Soaring 333 meters high with 72 stories and 480 suites, Rose Rotana Tower in Dubai leads the list of the 10 tallest buildings completed in 2007, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) reported recently. The tower, which is developed by Bonyan International Investment Group, is also regarded as the world’s tallest single-use hotel building.
Clearly property is more profitable than food in Thailand and MBK has the figures to prove it. It’s certainly good to see some positive news from the property markets.
Thai property developer, MBK Plc, reported a consolidated net profit of £10.5 million for the first half of its 2007 financial year starting from July 1st – this is a 24.7 percent rise from the same period a year earlier, on revenue totaling £48 million – up 1.9 percent.

75 Ultra-Luxury Condominiums with Array of Services and Amenities
Final Opportunity to Own Philippe Starck-designed Property on Mexico Coast
Miami, FLORIDA (January 8, 2008) – Related International has announced ICON Vallarta’s third and final offering, The Grand Tower. Unlike anything ever seen before in all of Mexico, The Grand Tower will offer an unprecedented level of luxury while providing an expanded array of upscale amenities beyond what was offered in Towers One and Two.
The Grand Tower will complete the resort’s trilogy of towers, and be the last project in Puerto Vallarta featuring work by one of the most renowned interior design firms in the world, Yoo by Phillipe Starck. As an appropriate grand finale to the design work at ICON Vallarta, Starck will infuse an even higher level of elegance into the condominiums in the third tower while staying true to the firm’s signature style.
“The release of The Grand Tower follows our overwhelming sales successes with Towers One and Two,” said Jorge Perez, chairman of The Related Group, Related International’s parent company. “We anticipate there being an even higher demand for the third tower due to the limited number of condominiums available and the fact that this is the last opportunity to purchase a Yoo by Philippe Starck designed property in this area of the world.”
As a Philippe Starck masterpiece, The Grand Tower will be an exclusive enclave of seventy-five trendy, ultra-luxurious three- and four-bedroom luxury condominiums and penthouses affording the ultimate in comfort and style. Grand Tower residences will feature a whimsical yet luxurious flair courtesy of many unexpected design elements. In keeping with the overall theme of ICON Vallara, the Grand Tower will pay tribute to both modern and traditional Mexico while at the same time retaining the trendy, hip and modern flavor of The Related Group’s other ICON properties, ICON Brickell and ICON South Beach in Miami.
Floor-to-ceiling windows with energy-efficient tinted glass will capture captivating views of the Pacific Ocean, mountain ranges and downtown Puerto Vallarta. Spacious outdoor terraces with teak flooring and undulating glass railings will allow owners to take full advantage of the breathtaking view simply by strolling outside the bedrooms and living area. Walk in closets, personal safes, kitchens with wine refrigerators and espresso machines, and private elevator foyers will be additional amenities exclusively for Grand Tower residences .
Owners will have at their disposal an impressive number of amenities including access to an ocean-front gym with top-of-the-line cardio equipment and a full spa with sauna and steam rooms. Owners also have access to a 20-seat state-of-the-art theater adjacent to a multi-use, multi-functional room for residents’ private use. Other features will include an on-site, private gourmet restaurant designed by Yoo by Philippe Starck, private golf course privileges, a spectacular deck surrounding an expansive infinity-edge pool, personal safes, wine refrigerator and espresso machines in all units, state-of-the-art modern master bathrooms, and spacious walk-in closets. The residences are equipped with high-tech telecommunications equipment including provisions for high-speed cabling to all television outlets and home-run configured CAT5 cable for telephone and data communication.
ICON Vallarta’s Grand Tower will be exclusively represented by Fortune Related International Sales. Prices range from $775,000 to $1.395 million and reservations are currently being accepted. For more information, visit www.iconvallarta.com or call 877-295-4266.
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More on Related International Unveils Plans for ICON Vallarta’s Grand Tower:

Vietnam’s recent policy changes regarding direct foreign investment are attracting investors from around the globe and Dubai based property developers are moving in, eager to be in on the ground floor as Vietnam’s property market begins to blossom.
As the U.S continues to struggle with issues created by the sub prime crisis, the lending climate in the U.S (confused) is encouraging more and more American real estate agents and owners to market their inventory overseas.

What is your property investment strategy? From almost any small to middle sized property speculator, the answer of course varies from massively complex analysis of the World’s property and currency markets to, “I plan to make money.”
Or Cyprus, or Italy or Mexico. More and more Americans are looking further afield than New York for their second or even third home. According to the National Association of Realtors, some 5 to 600,000 foreign properties are owned by Americans living abroad. The most popular locations are Britain, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and Germany. Even though housing prices in many European countries outpace the U.S. market, when compared to large U.S. metropolitan areas there are still bargains to be found in some parts of Europe.

Following on from our prediction that Romania will be a good property investment in 2008. News has just been released that UAE-based real estate developer Fortune Group, which has projects worth about Dh7 billion in Dubai, said it will launch two “multi-billion euro” developments in Romania.
Hydra Properties, one of the leading real estate developers in the UAE, has just announced the start of work on the initial phase of “Hydra Waves.” Hydra Waves its first international development – in Mazatlan, north of Mexico.

The latest Knight Frank Global Price Index reveals that growth in residential property markets around the world is slowing. On an un-weighted basis prices globally rose by 8.2% per annum to Q3 2007 compared to 9.6% 12 months earlier. Rising interest rates have been a major factor in slowing house price growth, together with the tightening of lending criteria seen in many European countries.