Bloomberg Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more than forecast in February after reaching the second-highest level since 2007 as low inventory levels continue to limit progress in housing. Closings on existing homes, which usually take place a month or two after a contract is signed, decreased 7.1 percent to a three-month low 5.08 million annual rate after a ...
Read More »Real Estate
Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires US properties worth $220mn
Doha / Emirates Business Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, announced that its US-based real estate arm, through two separate transactions, has acquired five residential properties in the metropolitan areas of Boca Raton, Florida and Minneapolis, Minnesota for approximately $220mn. The acquisitions are consistent with Investcorp’s strategy to invest in desirable, high quality properties located in ...
Read More »UK house prices rise in March as regions outpace London
Bloomberg U.K. house prices rose 1.3 percent in March, pushing the average above 300,000 pounds ($435,000) for the first time, according to Rightmove Plc. Average asking prices increased 7.6 percent compared with a year earlier, the property-website operator said on Monday. That takes the increase over the past 10 years to 50 percent, more than twice the pace of earnings ...
Read More »AYKON’s Versace-branded residences get renamed
Dubai / Emirates Business Nine Elms Property Development Ltd, a subsidiary of DAMAC International Limited, has announced a re-branding of its premier residential project in London. AYKON Nine Elms, the 50-storey tower with interiors by Italian fashion house Versace, has been renamed AYKON London One, in a tribute to the skyscraper tower being the only ‘One’ in central London with ...
Read More »Egypt’s SODIC inks $495mn sales contracts
CAIRO / EMIRATES BUSINESS Egypt’s real estate developer SODIC signed sales contracts worth 4.4 billion Egyptian pounds (US$ 495.5million) during the financial year ended in December 2015, according to a source. SODIC , or Sixth of October Development and Investment Company revenues for the period reached 1.47 billion Egyptian pounds, while its net profit registered 321.331 million Egyptian pounds from ...
Read More »Evictions, unrest cast shadow on Ethiopian construction boom
Bloomberg When Ethiopian farmer Mulugeta Mezemir ceded his land three years ago to property developers on the fringes of the expanding capital, Addis Ababa, he felt he had no choice. A gated community with white picket fences and mock Roman pillars built by Country Club Developers now occupies the fields he tilled in Legetafo, Oromia region, after the 60-year-old said ...
Read More »EMEA buyers to invest more in real estate in the current year
Emirates Business Real estate investors across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region intend to be very active in 2016. According to CBRE’s 2016 EMEA Investor Intentions Survey almost half (48 per cent) of all surveyed expect their purchasing activity to be higher than last year, compared with just 15 per cent who expect to be less active buyers. ...
Read More »Rotana expands in GCC with Downtown Rotana in Manama
Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Rotana , one of the leading hotel management companies in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, has launched its newest property in Bahrain – the five-star hotel Downtown Rotana , which was inaugurated by H.E. Zayed R. Al Zayani, Bahrain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism on Sunday. Rising amidst the traditional ...
Read More »KSA investors hit as realty slumps in Lebanon
Riyadh / Emirates Business The real estate market in Lebanon is among the sectors that have been adversely affected by the political crisis between that country and the Kingdom, and Saudi investors are among those feeling the heat. The losses due to the slowdown in the Lebanese real estate sector, especially due to the travel alert issued by Gulf Cooperation ...
Read More »Wanna gamble on property market for megarich? Consider Marnier
Bloomberg Buying one share of Grand Marnier Group will get you 8,050 euros in cash when the company is acquired by Davide Campari Campari-Milano SpA — and a chance to roll the dice on what may be one of the biggest residential real estate deals of all time. Shares of Grand Marnier resumed trading after the French company agreed to ...
Read More »