Portugal’s Silver Coast home to large projects
Few developers have built on the part of Portugal’s coastline called the Silver Coast, with most preferring the Algarve region on the southern coast. But several large developments are now in the works near the medieval walled city of Óbidos, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Knight Frank, a real estate company, recently labeled the Silver Coast one of the world’s top emerging property markets and local industry executives say the scarcity of land for development should keep demand high.
In September, a 500-acre development called Bom Sucesso opened an 18-hole golf course. The development will eventually have over 850 residential units, a hotel and a spa. Villas in Bom Sucesso range from $432,000 to $1.7 million, and about 85 percent of the units in the first two phases have sold, with most buyers coming from Portugal, Britain and Scandinavia.
Another, older development along the Silver Coast is the Praia d’El Rey Golf & Beach Resort, which opened in 1997 and will eventually have over 1,000 residential units.
Golf is a significant attraction in the area. Eighty percent of homeowners in Praia d’El Rey play golf, and construction is expected to begin on a new golf course at the development in late 2009.
Owning private islands without high costs
Owning a private island, especially in Southeast Asia, is an expensive and legally murky proposition, because most islands have unclear ownership rights or are already settled. But several new developments are offering villas on private islands, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Aman Resorts is selling villas on a private island in the Philippines starting at $3 million. Soneva Kiri, on the Thai island of Koh Kood, has villas for sale starting at $4.5 million. An entire private island is for sale nearby for $38 million. At the Jumeirah Private Island development in Thailand, private villas next to a resort start at $3.2 million.
Developers say it’s too soon to tell whether global economic and credit problems, or, in Thailand, political turmoil, will slow sales at island developments.
Israeli farming co-op grows into upscale suburb
Beit Zayit, founded by immigrants in 1949 in the Judean Hills outside Jerusalem, began as a cooperative agricultural community. Today, many of the community’s residents work in Jerusalem and commute back to Beit Zayit for a suburban lifestyle. The town has 400 homes and 1,800 residents, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Many of the current home buyers in Beit Zayit are American, French, Russian or British, according to local brokers. Prices have gone up as the town has become more popular: A 3,000-square-foot plot with a view of Jerusalem that went for $400,000 20 years ago would cost $5 or $6 million today.
Ovad Shalibo, who handles Beit Zayit real estate, said that the economic downturn has not lowered prices in the town and that he is still fielding queries from international purchasers. But there have been fewer interested buyers lately, he said.