Bangalore has some of the nicest gated communities in India, and its high-tech industry is attracting wealthy residents from around the world. Rentals for exclusives homes in some of the most prestigious communities in and around the city are now over Rs 10 lakh per month. At current conversion rates, that’s well over US $20,000 and some £12,500! Epsilon Villas is so exclusive that few even know it...
Puerto del Carmen – the main engine room of tourism and the epicentre of the Lanzarote property market – is about to undergo a major revamp. As island authorities press ahead with a multi million euro project that is designed to “reinvent” tourism in the resort and maintain its competitiveness versus other holiday destinations around the world. Puerto del Carmen has long been a hot spot for...
The 2008 World Architecture Festival recently concluded in Barcelona, and the first World Architecture Awards were announced. The top prize for World Building of the Year went to the new faculty building at the Luigi Bocconi University in Milan. This impressive facility was designed by Grafton Architects of Ireland, and judges noted that the design “succeeded in distilling the essence of the city into a...
The HMS Britannic, the sister ship of the Titanic, currently sits in approximately 120 meters of water about three nautical miles off the Greek mainland. The less celebrated of the two ships, but just as ill-fated, the Britannic could soon become a tourist attraction for divers and visitors to Greece. The Britannic Foundation and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) recently conducted a dive...
Egypt’s Information Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) noted a recent analysis that shows Egypt is in a very good position to take advantage of the global outsourcing boom. The country’s young population, sustainable and abundant talent pool, university graduates, tech-savvy population and geographical position will help to make it a leader as businesses continue to outsource many activities in the...
Passenger traffic for Middle Eastern airlines fell in September according to recently released information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The IATA said that regional traffic fell 2.8 percent for the month, and it also noted that globally the passenger traffic fell 2.9 percent from a year ago. This is the first time since the SARS crisis in 2003 that global passenger traffic...
Existing home sales increased in September, 2008 both from August and from the same time in 2007 according to the National Association of Realtors. Single family, townhomes, condominiums and co-op sales, which are all grouped in the existing home category, rose 5.5 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units for September. That is also a 1.4 percent increase from the 5.11...
As the economy tumbles and home foreclosures are mounting, US officials are trying to increase aid to homeowners. A senior Bush administration official was on Capitol Hill this week and told a Senate committee that they were working on a plan to help shoulder some of the losses on home loans that are modified. The new insurance program would be run by the Treasury Department under the $700 billion...
Property in the United Arab Emirates has been one of the leading investments in the world over the past few years, with Dubai leading the way. The tiny Emirate of Ajman is looking to be the next UAE property hotspot. Ajman is not far from Dubai along the coast of the Persian Gulf and is looking to grow its property sector as well as its infrastructure in the next few years. A new US $3.3 billion Ajman...
A new mixed use development is set for Tunis and is being jointly developed by the Tunisian government and Sama Dubai, an international real estate and development arm of Dubai Holding. Mediterranean Gate is being developed by Sama Dubai with the backing of the government and will be completed in 14 phases over the next few years. The infrastructure work has been under way since the end of 2007 and the...