Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of Kirsty Bryson of Luxury Homes by VAPF

Spanish Businessman Amnacio Ortega in 7th Place

The founder of the Inditex textile empire, which houses internationally renowned names such as Zara, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka, finds himself once again in one of the top 10 positions on the list of the richest people in the world. Mr. Ortega, who is 75 years old this month, has just handed over the control of the business to Mr. Pablo Isla, until now the vice-president of the company, although the camera-shy Mr. Ortega still remains the company’s majority shareholder.

Mr. Ortega will retire with an estate worth 31.000 million dollars, or 22.300 million euro, 9.100 million euro more than in 2009, when Spain was at a low after suffering the effects of the world crisis.

The Forbes list contains a record number of 1.210 billionaires worldwide, with Mexican Carlos Slim at the top of the list, ahead of Bill Gates, who still holds second place even though he has donated a third of his fortune to the foundation that bears his name.

The biggest loser of the year, dropping from 11^th place to position number 162, is the owner of Ikea, Ingvar Kamprad. The 84 year old Swede has seen his assets deplete from 17.000 to 6.000 million dollars due to tax payments after discovering he was diverting 3% of Ikea’s turnover to the tax havens of Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

The youngest billionaires on the list are the “Facebook clan”: Dustin Moskovitz, who at 26 is the youngest, Sean Parker, Eduardo Saverin and, of course, Mark Zuckerberg, who has seen his fortune increase by 238% since 2010 and has been one of the most talked about people over the last year after the release of the film about his life “The Social Network”.

Although Asia has surpassed Europe for the first time in the last decade in number of billionaires, 332 vs. 300, respectively, Moscow is definitely the richest city in the world with a total of 79.

According to Forbes, 72% of the richest in Europe built their wealth up from scratch, with Amancio Ortega providing a clear example of this fact.

December, 2010.

Ah...end of year "market thoughts" time....

My "thoughts" are not meant to be a stats report or a hard market analysis.

That kind of statistical analysis can be found elsewhere, such as with mls statistics or other such "numbers reporting" venues.

My thoughts are exactly that...impressions, and based on 20 + years in the real estate business, all on Salt Spring Island and on the Southern Gulf Islands, and on Southern Vancouver Island.

My impressions/thoughts, then:

** Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands have evolved into secondary home/discretionary marketplaces, perhaps since 1999. No one "has to" purchase on a Gulf Island; it's always by choice. Thus, regardless of market trend in play, at any given moment, it takes time to sell an Island property. It often takes 2 and probably 3 visits, before a buyer will "act".

The internet erased time and geography. Between 2000 and 2006, a low Canadian Dollar against the U.S. Dollar and the Euro, also made us very attractive to an investor/buyer from afar.

The first visit is usually the "discovery time" of the specific island itself. The second visit, the buyer has "chosen for" that particular island, and is now looking seriously at specific properties. If they don't see what they "imagine", they will come back a third time, and might even end up buying vacant land/building.

Since the buyers are not "local", in the main, there are significant time lags between visits. It can take one to three years to sell a property, on any Gulf Island, and this kind of time pause is also a marker of all discretionary areas, and globally so.

Time lags, then, are involved in every sale, no matter the market trend. This is the marker of all discretionary marketplaces, and in such a marketplace the buyer is always in charge of the process.

** The impact of the internet revolution has changed forever the way all business is conducted, and this is the case in sales oriented businesses, especially.

I think real estate was late to the table of change. The car industry and the stock market side of investing were totally changed by the internet's delivery, to consumers, of easy access to information, and their shift happened five or so years before real estate noted this. The real estate industry thought it was still business as usual, for some substantial timeframe.

Now, the shift from a company or agent-centric business model, to a consumer-centric style, has profoundly affected real estate marketing choices, too.

Approximately 98 percent of property searching apparently now begins on the internet, and a good 14 months before a buyer is ready to "act". All pertinent information can be found, on regions of interest to a buyer, via the internet, and so the role of a real estate agent has profoundly changed.

The way of introducing oneself as an agent, and of marketing listings, has made an internet presence totally necessary. Specialty print media might still have a place, marginally, but less and less so...print apparently only delivers one percent of buyers, today.

If there was a transition period in marketing between 2000 and 2009, which allowed a blend of responses, it is now over. Print media no longer delivers the buyer. To use it as one's premier means of trying to attract a buyer means that one's efforts are doomed. The buyer isn't "there".

** The post-internet world is now with us. What does this mean?

Technology, created to meet the demands of the wired wireless world continues to expand...traditional emails and websites are already being transplanted by social media options.

It's important to have a website, but the template model that has been the norm since 1999 era is seen as the box in the basement or the attic...one can go rummage around in it for deeper information, but it isn't the "initial attractor" that it once was. Same with emails.

Twitter is not a fad, nor is texting. They are "immediacy" formats, in my opinion.

In our time famine world (no time/always time/only now time), we are always looking for shortcuts to essential information. That's how I see Twitter.

And Facebook? Ah...that is interesting.

The "real" 21st Century, which has created the global village foreseen by Marshall McLuhan, way back in the 1970s, is also busy deleting our 20th Century idea that there was a separation between our personal and our "corporate" worlds.

Facebook, I think, is about that erasure of separation...think about those three words: "social", "media", "marketing". They really do mean something, and the shift is profound for all those hybrid BG (before google) beings still out there. The AG (after google) beings know nothing else, and swim gracefully in the new global data sea.

What else did McLuhan forecast? Oh, yes..."the medium is the message" was his mantra. The technology created to answer the shift of the internet world has changed us as a species, I believe.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and their kin are early responders to the shift moment of the post-internet world. More apps and options will be spawning daily to fill the craving for information.

The separation between the creator of information and the consumer of same is also continuing to blur and to mesh. Concepts such as "privacy", "time", "personal", "expert" are undergoing change, too. Exciting times, indeed!

Will we end up with virtual real estate offices, and a paperless transaction process, with all information totally available on mobile devices? Yes, I think so.

In change lies opportunity!

** And what of our local island market? In Fall 2009, I did project that it would take until Fall 2010 to see uptick in activity, in our secondary home marketplace.

This has indeed been the case. The activity seen in Vancouver and in Victoria, primary residence/city marketplaces, in 2009 and first half of 2010, has now arrived in rural areas. Properties listed between one and four years are now selling.

The difference? The "reluctant buyer" is starting to become active! Why? Perhaps in recognition of significant price reductions coupled with historically low interest rates? Or, might also be fear of inflation and currency instability that is driving buyers back to secondary home/discretionary purchases, in order to preserve capital? Wish we could find that lost crystal ball!

Seeking information on Salt Spring Island and on Southern Gulf Islands and on Southern Vancouver Island? Call me!

How may I help you to discover your special Island dream property?

Looking forward to your call!

liread33@gmail.com

http://www.liread.com/market.htm

Courtesy of Mark Moffa of Unique Homes

There’s been much talk lately about social networking and the need for agents to be present and active in the social media world. To that end, the most popular social networking site not named Facebook or Twitter just announced a significant development for Realtors.

LinkedIn’s first and only real estate app launched, allowing agents to promote listings for free on their LinkedIn profile. It’s been developed by a company called Rofo, which may be new to residential agents but is a player in the online commercial real estate world. I spoke with Rofo Co-founder Alan Bernier at Inman Real Estate Connect in San Francisco a few weeks ago about the app. He was obviously excited about the deal, and rightfully so. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn has been highly selective with the apps it allows on its platform — Rofo is now only one of 16.

It turns out that out of LinkedIn’s 70 million members, more than 1 million are associated with real estate in some way. Bernier saw the opportunity to introduce his brand to residential agents and LinkedIn saw the chance to provide a noteworthy segment of its members with a service that can help them better utilize the site.

And that’s really the point here. Amid all the talk about the need for agents to be out there in the social media world, here’s an easy, free and concrete way to do just that. Now, of course, Rofo is looking to make money on this. The free listings are only good for 30 days — if you want your listings to stay on LinkedIn indefinitely, you will have to pay a small monthly fee. But these are the things agents need to be thinking about.

For online article click here

By Todd Cutter of 2CostaRica Real Estate

After a wonderful weekend at the Spring Retreat in South Beach, I took some time to think about all of the amazing networking, topics of conversation and the feedback from all of you, my colleagues. 

Clearly, an underlying theme in this weekend's conference and the market in general, is the effect that technology has in today's real estate marketplace. We all heard over and over again "print is dead," "we are done with magazines," you need to integrate social media, "are you active in your blog, how often are you on facebook, are you on Twitter, and of course, the importance of integrating the new gadgets like the IPAD to make ourselves more efficient.

Although nowhere near an expert, nor can I say that I blog every day, or update our facebook page every day, or much less, can I say that we have "figured it all out," we do have exposure and a clear understanding of what these distinct avenues of marketing and technology can provide. HOWEVER, like the best laptop 10 years ago, the challenge with technology is that today's invention is in tomorrow's recycle bin. I remember when Flash technology became popular and no web designers, (with the exception of the few brands in the world that did not need engine placement) would come near it for fear of not being found in the search engines. Not much later, they learned that although the search engines could not spider these presentations, they could be seamlessly integrated to create a better style, presentation and overall brand.

So many are left with the question....how do I proceed. What is the best way for me to get ahead of my competitors?

At the end of the day, none of us have the answer to the best plan in moving forward. Real estate, like the trends that accompany it, is a moving target and we need to be able to adapt to what is happening every day. We all learned in the past 18 months, that our markets can change with the drop off a hat. Creating and staying true to the essence of your brand, and who you and your team are at the core, is the key to success. Adaptation, innovation and implementation will help solve the rest.

In my mind, when the other aspects of the business (like the above list) starts to overwhelm us, we need to get back to the basics of relationships. We are all successful in our own markets based on the relationships that we have formed with our buyers and our sellers. In today's market, there is so much fear, uncertainty and lack of commitment and i feel that it is our true success will come when our clients, both buyers and sellers, feel a trusted guide to maneuver them through the process. Our education, knowledge and experience should allow them to remove the fear of engaging with a broker that so many of them carry.

Good luck to all of you,

Todd Cutter

2Costa Rica Real Estate

www.2costaricarealestate.com

By Frederick Peters of Warburg Realty

The current Goldman Sachs SEC investigation stems in large part from injudicious e-mail messages written by a 30-year-old trader, reminding us once again that e-mail is never private, and it is never gone. It is easy to forget that as you sit in your bedroom responding to e-mail at 1 A.M., and people easily forget the same thing about Facebook. You had better get rid of that photo of you in your underwear holding a bong if you are applying for a job or to a college. And you had better make sure your kids do the same if you are applying to a co-op. One story making the rounds of New York real estate this week is about a co-op Board turndown which came after compromising photos appeared on the Facebook page of the applicant’s child.

New technologies change our world, influencing how we interact and with whom. In the Web 2.0 era, the blending of the personal and the professional is inevitable and, when managed judiciously, even desirable. People who know a little about you may feel more comfortable approaching you professionally, thus expanding your sphere of influence. Similarly, social networking sites can provide extensive exposure for listings and blogs, promoting the agent/writer as an expert in the field (I will post this blog entry to both Facebook and LinkedIn as soon as it is finished.) But the key word here is “judicious.” Don’t say too much. Don’t be prurient. Don’t log in thirty times a day, informing others about where you are having dinner or when you are brushing your teeth. Social networks are just likeany other social situation: what you get out of it has everything to do with how skillfully you manage what you put in.

In the meantime, feel free to friend me on Facebook!

By IRG International Realty Group

Well, we couldn’t really escape it! We, like the rest of the world, are becoming increasingly aware of these networks’ outreach and have decided to assess its potentials, which we understand are enormous and worth exploring.

And the choice is a difficult one. There are endless social media tools available out there that we can all benefit from.

Being a company focused on luxury real estate, connected with several international networks, tools like Twitter and Facebook are a great way to communicate with those partners. Twitter’s microblogging, for example, can be a great marketing tool. Many real estates use it to promote listings. With Facebook you may launch a topic for discussion with your network partners, where everyone can join in, make suggestions and who knows help you solve a problem or clear a doubt much faster than before.

But these are merely two of the tools available and those in the industry really need to have a look at the offer and determine which one, or which ones will benefit them the most. At IRG we have decided to give Twitter and Facebook a go. Though taking baby steps still, we are determined to find out how far these two can take us.

You can follow us on Twitter on http://twitter.com/IRGIntlRG or join IRG International Realty Group on Facebook.

About IRG International Realty Group

IRG International Realty Group is one of the leading international brokerage companies in Portugal and specializes in sales of Portuguese high-end and luxury residential real estate. IRG is the exclusive affiliate in Portugal of Christie’s Great Estates, a worldwide real estate network and subsidiary of the world’s oldest auction house, Christie’s. IRG’s head office is located in the prestigious Avenida da Liberdade in the heart of Lisbon and there are also boutique offices in Quinta do Lago, Algarve, Estoril and Kensington, London.

www.irgportugal.com