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Generally, Europe has fared better than the U.S. in real estate market troubles over the last three years. France is an excellent example, with a market that, though down, did not experience the depth of price and demand drops evident elsewhere around the globe. Recently, Dr. Robert Shiller, noted co-founder of the Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes in the U.S., was quoted as saying “France’s Real estate Economy has performed markedly better than most international indexes. France and Germany are leading the the European rebound.” He went on to comment that the 10 year prospects for real estate in France looked quite upbeat. A recent report from the FNAIM, the national association for real estate agents in France, indicated that prices may be stabilizing, with lower drops by a third in August than those in July. The same report stated that prices over the last 12 months dropped 7.2% for apartments and 8.9% for homes. This was less volatile than markets in the neighboring UK and Spain. Other positive news: * Athena Mortgages, with offices in London and Paris, reports that there has been a significant rise in inquiries from investors about financing property purchases in France. Sextant French Property Agents reports a 30% rise in inquiries and a 15% rise in sales in August over July’s numbers. John Luke Busby, director at Athena Mortgages has this to say: “There’s a feeling among prospective buyers of French property that we’re now in the bottom of the trough and that if they don’t make the move soon, they will lose out on some of the most competitive prices to be had in a long, long time. This is reflected in the growing number of estate agent inquiries and mortgage applications.”It’s not just residential market improvement, as the commercial French real estate sector seems to be doing better as well. The commercial market was static the first quarter of 2009. This followed two years of reduced sales and valuation declines, and appears to have signaled stabilization in the markets. Three big recent deals show that the market may be on the mend: * A major Paris retail outlet at Rue du Faubourt Honore was purchased. In the summer a German firm snapped up offices in Lyon. Another Parisian store, in the famous Boulevard Haussmann, has been bought. The big picture in French real estate is one of improvement and brighter prospects going forward than markets have exhibited over the last two years.

Moscow, the Russian capital, is the most expensive city in the world for cost of living followed by London, UK and Seoul, South Korea in the second and third position. The findings are based on the annual Cost of Living Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Moscow tops the list for the second consecutive year while London has moved up from its third place last year.
The survey covering 143 cities across six continents compared the cost of over 200 household items in each city including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. MNCs and governments use this cost of living survey to determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.
Here are the top 15 most expensive cities in the world for cost of living, according to the survey.
1. Moscow, Russia
2. London, United Kingdom
3. Seoul, South Korea
4. Tokyo, Japan
5. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
6. Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Geneva, Switzerland
8. Osaka, Japan
9. Zurich, Switzerland
10. Oslo, Norway
11. Milan, Italy
12. St. Petersburg, Russia
13. Paris, France
14. Singapore, Singapore
15. New York City, U.S.
Of the six continents, Europe dominated the list with six of its cities in the top ten and about 30 in the top 50 rankings. Asian cities also figured mostly in the top 10 most expensive cities, lead by Seoul, South Korea. Five Africa cities were placed in the top 50, lead by Douala, Cameroon in 24th place. The least expensive city was Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, for the fifth consecutive year, among the 50 cities ranked by Mercer. But none of the cities of Latin America or Canada made it to the top 50. U.S.A had only two cities – New York City and Los Angeles (42nd rank) featured in the top 50, owing to a weak U.S. dollar.
If you are interested in buying a home, condominium, or any other type of real estate in any of these cities, be sure to contact a local Realtor who can advise you about local market factors.

Over the past few years, new Toronto real estate investors have come into the market. Many real estate investors are considering Toronto as the New York or London of North America. This is a pretty encouraging move that has led to the success and stability of the property sector in Toronto. These investors have put the city at the top of the list when it comes to major investments in real estate. In fact, a number of multi-national developers have come in to buy and put up new projects.  This trend has continued regardless of the global economic crisis that has led to the crush of the real estate market in other countries and cities.

What does this really mean for the industry? This is a very good question and the answer is simply that real estate in Toronto is ready to move to the next level that will see it as one of the most valuable in the world. The foundations have been set and continue to be set by the investors who are coming in from all over the world. For this reason, the city of Toronto has emerged as the condominium capital of North America. The construction of condos in the city has marked a record high and this trend continues to grow. Toronto real estate is definitely something that Canadians can be proud of.

Despite the dramatic shift, there are no actual studies or numbers that show the exact number of foreign investors or how much of Toronto they own. What can be determined at this point is that the number of condominiums in the city has reached a significant number that is encouraging to the economy and society. The boom of real estate in Toronto is mainly pegged on the fact that foreign investors have identified great potential and invested heavily.

Russians, British and South Korean investors lead the way in purchasing property in Toronto.  This group of investors is not limited as more and more foreigners seek to come in. Investors from South American countries like Venezuela are also actively involved in buying Toronto real estate. Others who are minor investors include citizens from Greece, China and Ireland among others. All these people want a piece of the real estate action happening in Toronto.

Another major group of investors in the Toronto market are coming from Iran, the majority of whom are purchasing these properties as holiday homes. When they are not enjoying the International atmosphere of Toronto themselves, they can rent the property out to people living in the city for good profits. There are both high-end investors and those who invest at a lower scale. Toronto has been rated as one of the most visited cities in the world and this is another reason why many foreigners know about the potential of real estate in the city. The Canadian government is also encouraging many investors to become a part of the Toronto real estate investment scene.  With all of these influences, it is no wonder that Toronto is emerging as a world leader in real estate investment.

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The home buying and selling process can be an intense and difficult task. With so much information available online, many people think they can take on the task on their own without using the services of a real estate agent. The real estate market can be complicated if one does not have the knowledge and experience. The benefits of using the services of a real estate agent can make the process much simpler and less stressful.
The following outlines the many benefits of hiring a real estate agent:
1. Knowlege and Know-How: Purchasing a home is more than just submitting an offer. A real estate agent will have such knowledge as the community, neighborhoods, schools, road system, hospitals, shopping and supermarket locations …etc. They can also help you find a home that you can afford as well as offer advice on mortgages. They are knowledgeable about all that is involved when buying a home, such as the documentation required and the steps involved with the purchase. A real estate agent takes you through the process and minimizes the stress.
2. Time-Saver: If you are selling a home, a real estate agent can take over the tasks such as arranging for a showing as well as actually showing the home. If you are buying a home, the agent will arrange for viewing homes that will suit your needs instead of spending time looking at homes that do not serve your purpose.
3. Buying and Selling Price Assistance: Agents will know if a home that is being sold is worth the money. They will look at such aspects as home demand and supply, current market conditions, the location, the type of house, and if the details of the house such as the number of bedrooms, are appropriate for the asking price. They can also negotiate the price which could save you thousands of dollars. Agents have access to such information as the value of other homes in the area, average sale prices, and the number of days the home has been on the market.
4. Essential Contacts: A real estate agent may be able to recommend such professionals as a home inspector, Mortgage Company, a good attorney – etc. They have great contacts with those in the home sales market. They know reputations and can provide a number of choices so one can choose wisely.
5. Manage Documentation: The amount of paperwork involved with selling and buying a home can seem complicated and overwhelming to the novice. The Purchase papers can often be more than 10 pages. There are other papers such as such as federal and state disclosure forms. A real estate agent has the knowledge about all documentation involved with the sale process so that everything will be written up properly and legally.
6. Support: Because of the complex nature of the real estate process, you never know what questions you will have, but one thing for sure is that you will have questions. A real estate agent will answer every question from start to closing.
Real estate agents play a crucial rule in the home sale/purchase process. By hiring a real estate agent, one will save time, money, and reduce a great deal of stress. For any home buy/selling venture, a qualified real estate agent is a must-have.

Real Estate Agents assist people with buying and selling houses. In some states, a real estate agent is required to have a broker’s license, and in other states, they only need a sales agent license. Real estate agents can work on their own or for a real estate company. They can even specialize in particular type of property. Income received by a real estate agent will normally be in the form of a commission. After a home is sold, agents will receive a percentage of the amount that the buyer purchased for the home. The commission amount will vary.
Real Estate agents will often work long hours that can extend into the evenings. To acquire a real estate license, one must be a graduate of high school and complete a real estate course. Good real estate agents will be personable and be motivated to sell houses.
Real estate agents work for real estate brokers.
Because buying a house is such an important life investment, many people enlist the services of a real estate agent. Real estate agents must be able to provide the following functions:
- They must know the value of a home
- The agent takes potential buyers to view homes that are for sale. The buyer will have already discussed how much they can afford and what type of home they are looking for. For instant, the size of the home, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location, amenities, and type of neighborhood.
- They must know what the neighborhoods in the town or city are like.
- They must know all of the laws that have to do with buying or selling a home.
- Agents can offer advice to home buyers about where to get a home loan
- The agent must fill out specific forms that convey to all involved that the house has been purchased. Both the buyer and the seller of the home sign these forms which will involve the services of attorneys.
- They help buyers submit an offer, and then will continue to negotiate a price if the offer is rejected.
- They must disclose any flaws that a home may contain.
- They help assess the price of a home and list it on the open market.
People will normally use one real estate agent. Using the services of a real estate agent can be of great benefit because they have many real estate contacts with other professionals in the realty industry. This can include real estate attorneys, mortgage lenders, and home inspectors.
When people commence on buying or selling a home on their own, they will quickly realize there is much involved in the process. Because there are so many details and information to understand and steps to follow when selling or buying a home, it pays to have the services of a qualified real estate agent. Their knowledge and experience will take the aggravation out of the process so that you can focus on moving into your new home.

The best place to invest in Europe Real estate Romania has proven to be a safe place with high capital appreciation especially in the Bucharest area. Romania is currently undergoing major infrastructural developments which will see further capital growth all over the country. “The growth trend is expected to carry on for the next 5 years” says Damien Thiery from Romanian Properties Ltd, who adds: “Romania joining the EU January 1st 2007 along with the development of tourism on the Black Sea coast and in Transylvania, will prove that Romania in the years to come will have one of the fastest growing economies in Europe”. The “Super Highway” between Constanta and Budapest which will go through Bucharest and Brasov will be a critical element in securing Brasov’s role in Eastern Europe on a long-term basis. Not to mention that low cost airlines will soon fly to several cities in Romania lead by Wizz Air who has announced scheduled flights from London Luton to Bucharest in January 2007. British citizens are increasingly purchasing properties in Romania – Romania property either as investment in Romania or holiday homes.

Where to buy in Romania

The scenery in Romania is stunning and unspoilt, the cost of skiing is very low compared to the rest of Europe, the coast is superb and the Romanians are very welcoming. As a pure investment or even as a holiday home or apartment, Brasov in Transylvania offers one of the highest potential returns as its location near the ski resorts, its infrastructural developments (new airport to be completed in 2008, “Super Highway”), and its lovely traditional town center makes Brasov one of the most sought after locations in Romania. Romanian Properties Ltd currently offers the opportunity to purchase off-plan apartments in Brasov built to Western-European standards at 900 Euro/sqm. The coast and its sandy beaches will see a high development of tourism from Western Europeans who are only starting discovering the beauties of Romania. The investments in Bucharest (shopping centers, off-plan, resales) started a few years ago, and as such the prices have already gone up in and around Bucharest. The potential, though still substantial, needs to be assessed very carefully. Prices are very cheap in rural areas but you need to be prepared to spend some time and to have renovation expenditures for your property for sale in Romania to achieve British standards.

Steps to buying in Romania

Doing your research as well as finding a well-established agent based both in Romania and in the UK are key when purchasing in Romania. No capital gain tax when selling your property 3 years after the purchase of your property makes your investment in Romania worth while. You will need to raise the cash as mortgages are currently not available yet to foreigners. Should you wish to buy a villa or a plot of land in Romania, you will need to set up a company which is a very simple process – your estate agent should assist you with it. Purchasing a new or off-plan apartment can be carried out in your name without requiring a company formation.

What’s Next

Contact Damien Thiery from Romanian Properties Ltd (0870 224 2142) should you want any advise with regards to your property purchase in Romania.

http://www.romanianpropertiesltd.co.uk

The mayor of Chicago is a 31-year-old microbiologist who lives in Canada and probably could not tell a political machine from a soda machine. He does collect taxes, however, and would flip the Second City for the right price. So who does this guy think he is, Richard M. Daley? “I guess he’s someone in Chicago?” said Andy Jonson, who holds the deed to the City That Works within new online social networking site Weblo.com. “I’m just learning about this stuff.”

Launched last October by an Internet gaming entrepreneur and funded to the tune of $2.6 million, Montreal-based Weblo is part MySpace, part Second Life and perhaps part tulip craze. The company makes money by selling virtual plots of land — including municipalities, landmarks and ordinary addresses — to willing buyers who purchase the intellectual property for reasons both speculative and nostalgic. Andy Jonson paid nearly $150 for Chicago, but has since earned a few pennies a day while collecting taxes from the property owners who acquired virtual rights to the Sears Tower, Wrigley Field and other local institutions. He also gets a cut of any ad revenue circulated through his cities, which include San Francisco, London and Paris.

“I’m sort of playing it like any other investment,” he said. “I’ve managed to resell some properties, and so far this is doing better than my mutual funds.”

According to sales data supplied by the company, Weblo property owners are making tangible profits from their virtual assets. The state of California sold for $53,000 after it was initially purchased from Weblo for approximately $37,000 only months earlier. Illinois is listed for more than $17,000. As of Jan. 31, more than 5,200 cities have been purchased worldwide.

Weblo founder and CEO Rocky Mizra said that nearly a decade ago he conceived the idea of assigning real ownership to virtual properties that are based on actual addresses. Until recently, however, Mizra focused on Web site consulting, buying and selling domain names, and running a gambling business at iBetX.com. As sites like MySpace and Facebook started turning heads, Mizra contemplated how social networks with exorbitant traffic could more efficiently make money from and for their members.

“I’m used to having a revenue model right from the onset,” said Mizra, 34. “Until now, the only thing you can accumulate on social networking is fame. Where Weblo comes in is the commerce part of it.”

Weblo’s investors include former MySpace Chairman Richard Rosenblatt and Fred Harmon, a managing partner with Silicon Valley venture firm Oak Investment Partners.

Mizra said the company employs approximately 120 developers in India and Pakistan to codify his bizarro reality as well as other ventures. In addition to loading up on real estate, Weblo members can purchase rights to celebrities ranging from Brian Urlacher to Jennifer Lopez. They can also create their own profiles.

While sites such as Weblo and Second Life, which now has more than 3.6 million members, are not my cup of tea, the economies that develop within them warrant attention. Over one 24-hour period last week, more than $1 million was generated through Second Life. On Weblo, in addition to resale opportunities, members are financially motivated through advertising commissions to their expand networks and presence on the site.

“If you have 10,000 friends [on your profiles], then money is being made, and you take a cut of it,” Mizra said.

The HD Media future
Everyone knows that media format wars have historical significance in the world of technology. Remember the most notorious battle between the Beta max and the VHS? The winner of such battles will make millions even billions. Later we had the upgrade of tape to CD, a revolution in music. In 1980 the Philips/Sony compact disc standard was finalized and nobody has looked back for the last 26 years (until mp3’s came along).
Well as ever there is a new media battle but who will win again is yet unknown. This modern forest of technological mass has produced a new insurgency: THE HIGH DEFINITION WAR. Blu-ray vs HD-DVD are two competing formats which are eventually going to replace DVD’s. As you look around at your local electric retailers you can see changes happening in the broadcast world, not only are we changing from our conventional CRT screens to Flat screen but also to HD ready TV. The impact this has on our lives is not as large as black and white to colour, but nevertheless a change that will definitely be a benchmark for future media. Why New formats?
The reason we have introduced these new formats is that your traditional DVD can hold a maximum of 9.4 GB (Dual Layer) of information. This is not enough for HD broadcast as the information required is higher, being a resolution of 1920×1080. Blu-ray discs can hold 50 GB (Dual Layer) and HD-DVD 30 GB (Dual Layer).
These new discs cannot be played on normal DVD players but on new HD media players of which examples are Samsung BDP 1000 (Blu-Ray), Sony Playstation 3 (Blu-Ray), Toshiba HDXA1 (HD-DVD). This means spending more money for better resolution.Price
This is always important especially when new models of media come out; at first it is always expensive as supply out strips demand. The players are expensive, the cheapest being the Playstation 3 supposedly retailing at £549. Blu-Ray media also being expensive; similar to DVD’s when they first came out (taking inflation into consideration), blank media costing from £11.99 to £24.99.
To play a Blu-ray Disc on a PC has brought about a price concern. The fact that you have to purchase a HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) Graphic card, along with a HD monitor, not to mention a Blu-ray Drive and media, controversially may bring about decrease in sales. This is presently being contested with new Laptops and PCs that are Blu-ray compatible, look at the New Vaio VGN-AR21S.
The HD players need to be up to scratch on price. The Toshiba HD-DVD player retailing at almost half the price of the Blu-ray Samsung player creates even more competition between the two media. This could encourage sales of HD-DVD over Blu-ray, even though it’s rumoured that Toshiba will be making a loss initially.
Prices of movies doesn’t seem to be as high as anticipated; a Blu-ray movie ‘House of flying daggers’ from amazon.com will set you back $19.95 (£10.68). This may encourage sales. Movies in HD-DVD identical in price, yet Blu-ray is a larger size disc.Upscaling
Another problem HD may face is that the new DVD players have the upscaling technology ie. DVD is played at 480p but upscalers upgrade the image to 720p or 1080i. This produces a picture which is of high quality to the untrained eye, in fact even the trained eye has difficulty distinguishing between the two. The difference is seen on a 50 inch HD projector and looking right up close. So the question is will 1080p be much different to 1080i? Will people fork out the added expense when they know that a cheaper DVD upscaler will create more or less the same effect? Media Backup
Software and Hardware companies have invested a lot of money in subsidising HD media. Samsung, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, LG, Sony, TDK, JVC and Sharp support Blu-ray and Toshiba and Microsoft back HD-DVD. Hollywood movie studios Disney, Paramount, Warner, Sony, Eagle rock, Fox and MGM and Lions gate support Blu-ray also. None of these large companies would take such a gamble if they didn’t know that this is what the consumer wants.PlayStation 3
Sony love to bring out their own media whether its Sony Duo Sticks or Sony Mini Discs. Their hunger to dominate the consumer market has always been there and this is nothing different. The Playstation 3 will play Blu-Ray discs, still having the ability to play older media like DVDs and CDs. The success of the predecessor’s PS1 and PS2 will give much anticipation to the release of this new console and is what Sony are hoping will convert people to use Blu-Ray. A Sony spokesman has predicted that Blu-Ray will dominate the HD market within 12 months.
The encouraging feature with HD-DVD is the name, everyone’s ears will ring with the name and automatically assume that this is a high definition movie. Asking someone in the street what ‘Blu-ray’ is will bring looks of confusion, along with the fact that both will produce similar quality pictures.Region Coding
Region coding with Blu-Ray may put people off; the fact that you may not be able to watch a new release from the states or Japan on your European locked regional player will raise eyebrows.
REGION 1 South America, North America, East Asia (except China)
REGION 2 Europe and Africa
REGION 3 China, Russia other Countries
Multiregional configurations on DVD players has encouraged sales worldwide especially with worldwide films from Bollywood, Japan (manga) and South America.
So far the HD-DVD camp has not announced region coding just yet, and if they don’t then this will be very advantageous for consumers. Future Proof
Realistically you only need about 15-20 GB for a feature length film in High definition but who would have known that DVD’s could not be able to hold enough for high definition. Theoretically they can with MPEG-4 Compression. In any case media like Blu-ray will hopefully be future proof in years to come. Conclusion
The timescale and price are the two main issues here, how quick we will universally change to HD and whether this is affordable. From a consumer point of view the necessity for HD doesn’t seem imperative, after all VHS was around for 20 odd years twice that of DVD (so far). You could argue that technology is changing exponentially and that changes occur quicker.
As for the battle between the two media there may be compromise ahead. A UK firm has announced a solution to the media war. London-based New Medium Enterprises (NME) has developed a low-cost, multilayer DVD disc that can store Blu-ray content on one layer and HD DVD content on another. This would leave the consumer with the choice of buying either type of player to play the one disc.
The key setback I feel with the looming HD change is the cheaper alternative to a Blu-Ray player or HD-DVD player, the DVD upscaler. Do people want to get rid of those hundreds of DVDs they bought to replace them with an expensive alternative, especially when they might not even notice the difference in picture quality?
However I do feel that HD is encouraged with consoles such as the Playstation 3. Blu-ray is its main format and may revolutionise the games industry.

The Worlds Financial markets are in a mess whether we choose to admit or not. The Dow Jones Index resembles a white knuckle ride at a fair ground at the moment and in London the FTSE 100 is faring no better. This all arose largely because of the problems arising from the US Sub Prime Lending Market. What is the future for the US real estate market and how can the more efficient selling of homes affect this market place?

The so called “sub prime credit crunch” that hit the USA earlier this year and as a result, cut a swathe through to the rest of the world’s economy almost resulting in the first run on a UK bank over a hundred years threw up many “interesting” phenomena.

One of these is so called interesting phenomena was the growth in what is called FSBO Advertising. Now for the uninitiated, FSBO stands for “For Sale By Owner”. Now FSBO is any real estate term which describes the situation in which a property is offered for sale or tender directly by its owner or their nominees without own having procured or solicited the help of a real estate broker or realtor. This of course would imply that there would be actually no real estate commission associated with the sale of the property. Now depending on where you stand on this; this is either a good thing or a bad thing.

If you want to save money it’s a good thing. if on the other hand you like the safety and security of being independently advised by a third party realtor or property expert then it’s a bad thing. Either way this is a section of the marketplace that is rising.

According to industry analysts the number of properties being sold by FSBO methods rose by 12% in the year ending October 2007.

1. 12% of old real estate transactions in the United States in 2006 were via FSBO.

2. 13% of all transactions in the United States in 2005 to place via FSBO.

Like it or love it, it is a growing phenomena and is destined to stay for a very long time. Though this type of transaction is very much viewed as almost sale of real estate via DIY (Do It Yourself) the various online services that have arisen to service this marketplace are extremely professional and very comprehensive in their outlook and the assistance they provide. Far from this being a back street option as the figures suggest it is very much a sector of the marketplace that is not only growing but showing extremely healthy figures of growth for the foreseeable future as well.

As with all aspects of this type of “Domestic” transaction there comes a time when you will be in need or have a requirement for professional services such as when you get to the Conveyancing side of things but that is only to be expected, there are certain things that it really is not prudent or wise to try and cut corners with and this is one of those.

The one real positive aspect of the entire procedure is that “For Sale By Owner” really does as the name suggests, put you the owner of the property very much in the driving seat with regards to the overall process and you indeed end up calling the shots and for a great many people this can be extremely worthwhile not only financially but in other areas as well.

Do not dismiss the possibility of using this sort of process lightly; “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) is here to stay.