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PROPERTY LETTER 17th February 2010 | Wed, 02/17/2010 - 16:28
Snow in Cannes!
It hasn’t snowed like this in 30 years.
La Croisette.
The famous "red carpet" at the Palais des Festivals.
Winter Wonderland! The first time there has been “real” snow in Cannes for 30 years.
11th February 2010
PL 86
PROPERTY LETTER 17th February 2010.
Dear All,
Vicky and I wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
(This was intended to go out in January, but my Dad passed away on 28th and I flew back to Cape Town for 10 days. For those of you who knew him – he had his 90th birthday in December, but the last few months were very hard for him. We will miss him sorely.)
Looking back:
A year ago even die-hard optimists must have felt some apprehension as to what 2009 would bring, and without wishing to be insensitive to anyone I think we all survived! Without doubt we go into 2010 feeling a lot stronger and more positive than we did twelve months ago, and for my part – I feel quite excited.
•
Looking forward:
There will be a lot going on in Europe (and of course in South Africa) this year, and oodles of opportunity, so we will be involved in identifying some of that opportunity and sharing it with you – France is fabulous, and Cannes is way out in front.
A truism I have learned is that 80% of successful property investing is psychological, focussing on the why as opposed to the how (which is where many investors spend most of their time with less success). If you have decided why you want to make your move, then the how should not stop you because many others have done it before you, and there is plenty of help and advice to be had along the way – it is all too easy to fall into the “inertia trap”, and let opportunities go begging or dreams go unfulfilled.
PROPERTY LETTER 16th November 2009 | Mon, 11/30/2009 - 13:09
PL 85
PROPERTY LETTER 16th November 2009.
Dear All,
This is likely to be my last Property Letter in 2009, so I take this
opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and health,
happiness and prosperity in 2010.
TO INVEST OR NOT TO INVEST
There are “extra issues” surrounding people’s already difficult
decisions as to whether and when to invest in property in France, how
much to invest, how much to borrow, and over how long a period. They
are issues that are out of our control – and they change all the time.
So one might say that judgements are required, and these can be wrong,
slightly wrong, slightly right, or very right, either by accident or
through financial brilliance, a faculty that we don’t all possess!
These “extra issues” are such things as relative strengths of
currencies, changing rates of interest, and foreign currency
restrictions (especially in South Africa).
Many of us don’t feel knowledgeable or confident enough to make these
big decisions, so we act on what we can see before us or “know”,
especially if the alternative is to lapse into paralysis.
PROPERTY LETTER 20th October 2009 | Tue, 10/20/2009 - 13:12
“C’est chez nous” – our place in the sun.
PL 84
PROPERTY LETTER 20th October 2009.
Dear All,
RECESSION RECEDING
The last few months of 2008 and the first part of 2009 were very
tough, but we’re still here. We had almost no sales at all through our
agency or personally from about September to April. Rentals too
nose-dived and major congresses shrivelled to look like very small
ones.
That’s all changing thankfully and we and our staff and colleagues have
a spring in our steps again. In fact the market has visibly come alive.
Our girls in the agency are working overtime and at weekends handling
enquiries, showing product and making sales. We now find ourselves
looking for new properties to meet demand where only a few months ago
we had properties on the shelf. Three of the last five properties that
Vicky and I have personally been involved in never had a “for sale”
sign on them, were never advertised, and didn’t make it into a Property
Letter - because they sold as soon as they appeared on the market. A
further two that we tried to secure for S.A. investors were “lost”
because we didn’t move quickly enough. That is something we hadn’t
experienced for a couple of years.
PROPERTY LETTER 14th August 2009 | Fri, 08/14/2009 - 14:27
PL 83
PROPERTY LETTER 14th August 2009.
Dear All,
KEEPING MY PROMISES.
In my
last Property Letter (which was my first attempt at separation and
entitled “Just Villas”) I told you that we had quite a number of very
interesting apartments becoming available, including some in the most
affordable price range. Today you have them – a very good selection of interesting apartments arranged in price order.
I recommend that if you are pressed for time you find your level and
look at properties in that range rather than reading through properties
that are of no relevance to you – being either far too small, or far
too expensive.
If you have more time for reading however I
hope these Property Letters are educational, serving to give you a very
thorough overview of the entire market from top to bottom. I would
remind you that every property that I include in these letters has been
selected from many, and the trash thrown out. So what you are seeing is
an “interesting” cross section of the market – properties that are
really worth considering. Some are priced to sell and some are priced
‘optimistically’, but we can look at them on a case by case basis as
nearly all would be subject to at least some negotiation.
PROPERTY LETTER 16th JUNE 2009 | Wed, 06/17/2009 - 11:05
Photo by Mandy Jarvis
PL 82
PROPERTY LETTER 16th June 2009.
Dear All,
WHAT IS THE PROPERTY MARKET DOING ON THE COTE D’AZUR?
Everyone wants to know the answer to that question, and I can relate
what I see in the marketplace, and what I’ve heard or read.
Internationally it is becoming accepted that we are through the
worst. Britain has officially returned to growth (the recession
therefore is officially over) although recovery will be slow and
unemployment will continue to rise, and businesses will continue to
close for another year or more. Europe is likewise returning to growth.
Mortgage lending is on the increase in the UK and France, and house
prices are edging upwards. The pain is far from over, but there is hope
again.
This quote is from Edmund Conway writing in The Daily Telegraph on 10th June 2009:
“The recession is almost certainly over. The economy will return to
growth imminently, if it isn't doing so already. The evidence surrounds
us: surveys show that the services sector, worth three quarters of our
national output, is growing again, and it emerged yesterday that the
manufacturing sector is doing the same. Having slimmed down, and cut
costs and inventories, companies are making money once more; banks are
even starting to lend more freely to households and businesses.”
PROPERTY LETTER 5th March 2009 | Fri, 03/06/2009 - 12:34
Winter Morning in Forville Market - Cannes.
(Photos - by Mandy Jarvis)
(Photos - by Mandy Jarvis)
PL 81
PROPERTY LETTER 5th March 2009.
Dear All,
As we head out of winter the Bay of Cannes is filling with the multi
coloured sails of small yachts in early competitions, the brilliant
gold of Mimosas line every roadside and splash across the hillsides and
spring flowers are bursting into bloom. A greyer than normal winter (in
more ways than one) is giving way to the sunshine that we expect on the
Cote d’Azur. The last two weeks of February at least were lovely, and a
timely reminder of just why we are all here.
I had an enormous response to my last Property Letter which was very
pleasing, and many asked whether the market was softening? Are prices
coming down “yet”? Are there particularly good deals and bargains to be
had? I have answered each of those letters individually, but now in
general terms, for what they are worth here are some thoughts:
PROPERTY LETTER 10th February 2009 | Tue, 02/10/2009 - 14:28
19th Century Villa in Provence - on a Winters Day.
Under Reconstruction and Nearing Completion.
See Below for Price and Details.
See Below for Price and Details.
PL 80
PROPERTY LETTER 10th February 2009.
Dear All,
We wish you health, happiness and prosperity in the year ahead.
Vicky and I are happily back in Cannes after our Christmas break in Cape Town.
At the bottom of this letter there are descriptions and photos of
the most interesting properties we have seen since our return – I urge
you to have a really good look at them. As always, far more information
is available on request.
SPEEDING UP IN THE SLOWDOWN.
(From a study published by Google)
“Top companies speed up during slowdowns. History tells us that
slowdowns are when winners get ahead. The performance gap between the
most successful companies and their competitors becomes greater than
during a growth period. The winners continue investing in growth and
focus on profitable products and customers while carefully managing
costs.”
•
And Warren Buffet famously said “Be fearful when others are greedy and
greedy when others are fearful”. He also said “I buy when the lemmings
are headed the other way.”
•
Interviewed on Sky News this week Theo Paphitis the self-made multi
millionaire entrepreneur of “Dragon’s Den” fame said in answer to a
question: “You turn on the telly or open a newspaper and it’s all doom
and gloom. Let me tell you this is the most exciting time. The lessons
we’ll learn will set us in good stead for many years to come.”
PROPERTY LETTER 19th November 2008 | Thu, 11/20/2008 - 09:58
PL79
PROPERTY LETTER 19th November 2008.
Renovations, Improvements and Adding Value.
Dear All,
FROM SOW’S EAR - TO SILK PURSE.
Many people ask the same question – « Can’t you find us somewhere that needs renovation? »
The motivations are many but underlying it is always the thought that
there might be an unrecognised bargain out there. Perhaps we can find
the « renovators dream » and a small fortune waiting to be made. Well,
there are some – they do actually exist, and I highlight possible
options in some of my Property Letters.
Many of us (including Vicky and I) have identified opportunities and
done the renovation, and it is exciting. But there is also significant
value to be added if the property we buy has position, potential for
transformation, and if the price is right. And of course, if we have
the nerve to do it.
PROPERTY LETTER 6th November 2008 | Thu, 11/06/2008 - 14:42
La Croix des Gardes
PL78
PROPERTY LETTER 6th November 2008.
Dear All,
“Call the Bottom Dad!”
…is what Lao said to me recently.
We were talking about the market and the release of the “Residential
Market Review for the third quarter 2008, published in October by CB
Richard Ellis, a worldwide property consultancy firm who publish
research results and market reports which are respected by
professionals in every field of activity. (See extracts below)
We were also discussing the state of mind (the happiness) of people who have investments, and where those investments are:
- In Sterling and the Rand? Not happy.
- In stocks? Not happy. The less said about that the better.
- In UK property? Not happy.
- In Euros? Happy.
- In French property? Happy
- Don’t we all wish we’d bought into gold!
So I am “Calling the bottom” albeit a shallow one, but one in which there are some cherries to be picked.
Prices in Cannes and elsewhere on the Cote d’Azur have stagnated
through this year, and in some cases they have come down. Some
wonderful opportunities exist and I would say that almost everything on
offer is open to negotiation. Asking prices are quoted but I believe we
can achieve significantly below the asking price in some cases, and in
a few we do have “distressed sellers” prepared to accept what they
would previously have considered ludicrous.
PROPERTY LETTER 22nd October 2008 | Thu, 10/23/2008 - 15:06
PL77
PROPERTY LETTER 22nd October 2008
Dear All,
Trompe-l'œil
(French - "trick the eye") is an art technique involving extremely
realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the
depicted objects appear in three-dimensions, instead of actually being
a two-dimensional painting.” (Wikipedia)
It is a very popular art form in this part of France, and this side of
an otherwise uninteresting three storey building in Cannes is a fine
example. For the doubters – there is no balcony; there are no windows
or doors, shutters or plants. Not even the “Barbella” restaurant below
exists. It was a blank wall before the artist started his work.
Into dark places…
Stocks plummeted around the world, banks failed, Iceland (the country)
almost failed, and rescue packages worth hundreds of billions of $, €,
or £ were hastily agreed. Interest rates have since been slashed, banks
semi-nationalised, deposits guaranteed and far reaching measures taken
to boost the “real” economy. As a result stocks have rallied, if
hesitantly (and so has Gordon Brown!).
It is 14 months since the first headlines about a “sub-prime crisis” in the United States entered our consciousness.
That much is history.
Today we each have to look “through” the fallout of those months to what lies beyond.
When the FTSE 100 climbed back out of the late 3000’s (that dark and
nasty place it frequented for a couple of weeks) into the low 4000’s it
was psychologically important to me and I hope we don’t go back there.
My next major landmark is the 5000’s and I’ll be looking out for it,
and then on and upward to the 6000’s from whence it came so very
recently.
How long will it take – another 14 months? Maybe more?