croatia depends heavily on its tourist industry and the beautiful beaches of Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik repeatedly attract holiday home hunters. Indeed, in 2012, they were the places to see property sales increase last year, according to the Croatian Association of Realtors, while the country has lifted restrictions on foreign ownership of real estate for EU citizens to encourage investment further. As wider curiosity continues to grow, Croatia’s accession to EU has arrived at a time where it could significantly boost overseas investment.”
Notes to Editors 
Founded in 1999, TheMoveChannel.com is the leading independent website for international property, with than 400,000 listings in over 100 countries around the world, marketed on behalf of agents, developers and private owners.
The website address is http://www.themovechannel.com and the office address is 24 Jack´s Place, Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN. The website address of Lead Galaxy is http://www.leadgalaxy.com
Contact Dan Johnson on 0207 952 7650 for further information.

 

Property Inspector: Business as usual in Cyprus?

by Charlotte Ashton United Kingdom
TheMoveChannel.com’s Property Inspector, taking a closer look at global real estate each month.
Go back two months and everyone was talking about Cyprus. Taking drastic measures to secure an EU bailout and keep the island’s economy afloat, the crisis dented confidence in the country’s property and the euro at large. With British expats reportedly looking to leave and prices continuing to drop, Cyprus looked sunk.
  • “Probably the most active period since the recession”, agent tells TheMoveChannel.com podcast
  • Residency permits “definitely helping” the market, attracting buyers from China, US, Lebanon and Jordan
  • Paphos property most popular with Chinese investors
  • Weak euro and strong dollar to boost Asia investment in Europe, says UKForex
  • Scandinavian bargain hunters taking advantage of low house prices and weak euro
Now, though, figures from the Department of Lands and Surveys suggest that overseas buyers are starting to return. Attracted by low prices and a new residency scheme designed to bring in non-EU buyers, transactions jumped in Larnaca, Famagusta and Paphos in April 2013 compared to March, while sales to foreign investors in Paphos are now 7 per cent higher than April last year.
With Cypriot enquiries on TheMoveChannel.com on the up, we ask: it business as usual in Cyprus? And is now really the time for non-EU investors to be looking at the euro?
The Inspector interrogates Denise Kay, Sales Manager of Sold on Cyprus, to find out the state of the market and tracks down David Nicholls, Alliance Manager at currency broker UKForex, to see which way the exchange rates are blowing.

Click here to listen to the full investigation.

Denise, now the panic has died down a bit, what’s it like in Cyprus? How would you describe the property market?
“It’s probably the most active period since the recession, particularly with our local buyers – possibly a slight loss of confidence in the banks has made them look at putting money into property. It’s been a positive period after such a difficult few weeks.”
Is interest from overseas buyers still there, despite that lingering image?
“I think overseas buyers are quite attracted by the fact our prices have lowered – not only lowered, but because of the banking situation, we now have opportunities of properties that are being returned to the bank, which means Cyprus has a market that we haven’t had in the past 11 years since I started working here. We also have the incentive of permanent residency, which is getting a lot of interest from non-European countries.”
Lots of agents are now focusing on Chinese demand for the residency permit. How important are non-EU buyers to keeping Cyprus’ property market active? 
“We have actually got an agent based in Beijing and yes, there has been interest there, mainly for people who are business clients who wish to travel around Europe freely. Not just from China, also the Middle East. I’ve had for the first time ever American and Canadian clients, people from Lebanon, Jordan… We’ve had really mixed interest and that’s helping the international market definitely.”
Are there specific areas you find buyers are looking at?
“My company concentrates mainly on the East side between Larnaca and Famagusta but Paphos has always been very popular with the British market. That’s been mainly attractive to the Chinese. They have confidence once they see other Chinese investors buying in the area.”
What about people who have already bought properties? Have you seen a notable increase in sellers in the wake of the bailout?
“I don’t see that there’s been a massive change in the numbers, not according to my statistics anyway. There’s always a cycle, this is mainly my British market, they do so many years and then put their property on the market. It seems a normal amount of people are returning to Britain for one reason or another, just as we have a normal amount of people coming out to retire and it’s all personal reasons really. I haven’t seen a massive rush to sell.”
So would you say it’s business as usual? 
“The main business that suffered during the recession was the investment side; the relocation and retirement business continued. The reasons people come to Cyprus have still remained. It’s the buy-to-let market that did suffer but they’re coming back because the prices are lower so the figures work.”
What do you think the outlook for the future is like? Will the market remain as it is?
“This year, the last couple of months, it’s really increased. The relocation business has slightly increased, investors are coming back, international buyers are coming… I’m not sure the prices will go up but buyers will increase without a doubt.”
David, estate agents may be fairly confident about the state of the Cypriot property market, but what about the wider euro?
“The eurozone as a whole is obviously not in a great state, to be honest… In terms of the strength of the euro, generally it’s euro vs. the US dollar and the US economy is doing better, so you expect dollar strength, probably further euro weakness. That will feed through into Asian currencies as well. If you’re seeing Asia demand in Europe at the moment, you’d expect that to increase.”
Cyprus is one of the worst-hit countries by the recession. As in Italy and Spain, house prices have dropped – or are still dropping. How much are the current exchange rates helping investors to find bargains? There’s a feeling that the weak pound is encouraging people to invest in the UK…
“The pound isn’t doing that great against the euro. The London market is massive for people in the eurozone, particularly Italians and French. I think you still have Brits buying overseas and you might find people in the UK taking interest in places where house prices have gone down a little more but they do tend to want financing – apart from the wealthy Brits. We see them in France and the US. You might see similar movements in Cyprus over the course of the next 12 months as things start to calm down.”
There are an increasing number of countries who have introduced – or are looking to introduce – residency permits for non-EU buyers…
“The residency permits in Dubai have been a pretty big boon over the last eight months, but although attracting outside investment from Asia is very appealing, the Scandinavians are big buyers in Europe for the very simple reason that their currency has gotten a lot stronger. It’s still cold in Scandinavia so they still like buying in the hot countries and if they can pick up a bargain, they do it. Spain is in there but Cyprus may be as well.”
Is it business as usual in your part of Europe? Get in touch with the Property Inspector at Facebook.com/TheMoveChannel or tweet @TheMoveChannel.