Developers trying to entice investors

Real estate agents and developers are coming up with new ways of enticing property investors in an attempt to avoid the worst of the global credit crunch.

It is not just property owners who are seeing a downturn in their fortunes, but around the world agents and developers are tightening their belts and even going bust.

The survivors are those who can still buy and sell in the current economic climate. But for investors it is no bad thing as they attempt to find real bargains.

Buying off-plan, for example, is a sound way to beat the currency downturns, according to one property company. With a 17% drop in value of the Pound against the Euro in the last year UK investors are cautious about buying in Euros. But they are probably crunching the wrong numbers, claims Andrew Benitz, Director of Titan Properties.

'If you are buying off-plan the counterproductive exchange rate only applies to any down-payment and not on the entire purchase price - unless of course you're a cash buyer,' he says.

'In a typical 20% - 80% payment scenario, the weakened Pound would only affect that first 20% with a Euro denominated mortgage covering the final 80% and therefore no further exchange rate risk to bear, assuming rental income is in Euros and goes some way to cover the monthly mortgage payments.'

'People are erroneously frightening themselves by adding 17% on to the full asking price falsely believing they have to find tens of thousands of Pounds more, whereas just a couple of thousand is more likely. Your loss on currency exchange on a €200,000 property from €1.4 to the pound versus 1.26 to the pound is not £16,000 but just over £3,000.'

It may be a sign of desperation or just good marketing, but it is not uncommon as the sector attempts to keep things going. Lotteries, free gifts, discounts, and easy payment facilities are among the incentives on offer from developers, particularly in Spain where the downturn is hitting hard.

GEM Estates, another well known agency is beefing up its dollar portfolio to take advantage of UK investors wanting to buy at bargain prices in the US, Mexico, Uruguay and the Caribbean.

'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,' said Adam Cornwell, Managing Director of GEM Estates.

He said it is a direct response to prospective buyers holding back from buying in Euros. 'With the Pound buying $1.98, 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,' he added.

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)