RivieraLife.tv
Property News
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High-rise, high life
FT.com 29 May 10
As the winds of regulatory
change blow though the global financial industries, the
images of some tax havens are being polished. Monaco is
sprucing itself up and creating homes aimed at a wider range
of residents. “They are trying to encourage people and
families to live here permanently, so apartments are getting
bigger,” says Irene Luke of the Lorenza von Stein estate
agency. “Twenty years ago there were no teenagers. Now,
there’s a leisure complex for them near the [sea] front.”
Monaco has, of course, a famously low
tax environment. Nicola
Venning. |
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Real Estate: Where are the English of
yesteryear?
Directgestion.fr 21 Apr 10
The latest statistics of Notaries of France reported a decrease
in the number of foreign investors in the French property
market. The share of foreign buyers of real estate in France
stood at 4% in 2009 against 5% in 2008. The presence of foreign
investors is concentrated in a few departments, mainly in
South-West (Creuse, Dordogne) and in the Alpes-Maritimes. The
British are still "the largest contingent of foreign investors"
in France, although their number was significantly reduced
compared to the period from 2004 to 2007. While they accounted
for 40% of foreigners buying in France in 2004, the share of
English has declined to 24% in 2008 and 17% in 2009. In
contrast, the share of Italians and Belgians in 2009 increased
to respectively to 14% and 11% against 12% and 9% in 2008, while
the Moroccans (5%), Spanish (3%) Tunisian (2%) were stable last
year. |
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Work on the Odeon Tower in Monaco resumes
20 Apr 10 lemoniteur.fr
The order from the commune of Beausoleil that prohibited further
work on Monaco’s 170m Odeon Tower has been lifted. The Odeon
Tower is being built by France’s Vinci Group with some of the
work located in the French border town of Beausoleil. The Odeon
Tower, which will have 49 floors, is a €370 million considered
one of the major real estate investments in the principality.
Initial work began last summer. |
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Ligurians
with low incomes and Riviera villas targeted
ivg.it 25 Mar 10
6,000
warning letters have been sent out to Ligurians who own property on the French
Riviera. Until now, the owners of a
property abroad were not obliged to declare it if it did not
produce income. They are now obliged to do so. Those who own a
house outside of Italy and rent it, have always been obliged to
pay income tax on the proceeds. Italy's tax authorities commented, “We want to
encourage offenders who have not yet done
so to comply by taking advantage of a tax amnesty by 30 Apr 10.” One case investigated by the
authorities revealed a local businessman declaring just €3k
earnings whilst owning a 7 room villa on Cap d'Antibes.
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Italy
Pursues Foreign Property Owners
tax-news.com
25 Mar 10
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Monaco
Remains World’s Most Expensive Home Market
International Property
Journal 23 Mar 10 For
the second year in a row, Monaco ranks as the world’s most
expensive residential real estate market, with prices averaging
from $4,300 to $5,900 a square foot. In fact, it was no
competition. London was a distant second, with prices topping
out at $4,400 a square foot, according to the just released 2010
Knight Frank Wealth Report. Paris was a distant third, offering
a relatively reasonable range of $2,400 to $3,300 a square foot.
Kevin Brass.
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Lloyds
and RBS 'open business' to property industry at MIPIM
telegraph.co.uk
21 Mar 10
Last Week at the annual Mipim property conference in Cannes key
meetings were being held in hillside villas and hotels away from
the limelight of the Palais des Festivals and La Croisette of
the French Riviera town. The hosts? The two UK banks with the
potential ability to pull the strings of the market. Lloyds
Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland were using their
hillside retreats to stress to clients and key agents that they
were effectively "open for business" for new property
lending and opportunities. Wags joked that the last few years
have been like a horror story for the property industry, that
the banks had become real-life incarnations of "The Hills
have Eyes". However those attending the meetings returned
to the hub of the conference with optimism, a stack of business
cards and stories that Diana Brightmore-Armour, Lloyds' leading
lady of corporate lending, was hosting a top-level dinner for
some of the bank's biggest clients. Graham
Ruddick.
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MIPIM marks the end of the mini-boom
Property Week 19 Mar 10
The big talking points at MIPIM this week were: European
Hotspots - Paris: investor demand is growing but yields are yet
toProperty Week 19 Mar 10
The big talking points at MIPIM this week were: European
Hotspots - Paris: investor demand is growing but yields are yet
to
fall;
Poland: surprised everyone with its resilience, until people
appreciate its size. European dogs ; Germany: investment
activity fell from €60bn in 2007 to
€12bn in 2009. Russia: a complete property disaster.
Ireland looks after its own. There is speculation that its asset
protection agency, NAMA, will offload billions in UK property by
the end of the year, while holding real estate in Ireland in an
attempt to shore up prices.
Our bet is that MIPIM marked the end of the mini-boom, as property
pauses for breath until the autumn, at least.
Giles Barrie. |
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The first model of Nice's new eco-valley
unveiled at MIPCOM Nice
Matin 17 Mar 10 An ambitious
project to reshape the Var plain took shape at MIPIM in Cannes.
Until now just a concept, Nice’s eco-Valley is gradually taking
shape. Its originator, the Industry Minister and Mayor of Nice,
Christian Estrosi, unveiled Tues, the first model of this
ambitious project of sustainable development. After opening the
MIPIM market for real estate professionals, Estrosi said the new
eco-development project would not be in competition with
Sophia-Antipolis. The area will be a laboratory environment,
creating another way to live, work and travel for 120,000 people
based around a new transportation hub.
Jean-Paul Fronzes. |
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Read more about the Meridia project for
Nice's Var valley as reported by Rivieralife.tv in Nov 09 |
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Mipim 2010 property show
is more than just fun in the sun
timesonline.co.uk
17 Mar 10 The sun
is shining, the yachts are docked and the wine
is flowing, but there is a nervousness among the
world’s property elite at this year’s Mipim
shindig in Cannes. They can’t quite believe that
the recovery will last. Business in London has
been pretty buoyant in the past few weeks and,
with the banks ready to offload some large,
attractive properties, life looks a little bit
sweeter for the commission-dependent.
Rebecca O’Connor. |
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Austerity set to reign at
annual Cannes real estate jamboree
FT.com 16 Mar 10
Mipim, this week's famously excessive annual
property jamboree in the south of France, is set
to be the quietest for some time for those from
the UK property market. For most boarding
planes, trains and automobiles for the annual
pilgrimage to Cannes, the traditional
extravagance of the Riviera will turn to economy
as expenses are restrained and diaries
overloaded. Even if property values in parts of
the market are recovering to pre-boom levels,
confidence in the future is not there yet if
numbers of attendees are any guide. Although the
organisers say that the 18,000 or so official
delegates will only be slightly fewer than last
year - which was noticeably quiet - there are a
number of well-known absences.
Dan Thomas. |
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Expect pantomime and
poker-faces at MIPIM 2010
Forexyard.com 15 Mar 10
The biggest names in European property descend
on the French Riviera this week for an industry
gathering that promises to lay bare just how far
the stricken asset class has travelled on the
road to recovery. The annual pilgrimage to MIPIM
(Marche International des Professionnels de
l'immobilier) in Cannes is one that few
cash-strapped real estate investors can afford
this year, but even fewer can afford to miss.
After more than two years of freefalling
property prices, investors, developers and
brokers are back hunting for deals and are
primed to deploy an arsenal of expensive props
to mask the battle scars that could spook
potential new business. Lingering issues such as
debt, European economic health, and the
possibility of a double-dip recession remain,
however. Sinead
Cruise / Reuters. |
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MIPIM 2010: In
uncertain times, property leaders toast to the
future
bridgingandcommercial.co.uk 11 Mar 10
As debate on the state of the property market
recovery rages on, industry insiders are gearing
up to attend the prestigious 4 day MIPIM show in
Cannes next week. The show attracts leaders from
across the field, who meet in glamorous
Mediterranean surroundings to “collaborate on
real-estate solutions to meet the diverse
demands of the international market”, according
to the event’s press release. In 2009, there
were 17,658 real estate professionals, 1,871
exhibiting companies, 3,575 investors and 350
corporate end-users in attendance at the show.
In the midst of real estate meltdown,
participants were reminded to ‘stay calm’ and
‘don’t panic,’ as they shuttled between casinos
and yachts. |
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South of France: Sad
sellers praying for Spring
themovechannel.com
09 Mar 10 Sellers
in the South of France are waiting for better
weather before putting holiday homes on the
market, it has been claimed. When predictions
were being made about the overseas property
market at the beginning of January 2010, there
was one thing not accounted for - the effect of
the weather. Unique Living has reported that in
the South of France there has been a dramatic
decrease in new homes coming onto the market.
"We normally expect to take instructions of
between five and 10 properties a week along the
French Riviera in January and February.
This has dropped to around
two per week", said Serge Cowan, the company's
MD. Catherine
Deshayes. |
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French block Odeon
groundworks in Beausoleil
Monaco Today 08 Mar 10
Beausoleil has issued a ‘stop’ order on the
construction of Monaco's 49-storey Odeon Towers
project that borders the French town. The
‘stop,’ affects work on the foundations on the
French side of the border with Monaco. It would
appear that the order to halt work came from the
town planning department of the Beausoleil town
hall, and not from the mayor himself.
Beausoleil mayor Gérard
Spinelli remains on bail facing charges of
accepting a bribe of €120,000 to not oppose the
Odeon Towers project.
Ian Brodie. |
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Riviera pad costs 50
million dollars for Russian who didn't buy it
Times Online 01 Mar
10 €40m will buy
you a sumptuous mansion on the Riviera in these
chastened times.
Russia's richest man lost that sum plus a lot of
face today when a local court refused to return
his deposit on the grandest villa of them all.
Mikhail Prokhorov, 44, worth $9.5bln according
to Forbes last year, was told that he could not
reclaim the funds that he put down on the Villa
Leopolda, the spectacular property at
Villefranche which he promised to buy in 2008.
He backed out of the record sale, for €390m,
early last year after the recession struck the
mineral business on which his fortune was based.
Charles Bremner.
See Property Oligarchs |
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Knight
Frank analyses property prospects for France
Propertytalklive.co.uk
26 Feb 10 "In
the core Cote D’Azur market prices have
corrected and we foresee stability for the
coming period. Despite lower levels of interest
at the start of 2009, including less UK buyers
for the South of France, the second half of the
year witnessed increased activity (20-30%) by a
coalition of Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Belgian
and Russian purchasers. Noticeably, since the
start of 2010 there has been a return to the
market by UK based purchasers (73% of total
registrations) looking to pursue their lifestyle
requirements in the South of France, assisted by
low interest rates and lower capital values. Paul
Humphreys. |
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Irish
quit the Cote d'Azur Irishtimes.com 25 Feb 10
Many Irish people who flocked to the Côte d’Azur in the noughties to
buy properties in the sun are now selling up –
but still making a profit, according to estate
agent Bernie Ennis. Under financial pressure at
home they are trying to release the equity
they sank into second homes on the Riviera.
Agents like Ennis, of World Homes Investments in
Dublin, sold apartments and villas on the
Riviera as prices rose between 2000 and the peak
in 2008, many by as much as 70 per cent. They
have fallen since then, but not by much more
than 10 per cent. Frances
O'Rourke.
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Property in France: the
new hot spots
Telegraph.co.uk 19 Feb 10
With prices falling, there has never been a
better time to snap up a historic French
property.
After a few years of flirting with "emerging" markets that
have now retreated into obscurity, British
buyers are tentatively dipping a toe into
overseas property again.
Cote d'Azur - Property prices on the coast fell
by about 15 per cent last year. Provence - For
those who want to be within an easy drive of the
Cote d'Azur but pay 20 to 30 per cent less for
their property, Provence still has some pockets
to be exploited by expats.
Zoe Dare Hall. |
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Big Projects Back
at MIPIM 2010
NewsBlaze.com 17 Feb 10
MIPIM 2010 is set to welcome a host of new real
estate projects as the international property
market emerges from the global financial
downturn.
Delegates to
MIPIM 2010 will discover a complete range of
city redevelopments, refurbishment projects and
new buildings.
And four of the
most ambitious developments that will be
presented come from South Korea, Egypt and
Nigeria.
Reed MIDEM Press
Release. |
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MIPIM Conferences Welcome
Eclectic Speaker Line-Up
PR
Newswire 17 Feb 10
Poland's Undersecretary of State in the Ministry
of Economy, the Mayor of Stockholm, the
Executive Director of the United Nations Human
Settlements Programme UN-HABITAT and the CEO of
the Islamic Corporation for the Development of
the Private Sector, are among the personalities
who will be taking the floor during the MIPIM
2010 conference programme.
Reed MIDEM Press
Release. |
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Monaco’s
M1 pays £175m for West End block
FT.com 16 Feb 10
The largest office deal in London’s West End
market since 2007 completed on Tuesday with the
acquisition of the art deco Victoria House on
Bloomsbury Square by M1 Real Estate, the company
backed by a former Lebanese prime minister. M1
paid about £175m ($276m) for the block.
Monaco-based M1 Real Estate, which acquired
Credit Suisse’s headquarters in Canary Wharf
last year, bought the building on the east side
of Bloomsbury Square from Moritz Group.
Daniel Thomas. |
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MIPIM Investor
Registrations Up 12% Over 2009
GlobeSt.com 12 Feb 10
The first major European
real estate trade fair of the year, MIPIM taking
place in Cannes in early March, has received 12%
more international investor registrations than
in 2009 which, it says, points to improved
confidence in the real estate market. Some 2,300
international investors have registered for the
21st edition of MIPIM on 16-19 March.
Allan Saunderson. |
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Monaco Has Highest Real
Estate Prices Among European Resort Cities
Realestatechannel.com 01 Feb 10
Monaco has the highest real estate prices among
all the European resorts, suggests a study
carried out by the Russian consulting agency
"MAR Consult". Currently the cost of one square
meter in high-class apartment buildings in the
principality amounts to EUR 84,500 euro. The
second place is occupied by France, where the
cost of one meter is 38.3 thousand euros,
followed by Spain (13 thousand euros for 1 sq.
m.) and Denmark (12.9 euros for 1 sq. m.). The
most expensive European apartments are located
in Monte Carlo's luxury Seaside Plaza.
Michael Gerrity. |
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Giant Ikea looking likely
for Ventimiglia
Webtimesmedia.com 25 Jan
10 Swedish
furniture giant Ikea, unable to locate in the
Alpes-Maritimes, could open in Ventimiglia on
the Italian side of the border. Ikea received
approval from Ventimiglia, Imperia province and
the region of Liguria to create a giant 75 000
m² store. The first draft for a failed project
in Mougins was for 17,000 m2. The proposed site
is Roya Park well served by trunk roads and
motorways. The project only needs the consent of
the owner, Trenitalia, the state owned Italian
railway, to organize the auction of the land. If
it goes ahead, it would become the largest store
in Northern Italy creating 700 direct jobs and
150 others.
Jean-Pierre Largillet. |
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For sale: 1960s-designed
modernist villa in the south of France
retrotogo.com 12 Jan 10
Had some money left to you? Won the Lottery? or
just plain rich anyway? If either of those
applies to you, check out this
1960s-designed
modernist villa in the south of France.
Designed in 1961 by Claude Parent, one of
France’s most revered modernist architects, it
mixes raw concrete and glass walls for the
structure, throwing in a stunning view of the
French Riviera from its location at the summit
of Cap d’Antibes. Yes, perfect for the jet
setter in all of us. The property was listed in
France in 1989, which gives you an idea if its
originality. |
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Monaco
to build into the sea to create more space
Telegraph.co.uk
28 Dec 09
Prince Albert II of Monaco is planning to reclaim
land from the sea with a ground-breaking scheme
that will allow the tiny population to expand. He
has launched a drive to build into the
Mediterranean to create an area around 12.5 acres.
It will extend from the Fontvieille district at
the western foot of the "rock". The £10
billion plan was first floated last year but
dropped due to the financial crisis and the
"green" Prince's concerns it would
damage the marine environment. But the prince has
now decided the time is right to try again and is
planning a smaller development. Henry
Samuel. |
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Hammerson Buys Les Terrasses Du
Port, Marseille
Wall Street Journal 21 Dec
09 Hammerson PLC said
Monday that it has acquired Les Terrasses du Port,
Marseille, a shopping center developments anticipated in
France in the next few years.
The vendor is
Foruminvest, a private developer based in Holland. The
initial capital commitment, including acquisition costs,
is expected to be EUR50 million in the first six months.
The 52,000 meter square centre will provide 150 stores,
2,850 car parking spaces and a 260 meter-wide restaurant
terrace overlooking the sea.
Dow Jones Newswires. |
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Halabi
forced to count cost of UK downturn
FT.com 18 Dec 09
Mr Halabi, who lives between Switzerland, the south of
France and London, is a figure of mystery to many in the
property industry, rarely attending industry events or
talking to the press, and choosing to work with only a
handful of trusted advisers. He was still estimated by
Forbes this year to have had a fortune of $2.8bn
and has the trappings of a modern property mogul,
including a vineyard and chateau in France, a yacht
moored at Portofino in Italy and an office full of
antique furniture in London’s Mayfair.
Parts
of the Halabi business outside UK property include the
Château Cantenac Brown vineyard in France, where there
are plans to create a luxury hotel.
Daniel Thomas. |
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Irish Property Magnate Puts Cap-Ferrat Mansion On The
Market
RivieraLife.tv 13 Sep 09 Derek
Quinlan is reknowned as the property magnate with the 'Midas
Touch.' The Irish property tycoon is best known for his
ownership of London's prestige Savoy Hotel and his
Malibu shared property deal with U2 guitarist The Edge.
Brash investments however, even as the property markets
tumbled, seem to have come back to bite him. In June he
resigned as the chairman of
Quinlan Private, the
Dublin property investment firm that bears his name. It
is now reported that his estate on Saint Jean Cap Ferrat,
Villa la Carriere, is up for sale and that he has
abandoned his home town of Dublin for Lausanne in
Switzerland. |
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These
developments have further raised speculation that his property
investment portfolio is not as bullet-proof from the ravages of
the recession as once thought. |
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Intrigue as financier emigrates to
Switzerland
Irish
Independent 13 Sep 09
August on the French Riviera doesn't appear to be in
Derek Quinlan's plans for 2010 judging by his decision
in recent weeks to put his waterfront villa on the
market. Through a series of calls to local real estate
agents, the Sunday Independent has established that the
property -- only recently downgraded in value from €100m
to €75m by Savills International -- is on the market for
what would appear to be the unfeasible asking price of
€150m.
Mr Quinlan has also
recently put his share of the land he purchased with
U2's Dave 'the Edge' Evans in Malibu, California, on the
market, abandoning plans to build yet another bolthole
for himself on the Pacific Coast. The former tax
inspector has enjoyed an especially close relationship
with the members of U2 over the years, even entering
into partnership with Bono and the Edge in 2005
investing in the Clarence Hotel on Dublin's Wellington
Quay. Ronald
Quinlan.
Derek Quinlan quits Ireland for
Switzerland
Sunday Times 16 Aug 09
Derek Quinlan, the former tax inspector turned
international property investor, has quit Ireland with
his family to take up permanent residence in Switzerland.
Quinlan, who has a prestigious portfolio of properties
around the world, has been involved in intense
negotiations with his lenders in recent months as
property values have plummeted. Sources said that
companies connected to Quinlan could owe as much as €1.5
billion to Irish banks, much of it to Anglo Irish Bank,
which was taken over by taxpayers this year.
Brian
Carey.
The investor with the Midas touch
vacates his throne
Sunday Times 12 Jul 09
It is a holiday home fit for a billionaire. With a
private beach, perfect putting greens, an infinity pool
and furniture by the Queen’s nephew, Viscount Linley,
Derek Quinlan’s mansion in Cap Ferrat is among the
neighbourhood’s finest. That’s saying something when the
neighbours include Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich,
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and the advertising guru
Maurice Saatchi. The villa, bought for €45m (£39m),
provides a retreat in which Quinlan can relax and
contemplate his next deal. He has spent another €20m on
improvements, including works of art, a lift and a lawn
tennis court. Quinlan, 62, has holidayed in Cap Ferrat
home all summer.
Tom Lyons. |
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