Philippines apart-hotel success

Investors have flocked to Continent Fairways, an apart-hotel luxury golf resort on Boracay, with only half the units remaining since its launch in the summer, according to the agent, Asset Property Brokers. Attracting them is a combination of a buoyant tourism, despite the downturn, relatively low starting prices, a beautiful setting and high yields.

Boracay beach

This has led to major investment in tourism in the Philippines. For example, a new airport is planned for Boracay, and new air routes have opened or are about to start operating. Boracay is a beautiful tropical island offering world-renowned beaches and reef diving.

Championship golf course

Being built by Filipino developer, Paradisya Land, Continent Fairways comprises 50 studios and two-bedroom apartments, of which 24 have been sold. The development is located in the established and popular Fairways & Bluewaters Golf and Beach resort, which boasts a par-72 championship golf course that draws a global guest list.

Guaranteed net yields are up to 14.2 per cent with apartment prices starting at US$110,035 while long-term bookings from major travel companies have been secured by the management company, Continent Group, which enable it to offer occupancy rates of 80 per cent, underpinning yields for investors.

Each apartment will have high-quality luxury fittings with guests having access to many luxury facilities, including a fully equipped fitness centre along with spa. In addition to this, the resort boasts a clubhouse with bar and cocktail lounge and restaurant for lunches and evening meals.

Over the first quarter of 2009 tourist arrivals in the Philippines rose by a staggering 51 percent to 1.3 million people compared to 858,244 during the same period last year, according to the Philippines Department of Tourism (PDoT).

Direct international flights

The new airport will be built on nearby Caraboa Island and is expected to be opened in 2012. It will be able to accommodate short haul and medium range Airbuses and similar aircraft, allowing direct international flights from new destinations such as Seoul, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Kuala Lumpur.

Continent Fairways

New charter services from Taiwan to Kalibo, the island’s current international gateway, were launched earlier this year while Mandarin Airlines will start flights in October.

China’s growth rose from six per cent for Q1 to eight per cent for the Q2 of this year. South Korea and Singapore have also increased output. India’s industrial output rose by eight per cent compared to last year.

For the first quarter of this year tourist arrivals from China rose by 10 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the Philippines Department of Tourism.

For further information about Continent Fairways, contact Asset Property Brokers at http://www.assetpropertybrokers.com or email: sales@assetpropertybrokers.com or Tel: +44 (0)1373 888112.

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Exceptional properties in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt

Samanah Country Club, Marrakech, Morocco

In a quiet environment with unique views, the Samanah Country Club is just 8km from Marrakech International Airport and 14kms from Jema El Fna square and covers an area of 692 acres.

The project includes the creation of a private 18 hole Jack Nicklaus designed, par 72 golf course, with private access to the golf course guaranteed by a system of playing rights, limited to 600, available for Samanah property owners. This world-class golf course will cover approximately 100 hectares and will be adapted to the natural environment, it will be both demanding for those who fancy themselves as the next Tiger Woods, but will also prove a delight to play for the less experienced.

Samanah Country Club

The Samanah Country Club will also include three five-star hotels, a spa, swimming pool and a main square which will be the heart of life at the resort, which will include shops, restaurants, bars, crafts, and games. Architecture, ‘upmarket’ equipment and services will be the strong points of this exceptional resort. A high range service will be offered to clients with a rental managing agency, resale estate managing agency, an activity desk, concierge services and maintenance.

Four variations of villas are offered, from three to six bedrooms, each one enjoying a private pool, vast landscaped garden, and large terraces. Two different styles of Riad will also be available – the traditional Moroccan home, at whose heart is the internal patio, with luxurious terraces, private hammam and pool. Inspired by the Moroccan traditional model, all homes will combine comfort, luxury and modernity. Villas interiors are designed using volumes, colours and materials chosen to highlight the Moroccan way of life and to combine comfort, harmony and well-being.

Prices start from £284,554/ €357,000 to £1,723,674/ €2,162,000 and for more information contact Barton Wyatt on 01344 843 000 or visit http://www.bw-international.com.

The Dunes at El Kantaoui, Tunisia

Situated on Tunisia’s ‘Gold Coast’, within easy reach of its most exclusive resort, Port El Kantaoui, The Dunes resort is a beachside development situated between the two main airports offering direct and inexpensive flights to major European cities.

The development itself comprises of studio, one, two and three bed apartments in a low rise setting in a prime residential area close to all facilities including a 36-hole golf course, marina and restaurants.

The Dunes is directly located next to glorious white sandy beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see.

The Dunes

The resort offers an on-site world class Thallasso Spa facilities including an indoor swimming pool, Turkish baths, a sauna, gymnasium and beauty and massage treatment rooms with discounts (20%) for residents.

The Dunes at El Kantaoui is a gated 5-star resort offering 24hr security and concierge facilities as well as on site amenities including a restaurant, snack bar, supermarket, bank, bakery and a rental management company.

Properties make an excellent investment choice starting from only £20,646 for a studio apartment. Call Experience International on +44 (0)207 321 5858 or visit http://www.experience-international.com for further information.

Azzurra, Sahl Hasheesh, Red Sea, Egypt

Located on the highest peak of Sahl Hasheesh, Azzurra, meaning ‘sky blue’ named after its spectacular location, has magnificent views over the golf, valley, Sahl Hasheesh bay and the Red Sea.

The 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments at Azzurra, with oriental architecture and contemporary styles, range from35sqm to 193sqm and offer infinity-edge swimming pools, terraces and private courtyards. 90% of apartments have sea views (with golf valley, pool or bay view) with remaining 10% with golf views.

To ensure the perfect place for relaxation and recreation, Azzurra is a gated community and self-contained destination offering a choice of facilities. Its outdoor activities and attractions are numerous, from; cascading swimming pools, children’s playgrounds and scenic walking and jogging trails running within its private ground offering residents a lifelong impression of an unforgettable holiday in an exceptional location.

The resort is within easy walking distance from the beach as well as the old town and night life area, ideal for holiday makers looking for the perfect relaxation retreat as well as the more active traveller with numerous activities including golf and diving nearby.

Azzurra

Sahl Hasheesh itself is better known as ‘The Jewel of the Red Sea’ and is wonderfully positioned to take advantage of this unique part of the world and all the Red Sea has to offer. It is also an emerging tourist resort comprising of luxurious hotels and resorts, golf courses and a beach front promenade making it one of the most popular holiday destinations for Europeans and locals alike. Hurghada’s International Airport is only 14km away.

Property prices start from only £55,075. For more information on this first-class property contact Experience International free on +44 (0)207 321 5858 or visit http://www.experience-international.com.

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Staying in a Greek paradise

The view from our back window

We were sitting with friends having dinner at a restaurant in Loggos on the small Greek island of Paxos. Our table was about four feet from the water’s edge, we’d just been to a fabulous concert which was part of the annual Paxos Music Festival and it was at that moment that I realised why so many Brits are still wanting to move abroad. I’ve written about overseas property and travel for many years but never before have I felt so reluctant to return to the UK.

My wife and have both travelled quite a bit over the years but this time we were spending 10 days on Paxos. The house we stayed in was perched on the jetty. The property faces out to sea at the back and in towards the harbour at the front. It was a bit like being on a ship on the one day when we had a thunderstorm. Lightning cracked and banged around the small town, thunder rumbled and crashed and the rain was torrential and we loved it.

I’ve never seen the sky become so dark at about 10am and yet, an hour later, the whole lot had moved out to sea, the sky had become that wonderful blue of a faded denim shirt, the streets dried quickly and the town came back to life. Seats were placed outside the bars once more, boats started heading out to sea and everything returned to normal.

Crusty bread

At the end of the jetty where it joined the land stood the bakery. At about 8.10am, two men would struggle along the harbour carrying an enormous basket of freshly baked bread. Another man would balance large trays of pastries on each shoulder as he hurried into the shop.

The view from our front window

Leave it more than three quarters of an hour and the chances were that there wouldn’t be much bread left but what a pleasure it was to stroll along, join the queue a few minutes after its arrival, inhale the aroma of freshly baked, crusty bread and then to hurry home clutching a really hot country loaf.

My Greek is almost non-existent but I struggled through a few words wherever we went and as long as I was prepared to make a fool of myself, there’d be mutual laughter and smiles all round.

What made me realise why so many Britons want to leave the UK and start again abroad was the sense of community you find in places around the Mediterranean. It’s something we seem to have forgotten in this country. After a few days, the lady who cleaned the streets in Loggos began to smile at us when we said, “Kalimera – good morning.” “Yassou, hello,” she’d call back as she went on her way.

Breakfast arriving at the bakery

If we passed Ana, who worked in the bar where we went each evening after dinner for a late night Metaxa, in the street in the morning she’d grin and ask if we wanted a drink that early in the day.

A local aperitif

Three days running we took the ferry with friends to Anti Paxos, the small island to the south of Paxos. As we went ashore at Vrika beach, the first tree shaded taverna we came to was run by Sotiris. You could argue that as the owner of a restaurant, it was good business to recognise regular customers, but on the other hand, he didn’t have to spoil us with a free carafe of wine, ice cream and a local aperitif because we’d have gone there anyway.

In other words, we’d begun to be recognised as individuals after such a short time. Where we live in south-west London, I’ve passed shops and restaurants hundreds of times over the years and it would amaze me if anybody greeted me (or even remembered me) in the same way.

It was being made to feel quietly welcome on Paxos that I enjoyed so much and I have to admit that I felt like a badly behaved child being forced to go back to school.

Sotiris, Anti Paxos taverna owner

Getting there

If you are interested in finding out more about Paxos, the best way is to go there and see for yourself. I’d suggest contacting Chris Griffiths of www.travelalacarte.co.uk whose offices are located on the port at Loggos. Of course, you’ll have to pass the restaurant where we had dinner and you may drop in to the bar run by Ana and have a Metaxa. You may even find yourself regretting the fact that you booked a return ticket.

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Stay in Southwold over Christmas

Southwold sits on the edge of East Anglia. Facing out into the North Sea, this small town has attracted generation after generation of visitors.They come as children, grow up, have children of their own, introduce them to the pleasures of crabbing, sandcastles and as they in their turn, reach adulthood, the local beer. Finally many of those same people choose to retire to the town.

The weather can be changeable. One of the pleasures of Southwold is that you’ll find real old-fashioned seasons – really cold winters where you’ll need several layers of clothing, mild spring days with the promise of better things to come, baking hot summers with blissful long days on the beach and with the coming of September, there’ll be misty mornings where you’ll glad to stay indoors or lunch in a pub.

There can be only be a handful of places in the UK that provoke, almost without exception, the reaction: “Oh what a wonderful place, so charming, so… special.” Southwold is one such place. And it’s not just the rather more senior generation that responds like that. The town attracts families of all ages.

It’s been a family favourite for several decades, and as children grow up and have kids of their own, so another generation returns to the beaches, the annual crabbing competitions, the ferry across the river, Adnams ales and some of the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere. In the summer, parking can become a distinct problem and the sensible visitor leaves his or her car on the outskirts or near the Common where there’s plenty of space. At the moment, residents only have to struggle with parking during the summer months and then only in the streets around the High Street.

The High Street

These days, the shops range from smart delis to uber chic women’s boutiques, but there are plenty of old friends such as the Amber Shop, Denny of Southwold and Bookthrift that blend in with the quiet nostalgia of the Market Square.

Property prices

In earlier real estate downturns, property prices in the town stayed fairly level, dropping only slightly and once again, this seems to be true. Southwold is definitely a desirable niche for homebuyers and while some homes get stuck in the estate agents’ windows for a while, on the whole there’s quite a decent turnover of houses and flats.

A 4-bedroom terraced house at the pier end of town sold recently for £500,000 while a 2-bedroom first floor flat overlooking South Green is on the market for a guide price of £410,000. Renting and buying beach huts is certainly a costly affair with prices for one of the larger huts starting anywhere in the region of £40-50,000.

A family home

Southwold seems to have a micro-climate. Drive round Ipswich on the A14 on a horrible day with a gale blowing, the rain lashing down, the windscreen wipers fighting all the way. Then take the A12 north east towards Lowestoft and you’ll notice a definite brightening of the sky.

It’s about 30 miles from Ipswich to Southwold and by the time you go over the level crossing at Darsham the rain will probably have ceased and the wind eased off. Turn right onto the B1126 and head towards Reydon and then Southwold and very often the sky will have cleared and the lighthouse will have appeared in the distance. In the winter, it does snow occasionally and it can certainly be cold. But a glass of mulled wine and the turning of the Southwold Christmas lights in early December is a great way to start the holiday season.

Fancy Christmas in the heart of Southwold?

If you hurry you could still book ‘The Drift’ (sleeps 8). Spacious, comfortable with open fires, wood burning stove (plus CH), piano and a Xmas tree included! Call Acanthus on 01502 724033

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Southwold – East Anglian magic

There can be only be a handful of places in the UK that provoke, almost without exception, the reaction, “Oh what a wonderful place, so charming, so… special. And it’s not just the rather more senior generation that responds like that. The town attracts families of all ages. Southwold is one such place.

Southwold's famous beach

It’s been a family favourite for several decades, and as children grow up and have kids of their own, so another generation returns to the beaches, the annual crabbing competitions, the ferry across the river, Adnams ales and some of the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere. In the summer, parking can become a distinct problem and the sensible visitor leaves his or her car on the outskirts or near the Common where there’s plenty of space. At the moment, residents only have to struggle with parking during the summer months and then only in the streets around the High Street.

A new look?

Architecturally, the town has changed little for many years, which is all part of its charm. The town’s buildings are essentially rural so, for me, the look of the new development, Tibby’s Triangle, and the Adnams Cellar and Kitchen Store located on the site of the old Adnam’s distribution centre, is completely out of character with the rest of the town.

The front of Cellar & Kitchen, Tibby’s TriangleA local resident commented recently, “I’m all for architect-led, contemporary and sustainable development but Tibby’s Triangle appears to be a 90’s throwback – too dense, retro-building technologies, and with no understanding of the local vernacular.”

The Cellar and Kitchen Store is clad in shiny corrugated aluminium and the front of the building is sliced away at a weirdly acute angle and frankly, it’s hard to believe it ever received planning consent, so little does it blend in with it’s surroundings.

The front of Cellar & Kitchen, Tibby's Triangle

This is industry plonked down in the heart of a traditional-looking East Anglian coastal town. In addition, why there is a four-storey apartment block in the heart of the development is quite beyond me. Prices in the development are in the region of £489,995 for a 2-bedroom terraced house.

The High Street

Fortunately Tibby’s Triangle is sufficiently near the outskirts of Southwold that I’ve found it possible to hurry past and into the High Street. These days, the shops range from smart delis to uber chic women’s boutiques, but there are plenty of old friends such as the Amber Shop, Denny Clothes and Bookthrift that blend in with the quiet nostalgia of the Market Square.

Property prices

In earlier real estate downturns, property prices in the town stayed fairly level, dropping only slightly and once again, this seems to be true. Southwold is definitely a desirable niche for homebuyers and while some homes get stuck in the estate agents’ windows for a while, on the whole there’s quite a decent turnover of houses and flats.

Southwold's famous lighthouse

A 4-bedroom terraced house at the pier end of town sold recently for £500,000 while a 2-bedroom first floor flat overlooking South Green is on the market for a guide price of £410,000. Renting and buying beach huts is certainly a costly affair with prices for one of the larger huts starting anywhere in the region of £40-50,000.

A family home

To me, Southwold seems to have a micro-climate. Drive round Ipswich on the A14 on a horrible day with a gale blowing, the rain lashing down, the windscreen wipers fighting all the way. Then take the A12 north east towards Lowestoft and you’ll notice a slight brightening of the sky.

It’s about 30 miles from Ipswich to Southwold and by the time you go over the level crossing at Darsham the rain will probably have ceased and the wind eased off. Turn right onto the B1126, the sky will have cleared and the lighthouse will have appeared in the distance.

The ferry across to Walberswick from Southwold

If you have time, turn off to Walberswick from the A12, drive down to the harbour and enjoy looking back at Southwold before going off to the Anchor for lunch.

This part of East Anglia has so much to offer  visitor or second home owner alike, it’s no wonder that over the years so many people have returned to Southwold time after time.

News Update

An Almeria development

Almanzora Group has completed holiday homes ready for occupation in the Harbour Lights waterfront development in Villaricos, one of the most sought-after locations on the Almeria coast in south-east Spain.

Villaricos is a traditional fishing village located on the coast between the Almanzora River and the Sierra Almagrera. It was once a Phoenician port and, in the nineteenth century, a silver mining boom town.

Today its two harbours are busy with fishing boats and, following new developments to accommodate an expanding local population, Villaricos has around 19 restaurants, cafés and bars. Most are Spanish and the village has retained its very Spanish character.

“Current market conditions mean that prices are at their lowest for six years with the price of a two-bedroom apartment at Harbour Lights at €147,500, a discount of almost one-third (30 per cent) off the list price,” says the firm’s sales and marketing manager Bridget Rosser. “Would-be owners who buy now will be put on a fast-track to completion to ensure that they are able to enjoy using their new holiday home this summer.”

Traditional small Spanish town

Currently available at Harbour Lights, the waterfront development overlooking the Esperanza harbour and a five-minute walk from the sandy Villaricos beach – are two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and townhouses.

Designed in a style which reflects many aspects of traditional small Spanish town and village architecture, they are built in private and secure gated communities, around courtyards and a swimming pool, as well as around formal Spanish plazas, with orange trees, water features and quiet seating areas.

Villaricos is easy to reach thanks to three international airports. There are flights from the UK to Almeria Airport, around 40 minutes away from Harbour Lights by road, Alicante Airport (less than two hours away) and Murcia Airport (80 minutes by car). Airlines currently flying to the region include Ryanair, easyJet, Monarch, Jet2, Jetair Fly and Thomas Cook.

For more information call The Almanzora Group on 01242 680299 or visit the website:www.almanzora.com