Property Investment Croatia

Futuristic Homes for Sale

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:00:13 +0000

This sleek Beverly Hills abode on Loma Linda Drive may be the shape of pricey homes to come.
Photo: Zillow

We may not have flying cars just yet, but a new residential construction project going up in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., may make you think otherwise.

The Porsche Design Tower will feature an elevator to lift owners–and their cars–to their front doors in seconds. A co-production of developer Dezer Properties and Porsche Design Group, the retail-oriented spin-off company of the luxury German carmaker, it will be the first residential project affiliated with the Porsche name. These car-friendly condos will range in price from $2.9 million to $9 million.

“You will drive into the building, onto the elevator ramp, shut the ignition off and be magically whisked to the front door of your apartment in 45 seconds to a minute and 15 seconds depending on what floor you’re on,” explains Gil Dezer, president of Dezer Properties. The elevator will cover all 57 floors and include technology that automatically identifies the car and the unit owner once both are on board.

In Pictures: Homes of the Future On Sale Now It’s just one example of how modern design aesthetics have coupled with technology to birth innovative, cutting-edge homes that not so long ago would have been reserved only for the sets of films like Minority Report (or TV shows like The Jetsons).

We rounded up a selection of futuristic abodes that challenge traditional McMansion layouts. Some are relatively new homes designed with green living in mind while others are the decades-old brick and mortar visions of celebrated artists. Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Coldwell Banker Previews International, Sotheby’s International Realty and others helped us sort through listings to handpick the sleekest, most avant-garde, in some cases zaniest, homes on the market. They conjure images of science fiction lore, and in many cases, have actually been rented out by movie and television studios for that express reason.

Futuristic homes will ultimately sell to affluent buyers who collect art or at least appreciate architecture as an art form. Here are five worth checking out:

Loma Linda Drive
Location: Beverly Hills, CA
Recently Sold: $9 million

This Ed Niles designed home is transparently modern.
Photo: Zillow

Designed by Ed Niles, this home’s structure features curved glass walls and curved stainless steel windows and doors, fitting six bedrooms, an elevator and a seven-car garage within its layout.

West 29th Street
Location: New York, NY
List Price: $1.75 million

This Steampunk-style New York space is retro-modern.
Photo: Trulia

By Morgan Brennan, Forbes.com

January 6, 2012

Provided by:

Market cleaning might result with some 46,000 bankruptcies

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:26:31 +0000

Due to the long-term insolvency issues that burden almost one in three business in Croatia, commercial courts are getting ready for a wave of bankruptcies in liquidations in 2012. The cleaning of the market from companies that meet the conditions for elimination will be done in several groups.

About 5,000 companies do not even have a business account. Also, some 14,000 companies that meet the terms for deletion based on the Court Registry Act will also be deleted. After that, several dozen thousands short bankruptcy proceedings will be launched in insolvent companies that have little or no assets. In worst case scenario, the market cleaning could result with up to 46,000 bankruptcies in 2012.
(www.banka.hr, Poslovni dnevnik)

28.12.2011 | Author/Source PressCut

Ostojic: VAT for tourism needs to be reduced

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:20:33 +0000

Ostojic believes it should be seriously considered to lower the VAT rate for tourism to 8-10 percent

At HTV’s Daily News, future minister of tourism Veljko Ostojic (IDS) disclosed some of his first moves in the office. He said that tourism is one of the few sectors in Croatia that operates at the international market, and VAT is certainly one of the drivers. Ostojic believes it should be seriously considered to lower the VAT rate for tourism to 8-10 percent. The new minister thinks competitiveness is the key word for development of tourism. This requires more investment activity, better market communications, and better work than Mediterranean competition, he adds. Ostojic believes 2011 was a successful year and will strive to at least repeat it n 2012.

08.12.2011

Source: Presscut.hr

Net profit of banks reduced by more than 13 percent in four years

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:04:58 +0000

Interest income was increased by 25.9 percent, while commission and fees income rose 12.2 percent

Although revenues of banks in Croatia rose 14 percent last year compared with 2007, to HRK 29.5bn, their net profits at the same time plummeted 13.6 percent to HRK 3.7bn, the Financial Agency (FINA) reports, based on its archives and HNB’s records. Interest income was increased by 25.9 percent, while commission and fees income rose 12.2 percent. Compared with 2007, a considerable drop was seen in ROAA, from 1.6 to 1.1 percent, and ROAE, from 10.9 to 6.6 percent.

Source: presscut.hr

09.12.2011

Croatian entrepreneurs increased gross profits by 105.5 percent

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:55:56 +0000

The processing industry operated with the highest gross profit, overtaking commerce

According to the report of the Financial Agency (FINA) on the financial records of Croatia’s entrepreneurs in the first half of the year, the processing industry operated with the highest gross profit, overtaking commerce. Entrepreneurs in the processing industry recorded a gross profit of HRK 11.4bn in H1, which accounts for 61.4 percent of the total gross profit of all entrepreneurs. Traders earned HRK 2.6bn gross (14.3 percent), while ITC entrepreneurs had HRK 1.3bn in gross profit (6.9 percent). Overall, Croatia’s entrepreneurs earned HRK 18.5bn in H1 2011, which represents a 105.5-percent increase in gross profit compared with H1 2010.

Source: presscut.hr

16.11.2011

Croatia joining EU on July 2013

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:53:32 +0000

Croatia will enter the European Union in 2013 even if it doesn’t fulfill the remaining obligations by then, primarily the one about the sale of shipyards, Paul Vandoren said

Croatia will enter the European Union in 2013 even if it doesn’t fulfill the remaining obligations by then, primarily the one about the sale of shipyards, head of EU’s delegation in Croatia Paul Vandoren said in an interview for Reuters. He also said that the EU would be carefully watching how the official Zagreb is reforming the judiciary, combating corruption, and restructuring shipbuilding and steel industries, but until Croatia’s EU accession there are no penal mechanisms for not fulfilling the obligations. July 1, 2013 was entered in the accession treaty unconditionally, Vandoren underlined. Until the accession, the EU can only send warning letters to the Croatian authorities, but Vandoren hopes there will be no need for that. After the accession, member states will be able to activate many protective mechanisms if Croatia will be violating the principles of EU’s internal market.

Source: Presscut.hr

New Year might bring 40,000 visitors in Croatia

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:41:40 +0000

Due to bad timing – this year Christmas and New Year’s holidays come on weekends - only about 50 hotels will be open on the Adriatic coast

Due to bad timing – this year Christmas and New Year’s holidays come on weekends - only about 50 hotels will be open on the Adriatic coast. It is expected that New Year might bring about 40,000 visitors in Croatia. Due to timing, most guests will arrive on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning and leave already on January 2. Regardless of that, Rovinj-based Maistra is opening five hotels and has sold most of its capacities. About 50,000 people are expected at the open-air New Year’s celebration in Split, but mostly locals. Still, there will be three hotels opened. Dubrovnik will have 17 hotels available, which expect more than 4,000 guests.

Source: http://www2.presscut.hr

Croatia’s Jan-Oct Tourist Numbers Rise 8.2%, Overnights Up 7%

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:35:14 +0000

ZAGREB (Croatia), December 12 (SeeNews) - The number of tourists staying in Croatia in the ten months through October rose by 8.2% to some 11.11 million, the Croatian Statistics Bureau said on Monday.

Source: http://www.seenews.com

Croatian real estate market stabilizes

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:26:30 +0000

According to the latest research of the Global Property Guide, Croatia’s real estate market stabilized in the third quarter of the year. In Q3 home prices adjusted for inflation were increased by 0.3 percent compared with Q2, when they were reduced by 1.75 percent.

Year-on-year, home prices were down by 4.59 percent in Q3, after having dropped 6.55 percent in Q2. In Q3 2010, the prices slid 5.53 percent y/y. This way, Croatia joined the group of countries in which the annual drop of retail prices was slowed down.

Nominal home prices in Croatia dropped by 0.35 percent in Q3, versus Q2 when they slid 0.81 percent. Year-on-year, they shrank by 2.62 percent, (-4.4 percent in Q2).

5.12.2011 | Author/Source PressCut - (Business.hr)

Ten-month construction output down by 9.4 per cent y/y

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:14:19 +0000

According to the latest official statistical data in Croatia, the decrease of output by the construction industry continues.

After a 7.5-percent slowdown in September, a fall by 7.4 per cent was seen in October 2011, y/y. Since there was only a slight decrease in the negative trend, it is not possible yet to speak of a turn, since the first ten months of 2011 saw an average fall by 9.4 per cent y/y. The relatively sharp decrease month-on-month was a result of unfavourable weather conditions in the colder part of the year.

Negative trends also maintain in the real estate market, and this contributes further to negative physical indicators in construction. Sales of apartments have been stagnant, as there are no buyers for the existing homes, nor is there demand to build new ones. In line with this, the number of building approvals issued in the first ten months of 2011 decreased by 3.9 per cent y/y.
Author/Source PressCut - (RBA Analysts)