GEM Estates enlarges dollar portfolio
The Great British pound is anything less than ‘great’ against the euro right now with a pound buying a paltry 1.25 euros at the time of writing. The euro has seen its largest ever year-on-year gain (17.26%) against the British currency and everything eurozone is looking expensive from piña coladas to property. However a Brit’s wallet will still find things cheap across the pond and real estate agents such as GEM Estates are responding by beefing up their dollar property portfolio. Managing Director of GEM Estates, Adam Cornwell, comments, “We’re quite used to adapting to fads and fancies in real estate, highlighting new markets as and when they emerge, but this is the first time we’ve had to respond to exchange rates. We found our prospects were holding back on euro products, concerned at the extra funds required over this time last year, so we’ve spent valuable hours traveling, researching and listing dollar products. With the pound buying 1.98 dollars, people can snap up a real bargain and when the currency settles back down to the expected pound for 1.6 or 1.7 dollars, they’ll have a significant profit on their hands regardless of external factors such as increased tourist arrivals, new airline routes and so on. And of course dollars doesn’t just mean the United States, we now have resorts in Uruguay, Nicaragua, the Caribbean and Mexico within our portfolio.”
As GEM Estates is essentially an online shop, a virtual shop window, it has been a low-cost low-hassle procedure adding dollar markets with the only drain being on time and resources to conduct all-important face-to-face meetings with developers backed-up by fastidious due diligence. The fruits of their labour are now ready for viewing and here’s GEM Estates pick of the dollar bunch.
Playa Mujeres Resort is just north of Cancún on Mexico’s stunning Yucatan Peninsula. With temperatures ranging between 26ºC and 36ºC all year, hundreds of kilometers of Caribbean coastline and some of the world’s finest heritage sites within reach, including Chichen Itzá, this location is hard to beat. The resort itself has no less than two Greg Norman designed golf courses, 1.2km of private beachfront including three beach clubs, two five star hotels, a vast Spa centre and a 170-berth marina complete with yacht club. With a choice of one to three bedroom properties, either beach- or marina- front, prices start from $438,438 USD with a substantial 70% of payment delayed until completion expected for the first quarter of 2009. Preferential finance is available through the developer’s banking arm, CAM Bank.
Seaside Mariana is a truly five-star resort in Nicaragua, already 30–50% cheaper than neighbouring Costa Rica to the south. Comprising condo apartments priced from $165,000 USD and villas from $340,000 USD the resort has an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, Spa, 3.5km of beachfront plus a plaza with restaurants, shops and a casino. The developers are also in the process of selecting an international hotel chain to anchor the development. In light of the recent success of Belize and Costa Rica, Nicaragua has the potential for a real estate boom particularly as a hotel bed deficit of 5,000 is predicted by 2012, giving Seaside Mariana more importance. Owners can select on-site rental management with a 60-40 split in favour of the owner whilst the International Airport of Managua is within an hour’s drive.
Swan Lake Forest is located on the fringes of Laguna del Sauce, one of the most exclusive areas of Uruguay’s Punta del Este. The 50ha site is dedicated to plots, villas, semi-detached villas and apartments as well as a five star hotel. Residents can enjoy a clubhouse with restaurant, bar, swimming pools and tennis courts whilst full services from laundry to gardening to concierge are all on-tap. Limited plots are available at pre-launch, all with stunning lake and/or sea views, and prices start from $123,000 USD for a 3,500m² plot. These prices will rise by a minimum of 20% on full launch and plots will then only be available if the villa is purchased at the same time.
For more information, visit gem-estates.com.
