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All countries |
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| World tour |
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| Canada, Australia, New Zealand |
| In this page we provide some information about some regions in the above countries. |
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| Australia - The SouthWest |
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Bunbury and the South West area of Western Australia (or WA) is one of the world's great places to live, with a Mediterranean climate, sandy-white beaches, beautiful native forests and all the infrastructure expected of a modern western society.
Bunbury is the major city in WA's South West region, that is also home to other centres such as Busselton, Margaret River, Donnybrook, Manjimup, Augusta, Pemberton, Collie, Harvey and Bridgetown.
Located 175km south of Perth, the city and its neighboring suburbs have a population of 52,000 and Bunbury is one of Australia's fastest growing cities. Bunbury is the commercial hub to WA's "South West", an area that is home to the Margaret River wine region and major coal, alumina and mineral sands industries; a region that boasts around 8,000 businesses and a GDP of over $5 billion. Presently it is about a 2 hour drive from Perth to Bunbury, but this will be reduced by 30 minutes on the completion of the recently announced Bunbury Highway or Peel Deviation.
Western Australia is Australia's largest state, comprising about one-third of Australia's land mass and occupying over 2.5 million square kilometres in area. WA is divided into 10 regional areas - the South West, Mid West, North West, Peel, Wheatbelt, Great Southern, Goldfields-Esperance, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Kimberley.
Outside Perth, Bunbury is Western Australia's next largest city. It boasts a thriving CBD shopping and business area that is these days more famous for its many restaurants and cafés, or as it is referred to locally - The Cappuccino Strip, and more recently the fast developing Marlston waterfront area that already includes the upmarket Vat 2 restaurant, Taffy's "live" confectionary outlet, Barbados tavern and nightclub, Jiving J's waterfront bar and eatery and "Surprise Chef" Aristos's own seafood boardwalk.
Many restaurants are open early and close late, with the remainder open in the evenings from around 6pm and for lunch around 12-2pm. There's a bevy of fast-food options both within the city area and in the Bunbury suburbs, and Bunbury is well known for its family-owned pizza stores in the city area.
Enjoying a mild Mediterranean climate, the city is bordered by the Indian Ocean, Koombana Bay and Leschenault inlet and naturally enough water sports, port and harbour facilities as well as a growing seafoods industry, feature highly in the local lifestyle and economy. Bunbury's port is Australia's ninth largest port by volume and by 2020 should be rated within the nation's top five.
Thousands of years ago Bunbury was subject to lava flows which resulted in both the unique basalt rock formations on the city beach as well as the present Marlston Hill and Boulters Heights, where today some of Bunbury's most exclusive residential real estate is located. Bunbury is also home to Australia's southernmost mangroves and the world's last native Tuart forest is just south of Bunbury.
The first recorded mapping of what is now Koombana Bay and the eventual City of Bunbury, was in 1803 by the French explorers Nicolas Baudin and Louis de Freycinet, from their ships the Geographe and Casuarina. In 1831 there was a temporary English military settlement with the first settlers moving to the area named after Lieutenant Henry William St Pierre Bunbury in 1838. A growing port serviced the settlers and the subsequent local industries that developed.
The area is the traditional land of the Noongar Aboriginal people with many Noongar names and travel routes still widely used today. The Noongar (which means "man") people have occupied the south west area of Western Australia for around 38,000 years and their traditional stories tell of the Waagle (or Rainbow Serpent) giving life and sustenance to their people who in return were the caretakers of the land.
Bunbury is truly a water-lifestyle city being bordered by the Indian Ocean, Koombana Bay and Leschenault Inlet and fed by the Collie and Preston Rivers; making watersports such as sailing, water skiing, fishing, wind surfing, diving and snorkelling, boating, rowing, swimming, surfing and jet skiing extremely popular.
Bunbury is a great place to live, and especially so for families. There's plenty to do and there's a wide range of education options, with government and independent pre-primary, primary and secondary schools as well as a TAFE College and a campus of Edith Cowan University.
There are numerous property choices in the Bunbury area ranging from trendy cosmopolitan apartments to traditional suburban family homes and from beach retreats to rural or semi-rural properties.
There is a wide variety of attractions, with Bunbury the home of the Dolphin Discovery Centre where you can learn about and interact with wild dolphins, whilst in 2005 the city hopes to host a round of the Formula Nippon motor racing circuit. There is an indoor skate centre, ten pin bowling, cinema within the CBD area with the Bunbury Entertainment Centre alongside. Bunbury boasts a major aquatic and fitness centre with a smaller indoor pool located at Australind. You can get a good view of Bunbury and the surrounding areas from the Apex Lookout Tower at Marlston Hill or at Boulters Heights, right alongside the city centre.
Bunbury is home to up to 90 bottlenose dolphins and visitors can wade in Koombana Bay while dolphins swim amongst you or you can take one of the Dolphin Discovery Centre's "Swim with the Dolphins" cruises. Bunbury is one of the few places where wild dolphins freely visit the beach and interract with humans.
There are 9 secondary schools in the central Bunbury area, a campus of Edith Cowan University, TAFE College, several shopping centres, sporting grounds and major private and public hospitals. |
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| Expensive, Expensive.... |
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The Affordability Indexes of Greater Vancouver and Metropolitan Toronto, were they measured in degrees Celsius, would be fast approaching the absolute zero or minus 276 degrees these days. And so are the affordability indexes of all other large urban centers in the United States, ranking North America in third place after East Asia and Europe on the scale of the world’s most unaffordable places when it comes to housing. We win the Bronze Medal, so to speak, but I am not so sure there is reason to celebrate. Tokyo and Hong Kong, with an average resale value of U.S.$1,100 and U.S.$900 per square foot approximately have turned into cities of sardines, with people reduced to live in 300 square foot cubicles to afford a roof over their heads. London and Paris, with average resale values of U.S.$700 and U.S.$650 per square foot respectively have turned into cities of renters. By comparison, Vancouver and Toronto with resale values of U.S.$420 and U.S.$430 per square foot respectively are still dirt-cheap - for foreigners, that is, certainly not for Canadians.
The Affordability Crisis is a very serious matter indeed. It has economic, political, social and demographic reverberations and repercussions. We have heard it over and over again these past few years: historically low mortgage rates, pent-up demand, low inventories and an improved overall economic atmosphere have all contributed to hot local real estate markets. Which, in turn, have driven prices literally through the roof. But an intelligent analysis of the roots of this crisis, in all fairness, must really reach beyond the mere finger pointing to the relationship between supply and demand. Home ownership is the single most important element in the democratization of prosperity. It is the element of social stability and cohesion and, therefore, an important pillar of a sustainable modern economic capitalistic growth. We do everything with our homes in addition, of course, to live and sleep inside: we use them as collateral for personal lines of credit, we use them to increase our net worth, we use them to establish our hierarchy within society, we use them to improve our own self-esteem and, last but not least, we also use them as the parachute of last resort to save us from dire financial straits. Ownership of our homes is everything to us. Now, try to think of a world without such ownership: everything we normally think of as an asset and a credit all of a sudden turns into a liability and a debit – our own personal balance sheet in reverse. That’s how important housing affordability is in our lives.
The primary culprit and cause of the crisis is the ratio between wages and real estate market values. This ratio is entirely skewed to values. Whereas market values in metropolitan areas in Canada have appreciated an average of fifteen percent per year for the past five years - or a total of seventy-five percent since 2000, salaries have increased an average four percent per annum – or twenty percent total. There is, therefore, a fifty-five percent gap, which accounts for the problem buyers are facing today when it comes to go to the bank and qualifying for a loan. And if you think you are out of the problem because you have bought already – well, think again: no buyers, no demand, and lower values. Lenders claim they cannot lower their qualification standards, and that is probably credible in light of how cutthroat the lending business has become. And governments have chipped in already with aid programs especially oriented towards first-time buyers and tax incentives and credits applicable to everyone else. Which, then, leaves consumers with no other choice but to rent – just like in Europe, until such time as a new economic equilibrium is established.
Price dropping has been a steady staple these past few weeks in many markets. Many economists do not envision this as a market downturn, much less the onset of the real estate bubble believers in Apocalypse have been prognosticating all along. The general belief is that we are now facing a ‘deceleration' of capital appreciation – but still an appreciation - now forecasted to hover to on or about five percent in 2006. Real estate, therefore, remains a viable investment venue, but not the gold mine it has been these years past. More importantly, a slower appreciation will allow salaries and wages to catch up and thus to regenerate the pool of buyers, especially first-time Buyers, entitled to take their first steps into the world of real estate. |
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| Tequila time in Mexico - Costa Maya |
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The excitement of real estate investing is learning how to spot trends before they are discovered by the masses. Real estate booms tend to start and end in very predictable ways. Every boom along the Mexican coastline began in a similar fashion and has resulted in an incredible payoff for those who recognized the trends in the beginning. Here you’ll find a guide to predicting real estate investment trends in Mexico by understanding the history of past successes.
Locations of Undeveloped Natural Beauty
Mexico’s Caribbean Sea coastline has a natural beauty that rivals that of any other landscape on earth. The deep turquoise skies, crystal clear waters, and white sandy beaches have a natural calming effect on just about anyone who visits. Still, many of these areas remained as small fishing towns for years. Most were unpopulated, un-landscaped, and without good quality roads, plumbing and electricity. Mexican banking is much different than in America, making home loans nearly impossible to secure by the average population. As a result, coastal property remained raw and natural and under the radar of foreign real estate investors.
Area revitalization
In an attempt to increase tourism and to attract foreign investors, the Mexican government began several area revitalization projects starting in places like Acapulco and Cancun. By cleaning up the area, and bringing in water and power, the rejuvenated landscape began to take on a fresh, new appeal and caught the eye of investors and tourists alike. Prices of real estate lots in these areas now cost many times what they did at the start of the beautification project.
Fewer Restrictions on Foreign Land Ownership
Mexico enacted a law many years ago preventing non-residents from owning property within 31 miles of the ocean or 62 miles from the border. Consequently, these are the areas most appealing to foreign investors. In recent years, the Mexican government enacted laws making it possible for foreign investors to own property in Mexico. When the laws took effect, growth along the revitalized areas of tropical coastline began to flourish and real estate prices in those areas began to rise.
Financing Packages
Because home loans aren’t as readily available in Mexico, the only investors who could purchase property along Mexico’s Caribbean coastline were those who could afford to pay the property value in full. Recently, in response to Mexico’s new laws that give foreign homeowners full rights to their property, many US banks are now offering financing for Mexican real estate, making this opportunity available to more individuals.
Costa Maya: Mexico’s Current Investment Hotspot
The area known as Costa Maya is the current hotspot for those with an eye for investment. This area is now the focus of a government backed revitalization project and raw plots of beachfront land are selling at prices far blow their future anticipated value. Undeveloped, ready to build real estate plots in Costa Maya that touch the slowly lapping blue tides of the Caribbean Sea are selling for as low as $65,000 USD.
Anticipating Future Property Values
Just 15 years ago the city of Playa Del Carmen near the Costa Maya was nothing more than a fishing village. Today the city has grown far beyond the coastline and raw beachfront lots now sell for nearly 1 million dollars. Anticipate the future real estate value of Costa Maya in another decade or so by comparing the real estate prices in Cancun. Though there are no more vacant beachfront lots, houses along the coastline regularly sell for more than 1 million dollars.
By understanding the history of real estate investment in Mexico and comparing it with today’s current trends, it’s easy to spot the newest investment opportunities. The Costa Maya is one of the last stretches of unexploited coastal terrain in Mexico. Although lots along this 57 mile strip of coast are selling quickly, there are still numerous lots available for those with an eye for investment.
Swissdom can help you find just the right property. Even in Mexico, managing your foreign exchange exposure so that you get the best possible deal. |
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| When buying overseas, use your trusted buyer broker, to avoid surprises |
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For Americans buying their dream property in Mexico, it’s important to understand the differences between Mexico’s real estate system and that of the United States. It’s never safe to assume that any law or process is the same between the two systems, and oftentimes they are completely different. There are a few key differences to be aware of between purchasing properties in the U.S. verses Mexico to ensure a seamless transaction.
Real Estate Agents
There is no real estate license required to buy or sell property in Mexico. Unlike in the U.S. where a person must be a trained and licensed agent to sell property, a person with no knowledge of real estate whatsoever can sell a piece of property in Mexico. Foreigners with little knowledge of the local laws and area can be an easy target for fraud.
Even sellers with the best intentions of conducting an honest transaction may not be fully aware of all of the legalities when it comes to zoning, title transfer, foreign ownership, etc. Swissdom only deals with agencies with a solid reputation for foreign client satisfaction.
Property Ownership
As part of a law passed in 1917, citizens of countries other than Mexico cannot directly own property in the “restricted zone.” The restricted zone encompasses a 50km perimeter along the coastline and 100km perimeter along the country’s natural borders. In Brazil for instance, there are no such widespread restrictions, yet.
However, the Mexican government welcomes and encourages foreign investment and has developed ways for non-residents to safely own and enjoy property along Mexico’s picturesque coastline. Foreign investors must first set up a corporation in Mexico that technically owns the property. Under the law, foreigners have full ownership of their Mexican corporation, thus allowing non-nationals complete ownership of property within the restricted zone.
Financing
Mexican banks don’t offer the same types of attractive home loan packages that make it simple to finance a home in the United States. In Mexico, the majority of people tend to build their own homes starting with a small foundation and expanding slowly as income allows. For many years, Americans who wished to buy property had no choice but to pay in cash for the full amount.
Thanks to real estate reform, some American banks now offer loans for property in Mexico. Construction loans are available through U.S. banks as well. Some banks only write loans for second or third homes in Mexico while others offer loans for primary residences and investment properties.
While there are numerous differences between purchasing a home in the U.S. and purchasing a home in Mexico, the process today is easier than ever before. It’s important to find a real estate agency with a solid track record for success in helping Americans to obtain property in Mexico.
There are always numerous factors to consider and steps to take when buying property in another country. By working with trusted advisors you eliminate most of the risk, and are able to take advantage of real bargains in emerging markets. |
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New Zealand has a property bubble, but it is in our radar since some great opportunities will soon come up. To be ready to take advantage of great prices, contact us at realestate@ swissdom.ch (please remove the space which is there to avoid spammers) Here are some comments on that market.
Buying a beach house in New Zealand offers many possibilities.
New Zealand is made up of two main islands, North Island and South Island, giving it miles of coastal lands and perfect beaches to live by. Each island offers its own unique climate conditions and way of life.
Make Money from the Real Estate investment
One aspect to consider when you think about buying a beach house in New Zealand is the possibility of earning money from it. There are several ways to do this. You could rent or lease your house to tourists. You could also live in it with an eye toward selling it for more than you paid for it in the not to distant future. The New Zealand real estate market is rapidly growing, and giving someone else a chance to buy a New Zealand beach house could earn you a lot of money.
Rules for Investment
If you are interested in buying a beach house in New Zealand as an investment property it will be important for you to know about taxes, mortgages in New Zealand, and learn if you have to be a New Zealand resident to be a New Zealand landlord, and find answers to the many other questions you’ll most likely have.
Coromandel
One popular area on North Island is the Coromandel Coast on the Coromandel Peninsula. The nearest town is stunning Cook’s Beach. It would be a spectacular place to buy your dream New Zealand beach house.
Waiwera
If you prefer to buy a beach house in New Zealand close to a metropolitan area, think about Waiwera which is less than a thirty minute drive to Auckland. You would be unable to buy a piece of land where you could build a new home. The area is closed to more growth. However if you want to buy an existing beach house in New Zealand and live in a truly wondrous setting, this might be your perfect spot. You’ll live near thermal pools, a nature reserve, and be able to launch your boat right from the beach.
Virtual Tour
Whatever your reason for buying a beach house in New Zealand, you need to check out the many potential areas. It would be lovely to take a tour in person to see all the marvelous beaches where you might purchase your house or property. However, one of the great things about our high-tech society is that you can take virtual tours and see marvelous pictures of a number of unbelievably beautiful properties. Swissdom organizes real estate shopping tours to NZ, Australia, and other far away markets. It is the way for you to enjoy a holiday and make some money while you have fun. |
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