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  • Mace Consult Appoints Priya Jain to Lead New Phase of Growth in the Americas

    Mace Consult Appoints Priya Jain to Lead New Phase of Growth in the Americas

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    Press Release
    –


    updated: Feb 9, 2023 10:04 EST


    NEW YORK, February 9, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Mace, the global consultancy and construction business, has announced the appointment of Priya Jain in a newly created role as President for the Americas, building on recent success and programme wins across the United States, Canada and Peru. Priya will lead a team of expert project delivery consultants, responsible for billions of dollars of programs across the region. 

    The appointment comes as part of a wider move to drive growth and enhance client service across Mace’s global consultancy and will enable Mace’s experienced teams to leverage best practices and unlock opportunity across North and Latin America.

    Priya joins Mace from consultancy firm Atlas, where she served as Chief Growth Officer. Prior to that, she led Atkins’ expansion in North America in the role of Senior Vice President for Sales and Strategy – and before that held senior roles within CH2M. Priya will report to Jason Millett, Mace Consult’s CEO, and will be a key member of the Consult Board.  

    Mace’s Americas team specialises in corporate real estate and infrastructure consultancy services and supports some of the world’s largest brands – including Tiffany, Northern Trust and Walgreens – and infrastructure clients to transform how they deliver their projects and programs. 

    Building on the business’ base in the U.S. property sector, and recent major programme wins in Canada, such as the multi-billion-dollar, decade-long Ontario Go Expansion programme, Priya and her team are going to strengthen Mace’s profile in the corporate real estate sector and grow the infrastructure offer across the continent.

    She is also going to build on Mace’s exceptional global program and project delivery capability as the organisation expands in Latin America. Following two years of successful delivery by Mace’s team in Peru, including the construction of 74 schools and 15 hospitals, Mace Consult has won a contract extension this year to continue the vital work on Reconstruction with Changes program in 2023 and is targeting expansion into new countries in the region next year.

    Outside of her role at Mace, Priya sits on the advisory board for civil engineering for City College New York and has spoken about the importance of inclusion in the industry at events organised by the National Diversity Council and the Tri-State Diversity Council. 

    Jason Millett, CEO of Consultancy said:

    “We are delighted to have Priya at the helm as we enter this next phase of serving our clients even better through expansion and consolidation in the Americas. This appointment is fully aligned with our vision for a global consult business, driving four primary services across our markets and sectors. 

    “Our growth strategy in the Americas promises great opportunities and results for our clients, our colleagues and everyone who works with us.

    “Priya’s proven track record in leading and developing teams and working with private and public sector clients, at both federal and state level, makes her perfectly suited to deliver on these promises.” 

    Priya Jain, President for the Americas, Consultancy, said:

    “I am delighted to join Mace to serve our existing clients and show our prospects the results they can expect working with our world-class teams. This is an incredibly exciting time for everyone we serve as Mace executes on its 2026 business strategy and priorities. I look forward to working with our teams across the Americas to further grow our offerings, delivery-focussed approach and impact. 

    “Mace’s track record of delivery alongside its commitment and passion to creating real value for clients and communities puts us in a fantastic position to deliver exceptional and transformative projects across the continent.”

    Source: Mace Group

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  • Here’s how professionals in 3 different fields are using ChatGPT for work

    Here’s how professionals in 3 different fields are using ChatGPT for work

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    In the three months since artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT was introduced to the world, workers have already harnessed it to make their lives easier. Professionals in fields including real estate, health care and finance say they save time and work more efficiently using AI.

    Here’s how these workers described using the tool in their day-to-day jobs.

    Write me a real estate listing

    Mala Sander, a top real estate agent for the Corcoran Group who focuses on the Hamptons, has been using ChatGPT regularly for the past couple of weeks to help her write real estate listings and devise marketing strategies for properties. 

    “I asked it to write me ad copy about a house in Bridgehampton with a pool and tennis court on two acres and I listed the other features I wanted to highlight,” she told CBS MoneyWatch. “And it would weave this fantastic copy into something that you could actually use.” 

    She uses ChatGPT to change the tone of listings too. “I’ll say things like, ‘write this toward a millennial audience’ or ‘make it funny.’”

    Top Hamptons real estate agent Mala Sander uses ChatGPT to help her write listings.

    The Corcoran Group


    Her routine these days is to have her team write the first draft of a listing “and crunch it through to see if ChatGPT can edit it down and make it more concise,” she said.

    On a whim, she asked the bot to write her a marketing plan for one of her listings. It delivered. It gave her a breakdown of a campaign that would include digital, print and social outreach, she told CBS MoneyWatch. 

    “It talked about everything from direct mail to online digital advertising to social media, and it even came up with some percentages that might be ideal,” Sander said.

    Having worked as an agent for the last 20 years, Sander is quite capable and efficient without ChatGPT. 

    “But it is useful,” she said. “It’s like talking to another person, almost like having work therapist to say, ‘Am I moving in the right direction with this or should be looking at some other things?’”

    Elia Mazor, marketing manager for The Glazer Team at Corcoran, said he also uses ChatGPT to write listings and create other content.

    “Sometimes you get writer’s block or they all tend to sound the same because you use the same kind of template and just change words here and there. So I use ChatGPT for a bit of inspiration and to provide a different tone,” he said.

    screen-shot-2023-02-08-at-5-12-56-pm.png
    Mazur said ChatGPT helped his team write the description of a new apartment listing on West 9th Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village.

    The Glazer Team


    Financial planner’s assistant

    Certified financial planner Michael Reynolds uses the chatbot to help him draft blog posts that educate his clients about financial documents like wills and trusts. 

    He tells ChatGPT the topic he wants to address, and enters a prompt like: “ChatGPT, create an introduction on why estate planning is important.” 

    It spits out paragraphs that Reynolds then edits in his own voice.

    unnamed.jpg
    CFP Michael Reynolds said ChatGPT helps him create content faster.

    Elevation Financial


    In a recent article on estate planning, Reynolds relied on ChatGPT to hook readers by driving home the message that “estate planning is an act of love for those you leave behind.”

    “I asked ChatGPT to explain that and it put together a few paragraphs on why it’s thoughtful and considerate to do these things,” Reynolds said.

    The process took about 20 minutes. If he’d worked on the article alone, it would have taken closer to two hours, he said.

    He doesn’t use the tool to help clients make financial decisions — that’s still a job exclusively for humans, according to Reynolds. 

    “Financial planning is so nuanced, individualized and personal. It is hard to envision using ChatGPT to spit out recommendations without it knowing the client. I see it being more valuable in generating educational material to supplement what I am doing,” he said. “We don’t just crunch numbers; we coach people, listen to their concerns and help them talk through emotional situations. The creative, empathetic work we do as humans is irreplaceable as of today.”


    ChatGPT: Grading artificial intelligence’s writing

    08:02

    Nick Meyer, another financial planner who produces shortform videos on TikTok, said he uses it as a starting point to come up with ideas for new content. 

    “I use it instead of Google search to get topic ideas, or to edit what I have already written,” he said. It also helps him make his videos funny.  

    “I can insert a couple lines of a script and say, ‘Make this more comedic, insert a joke on this line, or make it more concise,” Meyer said.

    “Gobs” of medical information

    Board-certified emergency physician Harvey Castro is advising digital health companies on how to best integrate ChatGPT into the health care sector. 

    He says one good application is creating and translating patient discharge instructions — rules for them to follow after a medical visit. 

    An expert in emergency medicine, if he were asked a dermatology-related question he was unsure about, Castro said he’d enter the query into ChatGPT for more information. In the past, he relied on other clinical search engines and resources like MDConsult, now called ClinicalKey. 

    “I could type it in and it would give me gobs of information. So it’s a supplement,” Castro said. 

    Doctors are also using it to enter a patient’s symptoms and have it return a differential diagnosis — a list of possible conditions related to the presenting symptoms, according to Castro. 

    “That is already happening today,” he said. 


    Microsoft revamps search engine with AI technology

    01:58

    Study buddy

    Rushabh Doshi, a second-year medical student at Yale University School of Medicine, likes to use ChatGPT to create sample questions while he studies for the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination. 

    Test prep services have limited practice questions, and ChatGPT can generate new ones on any topic based on the prompt he feeds it. 

    screen-shot-2023-02-08-at-7-24-38-pm.png
    Yale med student Rushabh Doshi uses ChatGPT for medical information and education.

    Courtesy of Rushabh Doshi


    It helps him prepare for some patient interactions, too, but uses it strictly for medical education and not patient care.

    “If there is a patient coming in with a disease I am not familiar with, I can go to ChatGPT and read up on it,” he said. 

    It also gives him information that helps him conduct more thorough patient evaluations. “I ask it to give me a guide of the types of questions to ask to make sure I am doing a comprehensive patient interview.”

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  • Miami Influencer Uses COVID Funds to Fund Her Lavish Lifestyle

    Miami Influencer Uses COVID Funds to Fund Her Lavish Lifestyle

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    The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted a Miami-based luxury real estate influencer for committing a Covid-19 scam to pay for her jet-set lifestyle.

    The Feds allege that glamorous real estate agent and Instagram influencer Daniela Rendon, 31, fraudulently obtained $381,000 of COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program.

    Image via Daniela Rendon/Instagram

    Rendon, who has over 33,000 followers on Instagram, allegedly falsified her revenue and payroll and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms to get a huge paycheck from the government. She wrote fake checks to herself, family members, and friends to disburse the funds.

    The U.S. Attorney’s office has accused her of using the stolen money to lease a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, rent a luxury Biscayne Bay apartment, pay for cosmetic skin treatments, and refinish her designer shoes.

    Related: The Scam Artist Who Robbed Backstreet Boys and NSYNC Blind. ‘Some of the Guys Couldn’t Pay Their Car Payment.’

    Image via Daniela Rendon/Instagram

    Related: Pastor and His Son Busted for a $8 Million Covid Scam. ‘The Worst Scuzz on the Face of the Earth.’

    According to Rendon’s LinkedIn profile (now taken down), she is an “Ultra-Luxury Real Estate Agent with a demonstrated history of working in the ultra-luxury high-end real estate industry.”

    Rendon has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

    If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in not-so-luxurious prison.

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    Jonathan Small

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  • Manhattan rents hit an all-time high in January

    Manhattan rents hit an all-time high in January

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    Median rents in Manhattan hit a new record in January as a strong job market and limited supply of apartments lifted prices.

    The median rental price rose 15% to $4,097 from the year-earlier month — the highest ever in January, according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The average rent in Manhattan was $5,142, up 13% over January 2022.

    Analysts and real estate experts had expected rents to start falling in January after record surges late last year. But despite a cooling economy and high-profile layoffs in finance and tech, rental demand in Manhattan remains strong.

    “We’re not seeing rents fall in any meaningful way” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, a real estate appraisal and research company. “They’re really just moving sideways.”

    Analysts say the main driver for Manhattan’s rental market is a strong job market. While layoffs at large tech companies and Wall Street banks have made headlines, the overall job market and wage growth remains strong in New York. As more workers return to the office, more employees may also be moving back to the city.

    New leases in January surged 8% over December and rose 9% over January 2022 suggesting that while prices are high, renters are still willing to pay them.

    At the same time, the inventory of available apartments, while rising, remains low. The vacancy rate — or share of apartments available for rent — was 2.5% last month, below the 3% rate that’s more typical for Manhattan, Miller said.

    Joshua Young, executive vice president and managing director of sales and leasing at Brown Harris Stevens, said the rental strength is “a tale of two cities.”

    He said there is strong demand for new high-quality rentals coming on the market in prime locations, creating limited supply of top apartments. At the same time, more and more potential apartment buyers are choosing to rent while they wait for sales prices to fall.

    “They’re sitting and waiting in rentals until prices come down,” he said. “They don’t want to be the one who buys and overpays for a property that will be worth less in six months.”

    Rental demand is especially high in luxury rentals, since many of the potential luxury buyers are choosing to rent. Nearly one in five luxury rentals in January led to a bidding war, Miller said.

    Analysts say rents aren’t likely to come down much, if at all, in the coming months, unless the economy and job market loses steam.

    “I believe 2023 will be just as strong as 2022 as far as the rental market [goes],” Young said.

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  • Video of the Week: Villa Mar Azul in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

    Video of the Week: Villa Mar Azul in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

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    Featuring curated videos from the most sought-after destinations the world over, discover this  week’s Video of the Week.

    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico | Los Cabos Sotheby’s International Realty

    Villa Mar Azul is a stately two-level super beachfront villa with seven elegant bedrooms, seven luxurious bathrooms, one half bathroom, a magnificent private pool, and its own private access to Medano Beach. This villa boasts commanding ocean views and is located in Hacienda Beach, a safe, exclusive, and quiet gated community at walking distance from Cabo’s main attractions.

    On Villa Mar Azul’s ground level, there is a spacious outdoor area featuring a magnificent infinity pool and a jacuzzi that merge with the Sea of Cortez. There are lounging areas for sunbathing and al fresco margaritas, a state-of-the-art BBQ, and a dining table for ocean breeze-suffused meals.

    The ground level also includes a comfortable living room adjacent to a dining area for eight and a fully-stocked kitchen. The living area is connected to the pool area by means of floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, resulting in a single airy, ample space. Additionally, the dining area opens to a spacious, soothing terrace. In addition to its multiple terraces and outdoor living areas, Villa Mar Azul includes a secluded patio with a fireplace.

    Discover tours of luxury homes for sale around the world on our award-winning YouTube Channel

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    Melissa Couch

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  • These 10 metro areas are the most ‘rent burdened’ in the U.S. — New York City comes in at No. 1

    These 10 metro areas are the most ‘rent burdened’ in the U.S. — New York City comes in at No. 1

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    Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    New York is the most rent-burdened metro area in the U.S., according to a new report from Moody’s Analytics.

    A household with the median income in the Big Apple would need to pay nearly 69% of earnings to rent the averaged-priced apartment there, the research division of the rating agency found.

    Families who direct 30% or more of their income to housing typically are considered “rent burdened” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and “may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.”

    More from Personal Finance:
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    To not be considered rent burdened in New York in the average apartment, a household would need to earn $177,000 or more a year, said Lu Chen and Mary Le, economists at Moody’s Analytics.

    Rents can be disproportionately higher than incomes when “the location is highly desirable from a lifestyle or future income perspective,” Chen and Le wrote in an email. “Both of these are true for a place like New York City.”

    Keeping rent under 30% is ‘increasingly unattainable’

    For decades, people have been advised not to spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing, said Allia Mohamed, co-founder and CEO of Openigloo, which allows renters to review buildings and landlords across the U.S.

    However, Mohamed said, “in high-rent cities, in particular, this parameter has become increasingly unattainable.”

    Recognizing that problem, the Biden administration last month rolled out a blueprint for a renters’ bill of rights, which aims to add new tenant protections and curtail exorbitant rent increases in certain properties.

    More than 44 million households, or roughly 35% of the U.S. population, live in rental housing, according to the White House.

    “Renters should have access to housing that is safe, decent and affordable and should pay no more than 30% of household income on housing costs,” the blueprint reads.

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  • Chinese savers stashed away $2.6 trillion last year but property crash will cool ‘revenge spending’ | CNN Business

    Chinese savers stashed away $2.6 trillion last year but property crash will cool ‘revenge spending’ | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    Even for a famously frugal nation, Chinese people saved a lot last year. Stuck at home due to Covid restrictions, they socked away a record $2.6 trillion.

    Now that life is returning to normal, hopes are high that consumers will spend with a vengeance, providing a much-needed boost to the world’s second largest economy, the impact of which would be felt around the world.

    Household savings at banks surged by a record high of 17.84 trillion yuan ($2.6 trillion) in 2022, up 80% from 2021, according to the People’s Bank of China. That’s more than one third of households’ total income. Before the pandemic, people saved about a fifth of their income.

    With pandemic controls lifted, Chinese shoppers appeared to be enjoying their freedom to spend. Hotel bookings, movie tickets and restaurant sales all boomed during the recent holiday season.

    The reawakening of the Chinese consumer will be an “exciting story” for global investors in 2023, said Swetha Ramachandran and Jian Shi Cortesi, investment directors at GAM Investments, a global asset management firm based in Zurich.

    “Chinese consumers are now going into reopening with strong household balance sheets,” they said, adding that Chinese companies exposed to discretionary spending and global luxury brands stand to gain significantly from the trend.

    More than 300 million travelers spent a total of $56 billion over the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday through January 27, up 30% from a year ago, according to the cultural and tourism ministry. According to the State Tax Administration, sales from consumer-facing businesses were 12% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

    Bookings for hotels soared more than 10 fold at some of the hottest tourist attractions, such as the cities of Xi’an and Luoyang, according to online travel agency Tongcheng Travel. Xi’an’s Terracotta Army museum was so crowded that visitors complained on social media they could only see other people’s heads rather than the statues.

    Restaurants reported higher sales than before the pandemic and were unprepared for the increased demand, according to a national survey published by the China Cuisine Association last week. More than a third of respondents said they were “extremely” short-staffed during the holiday.

    China’s box office receipts climbed to more than $1.5 billion last month, the best January on record, according to the China Film Administration. That’s mainly thanks to an extraordinary holiday week, when moviegoers paid 129 million visits to cinemas.

    Passengers prepare to check in at Daxing International airport in Beijing on January 19, 2023.

    The recovery in consumption has already lifted the Chinese economy.

    Last week, the Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which tracks activity in the services sector, expanded in January for the first time in five months. That’s mainly because travel and consumer spending bounced back.

    The index, which mainly covers smaller, private businesses, mirrored the results of an earlier government PMI survey. The data added to evidence of a rapid rebound in economic activity, analysts said.

    The boom has fueled business confidence. After seeing record sales in many stores, Xiabuxiabu, one of China’s largest hot pot chains, opened 34 new stores last month in the country, the company said.

    Global luxury giants are also hopeful Chinese shoppers will come back. LVMH said in January that it was “confident” and “optimistic” that China’s luxury market would bounce back this year. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said its stores in France are ready to welcome Chinese shoppers as more travel restrictions are eased.

    Burberry

    (BBRYF)     said last month that it’s seeing “very promising” signs in China, according to Reuters.

    There’s one conspicuous laggard in consumption, however.

    Property sales by China’s 100 largest developers dropped 32% in January, according to data compiled by China Real Estate Information, a property research firm. In the nation’s 30 largest cities, property sales were only 60% of the 2022 level.

    Chinese households have been reluctant to buy homes for more than a year, as Covid curbs, falling home prices and rising unemployment discouraged prospective buyers. Mortgage protests that erupted in dozens of cities last year further dented buyers’ confidence.

    Despite a flurry of stimulus measures, the slump has shown no sign of improvement. By December, new home prices had fallen by 16 straight months, according to the most recent government statistics.

    Since real estate accounts for 70% of household wealth in China, “revenge spending” will be limited, analysts said.

    “The property industry remains the biggest drag on China’s economy,” said Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Research, adding that the high youth jobless rate and asset price deflation will constrain China’s consumption recovery.

    BNP Paribas says “revenge spending” in China is set to happen, although it will be on a smaller scale than in Western economies such as in the United States.

    “The removal of Covid restrictions should unleash pent-up demand, and we expect the biggest driver of the recovery in 2023 to be consumption,” its analysts said.

    They expect household consumption growth to rebound to 9.5% in 2023 from about 3% in 2022, fueling annual GDP growth of more than 5%.

    Morgan Stanley analysts expect to see some “revenge spending” mostly from household with stable incomes.

    Those households include employees from the export sector, a rare bright spot in the Chinese economy during the pandemic years, business owners with steady earnings or those living off payouts from asset holdings.

    “We see a mini-rebound as early as in the first quarter of 2023,” they said, adding that the recovery in consumption could pick up in the second half of this year, but would still be lower than the pre-Covid level.

    They’re expecting household consumption growth to rebound to 8.5% in 2023, contributing to full-year economic growth of 5.7%.

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  • Inside Savannah Guthrie’s Tribeca Retreat – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

    Inside Savannah Guthrie’s Tribeca Retreat – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

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    Savannah Guthrie is among the most recognizable and respected luminaries in the world of New York–based international journalism. The face and voice of the former White House correspondent and Georgetown-educated attorney are regularly broadcast into millions of homes in her roles as co-anchor of the Today show and host of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Guthrie’s residence—in an architecturally arresting building amid the restaurants, parks, shops, and galleries of dynamic Tribeca—is, fittingly, self-assured, sophisticated, and stylish while remaining comfortable and inviting.

    New York, New York | Cortnee B. Glasser, Sotheby’s International Realty – East Side Manhattan Brokerage

    Occupying a full floor, the 3,735-square-foot condominium has a bright, lofty ambience thanks to ceilings that soar beyond 10 feet in height and plentiful large windows throughout. Much of the home’s distinctively chic aesthetic is the result of Guthrie’s collaboration with architects Ike Kligerman Barkley and designer Monique Gibson, members of Architectural Digest’s elite AD100, who undertook a meticulous renovation following the property’s acquisition in 2017. The result is a retreat with a versatile floor plan offering spaces for both effortless day-to-day living and festive entertaining.

    The heart of the home is a soigné great room with a strikingly contemporary concrete ceiling and nearly a full exposure of south-facing windows. A wall of steel and glass opens to a spacious dining room with antiqued mirror and window walls, creating a scrim-like separation from the living spaces. Steps away is a cook’s kitchen with honed black Saint Laurent marble countertops and backsplashes, Gaggenau appliances—including a wine refrigerator, wall ovens, and a cooktop—streamlined floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, and an adjoining casual dining area or den with generous auxiliary storage. Serving the living and dining spaces is a sizeable wet bar finished in marble and white oak and outfitted with a Sub-Zero refrigerator and ice maker.

    The private quarters are peacefully secluded from the public spaces on the cool, quiet northern side of the building. The owner’s suite consists of a restful bedroom with a fireplace, a boutique-sized dressing area with custom oak millwork and a host of closets with antiqued mirrored doors, and a sleek Carrara marble and bluestone bath featuring a soaking tub, a glass-enclosed shower, and a private water closet. One guest bedroom is accompanied by an en suite bath with a mosaic of Ann Sacks penny tiles, a shower, and a stylish Robern medicine cabinet. Two additional guest bedrooms share a bath with a Duravit tub, Ann Sacks tile, a dual-sink vanity, and polished chrome Hansgrohe fixtures. Just off the great room, a discreet office with a built-in desk and a Murphy bed can serve as an additional bedroom, if needed or desired.

    Austrian white oak flooring adds a soothing organic quality to a home that is otherwise decisively modern. Contemporary amenities are plentiful: collectible designer light fixtures, a Lutron system for controlling shades and lighting, and a superior audiovisual system with in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. Also conveyed with ownership is the building’s largest storage room, a 62-square-foot powered space with custom shelving. Offering residents a 24-hour door attendant, a full-time superintendent, a state-of-the-art gym, and a bicycle storage room, the building is a quintessential Manhattan haven, destined to welcome its next quintessential Manhattanite.

    Discover luxury homes for sale and rent around the world on sothebysrealty.com

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    Melissa Couch

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  • New and Notable Luxury Homes for Sale Over $10 Million | February 2023 – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

    New and Notable Luxury Homes for Sale Over $10 Million | February 2023 – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

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    From a Mediterranean-style villa in Palm Beach Islands, Florida, to a mountaintop home in Lugano, Switzerland, these are this month’s four featured notable properties for sale over $10 million.

    Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

    Lynda Smith, Ariel Hortman | ONE Sotheby’s International Realty

    This Mediterranean-style villa features a gracious two-story entry with a  grand sweeping stairway, high ceilings throughout, and stunning design details. Outdoor amenities include views of the golf course from the balcony, patios and fountains perfect for al fresco dining and entertaining, a summer kitchen, fireplace, a putting green, and lush tropical landscaping.

    Lugano, Switzerland


    Alfred Küpper | Fontana Sotheby’s International Realty

    Five minutes from the city center of Lugano is this sun-splashed, compound property provides total seclusion with many luxury amenities, and is set on 15 acres of private land with a pasture, pond, forest, and fantastic views over the city and Lake Lugano.

    Los Angeles, California

    Janelle Friedman | Sotheby’s International Realty – Santa Monica – Venice Brokerage

    Extending over two private and serene acres, this sprawling ranch home is a one-of-a-kind sanctuary. On the market for the first time in almost 30 years, this meticulously maintained celebrity estate is secluded behind hedges, and is in the heart of the exclusive community of Brentwood.

    Dorado, Puerto Rico

    Ricardo Rodriguez | Puerto Rico Sotheby’s International Realty

    Sited within the ultra-luxury and legendary Dorado Beach Ritz-Carlton Reserve, this nature-filled home is one of only twenty homes in East Beach. The residence is adjacent to a 1,400-acre secluded sanctuary, and offers full access to the Ritz-Carlton’s private amenities including two pro golf courses, an inviting fitness and wellness center, a one-of-a-kind aquatic park, and fine dining.

    Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Stephan Hirzel | LUXHABITAT Sotheby’s International Realty

    With its superb designer quality interior and state of the art amenities, this grand mansion villa in Emirates Hills is a luxury property furnished with furniture from revered Italy brand Visionnaire. The home features an expansive living room, two kitchens, a dining area, a large games area with a pool table and card tables, a Japanese Teppanyaki bar, a fully-equipped gym, and a large private cinema. The villa also offers space for parking 20 cars.

    Discover luxury homes for sale and rent around the world on sothebysrealty.com

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    Melissa Couch

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  • Amid Falling Mortgage Rates, Housing Market Slightly Rebounds

    Amid Falling Mortgage Rates, Housing Market Slightly Rebounds

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    Back in November, mortgage rates reached a 20-year high of 7.08%, pricing out millions of would-be buyers and leading to a lull in the housing market. Now, as rates have steadily declined, buyers are circling back.

    The average 30-year mortgage rate is 6.51%, still about 3% above the average from a year ago, but the decline has nonetheless sparked a 25% increase in mortgage applications since the end of 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported. The slight uptick in applications could signify that interested buyers have come to terms with the current reality of high rates and are swooping in to take advantage of declining prices.

    “They are less focused on the specific rate than they are on identifying a window of where they are comfortable with their monthly spend,” Steven Centrella, a Redfin real-estate agent in the Washington, D.C. area, told the outlet.

    Related: Mortgage Interest Rates Fall to Lowest Level Since September, Mortgage Demand Rises

    According to Redfin data, the number of individuals contacting real estate agents with plans to buy has rebounded this week after November lows.

    However, despite the slight uptick in buyers, the market is still down when compared to numbers from a year ago. Existing home sales were down by 1.5% in December 2022, marking the 11th consecutive month of decline, according to The National Association of Realtors. The numbers for January 2023 will be released later this month.

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    Madeline Garfinkle

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  • London’s rental market is in crisis. Here’s why and how renters are struggling

    London’s rental market is in crisis. Here’s why and how renters are struggling

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    Stories about soaring rents and the search for a new place to live taking months are all too common in London right now. The city’s rental market is in crisis, and renters are facing the consequences. 

    One of them is Daniel Lloyd, who lives with his flatmate in southwest London. After living in their two-bedroom apartment for almost a year, their landlord asked them to pay 27% more rent. 

    “We were shocked at how high the rent increase was,” he told CNBC’s Make It. While they were expecting their rent to go up, they had not anticipated it being by that much. 

    “We were willing to accept an acceptable level of increase. However, going close to 30% would have been an increase of just over £4,000 [$4,854], and we were not going to be earning an extra £4,000 by the end of the tenancy,” Lloyd explained. 

    They would therefore not be able to afford the higher rent, and would be forced to move. But as rent prices have gone up across the city, they would likely have to move further from the center — somewhere with worse transport links and away from their local community. 

    “None of the areas that we’ve found potential properties for would really suit our living situation,” Lloyd said.

    Him and his flatmate also realized that most other renters in their building were facing the same issue. They got together and tried to push back against the rent increases after realizing that their landlord was breaching their tenancy agreements, which limit how much rents can go up. 

    Some of Lloyd’s neighbors have heard back from their landlord through the property manager and new, lower rent increases have been suggested, but most are still worriedly waiting. 

    Buying instead of renting?

    Dave Chawner was in a similar situation and moved out when his landlord proposed a 26% rent increase. 

    “When we said, ‘look, I think it’s reasonable that there is going to be inflation, I think it is reasonable that prices do go up. We will negotiate at, say, 15%. Does that sound good to you?’ And they said absolutely not. It’s a 26% increase or nothing,” he told CNBC’s Make It. 

    The rent increase was unaffordable for them and would have slashed their budget for food and bills, Chawner said. 

    Chawner and his partner were already saving and were able to buy an apartment together when they did move. Their mortgage is now lower than their increased rent would have been.  

    “We were incredibly fortunate in order to be able to buy somewhere,” Chanwer said, adding that he is very aware that most of London’s renters are not in the same position. 

    He is not, however, the only person opting to buy, explained Richard Donnell, executive director of research at real estate company Zoopla. 

    “We’re seeing people sort of leaving rented accommodation to buy property and just looking further afield. So that’s one approach. And actually the fact that rents are going up so fast themselves will push some renters into buying,” he told CNBC’s Make It. 

    A recent survey by housing charity Dolphin Living, published in the U.K.’s The Times newspaper, said that eight-in-10 renters in London were struggling to keep up with the cost of accommodation.

    The root of the crisis

    The key issue that has led to this crisis, that saw rents rise by 17% throughout 2022, according to Zoopla, is demand and supply, Donnell explained. 

    “Supply and demand are really out of kilter at the moment. On the supply side, the average London estate agent would typically have had 17 to 20 properties for rent on their books. That’s down to 10 or less than 10 at the moment,” he said. 

    The rent shifts also link back to the coronavirus pandemic, and the sudden drop in demand for rental flats that occurred when London went into lockdown and people could not travel or move there. This caused rents to fall by as much as 10-15%, Donnell recalled. 

    Laws and regulations also play a role: There are no rent controls in London, and landlords have the option of so-called “no fault” evictions. These allow them to force people to move out even if they have not breached their tenancy agreement, so for example if they do not agree to pay higher rent. 

    This has led to intense competition for rental properties, Katinka Hill, the regional director for central London lettings at the estate agent Chestertons, said. 

    “Viewing levels have increased dramatically year on year. Properties aren’t staying on the market long, if at all,” she told CNBC’s Make It. 

    “We often don’t have to to ask tenants to offer over asking price. They just offer over asking price because they’ve lost out on the last two or three properties that they’ve bid for,” Hill added. 

    As well as making higher offers, people are also providing bios and pictures of themselves, and are creating resumes for their pets to help secure them a home, she explained. 

    Looking ahead, Donnell believes rent prices are likely to keep increasing, but probably at a slower pace. Long term solutions are needed, he said. “We really need to see more supply in London. A lot of that’s going to come off new build development,” he said. 

    For now however, the situation is likely to remain difficult for London’s renters. 

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  • Above and Beyond: 4 Fabulous Penthouses – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

    Above and Beyond: 4 Fabulous Penthouses – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

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    Perched atop buildings in desirable cities on both U.S. coasts, these four enviable penthouses afford the highest level of privacy, views, style, and amenities.

    San Francisco Sophistication

    Gregg Lynn | Sotheby’s International Realty – San Francisco Brokerage

    This sleek, chic full-floor penthouse at a prime downtown San Francisco address has a well-considered three-bedroom floor plan that accommodates both quiet private living and grand-scale entertaining. In addition to stylish interiors, it offers a rooftop deck with lush plantings, a pond, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, an alfresco theater area, a bocce court, a hot tub, and skyline views. The building is set amid the boutiques, restaurants, and cafés of Jackson Square and is minutes from the Embarcadero waterfront.

    Iconic Manhattan Views

    Stan Ponte, Matthew Fox | Sotheby’s International Realty – East Side Manhattan Brokerage

    Soaring above the West Village, this chic, sleek duplex offers 3,975 square feet of interior living and entertaining space along with a 1,005-square-foot private rooftop terrace with a grilling area and a fireplace. Chefs will appreciate the kitchen and its walnut cabinetry; Sub-Zero, Miele, and Wolf appliances, stainless-steel countertops, and dumbwaiter. Nearly every room—from the open-plan living and dining room to the cozy library of fourth bedroom—enjoys wonderful natural light and protected views of Manhattan’s downtown skyline.

    Oceanfront Aerie Above Palm Beach

     Kourtney Pulitzer | Sotheby’s International Realty – Palm Beach Brokerage

    Impeccably renovated and filled with luxurious finishes and custom details, this three-bedroom penthouse benefits from an enviable oceanfront location. Highlights include a private elevator entrance; porcelain tile floors; an open-plan living room, dining room, and chef’s kitchen with streamlined cabinetry and Miele and Sub-Zero appliances; an owner’s suite with a limestone soaking tub and a shower; California Closets throughout; motorized shades; and three terraces.

    Luxurious Light-Filled Loft

    The Stein Team | Sotheby’s International Realty – Downtown Manhattan Brokerage

    Atop a building dating to the early 20th century, this recently renovated 5,802-square-foot loft-style penthouse is a standout among the coveted residences of Tribeca. Spaces for festive entertaining and restful relaxation are plentiful and found on both floors. One of five bedrooms, the primary suite features walk-in closets and an eye-catching marble bath with a luxurious soaking tub and unique rain shower. Soaring 11-foot ceilings contribute to a serene sense of airiness throughout. Two terraces allow for enjoyment of fresh air and Midtown skyline views.

    Discover luxury homes for sale and rent around the world on sothebysrealty.com

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    Melissa Couch

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  • Jim Carrey’s Los Angeles Estate Hits The Market For $28.9 Million

    Jim Carrey’s Los Angeles Estate Hits The Market For $28.9 Million

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    The Hollywood legend’s Brentwood home, located on two private and serene acres, encompasses 12,704 square feet of contemporary living space, with five bedrooms, six full and three partial bathrooms. It is now offered for sale for $28,900,000.

    Represented by Janelle Friedman of Sotheby’s International Realty – Santa Monica – Venice Brokerage, the sprawling, mostly one-story ranch house is a one-of-a-kind magical sanctuary. For the first time on the market in almost 30 years, this meticulously maintained celebrity estate is set behind more than 280 feet of hedged frontage, right in the heart of one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The classic facade leads to contemporary interiors, which are lofty, inviting, and flooded with natural light, while floors of polished brick and handsome hardwood lend a grounding organic feel to the bright and airy spaces.

    Crowned by striking pitched beamed ceilings with skylights, the living, dining, and family rooms have fireplaces and verdant views, and are welcoming spaces for small or large gatherings. Numerous glass doors open to a large courtyard patio for quintessential California indoor-outdoor living and entertaining. The chef’s kitchen, with ample cabinetry and superior appliances, boasts a convenient indoor BBQ. Wrapped with windows, the circular breakfast room overlooks gorgeous flowering pear trees. The spacious owner’s suite is a restful retreat with sitting area and fireplace, sunny bay window, and private covered balcony overlooking the property. The richly hued wood-paneled bath has a cozy fireplace, soaking tub, and privacy leaded-glass windows.

    The home includes a large gym and a home office, and the secondary bedrooms all have ensuite baths.

    A special feature is the custom art deco theater, furnished with mohair covered sofas, burled wood columns, a snack area and a lavish marble bathroom.

    The over two-acre lot is planted with majestic mature trees. It is as beautifully furnished as the interior of the house, including a north-south championship tennis court, gazebo, waterfall pool and spa. The pool house has a bar, fireplace and separate infrared sauna and steam room. There are entertaining patios, large grassy areas, a designated vegetable garden, plus meandering paths leading to a peaceful yoga and meditation platform.

    This tranquil property is unlike any other. With over 12,000′ of sophisticated living spaces, this estate is still a true home retaining its heart and charm.

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    Regina Cole, Contributor

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  • Luxury Real Estate Headlines: First Week in February 2023 – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

    Luxury Real Estate Headlines: First Week in February 2023 – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

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    Highlights from this week’s top news stories on luxury and global real estate, art, collectibles, and home.

    Dorado, Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico Sotheby’s International Realty

    If it sells for its asking price, the house will be the priciest ever to trade in the U.S. territory.

    A $44.95 Million Home Lists in Puerto Rico, as Property Prices There Reach New Heights – The Wall Street Journal

    Inside A $23 Million Hawaiian Home With High-Fashion Touches And Immaculate Views – Forbes

    Jim Carrey Lists L.A. Home of 30 Years for $28.9 Million – The Wall Street Journal

    A Tiny Skyscraper Lists for $1.5M in a Japanese Forest – Dwell

    La Villa D’Epoca in Vendita Nel Cuore Della Milano Più Moderna – Elle Decor

    Don Chapell home in Sarasota, Florida – Architectural Digest

    On the Market: A Seaside Midcentury, a Palm Springs Retreat, and More Great Homes for Sale This Week – Dwell

    Hot property: five homes for sale in Boston – Financial Times

    In the Same Family for Four Generations, a Waterfront Rhode Island Mansion Has Sold for $15 Million – Mansion Global

    Real estate in Asia: 5 top property trends to watch in 2023 – Tatler

    Texas Ranch With Hundreds of Exotic Animals Lists for $60 Million – The Wall Street Journal

    Mohamed Abdel Wahab’s Former Cairo Villa Lists for $7 Million – Mansion Global

    CEO Philip White: Sotheby’s ‘has always operated from a position of strength’ – Real Estate News

    Today’ Co-Anchor Savannah Guthrie Lists New York Condo for $7.1 Million – The Wall Street Journal

    Joan Didion’s Apartment Is for Sale – Curbed 

    Peek Inside the Colorful NYC Loft That’s Home to the Owner of Cubbyhole  – Apartment Therapy

    An Equestrian’s Dream in Wellington’s Palm Beach Point – Behind the Hedges

    $1.6 Million Homes in California – The New York Times

    Forget Florida—South Carolina Low Country Is the Top U.S. Luxury-Home Market – Mansion Global

    One-Floor Living on a Lovely Pond: Falmouth Contemporary Home for Sale at $1.1M – Cape Cod Times

    $1.6M Texas Hotel Is Looking for a Buyer To Check In – Realtor.com

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    Melissa Couch

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  • 3 Things To Automate In Your Airbnb To Achieve Passive Income

    3 Things To Automate In Your Airbnb To Achieve Passive Income

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Automating your Airbnb listing means being hands-free with the business. And this is the first step towards the location freedom you’ve always wanted. Location freedom is having the ability to go anywhere in the world and still earn money despite not being physically present. So when it comes to managing your Airbnb, how do you automate the process, and what strategies do you need to implement?

    Ask any Airbnb host about their goals in the business, and you’ll probably get a standard answer in return, “We all want passive income and location freedom.” And who wouldn’t want to continue earning money wherever they are, right?

    However, operating an Airbnb business is like any other full-time job — you’ll feel excitement and exhaustion during your run. But there’s a bunch of smart hosts who know how to manage their Airbnbs, remove the stress from the equation, and continue enjoying the fruits of their labor. You can be one of them. You can use their strategies and automate these three essential things in your Airbnb listing so you can work ON your business and not in it.

    Related: How To Create 7 Streams of Income for Passive Wealth

    1. Cleaning

    This is probably the most important aspect of running a short-term rental business. However, as vital as it is, you also shouldn’t try to save money by cleaning your property. If your goal is to be truly independent with your business, you need to automate it.

    For this, you can hire a professional cleaning company, or you can hire people you know. And there should be a system for your crew because for your business to be truly automated, it needs a process to follow. For example, your crew needs to be there right after the guests leave at a specific time window (for example, from 10 AM to 3 PM).

    When you put this on autopilot, your team will automatically pick up where the guests left off, clean during the window, and you don’t have to clean the place yourself.

    2. Maintenance

    The next thing you need to automate is maintenance. Hiring a maintenance person will ensure that anything broken will be fixed as soon as possible. This person ideally will work on call, and you should let them know that you have a window and that if there’s ever any handy work that needs to be done, they should do it during that window.

    As for the compensation, it is recommended you pay both your maintenance person and cleaners on a case-by-case or per-project basis.

    3. Communications

    And last but not least, the communications.

    This part of the operations is vital because it will make sure that you’re streamlining the tasks needed to be done and that you’re not doing all the work yourself. For this, you can use Slack, a communication platform that’s easier to manage.

    With proper communication, you must add the owner, the cleaners, the maintenance person and everyone involved in maintaining that property. For example, you can ask your cleaning crew to post pictures of the property after each cleaning. They can also visually inspect the property to see if anything’s missing or needs repairs.

    If there is, you can then tag your maintenance person so they can come over and handle it during the cleaning window. This will make everything easier for you.

    We recommend you do the communications for the first three properties you launch so you can experience it first-hand. Plus, it’s also difficult to delegate communication when you haven’t done it and don’t understand it yourself.

    The most important thing to remember during these operations is that you don’t do the cleaning or the maintenance yourself. Delegate those things or hire somebody else. This way, you’ll be able to start working on the business and not in the business.

    Related: 4 Powerful Tips To Create A Successful Airbnb Business

    Passive income through Airbnb short-term rentals

    As you know, Airbnb is a home-sharing platform where you can list your property so that guests worldwide can book your place for a brief time. But this is more than just a place made for visitors who like comfortable stays. It’s also a good business venture for people looking for passive income.

    So if you own a property, you can launch your listing and use the automation strategies we just shared with you. If you’re a newbie just looking around for tips for getting your Airbnb business started, then you tuck these tricks away for future use.

    Related: How to Start an Airbnb Business Without Owning Property

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    Jorge Contreras

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  • Arctic blast threatens negative-50ºF temperatures in New England, while Texas power grid is again sputtering

    Arctic blast threatens negative-50ºF temperatures in New England, while Texas power grid is again sputtering

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    Rising temperatures offered some hope Friday for frustrated Texans days after they lost power — and in many cases heat — in a deadly winter storm, while a new wave of frigid weather rolling into the Northeast led communities to close schools and open warming centers.

    Wind chills in some higher elevations of the Northeast could punch below minus 50º (minus 45º Celsius) as an Arctic front swept in from Canada, forecasters said.

    “Some of the most extreme weather was expected atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak, where winds gusted to nearly 100 miles per hour and wind chills could reach minus 100º Fahrenheit. ”

    In Texas, officials in Austin compared damage from fallen trees and iced-over power lines to tornadoes as they came under criticism for slow repairs and shifting timelines to restore power. More than 240,000 customers across the state lacked power early Friday, down from 430,000 on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

    “Our heat source is our fireplace … and we’ve been in bed, snuggled up under like five or six blankets,” Edward Dahlke, of Spring Branch, southwest of Austin, told KSAT-TV. “Just think that our utility companies need to do a better job making sure our infrastructure is maintained properly.”

    See: Frustrated Texans endure another icy winter storm with no power, heat

    Pauline Frerich, also of Spring Branch, told KSAT that she had no way to prepare a meal without electricity, and that she worries about the cost of replacing hundreds of dollars of spoiled food. As the storm swept over this week, the indoor temperature fell to 29 degrees (-1 Celsius), and the sounds of tree limbs breaking unsettled her.

    “And you didn’t know, was it on the roof, was it just in the yard?” Frerich told KSAT. “But it’s very nerve-wracking.”

    Power failures were most widespread in Austin. Impatience rose there among nearly 123,000 customers days after the electricity first went out.

    Thursday night, officials backtracked on early estimates that power would be fully restored by Friday evening. Damage was worse than originally calculated, they said, and they could no longer provide an estimate.

    “The city let its citizens down. The situation is unacceptable to the community, and it’s unacceptable to me,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said at a news conference Friday. “And I’m sorry.”

    The outages recalled the 2021 blackouts in Texas, when hundreds of people died after the state’s power grid was pushed to the brink of total failure because of a lack of generation. There have been no reports of deaths from this week’s power outages, though the storm and freeze have been blamed for at least 12 traffic fatalities on slick roads in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

    In New England, temperatures began plunging Friday morning.

    “The worst part of the upcoming cold snap is going to be the wind,” which has already topped 80 mph (129 kph) in higher elevations, said National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec. Frigid wind chills — the combined effect of wind and cold air on exposed skin — are expected Saturday.

    The worst wind chills in the populated areas of the Northeast shouldn’t go lower than minus 40º (minus 40º Celsius), he said.

    Wind gusts as high as 40 mph raised the prospect of power outages in Maine, and communities began opening warming stations.

    Even cold-weather sports were curtailed. Some ski resorts scaled back operations, eliminating night skiing and reducing lift operations. A popular weekend pond hockey tournament was postponed, and the National Toboggan Championship pushed Saturday’s races back by a day.

    Schools closed Friday in Boston and in Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city. “In these conditions, frostbite can develop in as little as 30 minutes,” an announcement on the Manchester district’s website read. “This is simply too cold for students who walk home.”

    Some of the most extreme weather was expected atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak and home to a weather observatory, where winds gusted to nearly 100 mph (160 kph) and wind chills could reach minus 100 (minus 73 Celsius).

    The system is expected to move out of the region Sunday.

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  • Office use for 10 biggest cities passes 50% for first time since pandemic

    Office use for 10 biggest cities passes 50% for first time since pandemic

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    © 2023 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Division of NBCUniversal

    Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

    Market Data Terms of Use and Disclaimers

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  • China’s real estate crisis isn’t over yet, IMF says

    China’s real estate crisis isn’t over yet, IMF says

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    China’s real estate market has slumped in the last two years after Beijing cracked down on developers’ high reliance on debt for growth.

    Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

    BEIJING — China needs to do more in order to fix its real estate problems, the International Monetary Fund said Friday.

    The property market contributes to about a quarter of China’s GDP and has been a drag on growth, especially since Beijing cracked down on developers’ high reliance on debt in 2020.

    related investing news

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    Chinese authorities started to ease restrictions on financing for the sector over the last several months.

    “Authorities’ recent policy measures are welcome, but in our view additional action will be needed in order to end the real estate crisis,” Thomas Helbling, deputy director in the IMF’s Asia Pacific Department, said in a briefing.

    “If you look at the measures, a lot of them address financing issues for the developers that are still in relatively good financial health, so that will help,” he added in an interview with CNBC. “But the problems of the property developers’ facing severe financial difficulties are not yet addressed. The issue of the large stock of unfinished housing more broadly is not yet addressed.”

    China is slowly coming back, Dassault Systemes CEO says

    Apartments in China are typically sold to homebuyers before completion. Covid and financial difficulties slowed construction so much that some homebuyers halted their mortgage payments last summer in protest.

    Chinese authorities subsequently emphasized the need to help developers finish building those pre-sold apartments. Still, residential floor space sold in China dropped by nearly 27% last year, while real estate investment fell by 10%, according to official numbers.

    “I think it would be helpful to point to a way out and … how the restructuring could be done and who will absorb losses if there are any losses,” Helbling said. He also called for additional measures to address the large stock of unfinished apartments.

    Read more about China from CNBC Pro

    “Otherwise the sector will continue to slump and remain a risk and also constrain households that are overexposed to the property sector, and will have cash tied up and their savings tied up which will be a handicap for the broader economic recovery,” he said.

    Helbling declined to name a specific timeframe within which authorities needed to act before the situation got much worse.

    “The sooner you address downside risks the better.”

    China says it’s not a crisis

    The IMF analysis was part of the organization’s latest report on China, following annual discussions with Chinese officials that ended in November.

    The officials pushed back on the IMF’s real estate assessment, according to a statement in the IMF report by Zhengxin Zhang, executive director for People’s Republic of China, and Xuefei Bai, senior advisor to the executive director, dated Jan. 12.

    China’s property market has generally operated smoothly and “is not in a ‘crisis’ situation,” the statement said, casting the sector’s situation as “a natural evolution of ‘deleveraging and destocking’ in the past few years.”

    “The related risks are local and only concern individual firms, and their impact on the rest of the world has been relatively small,” the central bank representatives said. Looking ahead, the Chinese side said they would work toward ensuring the delivery of completed apartments, and merging developers.

    Chinese property developers such as Country Garden, Longfor and R&F Properties have seen their shares nearly double or more over the last 60 trading days — about three months, according to Wind Information. But trading in shares of one-time giants Evergrande, Shimao and Sunac have been halted since March 2022.

    The IMF report pointed out that a significant portion of investors in Chinese developers’ bonds have been affected.

    “As of November 2022, developers that have already defaulted or are likely to default — with average bond prices below 40 percent of face value — represented 38 percent of the 2020 market share of firms with available bond pricing,” the report said.

    Read more about China from CNBC Pro

    “The sector’s contraction is also leading to strains in local governments. Falling land sale revenues have reduced their fiscal capacity at the same time as local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) have also significantly increased land purchases.”

    The IMF on Monday raised its global growth expectations for the year due to better-than-expected growth in major countries late last year, softening inflationary pressures and the end of China’s Covid controls.

    The new 2.9% forecast for the world is 0.2 percentage points better than anticipated in October. But it’s still a slowdown from 3.4% growth in 2022.

    For China, the IMF projects growth of 5.2% this year, faster than the 3% pace in 2022.

    — CNBC’s Silvia Amaro contributed to this report.

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  • We expect the residential development market to be slow, says Skanska CEO

    We expect the residential development market to be slow, says Skanska CEO

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    Anders Danielsson, CEO of the construction and development company, says that also applies to the commercial development market, but infrastructure is expected to be stable for most of Europe.

    03:01

    Fri, Feb 3 20233:53 AM EST

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  • Life of Luxury | The Wind, Waves, and Warmth of Salt Spring Island – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

    Life of Luxury | The Wind, Waves, and Warmth of Salt Spring Island – Sotheby´s International Realty | Blog

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    Christopher Hobbs – Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

    On the west coast of British Columbia, winter is invigorating. Wild squalls batter the rugged shorelines, marine mists waft between the pristine mountains, and refreshing rains awaken the scents of spruce and red cedar. Amid this elemental melange, Salt Spring Island plays host to scenic inlets, robust evergreens, and a mild maritime climate.On the island’s east side, Scott Point is part of a pair of striking peninsulas that flank Long Harbour—a ferry port with direct sailings to Vancouver—making it the perfect place from which to explore the wonders of Canada’s Pacific Northwest. Set out for a day of enchantment, and start your journey from this three-bedroom, four-bathroom luxury oceanfront home.

    Morning: Therapy for the Body and Soul

    The 3,128 square-foot home is a modern architectural masterpiece nestled on an acre of oceanfront property, gracing the rooms with unobstructed vistas of the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Gulf Islands archipelago. You wake up to a panoramic view of the sun rising over neighboring islands from your primary suite. With refined wooden floors and furniture, a fully windowed wall and alcove, and a bedside fireplace, your bedroom is a haven of hygge—that much-sought Scandinavian aesthetic celebrating simplicity and comfort, made even cozier by the depths of winter.

    It’s tempting to enjoy a slow-paced winter morning, and leisurely perform the morning’s ablutions on your bathroom’s heated tile floors. But right now, the frigidity is your friend, and a bracing winter chill feels like nature’s rallying cry. With locally roasted coffee in hand, you meander out to your private dock and awaken the day with a plunge in the ocean before bidding a hasty retreat to your wood-fired barrel sauna with a prime sea view. This intense exposure to cold and heat enlivens the body, blood, brain, and muscles, priming you for a day of heightened sensation and appreciation. From here, you can’t resist the call of your kayak and strike out for a morning tour of your aquatic neighborhood, marveling at the abundance of marine life that surges just below the surface.

    Noon: Voyages That Feel Like Vacations

    Salt Spring Island is a testament to life’s beauty and biodiversity, and your home puts it on dazzling display. The central living and dining room, ideal for entertaining guests, features a full wall of retractable glass that opens onto your tiered terrace, while your recessed media room with a full wet bar leads to a lower lookout. 

    The deluxe, custom-built kitchen features cabinets made from reclaimed east coast barn board, and was intentionally designed so you can admire the landscape and seascape as you prepare a fortifying lunch, with ingredients sourced from one of the many farms on the island. While enjoying your meal you may catch glimpses of orcas, humpbacks, and Pacific gray whales making their migrations, a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins leaping acrobatically across the straight, or seals and sea lions sunning themselves on the promontories.

    Today you want to experience the thrill of a true Canadian winter, so you pack your snow gear and ski equipment and head to your three-car garage. Soon, you’ll catch a short ferry to Vancouver Island and drive north to the Mt. Washington ski resort. You’ll pass through temperate rainforest before hitting the exhilarating slopes of the mountain. It’s hard to believe such a variety of experiences—from beach activities to mountain sports—are so accessible that you can enjoy them on the same day.

    Night: Local Flavor Winning Global Favor

    By the time you return to Salt Spring, the sky is already dark and saturated with stars, and you’re looking forward to dinner. Though you’ve impressed yourself lately with culinary masterpieces prepared on your own Dacor range, tonight you’ll visit Ganges—Salt Spring Island’s quaint village hub, just around the bay from where you live.

    Despite its modest size with less than 12,000 year-round inhabitants, visitors travel to this community from near and far. A plethora of boutiques and galleries reflect a vibrant arts scene, which parallels the food culture that flourishes here. There are abundant wines, cheeses, produce, and meats—such as world-renowned lamb and organic free-range chicken—to sample from the nearly 200 farms and food producers on the island. And while the lively Saturday market isn’t open during the winter months, restaurants and cafés keep Ganges glowing year-round.

    Returning home, you’re ready to relax with a glass of a full-bodied red carefully selected from your 120-bottle wine cooler. After a late-night soak in your hot tub, a side entrance grants access to your spa-like ensuite where majestic accents of wood and stone create a soothing environment as you stand beneath your rain shower and dream up tomorrow’s plans. Will it be a hike through one of the island’s many trails, or a workshop facilitated by a local artist? In a place like Salt Spring Island, the sense of possibility is as endless as the sense of wonder.

    Read more from our Life of Luxury series

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    Melissa Couch

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