Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Indian Investors Love Cape Town

How Indians can buy foreclosed properties abroad at attractive prices

StoryComments

Read more on »realty|property|dubai|capetown|california

Imagine owning your scenic little haven away from the hectic pace of everyday city life. It’s no less than living a dream. If you are one of those who have always aspired to buy a home in peaceful foreign destinations, then choosing a property in idyllic countryside locations will be your best bet.

The global recession made the real estate market worldwide take a strong beating, one that is yet to completely recover from the blues. Many of these markets still have a lot of foreclosure and short sale properties to offer, which are available at attractive prices thereby giving Indian investors an opportunity to buy property on foreign shores.

Typically, destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, New York, Dubai and various cities in the UK have been favourable investment locations for Indian property buyers. However, in recent times, most of the enquiries from the Indian market have been from cash rich investors in cities such as Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Chennai who are keen to explore newer locations.

Locations such as Ontario, Winnipeg in Canada, Victoria in Australia, California, Arizona, Florida in USA, homes in Central London and Capetown subs in South Africa are increasingly becoming very popular with Indians, according to international property consultant Re/Max India.

While a 3BHK/4BHK can cost between $100k-250k in countryside areas in California and Arizona in the USA, a two-bedroom independent house in Victoria in Australia can cost around 200,000 Australian dollars. And a 3BHK independent house in Capetown suburbs in South Africa can cost 500,000 Rands, which will just be about `35 lakh!

Says Sam Chopra, director, Re/Max India, “Due to the global economic growth imbalance and moderate recovery made in the international markets, real estate properties in London, California and Ontario have emerged as a unique investment alternative.”

However, one has to keep in mind that as per RBI regulations, the limit on Indians for investing abroad is $200,000 a year. And that’s another reason which makes central city locations not too viable. “Because of the current ceiling on how much an Indian can invest abroad in a financial year, central city locations are out of reach for a large number of aspiring Indian buyers. This makes peripheral locations, which tend to be cheaper, attractive to such buyers,” says Ujwala Rao, associate director, capital markets, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

No comments:

Post a Comment