| Mid East's mega projects create heavy demand for innovative flooring
This is according to the Dubai-headquartered Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID) - which is fast on track to becoming the region's regulatory authority for interior design standards in the next three years. According to APID, regional property developers are increasingly looking for ways of differentiating their product by creating greater interest in flooring, hard surfaces and the materials, colours and finishes that contribute to versatile interior designs. 'As region-wide projects reach the interior design stage, there is now heavy demand for all types of innovative flooring solutions to keep pace with the diverse range of wall and ceiling elements, not to mention lighting and audio visual applications,' according to Kenneth Laidler, President, APID. 'The concentration of mega projects in the UAE is strong and has placed emphasis firmly on design.
IMF Warns on US Subprime Lending, While Praising Its Global Spread
UNITED NATIONS, April 10 -- The International Monetary Fund, while singing the praises of financial globalization in a report issued today, notes dryly that "the subprime sector of the U.S. mortgage market has deteriorated more rapidly than had been expected." What the IMF misses is that the same subprime lending scheme which began in the U.S. and is now embroiled in bankruptcies and criminal charges, is being expanded worldwide by the Large, Complex Financial Institutions which the IMF loves and serves. Citigroup, for example, brags of aggressively expanding its subprime CitiFinancial business to more emerging markets countries. General Electric's GE Money unit doesn't brag, it just expands, offering high-rate lending in every continent.
Converters Leaving Market Without Much Pain
PHOENIX-Eighteen months ago, apartment complexes were being snapped up at record pace by condominium converters. But in less than two years, the news focuses on what local experts have dubbed "reversions"--condo conversion complexes being brought to the sales block as income-producing properties. Unlike other markets experiencing condo retreats, local experts say Phoenix converters aren't losing too much in the process. Just recently, the 272-unit Laguna Hills at 4800 S. Alma School Rd. in Chandler brought in $38.5 million or $2.6 million more than SunVest Communities LLC had paid in early 2006. The Hallandale, FL-based company had invested $1 million into conversion upgrades when it decided to back down on the plan. .
The allure of resort properties
According to Bank of Thailand statistics, tourism contributed 9% to the countrys GDP in 2005 and international tourist arrivals reached 13.4 million in 2006. Historically, tourists stayed in hotel accommodation, but following a global trend there is growing demand for villas and condominiums - particularly for long-stay tourists. There is also a growing demand from tourists to own their own resort properties in Thailand.
Resort property development is an extension of the tourist industry and is an important element in attracting high income short and long-term stay tourists, says David Simister, chairman of CB Richard Ellis Thailand.
Spain is a good example of a country that has leveraged its popularity as a tourist destination to become the most favoured location for second homes in Europe.
|
