www.fiabcinews.com

Please click the links below for great news from our FIABCI Europe Chapters:

FIABCI UKRAINE HOSTS GROUNDBREAKING ROUNTABLE DISCUSSION ON BANKING AND REAL ESTATE IN THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS

The Roundtable took place to address the concern that currently in Ukraine there are no accurate mechanisms of realization for mortgaging property which would give a 100 % guarantee to the buyer. The focus included “What are the risks that both banks and borrowers meet at realization of such property?” The Roundtable participants included 12 Banks of Odessa as well as prominent businessmen, bank managers, and attorneys.

The current economic crisis has introduced major challenges in the lives of the average borrower, many who are not able to meet their expenses. Banks are finding that their mortgaged apartments and cars are increasing due to nonpayment. Rountable participants analyzed what the profit margin was to purchase and what the mechanisms of realization for such properties is.

During the program, experts noted that from August 2008, the number of problem auto- and mortgage credits have grown almost four times and it is predicted that n the foreseeable future this increase will continue. A list of apartments in default have already been publicized by UkrSibbank, ОТР Bank, Rajffajzen Bank Aval, PrivatBank, the bank «the Finance and the credit» and PUMB. Not so long ago VAB Bank declared the beginning of realization of mortgaging vehicles and real estate. Potential buyers are being provided the opportunity to examine the properties available and can now place a bid.

Bank representatives agreed to consider new mechanisms of realization of property presented during the discussion, together with the implementation of new mutual relations between the real estate agencies and the bank structures.

The specialized exhibition of the real estate (VIRA REALTY – IV) took place from March 11^th, 2009 through March 14th, 2009 in the Expo Center of Odessa.

Participants at the exhibition who were invited included builders, investors, developers, consulting firms, as well as real estate agencies, legal firms, banks and insurance companies. Credit Unions, as well as other real estate professionals were also invited. The basic function was to work collectively and seek a solution at the exhibit for current real estate crisis. Topics covered include:

On March 11^th 2009, the first anti-recessionary business conference entitled "Crisis Transactions in Real Estate", organized by FIABCI-Ukraine took place. Representatives of Investment, Operations, Development, Construction, Real Estate, Consulting and Administration participated in this event.At the exhibition, The Elite Club of Real Estate took place under the motto “The Market Chooses Professionals.”

Exhibitor Vira Realty worked together with the international architectural-building forum VIRA UKRAINE, accompanied by an advertising campaign on TV and radio plus outdoor advertising specializing in corporate press. Information about the forum took place on 150 Internet sites. It had also been dispatched via several hundred circulars and flyers to potential participants and visitors.

Participants in the program included Victor Kovalenko - Director of Company "Real Expo," Alexander Blavdzevich, Vice-President USPP, Ivan Saly, Head of the Supervisory Board for the Association of Manufacturers of Building Materials, Valery Zhaldak, First Deputy of the Director of Coordination Bureau "Euro-2012," Telman Abbasov, President of FIABCI-Ukraine, Victor Suslov, Head of the State Commission of Regulation for markets and financial services of Ukraine and Andrey Shulga, President of URA.

During the recent economic crisis and with the increase of inflation, capital attraction for developer projects have become increasingly difficult. The exhibition included investment projects connected with the construction industry and the real estate market (residential, commercial property, land), social and transportation infrastructures for Kiev and regions of Ukraine, as well as offers for other real estate construction projects. In the exhibition catalog, 195 projects were presented from different regions of Ukraine via different segments of the real estate market totaling 10 billion dollars. The project listings included the contacts of developers and builders as well as photos and the property description. At the exhibit, there were 36 residential, 51 commercial and 8 country house projects profiled.

The June 2^nd session covered “State policy in the field of building, investments and real estate.” The topics of new legislative initiatives in bracing against an economic crisis, the role of the State in determining the solution to the problems, influence of world crisis on the building market and the solution as well as the present and future of the Ukrainian crisis were discussed.

With an introduction to a mixed system of the auction as an effective method against the struggle of the economic crises and a focus to bring stability to the real estate market, the president of FIABCI- Ukraine and the head of the International Auction House Telman Abbasov acknowledged that the method he has developed consists of the use of two systems: conducting the auction where the market project cost is formed without participation of an intermediary, and without infringement of the rights of the buyer or the seller.

At the Investment & Financing session, the top specialists of the Ukraine discussed the investment climate of The Ukraine. They focused on the forecasts on attracting investments into real estate, on legal regulation of investment activity, about legislative and standard barriers in the course of investment into the real estate sector, and about ways of realization of construction projects in the present conditions.

On June, 3rd the program began with a forum on the residential real estate against crisis. The participants spoke about the government program of maintaining the population of Ukraine, the situation in the primary and secondary markets of real estate, and about the risks in building, managing risks and tools on minimization of risks.

The second half of the event was devoted to commercial real estate and strategizing further development. At the Forum the participants discussed ways to attract capital into commercial real estate, and ways of financing projects for commercial real estate. Leading market experts of commercial real estate explained the existing situation, tendencies and provided the development forecasts in all segments of the market paying a good deal of attention to investments, management and development.

The General Assembly of FIABCI Monaco and of it’s principal member Chambre Immobilière Monégasque will took place on June 24, 2009

FIABCI Österreich’s General Assembly took place on June 17, 2009. There were over 100 participants. During the General Assembly there was a presentation by Mr. Stephan Schulmeister (Austrian Academic Member “Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung”) titled “The Big Crisis – Reasons, Outcomes, Counter-Strategies.” Mr. Schulmeister detailed the different steps leading to the crises and provided criteria for anti-crisis politics. He outlined measures which should be taken on a national level, an EU level and also explained long-term global strategies. Participants discussed and exchange views.

This edition of EIRE welcomed 20,000 visitors to a vast choice of 350 exhibitors on 36,000 square meters of exhibition space and about 100 institutional conferences/seminars/press conferences and events. Among the various current industry topics and various panels presented, Fiabci Italia’s Principal Member, ASPESI (National Association between Promotional companies and Real Estate development): The Dynamics of the Real Estate Sector – Constructive and the Recovery of the PIL, the Italian Case History.

FIABCI Italia hosted a “Light Lunch” on Wednesday June 10^th . President Francesco Valletta welcomed Hans-Ulrich Berendes, President of the German Chapter, Past World President Laurence McCabe, and among the Italian Members, UN delegates Enrico Campagnoli, Candidate for the World Presidency 2010 – 2011 and President of IsIVI, Principal Member of Fiabci Italia and his wife Adriana Sala Campagnoli, Member of the International Organizations Committee, Antonio Campagnoli, Member of the Board and Past President of the Young Members’ Chapter, and Federico Oriana, President of ASPESI, Principal Member of Fiabci Italia.

The following countries exhibited at EIRE: Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Brazil, Panama, Romania, Hungary and Slovenia underlining their inclination to reach investors and contribute to their national development. The closing conference of the fifth edition was dedicated to Social Housing comparing international cases. The host of EIRE, Antonio Intiglietta, President and CEO of Ge.Fi., the organizers of EIRE concluded the Conference. We hope to see you at next year’s edition, June 8^th – 11^th 2010!

On April 9 FIABCI France organized a cocktail followed by a dinner debate at the prestigious St. James Club. Mr. Gabilla – President of FPC France – spoke on the theme “The impact of the economic crises on all real-estate related professions. There were about 100 participants. (Pictures below)

FIABCI – Bulgaria Chapter members are proud to be part of the world’s global leader family for the Real Estate industry. We diligently support and encourage their efforts and ability to keep the business activities and influence the local realty sector to keep its leading position on the market. I would like to thank all of them for their active participation in our organization, and look forward to working with them actively in 2009.My term as Chapter President has just begun and a lot of work is currently underway.

FIABCI – Bulgaria’s principle target today is to take necessary decisions and steps forward shoulder to shoulder and in full collaboration and cooperation with the National Realty Property Association (NRPA) of Bulgaria. The main strategic priority in such an year of downturn and shrinkage we set up for the Chapter is the implementation of the multiple listing services (MLS) on the Bulgarian Property market. By going this path we can create a perfect opportunity for vendors to market and sell properties using an agent by preference and exposing properties to thousands of potential buyers that could otherwise never be reached. We aim also at taking necessary measures to standardize the Bulgarian Realty business and secure insurance criterions for that sector by lowering the risk in the process of the deal closing. It is very important to know that FIABCI-Bulgaria and NRPA members only will have access to the MLS. Our buyers will enjoy the benefit of instant access to listings that match specified criteria, beyond price range and location.This service will save everyone involved in real estate transactions (buyers, sellers and their agents) time and legwork in sorting through the millions of properties on the market. Thus we can meet the increasing requirements of the fastest growing market sector within Bulgarian economy. In this situation of world crisis it can brings back the fame of Bulgaria as one of the best places for investments. The role of state policies will be very important in taking fast and adequate decisions in this reversing situation.

It is a matter of great importance for me also to sustain, continue and extend the policy of the former Chapter Board members and past President Mr. Valentin Saykov in their endeavors to approve Chapter’s positions within the local and the international business circles and social environment as well as the efforts of providing any kind of educational services and help members to gain more practical experience and improve their skills and services provided to end consumers.

Despite the world economic crisis Bulgarian Realty participants continue to maintain their market positions by adding more value and quality to the services provided. It was time, not more than 10 months ago when Bulgaria was one of the European countries with the highest growth of real estates in the last five years. The prices of the different types of properties have increased from three to five times and those of the plots for construction even reached ten times growth. About 40 per cent of Bulgarian and foreign investments were in the real estate and construction field. They have become a key factor for gradually advancing Bulgarian economy.

Based on my recent participation to certain exhibitions within Europe I would like to share my view that there is a slight trend of growth the interest towards Bulgaria and its economic indices. It is well known that the construction business in spite of the down turn and worsened financial conditions is still alive and productive. There is a real property quest in Bulgaria from different countries. Frankly speaking we offer the best combination of climate, nature, property and level of consumer goods prices, and hospitality showed by the local people as well. It is important for our entire world wide FIABCI family that Bulgarian Realtors and Builders offer projects and resorts, designed by world famous architects. During one of these exhibitions some colleagues of mine defined Bulgaria as a “Stand-By Primary Location” for their clients.

The World financial and economic crisis has indeed affected Bulgaria. The country is small and its economy is open regarding the EU market which member Bulgaria is for two and a half years. At this moment the affect of the crisis is more or less psychological and Bulgaria keeps a good economic growth rate, but the unpredictability of the international market makes the investors reluctant, and all the society very conservative and careful in taking decisions to make investments. There are investors although who are deeply convinced in the bright future of the Bulgarian Realty sector. From the beginning of the year 2009 the total of 190 new construction projects was started. Increased requirements on behalf of the end customers urged builders to raise all direct and indirect expenditures of the product in order to meet their growing expectations in terms of quality of the prime and raw materials, site location, surrounding infrastructure and environment.

In my humble opinion Bulgaria has the chance to pass by the crisis easier than other industrial countries. A large reserve has been accumulated in the state budget. Presumably these resources can be used to ease the financial shock provoked by the conditions of the world markets. Property prices in Bulgaria have risen considerably for the last 3-4 years and in spite of this they are still one of the lowest on a world scale and the lowest within the EU. In the situation of world crisis it can brings back the fame of the country as one of the best places for investments.

REPORT OF PRESENTATION BY CHRISTOPHER HALL, FIABCI VICE PRESIDENT NETWORKING & MARKETING 09/11 AND PRESIDENT ELECT FIABCI UK CHAPTER PRESENTING ON “NETWORKING & MAKING REFERRALS”

Christopher informs that “SIMA,” as many of our readers will know, is the largest property exhibition in Europe and probably the world. Congratulations must go to the organisers, Director Eloy Bohua and International Manager Alex Escuder, assisted by the very capable Ana Martinez for putting the show on in such challenging times especially when so many other programs have been cancelled or postponed. As could be expected, numbers were drastically down both in exhibitors and visitors. Quite peculiarly there was a vibrant fresh air to do business and those that were present were there to seriously sell or buy and to make “hay whilst the sun shines” as they say.

Of course there are always pros and cons in life and SIMA09 was no exception. The benefit of the smaller numbers meant that we were able to network with everybody under one roof and it would appear that nobody was disappointed. In addition, the amount of business being done was phenomenal. That goes for people selling to those within the industry along with developer/agents selling property to the public. Many stands, even with numerous sales staff, were experiencing queues of 50 or so people. We witnessed the public buying with deposits or outright with credit cards, something I forecasted would happen about 10 years ago! So it goes without saying that there was plenty of networking and that there were plenty of smiles under the Spanish sunny skies.

SIMA09 presented a great opportunity to FIABCI and for Christopher to present the main thrust of what FIABCI is all about – International Networking on a grand scale. But it is not just that – it is more about how to make Networking & Referrals work and importantly, how to make them pay. Tough times mean tough words and the nicknamed “Networking Nut from Norfolk” who now prefers his new accolade of the “Rampant Referee” set about to show the difference between the perception and the reality of networking. According to Christopher, attending so called networking events doesn’t mean instant payback. We live in an age now where reward has to outweigh effort. We need to drill down from merely social networking through to not only business but also to making the referral and gaining reward from it.

He sought and received audience participation when he explained how to make and accept referrals. This is something that would appear very obvious in the industry but it is seriously lacking in the real world. He went on to say that in his experience many merely ask on a whim for referrals then do nothing more. He explained that Referral makers must be informed of the various credentials and product of who they are referring to so to obtain this experience you should produce them yourself so that you know what’s involved. It is just no good thinking that Mr Referrer is going to refer Mr Prospective Buyer with $1M to buy a property in Miami, Panama, Brazil or Cape Verde or wherever. The global property world is a massive place and competition is red-hot so each individual must sell the USP of their trade – in this case property. To do that you should - so focus on each country, region, town, village, development or individual property.

Mr Hall a Past President of the UK’s NAEA and also a NAR Member, sang the praises of the TRC where he was one of the first to be TRC certified about 4 years ago. He went on to say that for those digging for a truly multi-disciplined International Network they will find no better than FIABCI. Finding FIABCI is like finding gold. Like all organisations, that doesn’t mean it’s a licence to print money. What I really mean is that we have a unique organisation of multi-disciplined professionals where members unreservedly are looking to do business with eachother. Members in the main come via FIABCI principal member organisations such as NAEA & RICS in the UK that handle the education, integrity, compliance and discipline i.e. total professionalism and in turn encourages their members to join so that they may mix, and widen their horizons with other professional disciplines.

Christopher also heads up Networking & Marketing UK where he is delighted to inform that the Chapter is moving forward and building up to some exciting news where they look to double the UK membership. Exciting times he says. The current economic climate has brought us back to basics where we have to question value for money and make things work – whilst unfortunately this has seen many faces disappear it has also opened up a whole new world of people eager to do business and word is out that we are working hard to make it work for our membership and applications for membership even prior to our re-launch is very encouraging.

It has been a fascinating first 9 months as President of the UK Chapter, the power of FIABCI world wide ceases to amaze me. Daily we are in correspondence with people from all over the world and one can truly say that FIABCI is a worldwide organisation, multi disciplined and if you are in the International property industry, an organisation that can really help.

With regard to the UK Chapter, we have been working very hard on the administration and I can honestly say that the hard work of Shelagh Wilce, our administrator, our admin, banking and accounting system is now totally up to date and a manual is being prepared for future presidents and administrators. Also I would like to thank Bruno Crosby in Paris and the staff there for their support. Regrettably there is a deficit in the payment to Paris which we are addressing and that along with the exchange rate is why the annual fees have been increased a little. However, it still remains competitive with other International Chapters. As your President I attended Beijing, which as we all know was cancelled only a few days before travelling and in the traditional Chinese way there was no official conference. Unofficial events were arranged at the last minute, all of which I attended on your behalf. There was the Ceremony of Transfer of the World Presidency and the new President convened an informal meeting which was exceptionally well attended. Frank exchanges were made with regard to the future of FIABCI. Personally I was impressed with the depth of commitment of senior members of the organisation from all over the world.

In conclusion we have our upcoming committee meeting on 30^th June. This is an important meeting when we will welcome Mamoud El Burai from Dubai’s RERA Organisation who has joined the UK Chapter as a Public Sector member. Our annual luncheon & AGM has been arranged for 15^th October at The Royal Thames Yacht Club once again. It is important that we sell out and look to our membership and guests not only to support us, but we also look forward to what promises to be a great day including networking. We are also looking for various sponsorships on the day and if any reader is interested please do not hesitate to contact us at autumnluncheon09@fiabci.co.uk. More information will be available after our June meeting.

The target set by the President of the Chapter and Board Member Dinos Michaelides for a 50% Member increase of his Chapter is well in progress.. The Chapter approved for the second time this year five new members and according to Mr Michaelides report, membership will hit the target set by his Board in beginning of this year which is more that one hundred, plus a new Principal Member.

The global economic crisis seems that it has not affected Cyprus much, and that foreign investors, mostly Europeans, continue to show great interest in property purchase in the Areas fully controlled by the Government of the Country.

The Annual General Assembly of FIABCI will be held about the middle of July during which elections for a new Board will also take place. In the meantime and according to Mr Michaelides’ report, the two Principal Members of the Cyprus Chapter have rejected the “Timos Plan” and endorsed the Board’s decision of Paris 14, on the subject.

At its annual General Assembly, the Principal Member “The Cyprus Land and Building Developers Association”, Mr Michaelides was honored with a trophy for his 25 years of service as a Board Director of the Association. In the picture, his exelency the Minister of Internal Affairs of Cyprus(right0 Neoclis Sylikiotis, hands the Trophy to Mr Michaelides under the watchful eye of the President of the Principal Member, Mr Lakis Ttofarides.

In another Celebrity, The President of the Cyprus Chapter(right in the Picture), was honored by the Assistant Rotary Disrict Governor Phaedon Stylianides with the Paul Harris Fellow trophy for his contribution to the International otary Foundation, and was installed as the President of the Rotary Club of Limassol, 2009-2010, at a GALA Hand Over Ceremony in the presence of all past Rotary Presidents, Rotary Members and distinguished guests.