Large Turkish construction companies have expressed interest in taking part in land auctions of Russian Housing Development Foundation (RHD), located in different regions including Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg and Primorsky Krai.

The representatives of leading Turkish companies met the management team of RHD Foundation under the leadership of Foundation’s CEO Alexander Braverman.  During the meeting both sides comprehensively discussed the implementation of integrated development projects on Foundation’s land.

The likely partners discussed the potential of mutual collaboration in housing and other construction industries. The representatives of RHD Foundation briefed the Turkish businessmen about the advantages of investing in the housing project, building industry and other development projects in Russian territories.

The cooperation between RHD Foundation and Turkish companies has witnessed a dynamic development in the recent years. At the MIPIM 2013 Exhibition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between RHD Foundation and a leading Turkish construction company. Turkish bank ISbank and several companies including Eroglu, Yenigun and Agaoglu are keen to participate in RHD Foundation’s auction.

Alexander Braverman said currently the RHD Foundation is planning to auction 33 plots of land in Russian regions. He said the portfolio of projects implemented in Foundation’s area is currently at 16 million square meters and overall there are 103 projects in 38 regions of the country.

RHD Foundation head further said that the Turkish companies have great experience, particularly in the construction sector, which is largely in demand in Russia.

“We are interested in cooperation with Turkish companies in the financial sector, namely, the Turkish banks. A comprehensive approach to a site development fund is priority for us “, he said, adding the Foundation is looking forward to working with investors from more countries.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM 2014 at Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in high quality accommodation, marketing and event management. For further information, click here.

The recently-appointed senior partners of WV Coscolluela and Associates (WVCA) – twin brothers Gil and Gary Cosolulluela – are anticipated to take the 55-year-veteran firm to the bigger heights with their exceptional architectural skills.

WVCA’s senior principal architect William Coscolluela, who is also the father of Gil and Gary, said that the appointment of his sons will help the firm to develop attractive, reliable and innovative buildings in Philippines in forthcoming years.

Since its foundation in 1957, WVCA has developed countless luxury buildings across the Philippines but Zuellig Building is hailed as one of its greatest masterworks. Located at the crossroads of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue, Zuellig Building was selected as one of the top three buildings in the “Best Office and Business Development” category of MIPIM Asia Awards 2012.

Zuellig Building is the first high-rise building project in the country that was pre-certified by the US Green Building Council at the LEED Gold level. Down to its superb-location, world-class design and distinctive frontage, Zuellig Building is expected to be premier business location in Metro Manila in future.

SM Aura Premier (Bonifacio Civic Center) at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, which is at verge of completion, the Unilab Corporate Offices on Williams Street, Mandaluyong City and P8.5-billion SM Seaside City Cebu, which has just got underway are some other superlative constructions of the firm, which has also participated in overseas projects in Singapore, China, Saipan, Malaysia, and Guam as design consultant.

Gil and Gary have studied in the separate architectural institutes around the country from primary school and up. Gil was previously involved in several projects including Joya Lofts and Towers, RCBC Plaza, Crowne Plaza and PCI Tower in Makati City while Gary’s previous work include the designing of Discovery Shores Boracay in Aklan province, Landmark in TriNoma and several other projects.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM 2014 at Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in high quality accommodation, marketing and event management. EAS is also a licensed travel agency and member of ACAV and ASTA. For further information, click here.

Despite the recent economic downturn, the overseas luxury property market is growing, according to two companies in the high-end sector.

According to the analysis carried out by Luxuryestate.com, one of the biggest online sources of the high-end properties that list 50,000 homes in 50 countries, the interest in luxury properties has increased by an average of 2% during the last year.

From the individuals of countries like Italy and Greece, where the economic situation is extremely instable, peaks of 10% more sales enquires for high-end residences have been recorded.

Engel & Volkers, the 35-year-veteran high-end real estate agent, in its latest-press release has said that they have experienced their best-ever quarter year profit.

The Luxury Estate has identified the trends in demand of luxury properties through analysis of buyer activity on over 25,000 listings, spread across more than 30 countries, with UK leading the chart of countries with the largest demand from individuals.

Greece, Russia and Italy, which all have a massive number of high-net-worth individuals as residents, have emerged as countries with largest increases in demand after witnessing increase of 8%, 6%, and 5% respectively.

The data about most high-end residences for sale is quite interesting as in the economically stable countries; the number of luxury villas, castles and mansions has remained constant on the market or even dwindled.

In contrast, the less economically stable countries like France and Spain, have witnessed a whopping increase in luxury properties on the market during the last 12 months.

For more information on the global property market, head to MIPIM 2014 at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Contact EAS for the best in high quality accommodation, marketing and event management.  EAS is also a licensed travel agency and member of ACAV and ASTA. For further information, click here.

European construction is not expected to grow until 2014 according to the latest figures released from Euroconstruct. The organisation made up of a group of research institutes and consulting firms also warned that the industry would not recover to 2008 levels until 2023.

As a result of continuing uncertainty in the Eurozone economy and an increasing belief that Greece will eventually be forced to leave the Euro, Euroconstruct has also had to revise down its previous forecasts. Construction forecasts were downgraded from -0.3% to -2.1% in 2012 and 1.8% to 0.4% in 2013.

Even if a predicted forecast of 1.7% growth returns in 2014, construction output across the 19 Eurozone countries will still be down 12% on 2008 levels. On average growth rates of 1.5% a year the sector will not return to 2008 levels until 2023 according to Euroconstruct. The civil engineering sector will be the biggest drag on construction activity over the next three years declining at a rate of 1.4% annually.

Looking at the construction industry’s predicted performance for the period 2012 to 2014 there is now a clear north/south divide across the European continent. Countries from the north are performing substantially better than countries in the south. Top performing Denmark and Norway are expected to see growth in excess of 2% per annum, while the weakest performers Portugal and Spain will see construction activity in deep recession of more than -3% a year.

To see if these predictions are correct and for all other real estate and construction news from around the world check out MIPIM 2013 held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, March 12-15. For all your accommodation, transportation and entertainment needs look no further than EAS, the local travel agents you can trust. Whether you’re after rooms in some of the most centrally located hotels, your own private apartment or villa, or are looking to charter a luxury yacht for upscale entertaining, we have the answers you are looking for. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

The world’s property markets are becoming more transparent according Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest Transparency Index.

The global real estate services firm reported that almost 90 percent of the countries surveyed revealed greater transparency within their property sector over the last two years.

The index, which rates the ease and safety of buying properties across the globe, named the United States as the most transparent market. The top of the list is made up of traditional established markets with the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand making up the rest of the top five. Canada, France, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden are also named “highly transparent” markets.

But emerging markets are catching up fast with a number, including Romania, Croatia and Indonesia, placing much higher than in recent years. Mexico and Brazil were singled out as locations that have improved their performance significantly over the past two years, while Turkey was named as the country that has made the greatest strides in improving the transparency of its real estate sector.

According to the report more still needs to be done within the real estate markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Although Craig Plumb, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Middle East and North Africa, believes that big changes will be seen in the Middle East in the near future. He claimed that policymakers in the region are starting to take note that greater transparency leads to greater overseas investment and a larger number of multinational companies moving into the market. Watch this space to see how the Middle East real estate market changes over the coming year.

For more information on the transparency of the world’s real estate markets make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to mix with the movers and shakers of the global property and construction industries atMIPIM 2014. If you’re after the best hotel rooms, rented apartments and even luxury, private yachts in Cannes look to EAS for all your accommodation needs. We can also help you with restaurant bookings, nightly entertainment and will organise all your transportation requirements. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

The sale of existing homes in the US rose slightly in July, as did house prices, showing that the worst of the housing crisis may be coming to an end in the world’s largest economy.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said that existing home sales rose by 2.3% from June to July, meaning that 4.47 million units were sold over the last year. The average house price nationwide was $187,300 in July, up 9.4% on prices from the same month last year.

Job creation, low borrowing costs and a small supply of properties for sale have been providing the foundations for price gains within the market. Regionally, existing home sales rose in the Northeast by 7.4%, in the Midwest by 2% and in the South by 2.3%, while sales in the West remained unchanged during July.

The length of time houses are on the market is also decreasing as NAR president Moe Veissi explained. “Correctly priced homes, regardless of price range, are selling quickly these days. A third of homes purchased in July were on the market for less than a month, and only 21% were on the market for six months or longer.” According to the NAR, house sales in 2013 are likely to reach five million.

Meanwhile rents increased nationally in July also, with 70% of the metropolitan areas surveyed experiencing rental increases from June to July. Chicago, Providence in Rhode Island and Baltimore experienced the highest increases posting double digit rises of around 12%. This is mainly as a result of continuing high foreclosure levels in these areas, which has boosted rental demand.

Nationally the number of foreclosures continued to decline, however, with 5.7 out of every 10,000 homes in the country being foreclosed. That was down from 6.5 out of every 10,000 homes in June.

For more information on the recovering US housing and property market head to MIPIM 2014 at the Palais de Festivals, Cannes. For the city’s best hotels, rented apartments and villas look no further than EAS, the local travel agent you can rely on. We have rooms in the most centrally located hotels, beach apartments with sea views, penthouses and even luxury loft apartments. We also offer yacht charters for those after something a little bit different and can organise all your transportation, dining and entertainment needs.Click on this link to fill in our request form.

Madrid has beaten off competition from Barcelona to be selected as the location for EuroVegas, a multibillion-dollar mega casino resort, which is the brainchild of gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

The Las Vegas-style casino strip will be Europe’s biggest gambling centre and brings with it the promise of tens of thousands of jobs to the Spanish capital, at a time when unemployment in the country is at 25 percent.

The project is expected to be half the size of the Las Vegas strip and will be built in phases over the next 10 years. When completed EuroVegas will contain six casinos, 12 hotels with 36,000 rooms, a convention centre, three golf courses, bars, restaurants and shopping centres.

Adelson is hoping to attract visitors from around Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union and it is hoped that the project will be a boost to property investment in the region. Potential obstacles to the project, however, include Adelson’s decision to fund only 35 percent of the resort and a demand in changes to local laws.

Meanwhile Barcelona, which lost out to Madrid in the bid to host EuroVegas, has promised that it will build its own casino development. ‘Barcelona World’ will be located next to Port Aventura, cost €4.74 billion and create 20,000 jobs. The plan will include a casino, six large tourist complexes with 20,000 hotel rooms, shopping centres, a theatre and offices.

Both parks are expected to attract 10 million visitors a year.

For more information on construction projects in Spain and around Europe don’t miss out on MIPIM 2013, at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes, 12-15 March. . For the city’s best hotels, rented apartments and villas look no further than EAS, the local travel agent you can rely on. We have rooms in the most centrally located hotels, beach apartments with sea views, penthouses and even luxury loft apartments. We also offer yacht charters for those looking for something a little different and can organise all your transportation, dining and entertainment needs. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

Construction in Hong Kong continues to soar with contractors carrying out 33.6 percent more work in the second quarter of 2012 than in the same period last year.

According to figures from the Census and Statistics Department, $5 billion of construction was carried out in the second quarter in the Chinese city. The private sector saw the biggest rise in construction with works in this area increasing by a staggering 53.7 percent to total $1.7 billion. The value of public sector works also increased over the year, up 17.1 percent to total $1.8 billion during the quarter.

Looked at as a whole it appears that residential building projects are fueling the current construction boom in Hong Kong. The city has seen house prices double over the last four years as Chinese investors, driven by a desire to seek higher returns and to move their assets abroad, continue to snap up apartments. In order to meet increasing demand for new build properties residential construction was up 55.2 percent on figures in the same period last year.

The rapidly rising cost of homes is out-pricing Hong Kong locals, with many now unable to afford new homes in the city. In order to combat the overinflated prices the Hong Kong government in September announced the first step in a policy aimed at restricted foreigners from buying property in the city.

Under the policy known as “Hong Kong land for Hong Kong people” the executive of the city has said that only Hong Kong permanent residents will be able to buy flats built on two sites that will provide around 1,100 homes next year. In addition the resale of residential units will be restricted to locals for 30 years and incorporated companies will also not be allowed to purchase them.

Other measures include increasing land supply by converting 36 sites meant for government and public use to residential property to provide space for nearly 12,000 units.

MIPIM 2013 has all the latest information on construction projects from across the globe, so make sure you head down to the Palais des Festivals, Cannes from 12-15 March, 2013. For rooms in the most centrally located hotels, or luxury rented apartments look to EAS, your trustworthy local travel agent. Not only can we organise all you accommodation needs, but we can also arrange transport, nightly entertainment, restaurant reservations and even luxury yacht charters. Click on link for more information.

Retail stores and sectors of the construction industry that serve them should continue to do well into the internet age according to a report by leading real estate services firm CBRE.

The study, called The Role of Real Estate in the Multi-Channel World surveyed 50 leading international retailers with a combined network of more than 32,000 stores. Contrary to popular perceptions the immediate outlook is positive with physical stores continuing to play a significant role in multi-channel sales and strategies of distribution.

According to the CBRE, 72 percent of retailers around the world believe they will be operating the same or a greater number of stores in their domestic markets in the next two years, while 60 percent said they will be expanding across their whole international network.

“Our message to the retail and real estate industry is don’t panic,” explained Peter Gold, head of cross border EMEA retail for CBRE. “In reality, multichannel is encouraging shoppers to visit stores and is driving additional business to retailers – the overall pie is getting bigger and it is critical for retailers and landlords alike to embrace multi-channel, understand that it does not have to be expensive, and secure a greater slice of the market.”

All this is good news for retail constructors who can expect more work to come their way as the physical look and role of stores adapt to the internet and multi-channel age. The report expects more stores to act as pick-up points for online orders in preference to home deliveries. In addition 80 percent of retailers revealed that they want retrofit their stores with kiosks where customers can take advantage of multi-channel capacity.

For more information on the retail construction industry head down to MIPIM 2013, where the movers and shakers of the property world meet in Cannes. Here at EAS we can promise you the best hotel rooms, the most sought-after rented apartments and even the odd luxury yacht or two. With our expert knowledge we’ll make sure your stay will be one you don’t forget. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

Construction in India is expected to rocket over the next four years as demand for housing units in the country is set to rise to 12 million by 2016 according to a report by global property consultant Cushman and Wakefield.

Much of this construction boost will be seen in the country’s top eight cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, NCR, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, where 2.1 million units in total are needed. Bangalore in the south of the country is expected to be the most active of all India’s housing markets due to the large amount of industry and services based there. The report estimates that 338,546 units will be needed in the city to meet demand.

The calculations for the Cushman and Wakefield report are based on past population trends, household growth and the income classification of households.

Demand for mid-segment housing will be the highest, accounting for 59 percent or 1.3 million units across the country, followed by high-end housing with 451,000 units.

Meanwhile demand for commercial office space is also expected to increase in India’s major cities with 180 million sq ft needed over the next five years. The country’s top three cities of Mumbai, NCR and Bangalore will account for approximately 57 percent of this total demand.

“Based on the expected recovery of the economy, partly due to the global recovery, but largely due to the positive signals being sent out by the central government to promote business investments, office space demand is expected to witness a positive growth of 10 percent in 2013 and 20 percent in 2014. This is, however, likely to reduce over the next two years (2015-16) drawing from the forecasts that predict a slowdown in global GDP,” explained Sanjay Dutt, executive managing director, South Asia at Cushman and Wakefield.

For more information on India’s construction boom make sure you head down to MIPIM 2013, held in Cannes, March 12-15. If you’re after accommodation then look no further than EAS, your friendly local travel agents. We’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of Cannes. Or if you prefer, why not try one of our luxury yachts – the choice is yours. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.