tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70393045826331874572024-03-13T01:25:27.111+02:00International Property Investment - A global focus!Scott Picken, CEO of International Property Solutions is passionate about property. He believes a paradigm shift is occurring. 8 years ago, people would only invest in property in their own neighbourhood. Now, with all the information available on the internet, investors are starting to seek the best investments globally. IPS was created 5 years ago to facilitate and enable investors with international investment and provides an end-to-end solution to ensure investors can Invest with Confidence!Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-67888621888158421772010-06-11T06:43:00.001+02:002010-06-11T06:44:55.048+02:00We have moved our Blog onto our IPS websitePlease go to http://blog.ipsinvest.com/ for all the news and information on South African and international property.Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-64242556173198505732010-05-17T07:52:00.001+02:002010-05-17T08:04:02.900+02:00Investing Offshore - IPS SolutionsScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-49578699204942624262010-05-15T11:48:00.000+02:002010-05-15T11:50:04.249+02:00Australian Property Report - April 10Much talk of housing ‘bubble’ - but fundamentals sound– Record population gains & inadequate supply growth– Critical housing shortage worsening/demand momentum strong– FHB replaced by investors, upgraders & offshore buyers– Conservative lending/low delinquencies/no sub-prime/full recourse loansHousehold sector well placed– Economy & labour market solid, unemployment falling – no forced sales- LowScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-58077558099486793602010-05-15T11:26:00.004+02:002010-05-15T11:44:57.280+02:00UK House prices in April rose by 0.5%* House prices in April rose by 0.5% Despite a fall in transactions, the monthly average price of all residential property sold in England & Wales in April 2010 was an estimated 0.5% higher than in March. This is the twelfth month in succession in which the AcadHPI has shown an increase.* Annual price increase is 12.9% The annual average price of all residential property transactions Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-56763493814680993452010-05-12T19:12:00.000+02:002010-05-12T19:13:33.364+02:00Warren Buffet's latest shareholder conferenceSandi and I just returned from Omaha and the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting with Warren Buffett. Although we have been shareholders for years, I never carved out the time to attend.... DUMB! We will be going back next year. I have always thought that if you are going to listen to somebody, make sure they are eating their own cooking and have created truly sustainable success. Clearly, Warren Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-6155270260807692852010-04-19T12:09:00.001+02:002010-04-19T12:11:12.990+02:00South African House Prices Rise Further In March: AbsaThe average nominal value of medium-sized houses in South Africa increased 4.2% on a yearly basis in March, after rising by a revised 2.8% in February, a report from Absa Group showed Monday. This brought the average nominal value in this category of housing to around ZAR 965,300 in March.Further, the report showed that cost of small houses moved up 9.6% annually, slower than the 7.3% growth in Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-13254234645541953092010-04-19T11:44:00.001+02:002010-04-19T11:59:08.314+02:00Clarendon Mews Parow, Cape town, Western CapePriced from R399,900 No transfer fees.Deposit - Only R5, 000.00Rent Subsidy from Completion Feb 2011 to Feb 2013!This development is situated in a popular area with great rental demand and close to all amenities.Parow Valley really is one of the most convenient suburbs to reside in. Parow Valley has great shopping centres such as the Parow Shopping Mall, Shoprite Park, top primary and secondary Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-83084184445043402922010-04-19T11:10:00.001+02:002010-04-19T11:12:02.501+02:00Low risks make it a great time to invest in property in Australia* ECONOMIST: Frank Gelber* From: The Australian* April 15, 2010 12:00AMDO I sound bullish about property to you? If not, you're missing the point. To me, this is an extraordinary time for property investment.Most of the risk has gone. Non-residential prices have fallen dramatically. They're below replacement cost. Development has stalled. Demand is returning. And we can't build until rents Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-46272036654979669152010-04-19T11:07:00.001+02:002010-04-19T11:08:47.681+02:00Lifting rates will not stem rising market in Australia# Terry Ryder# From: The Australian SOMEWHERE amid the fuzzy logic that drives the Reserve Bank's interest rate policy is the notion we have a housing price bubble and that raising interest rates will deflate it.Glenn Stevens and his cohorts are wrong on both points. There is no bubble and history shows that lifting rates does little to quell a rising market.Of course, it's difficult to know whatScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-69888857913419883152010-04-19T10:57:00.001+02:002010-04-19T10:59:27.828+02:00Spotlight on London Prime Residential East of City market - April 2010Savills residential research predicts the prime east of City market to outperform the mainstream markets of Greater London over the next five years, much in the way that it did in the early 1990s. Please find attached our latest research paper: 'Spotlight on Prime Residential east of City markets'. Download - Spotlight on east of City markets - April 2010Key findings: Values in prime Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-15964794373744381172010-04-19T10:09:00.000+02:002010-04-19T10:10:20.102+02:00What is going to happen to South African Interest Rates?By Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist FNB13 April 2010 With interest rates now at historic lows, prime reaching 10%, the lowest since 1981, the main questions are whether the rate cycle has reached its lowest point, how long it could be moving sideways, and when and by how much it could be moving higher.There is a technical and non-technical side to these questions. The visible technical focus Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-47134255608799948282010-04-13T19:02:00.001+02:002010-04-13T19:04:03.273+02:00UK House prices in February rose by 1.9%- House prices in February rose by 1.9% Page 4The average price of all residential property transactions completed in England & Wales in February 2010 was 1.9% higher than in January. This is the tenth month in succession in which AcadHPI has increased on a monthly basis. This figure is at odds with other indices which show a fall, a point we explore later.- Annual price increase is 9.7% Page 4OnScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-87705064614737854142010-04-08T10:20:00.001+02:002010-04-08T10:39:58.862+02:00Resurfacing old anxietiesBy Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist FNB07 April 2010 Despite rising equity markets last month (our JSE now topping 29300) there apparently will be no respite from global anxiety. How this will influence equity markets, commodity prices and emerging currencies is what exercises the mind.Having supposedly ‘unsatisfactorily’ sorted out Greece (which over the next 18 months has to raise some €55bn toScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-85650816852725678152010-03-29T09:54:00.003+02:002010-03-29T10:01:44.819+02:00IPS Cares about animalsIPS Gives Back!On Wednesday 17 March, IPS began their drive to give something back with our very first charity afternoon at Kitty and Puppy Haven. This day marked IPS’s sixth birthday and was the perfect day to gather our staff and start helping those who need it.Kitty and Puppy Haven is one of the only rescue and rehabilitation centres in Gauteng that offer complete veterinary care, vaccinationsScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-34749155547220875252010-03-07T09:13:00.001+02:002010-03-07T09:13:39.228+02:00Rand Prospects 2010-2012By Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist FNB22 February 2010 The present US context would appear to warrant another year of Rand firming against the Dollar. Also, the European context warrants Rand firming against the Euro.Yet not everything may support such outcomes.The Rand’s advance against the Dollar ended five months ago. It is uncertain how far recent Euro weakness will proceed, boosting the Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-23683026001414140492010-03-03T20:52:00.001+02:002010-03-03T20:54:01.788+02:00ABSA Housing Index - First Quarter 2010• The South African economy emerged from recession in the second half of 2009,with real GDP rising at an annualised rate of 0,9% in the third quarter. Positive realeconomic growth of 2,5% is forecast for 2010.• Despite a trend of declining interest rates during the course of 2009, the householdsector continued to experience a fair amount of financial pressure on the back ofmajor job losses over aScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-11928841208095663002010-03-03T20:45:00.001+02:002010-03-03T20:45:38.291+02:00Nationalisation and South African PropertyJulius Malema & your property rightsJackie Cameron03 February 2010‘Have 20 properties, as long as you're a local'- ANC Youth League speaks to RealestatewebCAPE TOWN: The ANC Youth League, becoming increasingly vocal and more controversial in its views, gives investors in South African residential property its blessing - provided they are not foreigners.This was the message from Floyd Shivambu, Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-69731347558892315252010-03-03T20:31:00.002+02:002010-03-03T20:35:14.047+02:00Chinese property market is in trouble!Beijing Seen Vacant for 50% as Chanos Predicts Crash (Update1)By Bloomberg NewsFeb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Jack Rodman, who has made a career of selling soured property loans from Los Angeles to Tokyo, sees a crash looming in China. He keeps a slide show on his computer of empty office buildings in Beijing, his home since 2002. The tally: 55, with another dozen candidates.“I took these pictures to tryScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-89386164894713804102010-03-03T20:17:00.000+02:002010-03-03T20:18:43.920+02:00UK Commercial property experts fear fickle real estate reboundMon Jan 25, 2010 5:38am EST* 'Two-tone' recovery could arrest market growthLONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters)- Less than one in 20 UK commercial property experts believe a fast-paced recovery in asset values will continue in 2010, while tenant demand and rental growth remain under pressure, a survey out on Monday showed.Benchmark data in the latest Expert Panel survey, by online real estate portal Reita, Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-44605790407810734712010-02-27T15:45:00.002+02:002010-02-27T16:10:30.100+02:00USA Property Report - Feb 2010There are significant concerns about the USA economy and also the USA property market, but in amongst all this turmoil are also some fantastic opportunities. As with any overseas investment, an investor two most vital things are Information and Partners. What Scott Picken, IPS CEO, has tried to do here, is give you an overview of everything he found on his extensive trip around USA. This is the Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-51999278091199295132010-02-16T22:49:00.004+02:002010-02-16T23:00:46.738+02:005 things you have to know and ask before you invest offshore?Dear Potential Offshore InvestorNapoleon said, “Information was nine tenths of any battle.” The challenge is do you have the right information, are you choosing the right partners, making the right investments and most importantly asking the right questions?1. Information – like water, the right information makes you finically healthier, but the wrong information is like poison.a. 80% of people Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-14099336979481054972010-02-14T13:00:00.001+02:002010-02-14T13:03:46.322+02:00Australian home values deliver double digit growth in 2009RP Data – Rismark Home Value Index ReleaseAustralian home prices rise by +1.1% in November with 11.3% cumulative growth in first 11 months of 2009; results driven by robust gains in Sydney (+11.6% for year) and Melbourne (+17.0% for year).Based on the rpdata.com residential property database, which is the nation’s largest with over 250,000 sales in the first eleven months of 2009 alone, Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-52180268578174971762010-02-14T11:37:00.002+02:002010-02-14T11:46:23.336+02:00UK Property is up 0.7% in Jan 2010 - 9th consecutive month of growth! House prices in January rose by 0.7% Page 4The average price of all residential property transactions completed in England & Wales in January 2010 was 0.7% higher than in December. This is the ninth month in succession in which AcadHPI has increased on a monthly basis. Annual price increase is 5.4% Page 4On an annual basis, in January, the average price of all residential property transactionsScott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-4097935868331610392010-02-10T14:00:00.003+02:002010-02-10T14:07:00.115+02:00South African property is waking up, but what is happening in London?By Scott Picken, 10th Feb 2010As South African’s moved into 2010, with allot of hope about the year and of course our awesome World Cup, there was definitely a sense of optimism which is prevailing. Scott Picken, IPS CEO says, “We have definitely noticed this trend with a large increase in interest for South African property. The great thing is this is locally and also from the expats in London Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039304582633187457.post-74122755131190236912010-02-09T11:15:00.003+02:002010-02-09T14:33:31.922+02:00Why Adelaide ?• During the next 30 years, the government is planning for steady population growth of 560,000 people in Greater Adelaide.• South Australia’s population is expected to reach two million by 2027.• 258,000 additional homes needed in the next 30 years for Greater Adelaide.• 9,000 additional homes needed in the next 30 years for the Adelaide Hills alone.• Government Scott Pickenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15729548829081515446noreply@blogger.com0