In recognition of its scale and impact, Empire World was recently honoured with the prestigious international title “Most Innovative Mixed-Use Real Estate Project—Empire World—Iraq 2025,” presented by International Finance.

International Finance is known for celebrating excellence in both residential and commercial real estate developments in emerging markets, specifically honouring those who deliver consistently valuable and engaging experiences for customers.

Launched in 2006, Empire World has committed itself to delivering the highest standards in construction through world-class engineering teams and premium materials. By 2007, the project opened its doors, offering residents access to some of the most luxurious housing (Royal Villa) in Erbil. The project also boasts a wealth of turnkey office spaces, offering ideal environments for businesses to grow and thrive, all within a single, sprawling complex.

Empire World represents a USD 2.7 billion investment in the rapidly growing and economically autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. As a result, it has earned a high-ranking status among global commercial developments. Winning the International Finance Award further solidifies its standing on the global stage.

Located in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, the Empire World development exemplifies architectural innovation and commercial excellence. It marks a turning point in the region’s urban growth, placing it among the leading development hubs in Iraq.

Erbil’s outlook has been brightening with rapid development and increasing investment interest. The city has become a magnet for investors seeking high-potential opportunities, signalling a promising economic future. With significant investments in infrastructure, energy, and transport, the Kurdistan region is emerging as a gateway for broader investment in Iraq.

At each stage of construction, the Empire World project was designed to respond to the region’s market needs, particularly the housing deficit. Its location further enhances its strategic value. It is near Erbil International Airport and adjacent to one of the city’s largest parks—Sami Abdulrahman Park.

Empire World was carefully planned to provide everything an individual might need—residential units, entertainment spaces, green zones, and a thriving business environment. The quality of its housing units has earned a reputation as the best in the region, and its office complexes provide an ideal setting for businesses to flourish.

What makes Empire World stand out as one of the largest and most successful projects in Iraq are features like a mix of zones for business, residential, hospitality, and leisure, massive land area covering 750,000 square metres (300 acres) and a total project budget of $2.7 billion, promising long-term value and impact.

Empire World also has 88 towers, 300 luxury villas, along with other comprehensive facilities including a mosque, medical clinic, gym, shops, and restaurants. The presence of the JW Marriott luxury hotel has elevated the project’s status by leaps and bounds.

To date, 70% of the Empire World project has been sold—a testament to the demand and trust it has garnered. As one of Iraq’s most ambitious real estate endeavours, the project’s high quality and modern design continue to attract foreign companies looking to establish offices in a sophisticated and business-friendly environment. Empire World has also become home to many start-ups, offering them ideal conditions to grow and succeed in Kurdistan.

Due to the project, over 1,000 foreign and local employees have found work opportunities, contributing to the region’s economic development and signalling positive momentum for Kurdistan’s job market.

According to Empire World Chairman Peshraw Agha, one of the project’s major milestones was the early success of Royal City, a sub-project comprising 300 royal villas. These were sold out even before 2010, just four years after construction began. Today, real estate values in Royal City have more than tripled, reflecting the strong market and growth potential in the area.

Empire World consists of multiple sub-projects that have collectively contributed to its success, including Empire Square (residential and commercial), Empire Wings (West and East), Empire Diamond (West and East), Empire Business Complex, Empire Business Towers, Royal Villas, Royal Apartments, JW Marriott and Empire Luxury Restaurants. These projects were built with high-quality materials and modern design principles, adding long-term developmental value to the city of Erbil.

Being awarded the “Most Innovative Mixed-Use Real Estate Project—Empire World—Iraq 2025” can be summed up as a landmark achievement for Iraq’s real estate sector. Empire World has successfully contributed to regional development, created extensive job opportunities, and delivered a world-class urban experience that’s been shaping the future of living and working in the Middle Eastern country.

The post Empire World: Iraq’s most ambitious real estate project appeared first on International Finance.

Property experts anticipate the continued buoyancy for several reasons, such as the Emirati city’s expanding attraction as a haven for the wealthy, the increased appetite of investors, the influx of professionals, and the population growth.

As to their statement, rental prices would see continuous upward pressure if net migration to Dubai was higher than the rate of new home handovers.

More people choosing to own rather than rent their houses, together with the growing popularity of real estate as an appealing investment option, are two factors that could determine the direction of rents in 2024.

Ilnara Muzafyarova, head of Colife, a real estate management company, says that after a dramatic increase in rental prices by 23% annually in the first half of 2023 and a year-end prediction of almost 30%, the upward trend appears robust.

Muzafyarova projected that short-term rentals (up to six months) would increase by 20% from 2023, while long-term rentals (more than six months) would increase by 15%. The market’s natural expansion serves as a solid foundation for this and from mid-2022 to mid-2023, apartment prices increased by 15%.

S&P predicted in November 2023 that home prices would rise by 5.0% to 7.0% in 2024. According to Tatiana Leskova, associate director of corporate ratings at S&P, there isn’t any proof that Dubai’s property market is slowing down in 2024.

According to analysts at real estate consulting firm CBRE, during January 2020, rents in Dubai have grown by over 42%, while home prices have surged by about 33%. Analogously, villa rentals saw a rise in average rent of 19.2% in November 2023, reaching USD 88,400 annually.

Experts noted that the growing trend in rentals is a reflection of Dubai’s thriving real estate market, where property values are rising in tandem with the construction of new high-rise buildings and a surge in real estate transactions.

Colife, the owner of a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai Marina, had a significant rise in monthly income over the previous year of 21.2%, reaching USD 2,970.

According to Colife, owners should expect even larger returns in the neighbourhood of USD 3,415 per month in 2024.

Real estate analysts predict a steady demand for residential space in Dubai due to the city’s growing population and ongoing influx of international professionals.

The third quarter saw a steady reduction in the growth rate of the Dubai rental market, according to real estate consultancy Asteco. With rental increases for flats, villas, and workplaces of 3.0%, 2.0%, and 4.0% over the three months, there has been a noticeable slowdown. According to Asteco, the changes were 18%, 19%, and 29% annually, respectively.

According to Property Finder’s November research, demand is greatest for one-bedroom apartments. Searches for one-bedroom apartments accounted for about 36% of the population, compared to searches for two-bedroom flats (30%) and studio apartments (24%).

While 42% of those looking for villas or townhouses had three bedrooms in mind, while 35% wanted a larger property with four bedrooms. Some 66% of tenants chose furnished apartments, while 32% sought unfurnished. Of those looking for villas or townhouses, 51% found unfurnished listings and 48% found furnished ones.

The Dubai Statistical Centre estimates that as of July 2023, 3,604,030 people were living in Dubai, up from 3,515,264 in July 2022. The Development Master Plan for Dubai projects that by 2040, there will be 5.8 million people living in the city.

The post Experts predict up to 20% increase in Dubai’s upscale residential rents appeared first on International Finance.

According to Property Finder research released recently, almost 60% of those who purchased real estate last month wanted to own an apartment, and about 40% were interested in buying villas or townhouses.

About 82% of renters were searching for apartments in the rental market, while 18% were looking for townhouses or villas. About 39% of prospective tenants chose unfurnished apartments, but 67% of those looking for housing picked furnished apartments.

The property portal reports that in October, Dubai registered 7,128 real estate sales totalling AED29.7 billion, a 17.46% increase in value over the same month the previous year.

Apartment buyers’ top choices were Downtown, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Marina, and Business Bay.

The most sought-after areas for purchasers desiring to purchase townhouses or villas were Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Palm Jumeirah, Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills Estate, and Al Furjan.

Property Finder also reported that there were 5,602 sales of existing properties, a 36.8% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the value of existing properties increased by 81% to approximately AED 25.7 billion, the biggest transaction value for October in the segment’s history.

According to a recent analysis by CBRE, the residential market in Dubai experienced a decline in activity as of September 2023, primarily because of a contraction in the off-plan category.

During the month, off-plan sales in Dubai decreased by 41.5%, while sales in the secondary market increased by almost 33%.

The post Dubai’s real estate boom: AED30 billion in 30 days appeared first on International Finance.

As future rate hikes are executed and investors’ purchasing power is predicted to deteriorate, it is expected that mortgage transactions and project launches, in particular, will experience some declines in 2023 compared to 2022.

Positively, as developers finish off ongoing projects, sales prices and rental rates will continue to be “elevated,” and the market will continue to add to its supply stock.

According to Asteco’s estimate, which was made public recently, the number of apartments and villas being built in the emirate would increase by almost 47,700 in 2023, or 53.8% more than they did in 2022. Around 40,000 units will be apartments, with 7,700 residential villas making up the remaining supply.

The momentum is anticipated to weaken as the spending power of foreign investors is impacted by restrained global growth, according to Asteco. Nevertheless, new project launches will continue to occur in 2023.

HP Aengaar, CEO of Asteco, stated in the report, “with more but smaller interest rate hikes expected in 2023, we anticipate a drop in mortgage transactions.”

Foreign Investment

Asteco said that due to the UAE’s image as a haven, progressive business reforms, and visa-related measures, the country would continue to witness “strong inward investment” in the real estate sector.

Although we expect the euphoria to fade and activity to reduce in the aftermath of global turbulence, from which the UAE is ultimately not immune, Asteco predicted that this would positively affect the real estate market.

The consulting company added that the emirate and the rest of the UAE have shown “impressive levels” of grit in the wake of the COVID outbreak in 2022.

It claimed that increased oil prices, a rebound in trade, and economic growth had caused inbound investment to soar significantly and transactions to reach new highs.

Thirty-one thousand residences, including 27,000 flats and 4,000 villas, were delivered in Dubai in 2022. In addition to being considered, the number of units that came online in the same timeframe was “impressive given the global economic challenges and supply-chain disruptions,” according to Asteco.

As average rental rates in the apartment and villa segments kept rising, project launches in the emirate also picked up speed toward the end of 2022. According to Asteco, rental rates for flats and offices increased by 19%, while those for villas saw a 23% yearly surge.

The post Dubai real estate market ‘momentum’ to weaken in 2023 appeared first on International Finance.

Similar threats have been made — and in some cases carried out — across 328 property developments in nearly 100 cities. Some of the messages have appeared briefly on Chinese social media platforms before being scrubbed by censors. But their echoes remain — the letters have been preserved on a crowdsourced website titled WeNeedHome — as does the fury. The mortgage boycotts are posing a fresh challenge for the government in a country where widespread dissent is uncommon and other economic troubles loom large.

What prompted people to speak out?

The short answer is that construction has stalled at apartment complexes across the country — apartments that have eaten up many people’s life savings. The long answer traces to deep-seated problems in China’s real estate sector that have been brewing for decades and laid bare over the past two years.

China’s property boom has been a huge driver of the country’s economic growth — the sector is responsible for around one-quarter of GDP. But now a pair of factors has brought developers to their knees: China’s economic headwinds — due primarily to its strict ‘zero-COVID’ policy that has locked down entire cities — and a government effort to rein in the real estate industry’s soaring debt.

“We are in the midst of a slow-motion crisis. I would view the property sector’s distress as absolutely central to China’s current economic slowdown,” Logan Wright, a partner at Rhodium Group who leads the firm’s China markets research said.

Roots of the crisis

Logan Wright says that the ‘slow-motion crisis’ has many roots. To some extent, it was planned: The government explicitly wanted to cool down the red-hot property sector. For years, apartment buildings shot up across China as people moved from the countryside to cities and developers had easy access to credit. But it soon became clear that real estate investors — not actual home buyers — were the ones driving up demand in a speculative frenzy that left vast expanses of apartments empty. Property prices soared, and home ownership became increasingly unaffordable for China’s middle class. At the same time, another problem was brewing: The developers who were benefiting from those high prices amassed a mountain of debt to keep building at a breakneck pace.

“They have taken on too many loans to build too many buildings that no one really wants to live in,” Jeremy Wallace, an associate professor at Cornell University who has studied urbanization in China said.

In recent years, government officials have begun to see the underbelly of risk in that property-fueled economic growth model. President Xi Jinping has taken to repeating the exhortation that ‘houses are built to be inhabited, not for speculation.

In August 2020, the Chinese government decided to intervene to deflate the housing bubble before it burst. The housing ministry and the People’s Bank of China announced a ‘three red lines’ policy, laying out three benchmarks to evaluate the level of debt developers had taken on. If regulators found that a developer had exceeded any of the benchmarks, they would place limits on the developer’s ability to borrow further.

It turned out that many of China’s biggest developers had blown past the thresholds — and all of them now had to start re-balancing their lopsided balance sheets. That left these companies short on cash needed to complete the apartments they would promise to people all over the country. The early seeds of the boycott movement were planted.

“It is no surprise if you have this extensive distress that you are seeing within the property sector, that eventually, this issue would have come to a head,” Jeremy Wallace said.

Real estate bombshell

In the wake of the ‘three red lines’ policy, China appeared to come close to its own Lehman Brothers moment last year. As in a moment when one company’s troubles nearly cratered the country’s economy. Evergrande is the poster child for China’s real estate craze. It is a privately owned company that became China’s largest real estate developer, and as it grew, it took on an enormous amount of debt: more than $300 billion as of last year.

Even before the three red lines policy, Evergrande was facing pressure as China’s economic growth slowed, cooling demand for the company’s often lavish properties. But the new policy pushed it over the edge. Because it could no longer borrow as easily under the new government rules, Evergrande had to begin rapidly selling off pieces of its diverse business empire. But it still couldn’t keep up with its debt payment schedule. In December 2021, Evergrande failed to make payments to international bondholders, thereby officially crossing over into default territory.

Evergrande’s fall immediately set off concerns that China’s whole real estate sector would collapse. But instead, Evergrande’s troubles and China’s response have been a part of that slow-motion crisis. The government decided to intervene and has worked with Evergrande to develop a plan to restore the company to solvency. For now, a full collapse has been averted, but Evergrande’s path forward remains uncertain. It recently missed a July deadline to release a plan for restructuring its debts.

Meanwhile, the same story has played out for other large developers in China. The new rules have hit their ability to borrow from banks, and Evergrande’s high-profile struggles have made it harder for all these companies to access capital from foreign markets.

Experts say that some of this fallout from the red line policy was inevitable, but it was made worse because of a “perfect storm” of other economic factors.

“I think they were trying to do something that was very difficult — to deflate something in its real estate sector that looked very bubble-ish. To do this in 2020, 2021, it seemed reasonable that maybe they would be able to pull it off, but with zero-COVID really destroying other economic activity, it’s really made things a lot more difficult,” said Jeremy Wallace.

Summer wave of mortgage protests

The downfall of Evergrande and other behemoth developers leads back to all those angry mortgage holders. Evergrande is now the target of the largest number of mortgage boycotts. According to WeNeedHome, of the 328 developments where homeowners are threatening to withhold their mortgage payments, 52 are Evergrande properties.

Government policy certainly contributed to the problems, but they are magnified by China’s unusual, and problematic, property sales model. China’s real estate developers typically use a “presales” tactic in which buyers — or the banks that hold their mortgages — must pay in full for homes that have yet to be built. So even before many Chinese people move into their apartments, they are already making mortgage payments.

That model worked well enough while developers were able to build at a rapid pace and hand over apartments, but the recent setbacks have thrown wrenches into that process. In the past, developers were able to illegally tap into the cash they collected from presales to build other projects in their portfolios. But with zero-COVID hitting the economy, people have been less willing to buy apartments, so these sales have fallen. That in turn has left developers short on cash for construction.

Meanwhile, the three red lines policy has prevented the developers from borrowing more to compensate. All this has produced a vicious cycle, as Michael Pettis, a professor of finance at Peking University, wrote in a recent blog. The news about the liquidity crisis has also scared people off from buying presale apartments because they fear developers won’t be able to complete them. That, in turn, cuts further into developers’ cash.

“What you’re seeing is the unwinding of confidence that developers are still going to have sufficient resources to complete houses out there. It’s a significant change in credit conditions more broadly for developers,” said Logan Wright.

With no money in hand, developers started to push the pause button on their construction projects, leaving hundreds of thousands of people paying mortgages with no idea when they will actually move into their apartments. That’s why so many mortgage holders have banded together and threatened to stop paying.

What comes next?

Chinese government officials are working hard to contain the boycotts and keep the property market from going farther off the rails. It’s a delicate balancing act; the government wanted to reduce debt in the sector, but it’s now being forced to intervene to stop the crisis from spreading into other parts of the economy.

So far, authorities have largely allowed the boycotters to pause their payments without penalty. And the government isn’t leaving developers entirely in the lurch. Central government officials are trying to help speed the completion of projects, initially by appointing local governments to oversee the work. Chinese financial outlet Caixin reported that local state-owned companies might even be tasked with purchasing stalled developments and completing them on their own.

But local governments alone can’t fix the problem, in part because they are already highly indebted from implementing the costly zero-COVID policy, and the central government seems to realize as much. Bloomberg reported that the central bank will provide nearly $30 billion in special loans to developers to help them finish the delayed projects.

Even that is likely to be far from sufficient. Given how much revenue the sector is currently losing, the $30 billion “doesn’t seem large enough to help developers significantly at all,” said Logan Wright.

One thing is clear, from Jeremy Wallace’s perspective: Given the political sensitivities, the mortgage boycotters won’t be left to bear the full cost. “It’s a very compelling population. The family that has saved up in order to buy something that they never get because of some billionaire developer — that is a political fight that they will always win. And I think that’s really a dangerous potential problem that the government won’t let or can’t let sit forever,” he ad

Meanwhile, even if the government ultimately manages to get developers to deliver most of the apartments to the boycotters, the broader distress in the property sector still threatens the country. Sales across China’s top hundred property developers dropped by half in the first six months of the year, according to the New York Times. Home prices have also been falling, and more developers are still expected to default this year. In some ways, this is what the government was aiming for, but the real estate sector has plunged too quickly due to zero-COVID. Where will this downward spiral leave China? It is likely to stick to a path of reining in the property sector to a large extent, even if it continues to come at an economic cost.

The post China’s real estate crisis threatens global economy appeared first on International Finance.

Last year US-based Electronic Realty Associates (ERA) started operating in Vietnam through its franchise in Singapore. Together with property brokerage EuroCapital, it has incorporated ERA Real Estate Vietnam, whose major market is HCMC. ERA Vietnam has 800 employees and 600 potential staff and collaborators undergoing training. It is also focused on the high-end segment.

It now aims to be one of the top real estate firms in Vietnam within five years with over 50 offices and 5,000 employees. Another Singapore firm, Huttons Real Estate Group, came to the country in 2016. For this third largest property company in Singapore, Vietnam is the third overseas market—after Malaysia and Philippines.

Huttons has also stated that its aim is to be the number one real estate agency in the country with multiple services including project sale, marketing, leasing, and assets management.

In 2015, U.S.-based Keller Williams tied up with VinGroup and stated that it would focus on leasing properties and consulting. Industry insiders believe the entry of international players will have a positive impact on the real estate market.

Nguyen Anh Dao, CEO of real estate firm Viethome Investment stated: “Since 2015 foreign brokerages have been entering the Vietnamese real estate market, which has been booming.”

He said that their arrival would push local ones to improve their standards, which would benefit customers. He also added that since foreigners can own up to 30% of the apartments in a project under Vietnam’s housing laws, foreign firms need to have local sales teams to approach Vietnamese customers.

He added that employing and training locals is how foreign firms can compete with local businesses—which are getting larger and more professional. The high-end segment accounted for the highest proportion of new launches in HCMC in the second quarter of this year — 54 % — according to real estate consultancy CBRE Vietnam.

It also added that in the last three years 35,000 luxury apartments have come into the market.

The post Vietnam welcome more US and Singapore real estate firms appeared first on International Finance.

9th September 2013

CTV News, reported that a growing population and a modest job growth will prevent condo markets in Canada’s major cities from crashing, a report from Conference Board of Canada said. Sales are expected to fall this year, with eight percent drops anticipated in Toronto and Vancouver, but an all out crash is unlikely in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver where markets are being watched with concern.

International Finance Magazine explains the difference between a condominium and an apartment, duties and responsibilities of a condominium association, different approaches of condo insurance and how to determine the additional amount of coverage you need for your unit.

What is a Condominium?

A condominium is one of a group of housing units where each homeowner owns their individual unit space and all the dwelling share ownership of areas commonly used. The individual units normally share walls, but that is not a requirement. The main difference between condos and individual homes are there is no individual ownership of a plot of land. All the land owned in the condominium project is owned in common by all the shareholders. All condominium buildings have associations that govern the policies of the condominium project, allocate expenses for maintenance and collect the monthly, quarterly or annual association fees that each owner pays for buildings, insurance and community maintenance. All owners of the condominium are members of the association.

Difference between Condominium and Apartments

An apartment building carries a single deed of trust that encompasses the property as a whole. A condominium carries an individual deed of trust for each unit, it is possible for a single purchaser to own every unit in a condominium development and operate in the same manners as an apartment.( i.e, he can rent out the other units)

A Real Estate developer may purchase an apartment building and convert the individual units into condominiums by bringing them up to city code and offering them for sale.

The main point of difference between a condo and an apartment is in case of  a condo you will not own a specific area of land, instead, you will own a percentage of land as a whole. For example .52 percent of the total land area plus .52 percent of all improvements and areas considered as common areas such as club house, swimming pool that are available to all owners and their guests.

Condominium Association

All condominiums have homeowner associations, the associations are legal entities that have enforcement powers to collect fees, enforce rules and regulations, put liens on homes or even initiate foreclosures if the owners fail to pay the fees for maintenance. The condominium association shall also have a board of directors, whose members are owners of units in a building, the members of the association elect a board of directors who enforce rules, maintain the complex and handle disputes.

Condominium Insurance

The Insurance Information Network of California explains condo insurance as a special insurance designed to fit the specific needs of condo owners. Condo owners need to take in to consideration additional coverage for the building on their condominium association’s master insurance and coverage, the condominium association will insure the building and its common elements based on two approaches

1. Bare Walls
2. Single entity

“Bare walls” means the association will insure only the building including walls, roof, floors, elevators and is not responsible for the interiors of your home including cabinets, interior partitions, plumbing, wiring, bathroom fixtures among others. Therefore the condo owner would be responsible for repairing and maintaining everything in his or her unit.

“Single entity” means that the association will insure the building as well as “certain” fixtures including cabinets and other appliances. The condo owner is only responsible for his/her personal property inside the unit or for any other additions made to the original structure, these approaches will spell out exactly what the condo association is responsible for and what the owner is responsible for. Condo owners should first review their association’s master policy to figure out how much of the unit they will be responsible for insuring. Make sure you understand who insures things like garages, sidewalks, swimming pools and other common areas, once you have determined how much of the building you are responsible for insuring, you can figure out the additional amount of coverage you need for your unit. Your policy should cover all items not covered by the association’s master policy, and any improvements you have made to the property.

For example: If your association’s master policy is a single entity policy, it will cover a certain amount of dollar amount for your carpet. If you upgrade your carpet, you are responsible to insure the difference between the master policy’s coverage and the value of your new carpet.

The post Importance of having a Condominium Insurance appeared first on International Finance.