Past & Future Holiday Investment Destinations

This week I’m going to address the very difficult task of blending a holiday home and investment property into one.

While most people (myself included unfortunately) simply cannot talk about property anymore without discussing how much profit you might make - let us not forget that people were purchasing holiday homes abroad long before the concept of buying foreign property in order to resell at a profit became an Irish and UK phenomenon.

Brief History of Property Investment
In the 1970s, 80s and early 90s purchasing property abroad was only for wealthy families with the money and knowledge (solid information was much harder to come by in those days) to purchase a dream property. In the mid 1990s, foreign property exhibitions and dedicated overseas property newspaper supplements first began to appear promoting both the holiday and the investment benefits of Spain, Portugal, Florida, Greece & Italy.

In 2003 came the emerging markets, with pioneering research and old fashioned hard graft from the founders of Someplace Else bringing the markets of Montengro, Belize, Latvia, Lithuania & Argentina to the ever expanding groups of overseas property buyers.

1995 – 2005 really was an incredible time and is very fondly remembered by veteran overseas estate agents, developers and investors. Never before have real house prices risen so fast for so long in so many countries. The total value of residential property in developed economies rose by more than $30 trillion between 2002-2007 - an increase equivalent to 100% of those countries' combined GDPs. The surge not only dwarfs any previous house-price boom, it is larger than the global stockmarket bubble in the late 1990s (an increase over five years of 80% of GDP) and America's stockmarket bubble in the late 1920s (55% of GDP).

Where to next?
Looking at what is happening to property prices in Ireland and what has happened to the once glorious southern coast of Spain, one could be forgiven for thinking that the days of purchasing a holiday property investment are long gone, and that one must venture into deepest South America or Africa to make those kinds of returns in a nice climate again – not so in my opinion.

For those who still yearn for a property investment in a beautiful location that they will actually want to use themselves from time to time, that is easily accessible, that isn’t swarming with white bellys, rough accents, fish & chips shops and where the government actually designs and implements sustainable planning policy that protects a beautiful coastline – then my suggestion is that you go and visit Montenegro as soon as possible.

Montenegro
I spend the bulk of my travelling time in overcast cities, but this week has been different as most of it was spent touring Montengro in the charming company of Sanja Todorovic, the general manager of our local office there. I have simply been bowled over by this tiny countries spectacular beauty (most of the photos in this newsletter were taken this week). Montengro is small but has a very diverse landscape with sandy beaches, majestic mountains, deep canyons, huge lakes and a unique cultural and architectural heritage from Roman, Venetian and Ottoman occupations.

It is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, with incredibly ambitious plans to develop world-class marinas and ultra luxury hotels in an effort to win back the prestigious reputation it once enjoyed as an enclave for the rich and famous.

It is also one of the few truly beautiful coastlines left in Europe where prime luxury property can still be bought for less than €150,000. More details to be found on www.someplaceelse.ie

Have an enjoyable weekend

Regards

Colin

Why Belize is a solid investment bet

Hello and welcome to the Someplace Else blog.

Someplace Else has been selling in Belize since 2004 and our resorts and offplan developments have been hugely popular with clients, with the Belize Reserve easily being our most popular project to date. The purpose of this blog entry to remind Irish clients why we feel Belize still has enormous untapped investment potential.

Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, was the UK's last colony on the American mainland, gaining independence in 1981. Nestled between Mexico and Guatemala on the Caribbean coast, it is an adventurer's paradise and as far as Europeans are concerned, it is possibly Central America’s best-kept secret.

The coastline comprises many salt and freshwater lagoons, palm-fringed white sandy beaches and idyllic small islands, all surrounded and immersed in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. Rare and exotic species abound in Belize's fertile ecosystems; birds, mammals, fish - they all thrive in this pristine environment. And they will continue to thrive, as almost 42% of Belize's land is under protected status. Among some of these guarded treasures is the world’s only jaguar reserve (Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary), the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, the Community Baboon Sanctuary and dozens of ancient Maya sites.

The sub-tropical climate in Belize is like a doctor's prescription: lots of sunshine and fresh air - no smog and no stress. The average annual temperature is 26° C. It is a democratic, stable, English speaking country, with a small population of 291,800, a booming tourist industry, good standard of heath care and a legal system based on British common law. Foreign tourism is booming (25% increase in just four years) and Belize is receiving huge interest from both foreign and local investors, with the real estate market rocketing over the past 12 to 18 months and annual capital appreciation upwards of 20% per year.

If you'd like to learn more about Belize, please feel free to email me or visit our website.

Kind Regards

Colin Murphy
Director
Someplace Else Ireland Ltd