King Abdullah Announces Kilometer high Tower in Jeddah

King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques unveiled and inaugurated the two colossal projects of Kingdom City in Jeddah and Kingdom Tower in Jeddah in the presence of HRH Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, HRH Prince Khaled Alfaisal Governor of Makkah Province, HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) and Eng. Adel Muhammad Faqih, Mayor of Jeddah and other members of the royal family.

The unveiling of the designs and plans of the tower that will adorn the city of Jeddah and will be over 1,000 meters high, was held at the opening of a major international architectural exhibition “Towards the First World” in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday 11th October 2008. KHC was the main sponsor of this historical event. KHC’s two projects: Kingdom City and Kingdom Tower were the highlight of the exhibition with a major presentation. It was the first time the design for Kingdom City and the iconic Kingdom Tower were revealed publicly. During the event, King Abdullah and Prince Alwaleed toured KHC’s exhibition of the master plan and designs of the project with a total investment of more than SR100 billion.

HRH Prince Alwaleed commented: “KHC has many grand investments in real estate in Saudi Arabia and this is one of them. We are extremely delighted at the unveiling of the designs and plans of KHC’s iconic Kingdom City and Kingdom Tower projects in the city of Jeddah by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz which will signify KHC’s contribution in placing Saudi Arabia at the forefront of the first world and reaffirming KHC as one of the world leading real estate developers.” King Abdullah has previously inaugurated the Kingdom Tower in Riyadh during which Prince Alwaleed presented the King with the awards that Kingdom Centre had received: the Best New Skyscraper of the Year 2003 for Kingdom Tower and The Innovative Design & Construction of a New Project 2003 for Al Mamlaka Mall.

Engineer Talal Al Maiman, Executive Director for Development and Domestic Investments and a member of KHC’s Investment Committee commented: “Through the continuous guidance of HRH Prince Alwaleed, KHC uses its resources to their utmost potential to lead to outstanding achievements and to make future visions a reality through leading and challenging projects. I have all the confidence that the return on investments of these projects will be very rewarding, God willing as KHC’s projects have been in Riyadh. ”

Organized by the City of Jeddah, the exhibition features sixteen projects currently planned for the Makkah and Jeddah regions. Kingdom Tower is part of the Kingdom City development which will be one of the largest and most comprehensive real estate projects to be built in Saudi Arabia located at Obhur, North of the creek of Jeddah and the mountains to the east. Prominently located on a prime site, the master plan, encompassing 7.1 square kilometers (1750 acres). Kingdom City in Jeddah is 20 km from the old city of Jeddah near King Abdulaziz International Airport. The area that comprises of buildings is 23 million square meters includes commercial, residential, institutional, educational, entertainment, retail and hotel facilities. The centerpiece of the development will be the landmark Kingdom Tower. Kingdom City is expected to house 80,000 residents and accommodate 250,000 visitors who will enjoy its facilities; lakes, canals, water sports and other leisure activities.

Kingdom Tower’s timeless beauty derives from its simplicity and purity of form. The tower will rise from a large retail and conference centre podium to 1,000+ meters in height –the tallest building in the world – and include five-star hotel accommodations, office space and luxury residences that encompass dramatic, sweeping views of the Red Sea, Obhur Creek and the mountains to the east. Essentially triangular in plan, Kingdom Tower is conceived as a graceful, sculptural form that reflects not only the unique character of Jeddah but also the sky, water, and land from its taut glass skin. Ends Press release.

This would seem to be a step down after a recent announcement of a Mile high tower. Presumably that one has been shelved. The only real question is - will they finish it before Dubai builds their own kilometer-high tower?

The Mile Tower has been scaled down. Or has it just gone metric?

Kingdom Holdings

Dwindling demand, rising interest rates and high inflation means many well-known Indian luxury property developers are shifting their focus down-market in major Indian property markets. “Affordable housing,” is becoming the new “luxury.”

Key real estate players like DLF, Ansal API, Omaxe, Unitech, Puravankara, Matheran Realty, Indu Projects, Shriram Properties, Jain Heights & Structures, Shapoorji Pallonji and Hiranandani Constructions are shifting their focus from luxury segment to mid-segment and affordable housing.The Financial Express

A luxury real estate auction in Florida attracted a decent crowd, with a $2 million+ home sale. Luxury property auctions are perhaps the most realistic way of kick-starting the sluggish market. The entertaining thing though, is that the organisers, Concierge auctions’ press release states:  “The program benefits both buyers and sellers, as they can participate with confidence knowing the properties will sell on Auction Day regardless of the high bid.” Yet a few sentences later, “Concierge Auctions has made the determination that it is in the best interest of the seller and registered buyers of 850 Mangrove Point Road to re-offer the property in the next Sarasota auction in December.” This must be some strange new meaning of the words “Will sell regardless,” that I was previously unaware of. Luxury real estate auction in Florida.

Investors spent hours in their cars battling for parking spaces at the Dubai Cityscape exhibition. When one considers the fact that many planned projects have recently been cancelled; a rash of arrests and scandals in the real estate sector were made following allegations that Damac were involved in selling property they did not own (amongst other allegations); recent changes in the laws regarding visas for foreign buyers meaning a residence visa is by no means a given; and the fact that several banks have admitted being heavily involved in the sub-prime mess, one comes to one of two conclusions - denial is alive and well in the UAE - Or they are paying cash.

Despite concerns triggered by the international credit crisis, traffic backed up for kilometres yesterday as drivers battled for hours to reach the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, home to Cityscape, the international property investment and development show. The National

This apparent surge of confidence is at sharp odds with other news coming from the region. The Saudi stock market fell a massive ten percent in value yesterday - the biggest single day drop in years, and the Dubai Financial market fell 14% this week alone.

Closer to home, Bloomberg is reporting an an upswing in the amount of million-dollar timeshares, and suggesting that America’s wealthy are redeeming their reward points in an effort to save money, which they feel indicates a cutback in the luxury real estate market.

Seventy-one percent of America’s wealthiest households — representing the top 10 percent of incomes — say the real estate and banking crises have hurt their sense of financial security, and 48 percent are now worried about running out of money, up 13 percentage points from April, American Express Co.’s publishing unit and Harrison Group said in a survey released Oct. 2 Bloomberg

In Vancouver, analysts at Re/Max are suggesting that the luxury property market in Victoria is showing signs of slowing down. there is some good news at the very top end of the luxury markets though. Following the recent record sales of property in France, an un-named Russian buyer has just purchased a seven-storey, 1,300 square meter apartment within walking distance of the Kremlin in Moscow for the almost-unbelievable sum of $99 million. And the most expensive apartment on Australia was sold in Sydney. Another secret buyer reputedly paid $20 million for a two-storey, 350 square meter penthouse in Potts Point - off plan.

Underlying reasoning for the ups and downs in the luxury real estate market

There seems to be a lot of ups and downs in the luxury real estate market this week, and if any one is wondering why that may be, this chart should clear things up nicely.

Two brothers in Montreal are embroiled in what appears to be a gangster-related murder attempt after the failure of the luxury condominium project, “One Avenue du Port.” As little as 8 years ago, the brothers Magi were riding high on the crest of the luxury real estate boom, now one of them lies in a hospital bed fighting for his life after being shot by a professional hit man while his car waited at a traffic light and the other faces extradition to the US and a lengthy prison term if he is convicted of charges filed in a Los Angeles court alleging he was part of a large-scale Montreal-based fraudulent telemarketing operation that targeted elderly people.

While the attempted killing of Tony Magi came only months after the U.S. indictment was filed against his brother, police investigators interviewed by The Gazette see nothing that links the two events. But the events highlight a number of problems the brothers have experienced in recent years, despite once appearing to be on successful paths as real estate developers. Full story.

The India Times reports that one sector in the Indian real estate market is still strong - the luxury property sector. Of course, announcing projects and selling them are two entirely different animals.

Even in the midst of low sentiments haunting the real estate sector, there is one segment that is totally unfazed by it all. Luxury homes continue to dazzle in the face of robust demand and keen investor interest in the segment. Full story.

Knight Frank’s latest report suggest that London luxury homes worth over £10 million have become “completely detached” from the property slow down in the UK, with “super prime” London real estate climbing nearly 3% in price during August alone, in the face of falling prices in the rest of the city (and country.)

There are now signs that the gap between this sector and the rest of the market is growing. Liam Bailey, Knight Frank, residential research. Full story.

Bloomberg reports that Los Angeles and San Diego luxury real estate prices fell the most in more than ten years in the second quarter of 2008, but San Francisco is hanging on.

The average price of a luxury home in Los Angeles dropped 3.8 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, the most since 1996, according to a survey by First Republic Bank, a unit of Merrill Lynch & Co. Luxury homes were defined as those costing more than $1 million with up to 6,000 square feet (557 square meters), six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Prices fell 7.8 percent in San Diego, the most since 1997, while San Francisco prices rose 0.2 percent. Full story.

Nine luxury model homes come up for auction in Waddell/Surprise, Buckeye, and Gilbert, Arizona following Trend Homes Chapter 11 reorganization. The homes will be sold alongside 21 other model homes with starting prices at 50% of the original sales prices.

If you’re the first, last and only bidder at $90,000, you get the property. Rhett Winchell, president of Kennedy Wilson Auction Group

The auction will be  September 14th - Auctioneers site with full details.

Luxury Apartments in Mumbai

Indians today have a keen understanding of global trends and are becoming rather savvy in terms of their lifestyle expectations. It seems as though “luxury mania” has hit the people of Mumbai. No longer are they satisfied or willing to settle for the run of the mill type of apartments. If you have the money, live in luxury is today’s mantra. Real estate developers are cashing in on this growing trend in the market and you’ll find a number of real estate developers who are catering to the luxurious needs of the people. Moreover this demand for luxury is fueled by the NRI community, who are interested in investing in high end apartments.

Because of the exclusivity that it demands, luxury apartments today, are unique both in design and architecture. Moreover the location of these apartments need to be in strategic locations. Amenities and facilities are expected to be top notch, and people will settle for nothing less.

Unlike the trend abroad of fully furnished apartments, Indians are still unwilling to opt for a full furnished apartment. While the majority prefer the flexibility of choosing their own furniture, a number of people are quite open to the fact of choosing a partly fitted-out apartment i.e. modular kitchens; living rooms with extravagant light fittings, swanky ceilings and some other portions of the home also fitted out. More on Luxury Real Estate In Mumbai - Gated Communities and Luxury Fitments

With the rapid development and expansion that Mumbai is undergoing, there has been a parallel growth in the real estate industry, which is experiencing an unprecedented upsurge. With many competent and large property developers storming Mumbai, competition is tough.

Lodha Builders is one of the largest property developers in city with current projects totaling over 7 million sq. ft in floor space and a pipeline of over 25 million sq ft. In 2004 they bought Apollo mills, a textile unit from the National Textile Corporation (NTC) in Lower Parel. In just a few years they developed Lodha Bellissimo, a premium residential building in the area. Spread over an area of 20,000 sq m, each of the luxurious flats in the 57-storey building are priced at a whopping Rs 25,200 a sq ft. In 2006, JP Morgan Chase’s Principal Real Estate Investments invested $60 million in a residential project with the Lodha Builders. This partnership has helped fuel the Lodha Group’s growth plans bringing them amongst the top five real estate developers by 2008. The group now looks to spread its reach all over the country.

At the beginning of the year 2008 a group of private equity investors including Lehman Brothers, ICICI Prudential and HDFC invested Rs 600 crore in the Lodha Group to fund three of their projects: two residential projects, one in Napean Sea Road and one in Worli, and a residential-cum-commercial project in Hyderabad. The group is currently developing over 25 million sq ft of prime land in over 27 projects in and around Mumbai. The group is also working on constructing an IT park in Kanjurmarg. This IT park and techno Campus will spread over 18 lakh sq ft. in addition, Dahisar is about to receive a make-over with Lodha Builders constructing LODHA- AQUA: an exclusive township for the elite. LODHA – AQUA will have 11 fourteen story towers along with facilities like a Club, a Cricket pavilion and a Swimming pool.

The Lodha builders are careful and perceptive while choosing their locations, taking several factors like connectivity, proximity of railway stations, highways etc. into consideration. Their complexes and luxury apartments are complete in all respects.