What is MLS Multi Listing Service

MLS stands for multiple listing service. Every home for sale listed by a real estate agent, unless it is specifically exempted from MLS, will be listed in MLS. However, only real estate agents and other professional affiliates can access MLS, but that doesn't mean a home buyer or home seller can't get the same information -- just not directly.
 Back in the old days, like the 1970s, MLS information was available in print format. Books were published monthly; updates weekly. It was quite heavy and cumbersome to haul around! Fortunately, today it's online.

 What is MLS?

 MLS is a sharing of comprehensive home information among real estate professionals. Listings brokers enter the data about a home for sale and offer to share the commission with a broker who brings a buyer. It's an online software that contains all the specifics about a home, from the address, age, square footage, number of bedrooms, baths, upgrades and schools districts to types of financing the seller will consider, and more. There is generally at least one to a dozen photographs of the home, plus a link to a virtual tour, if one exists.

 Home buyers make the mistake of believing they can access this information through online feeds to other services, but the data the public can receive is:

 Limited in scope
 Can be outdated
 Often inaccurate
 For Sale By Owners in MLS

 While there is no separate category for a For Sale by Owner (or FSBO) listing, the MLS can contain listings from sellers who are unrepresented.

 The way FSBOs circumvent some MLS restrictions is to pay a flat fee to a discount real estate broker to enter the information, but the seller is not really represented.
 Instructions to present all offers directly to the seller is often frowned upon or prohibited by MLS authorities.
 Sometimes the selling commission is less than the fee agents are offered by traditional brokers -- which does not motivate agents to show these listings, even though they cannot legally refuse to do so.
 Who Owns the MLS?

 The trend is leaning toward local MLS companies joining or merging with other local MLS companies to create regional MLS services. MLS can be privately owned and operated or it can be an affiliate of a local board of Realtors, among other forms of ownership, but most are subject to regulations set forth by the National Association of Realtors.

 Back in the '80s, many MLS were owned by boards of Realtors, but conflict of interests and lawsuits caused many association groups to form a separate entity for MLS. In my area of Sacramento, for example, members of MLS are not required to be a member of the Sacramento Board of Realtors, nor the California Association of Realtors, nor the National Association of Realtors.

 Finding MLS Listings

 Many services offer to provide home buyers with a list of available homes on the market, but few provide comprehensive data. To get that information, you need to ask your real estate agent to set you up on a home search. Typically, there are many types of reports a buyer can receive, so ask your agent for the most comprehensive report, the name of which varies by locale. What you don't want is a customer copy. It's not enough information.

 An agent can enter your name, e-mail and home search preferences into a search engine on MLS that will send you automatic e-mails of new listings. This way you will receive up-to-the-minute information that you can't really get anywhere else.

 MLS Searches

 If you're beginning a home search, lucky you! You can ask your agent to customize a search for you that will automatically send you updated listings. Not all agents will set up a search for you based on anything other active listings, so if you want to receive price reductions, pending or sold sales data, ask for it.

 Here are a few ways (among many) that you can request to have your report customized:

 ZIP Code
 Radius Search, within a specified distance from a target address
 Street or Subdivision
 Within those parameters, you can further define your search to:

 Price range from low to high
 Number of bedrooms and baths
 Garages
 Pools and spas
 Square footage
 Your requirements can be even more clearly defined, depending on your priorities. But be aware that as the number of exceptions climb, you might be missing out on opportunities. It's wise to keep the list somewhat limited, especially for those cases where a data field might not contain data due to human error.

UK’s most expensive residential property demolition project unveiled

Mews houses are popular in London and known for their traditional architecture but now one is to be knocked down and rebuilt in what is being described as the UK’s most expensive demolition project.

The carriage house in question in the heart of London’s Mayfair is on sale for £35 million and looks exceptionally pretty with a pink façade and a traditional private garden but has permission to be razed to the ground and replaced with an ultra modern mansion that could be worth £65 million.

Apparently the property in Mount Row, just a few minutes from the famous Connaught Hotel, is too outdated for today’s wealthy buyers and there is planning permission for a 16,000 square foot villa over six floors, including two basement levels, a landscaped garden and a guest villa at the end of the plot.

At £35 million for the land, plus builders costs, this represents the most expensive house demolition project ever undertaken in the country and agents Wetherell claim that once completed the property could be worth around £65 million, generating the new owner a £20million to £28million profit.

Mount Row was originally occupied by stable yards and cabinet making and upholstery workshops which served Mayfair’s grandest mansions. The house at 30 Mount Row was originally a carriage house, built to accommodate horse drawn carriages and related tack, with the coachmen sleeping in the eaves. Behind the carriage house was a large stable yard.

The coachmen of Mount Row were known as the whips or Mayfair whips, and are believed to be the inspiration for the famous phrase ‘crack the whip’. In 1886 the birth of the motorcar led to upheaval between the 1890s and 1930s with the carriage houses in Mount Row converted into houses and garages and the stable yards transformed into gardens.

The new mansion would have a 50 foot south facing frontage spanning four windows across. The ground and first floor would provide for grand entertaining rooms including an entrance lobby, library, three reception rooms, family kitchen/breakfast room and 26 seat formal dining room.

The 2,000 square foot master bedroom suite, with walk in dressing room, shoe room and two ensuite bathrooms would occupy the entire second floor, with a further five bedroom suites on the two uppermost floors. The lower ground floors of the new mansion are currently designed to provide a bowling alley, swimming pool and Jacuzzi pool room surmounted by skylights, cocktail bar, gymnasium, beauty salon, sauna, steam room, changing facilities and wine cellars. The mansion has a grand main staircase and lift to all floors.

The residence will open onto a landscaped garden leading onto the guest villa which is designed to provide a guest living room, kitchen and bedroom suite. The villa directly connects under the garden with the main house via a staircase to the lower ground floors.

‘The site is for sale for £35 million with consent to knock down and replace the exiting property. Therefore some have called this site the most expensive house knock down in the UK,’ said Peter Wetherell, managing director of Wetherell.

However, this is only half the story. Firstly the site is for sale on a freehold basis, which is extremely sought after in Mayfair. Secondly, the planning allows the buyer to create a bespoke new mansion of outstanding luxury and quality. Finally, the completed residence could be worth circa £65 million, effectively doubling the value of site,’ he explained.

‘For a discerning buyer this is an outstanding investment opportunity with the potential for huge capital value uplift. The Mount Row location is outstanding, in the heart of Mayfair and just moments from the Connaught Hotel and Mount Street,’ he added.

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Hong Kong leads global house prices higher

2 October 2013

Knight Frank’s global house price index confirms that average prices rose 6.6% in the year to March, the highest rate of growth since Q2 2010. Kate Everett-Allen assesses the potential for future growth.

Results for Q1 2013:

 

• The Knight Frank Global House Price Index rose by 2.0% in the first quarter of 2013 and by 6.6% over a 12 month period
• Hong Kong recorded the largest rise on an annual basis (up by 28%) while prices in China rose the most on a quarterly basis (up by 10.7%)
• Greece recorded the largest annual fall in mainstream prices for the third consecutive quarter, declining by 11.8%
• The US saw prices rise by 10.2%, its highest rate of annual growth since 2006
• Australia saw prices rise by 2.6% during the last 12 months 
• Europe is the weakest-performing region, mainstream prices fell by 0.3% on average during the last 12 months

 

Thirty five of the 55 housing markets (63%) tracked by Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index recorded an increase in mainstream property prices in the year to March.

 

The index now stands 14.7% above its recessional low in Q1 2009. 

 

Property prices in all world regions, except Europe, increased in the year to March (figure 3) with the Middle East performing best, rising by 10.6% on average.

 

Mainstream property prices in Hong Kong and China look to be flouting the efforts of policymakers to cool their property markets; both recorded price rises in the first quarter despite a raft of measures to kerb escalating prices.

 

Prices in Hong Kong are, on average, 28% higher than they were a year ago and in mainland China* prices are up by 23.8% in the last 12 months (and by 10.7% in the first quarter alone).

 

Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands occupy the bottom three rankings this quarter having seen prices fall by 11.8%, 9% and 8.3% respectively. But Europe’s difficulties don’t end there – aside from Japan and South Korea all the countries that recorded negative growth in the 12 months to March were based in Europe.

 

The Dutch market, which proved resilient in the aftermath of the financial crisis, is now starting to flag. Prices fell by 8.3% in the year to March driven by rising household debt and growing unemployment.

 

That said, there is some good news in Europe. Ireland has rid itself of double-digit price falls. Prices fell by 3% in the year to March, compared to a 16% decline a year earlier.

 

The UK’s property market is also improving. Here, prices rose by 0.2% in the year to March and stand 8.9% above their low in Q1 2009.

 

Beyond Europe’s shores, the South Africa and the US are performing strongly. Prices rose by 11.3% and 10.2% respectively in the year to March, up from -3.2% and -1.9% a year ago.

 

South Africa’s momentum is linked to an increasingly wealthy middle class who are tapping into the rising confidence of the wider African continent, keen to get on the property ladder.

 

In the US, prices have now risen for 12 consecutive months boosting consumer confidence which hit a five year high in May.

 

 

For further information, please contact:

Alexandra Austin, National PR & Communications Manager, 02 9036 6794 or 0413 993 221

View Property for sale in Hong Kong

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JLL Predicts Increase in Mexico Hotel Investments

By Kevin Brass | June 20, 2013 7:58 AM ET

 8 5 1 0

Hotel investment in Mexico is expected to increase in the next two years, thanks to new financial vehicles, consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle predicts.

Traditionally, the Mexican hotel market is dominated by local investors. But the development of Fideicomiso de Inversión en Bienes Raíces (FIBRAs) should help spur more foreign interest, JLL forecasts.

FIBRA operate similarly to real estate investment trusts (REITs), offering an easy financial vehicle and specific tax advantages to investors. Two FIBRA focused on Mexico hotels were formed last year--FIBRA Hotelera Mexicana and Fibra Inn--and more FIBRAs are expected this year, JLL reports.

"FIBRAs offer a strong investment play for the hotel investment market in Mexico," said Clay Dickinson, executive vice president of JLL's hotels & hospitality group. "More capital means hotel asset prices will likely increase fueling more transaction activity through FIBRAs, while freeing up banks to redeploy capital as these loans are repaid."

(Note: FIBRAs are different than the fideicomiso used by foreign buyers to purchase residential property along the coast.)
Hyper Smash

The emergence of Certificados de Capital de Desarrollo (CKDs) should also fuel more hotel activity. The CKDs are "comprised of securities that allow investors to participate in private equity projects through long-term public funds," which will be used for both investing in existing hotels and developing new ones, JLL reports.

Mexico City's hotel market is expected to see the largest initial impact from the new liquidity, followed by Cancun and the Riviera Maya. The Cancun and Riviera Maya region has traditionally attracted the most investor interest, generating $900 billion in transactions in the last decade.

Mexico hotels are reporting steady growth in revenue per room and average daily rates, JLL reports. In Cancun the revenue per average room increased 12 percent in 2012 and is up 15 percent in 2013.

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Brazilian property developer sees 30% growth in profit

Date added: 22th July, 2013 at 10:42

Categories: Property News

The largest Brazilian property developer PDG Realty has announced a 30 per cent increase in net revenue over the year to June.

Profit during the second quarter of 2011 stood at 1.71 billion reais (£657.66 million), with a net income up 12 per cent at 247.51 reais and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, deductions and amortisation up 19 per cent at 442.16 million reais.

In the year to June, launches grew 14 per cent to 2.05 billion reais and contracted sales expanded by 17 per cent to 1.82 billion reais.

As many as 42 per cent of the units built in this time were part of affordable housing projects, many of which were eligible for the government's Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life) programme.

In the second quarter of 2010, 68 per cent of low income units built by PDG qualified for the social housing scheme, while 23 per cent of domiciles were suitable in the three months to June 2011.

Affordable housing projects have been very profitable for one Brazilian propertydeveloper, with Rubens Menin Teixeira de Souza, owner of Belo Horizonte-based homebuilder MRV Engenharia & Participacoes, telling Bloomberg that constructing abodes for the less wealthy in the population was one of the factors that led to him becoming a billionaire.

Property in Brasil  for Brazilian Property Investments - Connecting you DIRECTLY to the Property Seller; Brazilian Developer | Owner or the Selling Agent!!

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Hotel Developers Returning to Mexico and Caribbean

By Francys Vallecillo | July 19, 2013 10:54 AM ET

 8 7 5 0

As investor interest returns to the Caribbean and Mexico, the region's total active hotel pipeline has more than doubled in the last six months, according to STR Global.

The research firm's active pipeline for June includes 131 hotels totaling 21,957 rooms, compared to only 50 hotels with 9,495 rooms in the region's active pipeline last December.

Only five hotels with 354 rooms opened in the region in 2012, STR reports.

"Banks are slowing coming back to feeling comfortable to lending on hotels," Jan Freitag, senior vice president, strategic development for STR, told WPC News. "There a lot of people trying to create projects but what they are needing is the money." 

The region's total active pipeline includes projects in the construction, final planning and planning stages. More than 10,000 hotel rooms are currently under construction, led by 4,025 rooms under construction in Mexico, STR reports.  

Five other countries reported more than 200 rooms under construction: Dominican Republic (2,475 rooms), Bahamas (2,271 rooms), Puerto Rico (709 rooms), Aruba (320 rooms), and Jamaica (238 rooms).

"Bankers and owners are again interested in this area and they [developers] feel the current existing properties aren't serving the needs well and they can make money by providing a better property," Mr. Freitag told WPC. "There's always a local developer who says 'hey I can make this work.'"

Out of all rooms under construction for the Caribbean and Mexico, 4,000 rooms are in the luxury segment. Including all phases, the region's pipeline includes over 7,000 rooms in the luxury market. 

"We expect in the future, 2014 and beyond there will be an uptick in construction because there will be more interest and more financing for new properties," Mr. Freitag said.  

New construction will mostly affect specific markets or submarkets, "when you suddenly have two or three more properties, that can certainly impact the local competition," he said. 

The Caribbean is in an increasingly competitive global market. A recent Caribbean report by TravelSat showed Caribbean destinations need to analyze their competitiveness compared to other global destinations.

See more property's at www.multilistingservicemexico.com

Chinese Property Developers Go West

BY: FINANCIALIST STAFF

PUBLISHED: MAY 3, 2013

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What are upscale Chinese homebuyers looking for in the United States?

Great locations in New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco. Properties in shiny new developments. Crash pads for kids to use during college – even if those kids are currently in preschool.

It also helps if property developers reach out to Chinese customers with staff who speak Mandarin and information in their language. So it’s natural that residential developers from China are starting to tap into the growing Chinese market in the United States. But the strategy also provides an opportunity for diversifying developers’ investments amid fears of a property bubble back home.

“Chinese developers are losing confidence in the domestic market and are now seeking to find more secure returns in a place like the U.S.,” said Ben Carlos Thypin, director of market analysis for research and consulting firm Real Capital Analytics Inc.

A deal in San Francisco may offer a taste of what’s to come, analysts say. China Vanke, the mainland’s biggest developer of residential properties, said in February that it is partnering with American property developer Tishman Speyer on a project for two luxury condo towers in San Francisco that will have 655 residences and bay views.

China Vanke will own a 70 percent stake in the $620 million project, which will be marketed to mainland Chinese buyers, according to a Credit Suisse research note entitled “First Project in the US: Reconfirming a Trend.” In April, as part of its expansion, the company also took a stake in a condo project in Singapore.

Such international deals are still an experiment for China Vanke.

“We still don’t know what price they’ll be selling at, what the margin will be, what the profitability is,” said Jinsong Du, Head of Asian Real Estate Research at Credit Suisse. If such properties prove lucrative, Chinese developers may pursue their geographical diversification on a bigger scale, he says.

After years of red-hot growth in China’s property market, the Chinese government is trying to cool things down and curb speculation, partly by forcing buyers to make higher down payments and limiting how many properties they can own in China.

That’s one reason more Chinese are buying homes abroad, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in the United States. Adding to the appeal, the U.S. home market is still discounted from its 2006 peak, the yuan is strong, and owning a U.S. home is viewed in China as both a solid investment and a point of pride.

Chinese buyers spent some $9 billion buying U.S. homes in the year up to March 2012, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors. Among foreign buyers, only Canadians buy more U.S. homes than the Chinese.

Meanwhile, Chinese developers interested in opportunities abroad are finding they need a competitive advantage to differentiate themselves from local players. That’s where their knowledge of Chinese homebuyers comes in, said Chris Brooke, chairman and CEO for China at CBRE Group Inc., the world’s biggest commercial real estate services firm.

“Targeting Chinese consumers is probably something that will be replicated by others or replicated by Vanke – they can target the product toward a consumer they really understand,” Brooke said.

Vanke’s model of teaming with a local partner also makes sense, especially for residential developments being built from the ground up, where local knowledge is especially important, he said.

The China Vanke deal drew attention for its size, though it was not the first of its kind. China’s Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd. last year purchased a site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for $54.2 million. It plans to build housing there, partly to “capture a large demand from China for quality residential product in the United States,” Chairman and CEO Yong Zhang said at the time.

Like New York and San Francisco, Los Angeles County also has a large Chinese community. May Hsu, a Sotheby’s International realtor in the area, thinks a Chinese-targeted community in affluent areas like San Marino or Arcadia “would definitely be a seller.”

Chinese buyers often have specific desires when it comes to U.S. property.

Patrick ONeill, founder of Hong Kong-based O’Neill Group, which helps
Chinese buyers find U.S. properties, says some clients look for inexpensive investment properties to rent out, while others typically spend between $1 million and $3 million for a place to use for themselves or their families.

Buyers from the mainland often prefer newly built properties to older ones. Sometimes they’re looking for a prestigious brand name, like Ritz Carlton or Mandarin Oriental, or what O’Neill calls “A+” locations.

“They all say, ‘I want Upper East Side, Fifth Avenue,’” O’Neill said. “Everyone knows these sorts of marquee locations, though budget constraints will often shift them into something else.”

Many purchases are tied to children’s education – parents might plan for their child to live there during college or after graduation. Often, they’re thinking way ahead.

“Chinese families will say, ‘I think my children might go to school there,’ and I’ll say, ‘Oh, how old are your children?’ and they’ll say, ‘4-years-old,’” O’Neill said. “We hear that quite often.”

Photo of Williamsburg Bridge courtesy of Shutterstock and photo of 201 Folsom Street project with China Vanke courtesy of Tishman Speyer.

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