Moscow International Property Show – post show roundup

Economists & writers will long argue about the causes & consequences of the economic crisis, but a real estate business has no such luxury as time for reflection.

An increasing number of events dedicated to the elite segment of real estate are proving the fact – the crisis has been overcome & a new era has been ushered in.

Positive changes in the market have already activated its most reliable sector – luxury property. Cumberland Properties participated in the XV International Property Show in Moscow, which is closing the season of presentations in real estate this year.

Keeping with tradition aiGroup invited exhibitors to the shopping centre “Tishinka” in the centre of the Russian capital, where 184 companies from 40 countries brought fresh designs for the demanding Russian client. Around 8,000 visitors, among which friends & partners of Cumberland Properties, were asking questions of real estate companies’ representatives & choosing the most suitable offers during the two show days.

As president of aiGroup Kim Waddoup remarked, “there is yet no better tool for investment than property, especially an overseas property”.
This year has significantly expanded the selection of geography. Five to six years ago Russians were buying real estate mainly in Europe – in Spain, France & the UK. Today there is hardly an island left where footprints of a Russian buyer won’t be found. Distances do not confuse Russians. However, their neighbours, Bulgaria, Finland, Montenegro & Turkey remain the favourites & are constantly strengthening their positions.

Surprisingly the economic crisis has had a beneficial impact on the overseas segment of real estate. In the context of inflation, the need to invest, or simply a desire to secure financial assets, it has prompted many Russians to refer to such a reliable instrument as property ownership abroad.

This was evidenced by a significant number of interested visitors, investors & potential buyers at the Moscow International Property Show this year.
Russians & representatives of other CIS countries are not only aware of what it is to invest in real estate, they also believe this sector to be the most profitable to invest in.

That’s why Cumberland Properties who have long specialised in the design, construction & provision of exquisite interiors to their exclusive properties in Turkey, decided to offer the market a few new projects at the Moscow International Property Show where Cumberland’s Woodland Regency development was the most admired of all.

While the name of Cumberland is becoming familiar to the sophisticated ear of the discerning Russian buyer our team continues to work on the next set of fabulous ideas.

Christmas for Turkey: Istanbul World’s Best-Performing City

How the world’s cities have fared since the financial crisis hit in 2007

Cities are the great engines of growth in the world economy. Istanbul, with income growth of 5.5% & employment growth of 7.3% over the past year, is currently the world’s best-performing city, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution & the London School of Economics.

The report ranks 150 cities from across the globe according to growth in gross value added per person (a proxy for income) & employment. The 150 metropolitan areas represented just 12% of the world’s population but accounted for 46% of the world’s GDP in 2007.

Some cities have plunged in the rankings since the “Great Recession”. Dubai & Dublin, the second & sixth best-performing cities respectively between 1993 & 2007, now rank as the most stagnant.

Source: The Economist

Turkish top court bans pro-Kurdish party

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has voted to ban the country’s largest pro-Kurdish party because of alleged links with Kurdish separatist rebels.

Turkey’s chief prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya argued that the Democratic Society Party (DTP) took orders from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The DTP is the latest in a series of pro-Kurdish parties to have been closed down in Turkey.

The EU, which Turkey hopes to join, expressed concern over Friday’s ruling.

“While strongly denouncing violence and terrorism, the presidency recalls that the dissolution of political parties is an exceptional measure that should be used with utmost restraint,” the EU’s Swedish presidency said in a statement reported by Reuters.

The 11 judges in Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that the DTP had become a “focal point of activities against the indivisible unity of the state, the country and the nation”, court president Hasim Kilic told reporters.

He said DTP leaders Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk had been stripped of parliamentary immunity and banned from politics for five years along with 35 other party members.

The treasury would seize all party assets, Mr Kilic added.

The DTP holds 21 seats in Turkey’s 550-member parliament.

Some 40,000 people have died since the outlawed PKK launched an armed campaign in the mainly Kurdish southeast in 1984.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Istanbul, says the DTP’s ban is another blow to the government’s hopes of ending the conflict.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to push through a package of reforms aimed at winning over the alienated Kurdish community and persuading militants to lay down their weapons.

Reacting to the ban, DTP chairman Mr Turk said it would not help to end the 25-year conflict.

“Turkey cannot resolve this problem by closing down parties,” he said.

The court case has already caused unrest in Kurdish areas.

In the city of Hakkari - near the Iran and Iraq borders - Turkish police used water canon to break up a protest by Kurdish rebel supporters on Friday, Anatolia news agency reported.

Kurds make up about 20% of Turkey’s population of more than 70 million.

Turkey, the EU and the US list the PKK as a terrorist organisation.

For more information visit: www.bbc.co.uk / www.reuters.com

Bodrum Tipped As Double Rental Prospect

It has been stated that the Turkish Aegean Peninsula of Bodrum provides a dual incentive to investors.

Both buyers and investors hoping to rent out property can benefit from the fact that the area boasts both a domestic and an international market for tourist rentals.

This is due to the fact that the peninsula is the preferred Turkish holiday destination not only for the Turks but also by tourists visiting from Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Hannah Gelbart of Cumberland Properties, a property developer that owns three developments within the Bodrum Peninsula, affirms that “more than 50% of our buyers come from Ankara and Istanbul.”

Bodrum has a great many attractions, including cultural and historic features such as Bodrum Castle and the remains of the Mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It is also famed for its stunning marina, whitewashed houses, narrow winding streets and elegant boutiques.

Furthermore, its Underwater Archaeological Museum that is housed in Bodrum Castle is recognised as the best of its type in the world. It was the wealth of marine artefacts recovered locally that originally inspired the commissioning of the museum.

Diving for antiquities remains a firm favourite amongst the more adventurous tourists. The area boasts a full range of water sports from a gentle paddle or a trip out on a pedalo – for the less adventurous – through to parasailing and scuba diving courses all that can be arranged locally.

Recent studies in and around the area have noted that crime rates are minimal, as indeed is the cost of living. English is widely spoken throughout the region. During the summer months you could almost be forgiven for thinking it was the first language.

English pounds sterling, Euros, Dollars and obviously Turkish Lira are all in circulation during the summer months and are readily accepted in most local shops and markets. Although be prepared to have your change given in Turkish Lira. The UK especially continues to benefit from superb exchange rates virtually doubling your money.

Bodrum has been recently tipped as one of Turkey’s property hotspots for buyers in 2010, along with fellow Turkish resorts Altinkum and Dalaman.

Cumberland Landscaping & Design

Cumberland already have a fine reputation across the Bodrum Peninsular as a ‘green” developer in Turkey.

 But ever environmentally conscious and certainly not content to rest on our laurels (pardon the pun) we have expanded this side of our business. With the acquisition of an additional site, just south of Bodrum Milas Airport – keep an eye out for us beneath the “Cumberland Properties” sign on the right hand side of the main road as you travel south toward Bodrum – we will be able to better serve the local community.

 

This expansion has been fuelled, in part, by an increase in demand from other local developers and wholesalers who clearly envy our green fingers!

 

With the appointment of Gözde Tavaslı we aim not only to expand our business to cater for this sector of the market but also to extend our services into the wider community by the provision of a retail outlet.

 

Gözde will also be lending her services and considerable expertise by offering her services not only within Cumberland but also on a consultancy basis.

 

For more information contact: gozde@cumberlandproperties.net

         or visit: www.cumberland-properties.com

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