Good morning, in a sad state of affairs, a New York judge found that real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield, broke its own rules (umm, does that fall under fiduciary duty now?) to appease the Trump Organization and the former first American's chronic practice of jacking-up the value of his properties.
Indian builders and property owners must be wondering what's wrong with that - as in, isn't that the only way to sell real estate?
Per MSN, in his order, the judge indicated he has personally reviewed sensitive documents that indicate Cushman & Wakefield employees played along—a damning revelation that could open the global corporation to accusations of conspiring along with the Trump Organization.
If true, all for greed.
🌞🍎🧃🥤
A Combo Offer On Metaverse Real Estate
Gaming love gone too far? Picture a coveted LA real estate market, a developer and noted real estate agent. But hang on to your VR headset, please, for it’s all in the Metaverse.
The Los Angeles market has entered into virtual terrain with a never-heard-before, buy 1, get 1 buy another 1 offer.
How: Anybody purchasing specific Beverly Hills homes can now get accompanying 3D homes in the Metaverse. Super Beverly Hills agent Rochelle Atlas Maiz is putting a 1928 Spanish home on the block for USD9.4 million, and the person buying this property can purchase a built home in the Metaverse for just another USD100,000.
Maiz has teamed up with Alex Yates, the co-founder at Metaverse developer Ledy. His partner Mark Emtiaz is enthusiastic about the possibilities of virtual gatherings and NFTs within the property along with furniture, interiors, et al.
Intriguing indeed. How about a virtual toast to that?
Psst: Are we for real? 😅
Bring It On: Crypto Goes Mainstream In Dubai Realty
Blockchain ledgers be praised. 🙌
What: Damac Properties has green-lighted Ethereum and Bitcoin for payments. The company is on a digital makeover and will deploy 367 million UAE dirhams for a new project in the Metaverse, to develop virtual cities.
💡 Damac is a strong player in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudia Arabia and the UK. It posted 3 billion UAE Dirhams in revenues for 2021 and Maple Invest Co. Limited acquired it last November.
Why: Dubai is fast becoming a global cryptocurrency hub. The biggest global exchange Binance has got its virtual currency license and opened up 100+ jobs. Rivals like FTX are also coming soon.
Weekend Conversation Starter
Substantial Pick Up Line: The world’s most significant store of wealth - real estate - is more valuable than all global equities and debt securities combined, and almost 4X that of global GDP, per Savills.
Guaranteed Pick Up Line: The value of all gold ever mined is not even a shade in comparison, at USD12.1 trillion - just 4% the value of global property.
Canadian Builders See Red Through Inflation
Inflationary woes are not just making Indian developers dreary; the same trend is playing out in Canada as well.
Sample this: Hazleton Development Corporation got its CCAA safeguard on 20th April this year. Wondering why? One of its projects has filed for insolvency.
Zooming In
A project marketed as a Highlight of Mississauga is now facing inflationary blues, despite the fact that 261 out of 265 units are already sold out in the Dixie Road project.
Construction began in September 2019. With the completion date pegged at 30th April, 2021, the four-month delay didn’t seem much. Yet, the trend seems to be infectious. Greater Toronto developer group BILD found almost 4 out of 5 projects being delayed by at least 3-6 months each.
The filing indicates only a partially finished venture with completion at risk. Reasons include restrictions, shortages of supply, labour, and higher costs of services and goods.
📈 The original project estimated to cost CAD101.18 million to build, has since leapfrogged to CAD113.70 million - an increase of 12.4%.
Crux Of The Matter
🎯 Building costs have gone up by roughly 35.1% from Q4 2019.
🎯 Developers are now going back to their customers to ask for more. Even CAD100,000 or higher at times.
🎯 Project insolvency filings could go up even more, as projects often sell in advance before construction, without considering inflation.
🎯 The Government’s mission to double construction has boomeranged for obvious reasons.
12.4% Cost Inflation? - 🤷♂️ - Indian builders.
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Folks going out for site visits/showings this weekend, survival toolkit for you;
🌂 do not forget the umbrella
🥤 carry a bottle of cold water and keep sipping
🌼 a kerchief and a can of deo, and
😊 a genuine smile
Have a great weekend ahead. See you Monday morning. 💚
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai