Trump plans Israel’s tallest building
Donald Trump is developing what is slated to be Israel’s tallest building. In late June, Trump purchased land for a $300 million, 70-story luxury residential building in Ramat Gan, an Israeli city just north of Tel Aviv. His first project in the country, Trump says that he is “confident that Israel’s future can only go one direction, and that is up,” according to Bloomberg. The average price for a unit in the tower is going to be around $1 million, according to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronot. With the construction of his Ramat Gan tower, Trump plans to “set a new standard for luxury condominium living in Israel.” The tower will be built on the site of an old chocolate factory.
Heading to Turkey for bargains
Following the significant drop in the value of the Turkish lira, some savvy Europeans see bargains in the Turkish real estate market, according to the International Herald Tribune. Foreign real estate purchases in Turkey are up 83 percent since 2003, according to a report cited by the Tribune. Three-bedroom apartments of 2,000 square feet in the Elite Park development in Istanbul cost around $120,000, according to Ready2invest, a British company that helps Brits invest in Turkey. The company says the country is undergoing “an unprecedented housing boom” and that “investment companies are predicting capital growth of 80 to 120 percent.” There are significant risks, though, observers say, as Turkey has been rocked by earthquakes, as well as political and financial crises, in the past few years.
Golf properties grow abroad
Europeans in the market for a second home are looking more and more to golf resorts, according to the Times of London. The Golf Research Group, a consulting firm, estimates that approximately 60 percent of golf courses also have residential properties, and more and more of them are found worldwide. The growing success of golf course property may have to do with the fact that people in the market for second homes are generally older men, who also represent a large share of the people who enjoy golf. Countries putting in more resorts include Portugal, Jamaica, Bulgaria and South Africa. At the Gondwana Game Reserve in South Africa, the site of a new course, buyers can purchase land plots of an acre for $260,000 and can have a four-bedroom house built on the plot for $275,000 more.
Toronto suburbs draw buyers from pricey downtown
Toronto housing prices are up 5 percent in the first half of 2006, but unlike previous price increases that were mainly a result of raising prices in the downtown area, it is Toronto suburbs that are now booming. According to the Toronto Star, high prices in the downtown area have left home buyers looking elsewhere to purchase property. Some areas, like Scarborough Bluffs, have seen detached home prices climb over 20 percent during the same period to around $320,000. The average price for a home in downtown Toronto is around $730,000.