Archive for February, 2007
Coldwell Banker® System Expands its Reach to Belize
Saturday, February 17th, 2007
Coldwell Banker System Expands its Global Reach to Belize
PARSIPPANY, N.J., (February 15, 2007) – Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation has announced the signing of a sub franchise agreement through its Coldwell Banker Latin America master, coinciding with the opening of the first Coldwell Banker® office in Belize. With this opening, Belize becomes the 32nd country or territory outside of the United States to have a Coldwell Banker presence.
Belize markets itself as being both in Central America and the Caribbean, and has the best of both. With a stable political democracy, currency pegged to the US dollar, miles and miles of sandy beaches and the largest barrier reef in the Western hemisphere, Belize promises to be one of the strongest emerging markets in which to invest.
“Franchise growth outside of North America remains one of our key initiatives,” said Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. “Central America is fast emerging as a hot spot for property investment, and was recently highlighted by CNN as ‘One of the 6 hottest foreign second home markets for 2007.’ We are proud to introduce our brand to this robust market, and wish our colleagues at Coldwell Banker Belize Real Estate great success in their operations.”
“We are excited to bring a real estate service to Belize anchored in the traditions of one of the world’s most premier brands,” said Arne Rodhall, General Manger of Coldwell Banker Belize. “We are committed to working with the finest developers and our goal is to provide a premium estate experience for our customers, backed by the Coldwell Banker name.”
The team behind Coldwell Banker Belize has a combined real estate experience of over 50 years, both domestic and international, and includes a previous “Chairman’s Circle” company designation.
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier provider of full-service real estate. In 2006, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system number one in real estate for the seventh straight year and number eight among all franchisors. The Coldwell Banker System has more than 4,000 residential and commercial real estate offices and 127,700 Sales Associates in 31 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury properties through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site. Coldwell Banker Mortgage is one of the largest telephone/web based lenders in the country. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation (NYSE: H), the world’s largest real estate franchisor. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. Each office is independently owned and operated except for offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated.
Belize ranks third for online searches for real estate
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007If you wanted a rough-and-ready way to calculate investor interest in real estate in different countries, type a commonly used search term into a tracking service. Then repeat, using the same search term, for comparison countries. What you are looking for is not the absolute number of searches (something, incidentally, that can be hard to find) but the relative results between counties. Have a look at the graph below for countries in Central America for searches made in December 2006.
Costa Rica tops the bill. This is not altogether surprising. Costa Rica is the most established market in the region, has the largest number of US citizens as residents, and has been a popular real estate destination for many years. Panama and Belize rack up the second and third spots for Internet searches followed by Nicaragua in fourth position.
It is impossible to know exactly how this translates into investor confidence or relative real estate sales volumes for the different countries. Data on sales volumes and prices is not maintained centrally so we cannot make definite correlations. However, one thing is certain, investor interest in information on real estate (at least over the Internet) is highest for the more mature real estate destinations.
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San Pedro Sun - San Pedro Street Project A Reality
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007The road conditions on Ambergris Caye are improving starting with two major sections in downtown San Pedro.
Original Story:
http://www.sanpedrosun.net/07-051.html
San Pedro Town, a beautiful piece of paradise situated in the Caribbean is blooming with beauty and charm. Nevertheless, the rainy season leaves the streets filled with potholes and mud, while during the dry season the air is thick with dust. However, those issues will be a problem of the past.
On January 29th, 2007, the San Pedro Town Council called an urgent town meeting. The purpose: to discuss the street rehabilitation projects and the details pertaining to their visit with Prime Minister Said Musa and Financial Secretary Carla Barnett, which took place on January 25th, 2007 at the Prime Minister’s office. Although attendance was minimal, the head table had good news for the community; both the Southern Road and Barrier Reef Drive will soon be restored and both will be cobble stoned.
Sitting at the head table were Mayor of San Pedro Town Elsa Paz, Belize Rural South Area Representative Honorable Manuel Heredia Jr., and councilors.
Barrier Reef Drive
“The Barrier Reef Drive Rehabilitation Project is scheduled to commence this weekend, perhaps as soon as Thursday,” commented San Pedro Mayor Elsa Paz to a group of concerned citizens. The project, which will carry a $1.7 million price tag, will be carried out by Medina’s Construction Company Limited, the same company that was hired for the Coconut Drive Rehabilitation Project and the building of the San Pedro Bridge.
The Barrier Reef Rehabilitation Project will include cobble stoning of all of Front Street, as well as the side streets that have yet to be cobble stoned. It will include drainage and a pedestrian walk, same as the one found on Pescador Drive. The monies collected from Property, Trade and Liquor taxes will be used to fund this project. “I would like to appeal to the general public, to those who haven’t paid their taxes, to please come forward and do so. San Pedro needs the money and our records show that approximately 65% of the Property Taxes have yet to be paid,” stated Mayor Paz.
However, the money collected from these taxes will not be enough. “We are selling some acres of land that belong to the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) in order to help us fund both these projects,” commented Honorable Heredia, Jr. The properties that Honorable Heredia spoke of are 500 acres of land between Journey’s End Resort and Buena Vista in North Ambergris Caye. However, some of this land was sold in 2005 when the Pescador Drive Project needed extra funding. (more…)
Is Belize ‘the next big thing’ in Caribbean real estate?
Sunday, February 4th, 2007Belize is managing to combine the opportunity for investors to participate in both a rapidly growing tourism market and an emerging second home retirement destination. Although more affordable than other Caribbean destinations, this is not at the expense of local amenities and services - something that sets it apart from more speculative offerings elsewhere. Certain regions could be described as a “mezzo market” - a term coined by International Living to describe markets that are not quite emerging; not quite developed. The risk/reward profile is perhaps more comfortable than purely speculative real estate markets elsewhere in Central America.
As you might expect, continued growth in tourism, environmental preservation and infrastructure improvement are important factors in the future success of the real estate market in Belize. Indications are good. The country has a progressive Tourism ministry that has been successful in putting Belize firmly on the map as a tourism destination. As the 2005 Moon Handbook puts it, ‘Belize is the only country within the Caribbean to experience consistent increases with respect to overall tourist arrivals since 1998.’ Places like Ambergris Caye are key magnets for tourism and this reach is expanding into the luxury end of tourism, a trend helped by a number of celebrity real estate purchases in the country. We will shortly be reviewing tourism data for 2006 which will help put the trends into context.
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