October 2011 Monthly Archive

(BATON ROUGE, LA) -- Renaissance Hotels recently celebrated the official opening of the new 256-room Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel. The opening marks the first newly constructed full service hotel to be built in Baton Rouge in more than 40 years. The new Baton Rouge luxury hotel is also the first Renaissance property to open in the greater Baton Rouge area.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle's mid-2011 U.S. Data Center overview, the U.S. data center market will continue to grow in the latter half of the year as demand shows no signs of slowing. Due to the thawing capital markets, providers and users of data center space are now able to make decisions, ...

According to the Miami Association of Realtors, September cumulative pending home sales - including single-family homes and condominiums - in Miami-Dade County were 11 percent above what they were a year earlier, up from 10,219 to 11,296, but five percent below the previous month, down from 121,915.

(TIANJIN, CHINA) -- Today St. Regis Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of The St. Regis Tianjin, a new landmark on a rapidly evolving city skyline that is destined to become Northern China's most prestigious gateway for business leaders, society tastemakers and discerning travelers.

Based on a new report by London-based real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank, prime properties in the world's global cities were considered 'safe haven' investments by savvy minded investors for the past three years. Against a backdrop of sovereign debt concerns and geo-political uncertainty wealthy investors sought the stability of luxury property in key cities such as London, Moscow and Hong Kong.

The developers of The Residences at The Little Nell, a fractional ownership private residence club in Aspen, has submitted a bid to buy the Base Village project in nearby Snowmass Village. As well as Centurion Partners, the Crown family of Chicago, the owners of Aspen Skiing Co, have also submitted an undisclosed bid for the site.

Luxury vacation club Inspirato has raised $17.5 million in equity funding from a group of investors including New York Yankees baseball star Mark Teixeira.

Swaziland is defined by its contrasts. It has an absolute monarchy complete with King, yet interacts freely and openly with democracies around the world. The country has the highest incidence of AIDS in the world, yet its citizens generally seem happy and easygoing. Swaziland's rural areas are vast with beautiful sweeping vistas, yet the cities and towns are crowded and chaotic.

(SUNSET, SC) -- Residential developers across the country are seeking ways to engage their members and attract new ones in the midst of a challenging housing market. One Upstate South Carolina community, The Reserve at Lake Keowee, has found success in the market by implementing creative programs and incentives to drive interest and activity

According to STR Global, hotel performance in Hong Kong is in a healthy state. Year-on-year growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the year-to-September 2011 is well into double digits at 28 percent. The increase is largely attributable to substantial improvements in average daily rate (ADR) as well as strong growth in occupancy.

According to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR), New York State home sales were up more than 17 percent in the 2011 third quarter, compared to the 2010 third quarter. The statewide median sales price decreased slightly in both the third quarter and September compared to the same periods last year.

According to STR Global, the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden all showed increases in demand in year-to-September results. Likewise, the year-on-year change in demand (rooms sold year-to-September) in each of the country's capital cities also was positive, ...

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales declined in September, although activity remains above a year ago.

Based on Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), average fixed mortgage rates changing little for the second consecutive week amid mixed consumer confidence and housing data. Fixed mortgage rates remain near their 60-year lows.

Q1 - I currently have a mortgage rate of 5% percent and I was wondering - is it feasible for me to refinance it? Or is that rate pretty good? I'm hearing mixed things.

(HOLLYWOOD, FL) -- Building upon its remarkable success, Trump Hollywood, one of the newest luxury oceanfront condominium in Hollywood Beach, surpassed a significant milestone in August as more than half of the tower's 200 residences now have been sold. Since its January re-launch, sales at Trump Hollywood have reached 97 units and $128 million, with overall sales since the project's inception now at 117 residences.

(STANDWOOD, MI) -- A sales concept borrowed from the auto industry that allows home buyers to trade in their home for a new one at Tullymore Resort is paying off handsomely for the Mid-Michigan golf resort. In less than six months the resort has recorded sales of 10 single homes and condominiums worth $4 million.

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 5.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000 units in September. This marks the fastest pace of new-home sales in the past five months.

(MALLORCA, SPAIN) -- Exclusive estate agent Mallorca Sotheby's International Realty has noted a widening price gap between premier sea-view homes and the countryside equivalent. With requests for Mediterranean-front property outweighing inland by a huge ratio of five to one, premium prices are commanded and paid.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 21, mortgage applications increased 4.9 percent from one week earlier, which included the Columbus Day holiday.The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan...