Sterling enjoys a fine week against Euro and Dollar

Sterling has continued a fine end to the week following growing concerns regarding the economy in Greece and the effects it may have on the Eurozone as a whole.

The Pound rallied against the Euro and a basket of major currencies in early morning trading and at the time of writing this Sterling/Euro was at a four month high – A welcome change in luck for those with upcoming property purchases.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Friday Greece had much work ahead to resolve its fiscal issues, after highlighting the fiscal challenges to a number of euro zone countries at a news conference the previous day.

This may well limit upside movement for the Euro in the short term so could create some excellent buying opportunities over the coming weeks, that paired with the huge drop in property prices overseas all means investors and people due to emigrate win both ways at present.

Ask Daniel Wright from Foreign Currency Direct for more details on 0800 328 5884 or UK 44 1494 725353

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Las Vegas is identified as a USA hot spot by Girasol Homes as homes roll back to 2000 levels

Las Vegas Summary ~ it is a great time to buy for foreign investors

A multitude of real estate investments exists in Las Vegas today. Residential properties represent some of the better current bargains, especially in the range below $200,000.

We are not defining a “bargain” as a decrease from the high-flying 2005 and 2006 years either. Rather, home prices appear to have over corrected on the downside and are below the long-run trend that existed ahead of the bubble.

By several measures, such as median home prices and the S&P/Case-Shiller index, we have reset prices back to the early 2000’s. In some home segments we are probably further back, even to the early 1990’s…and that is before adjusting for inflation. In recent months, prices have leveled out. Chances are one’s wages, while possibly flat for the past couple of years, has still not fallen to early 1990’s levels, presenting a real opportunity to purchase housing by those that are employed.

By such fundamental measures such as price/rent or price/income ratios, we have returned to some very reasonable levels of valuation. Affordability like this has not been achievable in years. While employment has been weak, for those that are working and seeking a home, it is a good time to shop around. Investors have noticed this as well and are purchasing homes for rentals. Many of these properties cash flow quite well, so they are performing assets even in the absence of near-term appreciation. We have calculated cap rates in the six to twelve percent range so there are some great investment homes in the Las Vegas Valley. Any appreciation back up to trend is just an added benefit (This is a return to the old paradigm of buy low and sell higher instead of buy high and sell higher which everyone thought they could do just a couple of years ago. IE: things make sense!).

As an example, a home like 1521 Splinter Rock could be purchased for $142,000 and would likely be rented for about $1300 per month. Factoring in expenses like taxes and maintenance as well as a vacancy factor, a home like this should yield around $10,000 (on the conservative side since its been remodeled already) in net operating income per year. It’s also already been remodeled so its move-in ready. It properties like this that are relatively easy to manage and are within a size range that makes them suitable for many renters, making them a good choice for foreign investors.

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