Brazil: Still a 'Property Hotspot'?

Is Latin America really a property hotspot? - Times Online:

Times of London article re: Latin American exposure to a severe worldwide financial crisis.
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/overseas/article5196893.ece

Unmentioned, traditional Brazilian investment patterns with the stockmarket (and around the world) down by 50%. Money goes where the returns are best>>>

* Stockmarket going up? Investment in stocks- down.

* Stockmarket going down? Investment in property- up.

Good omen for property. Bad for the goose, good for the gander.

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"Business As Usual"

Peninsula de Maraú- Building sites and bromeliads overlooking the beach.

Insulated from the U.S. credit crunch, Brazil powers ahead....

Monday, February 18, 2008 - Vol. 10, No. 41
Amid Global Credit Crunch, It’s “Business as Usual” in Brazil

By Mike Burnick, Senior Editor and Global Markets Analyst and editor of Market Shock Trader.


The U.S. credit crunch is far from over as vulture-investors, and Warren Buffett, now circle the troubled monoline insurers. These distressed insurers, including Ambac and MBIA, are the latest victims of the “repricing of risk” as the Oracle of Omaha calls it.

However, several thousand miles and worlds away from Wall Street, the credit crunch appears to be having little spillover impact on South America’s biggest economy.

“Brazil’s credit markets are shrugging off the effects of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage debacle and maintaining business largely as usual,” according to a recent story in the Financial Times.

This is a significant statement considering how much of a fiscal basket-case this country has been in the past. Brazil was once the poster-boy for financial miss-management. Spiraling inflation, massive debts and a chronic history of currency devaluation is Brazil’s legacy from the 1970s and 1980s. But not anymore.

From Fiscal Basket Case to Paragon –
in Under 20 Years

Today, Brazil looks like a paragon of fiscal virtue compared to the United States. Brazil has paid down its foreign debts significantly in recent years. Inflation is low and has been falling, while interest rates are steadily coming down too.

Even the Brazilian real is one of the world’s strongest currencies. It’s appreciated about 8% against the greenback over the past year. That’s quite a reversal of fortune for Brazil.

Credit Crunch: Don’t Blame It on Rio –
Where It’s Business as Usual

Business conditions in Brazil have slowed somewhat this year, as is the case around the world. However, “overall credit markets are calm.” For one thing, bank lending in Brazil continues at a steady pace, even while the big European and U.S. banks are scared to lend.

Brazil’s total “stock of credit” stands at just 35% of GDP. That means Brazil is much less leveraged than many other financial markets. Brazilian firms carry much lower debt loads than many foreign competitors too.

The reason Brazil appears relatively insulated from the Wall Street credit crunch offers more evidence of financial “decoupling” at work. That’s also the case in Asia right now. The main source of Brazilian credit has been a steady advance in the domestic savings rate. This has been driven by “investments in fixed income securities that are, in effect, closed to foreigners” due to taxation issues. Brazilian domestic savings are more than enough to take up the slack.

Brazil’s fast growing economy may slow somewhat this year, in the face of a global downshift. “But many companies are betting on the domestic market to make up the difference. For them, investment capital is still available.”

Perhaps the Brazilians would be willing to bail out MBIA...

There are other signs that Brazil has weathered the credit storm that has hammered many global markets. In fact, while the MSCI Emerging Market Index is down about 17% from its high last year, Brazil has declined just 8%. The blue-chip S&P 500 Index by contrast is still down about 13%.

Decoupling seems to be alive and well in South America’s largest and most vibrant economy. That’s a great indication of more potential gains ahead when global markets rebound. Brazil is certainly one market that I’ll be watching closely.

MIKE BURNICK, Senior Editor & Global Markets Analyst

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US REIT Joins Parade

Península de Maraú- Cassange Beach looking north.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aqPBEU27Xyg0&refer=news

Hines, Calpers May Create $800 Million Brazil Fund by August
By Carla Simoes and Guillermo Parra-Bernal

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Hines, a U.S. real estate developer, and the California Public Employees' Retirement System may create an $800 million fund to buy properties in Brazil as demand for commercial space surges in Latin America's largest economy.

The fund would be the third that closely held, Houston- based Hines and Sacramento, California-based Calpers have created for Brazil. Some proceeds from the fund may be invested in low-income housing, Douglas Munro, chief executive of Hines do Brasil Empreendimentos, said in an interview yesterday. The fund may be ready by August, Munro said.

Hines is investing outside the U.S. to make up for a decline in the value of properties in the country, where the housing industry is in recession for the first time in 16 years and the dollar is losing ground against most major currencies. Hines may also invest in Angola and India, Munro said.

``So far, the performance of these Brazilian funds has been fabulous. We have obtained an excellent rate of return for our investors,'' Munro told Bloomberg Television in Sao Paulo. ``The drop in the dollar and a need to diversify portfolios has led our clients to look for new places'' like Brazil.

Foreign investment in new construction and real estate projects in Brazil jumped 35 percent to $2 billion last year, as the fastest expansion in three years raises demand for warehouses, manufacturing plants and distribution centers, Brazil's central bank reported last month. Record low interest rates and rising wages stoked record mortgage borrowing, and government guarantees for low-income homebuyers are making low cost homes attractive, Munro said.

Hines plans to expand from Brazil's biggest cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to as many as 20 mid-sized cities like Santos, where Latin America's biggest port is located, in the next two to three years, Munro said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Carla Simoes in Sao Paulo atcsimoes1@bloomberg.net ; Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Sao Paulo atgparra@bloomberg.net .

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US REIT's in Brazil

Península de Maraú- Sunset on Cassange Lake + canoe (photo, Alex Uchoa)

Tiresome. The unending media torrent on the exploding Brazilian real estate market. This one claims China and India are 'over'- leaving "R" (Russia) and "B" (Brazil) of the giant killing BRIC's.

Lots of reasons: Underlying strength in the economy, huge trade balance, healthy balance of payments, low inflation, strong currency and expanding liquidity and plummeting interest rates. So, how long can the Brazilian Boom last? Easy. Until the Next Big Thing (NBT). Which is, BTW?

The NY Post's take >>>

UA OGLING COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01062008/business/hot_brazilian_nabes_722413.htm

> Brazil's currency soared 20 percent in 2007, the fifth straight annual advance and the biggest since a 22 percent rally in 2003. The real gained the most against the dollar last year among the 16 most actively traded currencies. <

> With new commercial developments in the US reaping returns of just 3 percent to 8 percent, and with the weak dollar making Europe prohibitively expensive, the red-hot Brazilian economy attracted $3 billion in US investment cash last year - more than 20 times the amount invested there in 2006, said Fabio Maceira, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Brazil.<


HOT BRAZILIAN NABES
US OGLING COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
By CARA TABACHNICK

January 6, 2008 -- Forget about the girls from Ipanema, US commercial real estate kingpins are now ogling and waving fistfuls of dollars at Brazil's newest hot commodity: its underdeveloped retail sector.
With new commercial developments in the US reaping returns of just 3 percent to 8 percent, and with the weak dollar making Europe prohibitively expensive, the red-hot Brazilian economy attracted $3 billion in US investment cash last year - more than 20 times the amount invested there in 2006, said Fabio Maceira, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Brazil.
Returns on new commercial development in Brazil are running as high as 25 percent. And consider this about South America's largest economy:

* Its Bovespa stock market was up nearly 44 percent last year.
* There are only 350 shopping centers to serve Brazil's 180 million population - compared to the 49,000 shopping centers in the US to serve our 303.2 million folks.
* The Brazil economy is now the ninth-largest in the world.
"People already looked at India and China and are now looking for the next place," said Gary Limjuco, director of equity investments for Time Equities Inc., who has been tracking Brazil real estate investments over the past year.
With its explosive growth, Brazil is attracting investment cash from some of the biggest names in real estate. For example:

* Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management purchased five upscale shopping malls in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for $965 million.
* New York developers Tishman Speyer sunk $500 million into office buildings, and Texas-based Hines Interests LP real estate firm recently purchased the BankBoston building, a Sao Paulo landmark, while its REIT recently snapped up a distribution facility for $53.7 million.
* Joining the mix are American Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), responding to the call for more retail space. Tennessee-based CBL Properties partnered with local Brazilian developers, Tenco, to build a shopping mall in the coastal city of Macaé.
"I am very bullish on the market," said Maceira. "We are seeing a very good moment in Brazil."
"There's a considerable amount of markets and dense enough population to support shopping centers in middle markets as well as in Rio and Sao Paulo," said CBL President Steve Lebovitz. "It makes us feel there is a very bright future in Brazil."
While the real estate gold rush is expected to continue, the dollar, which has been relatively strong against Brazil's real, is beginning to show some weakness.
"Investment flows, be it from trade or portfolio investments, will continue to support the real this year," Francisco Carvalho, head of currency trading at Liquidez Corretora DVTM, told Bloomberg.
Brazil's currency soared 20 percent in 2007, the fifth straight annual advance and the biggest since a 22 percent rally in 2003. The real gained the most against the dollar last year among the 16 most actively traded currencies.
/span>

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Brazil Boom Now

Península de Maraú- Cassange Beach Afternoon

To paraphrase Rummy (Rumsfeld) there are things we know- and there are things we don't know. Increasingly, good and bad- my attitude is why waste time pursuing things we don't know?

Today's LA Times business article discusses a thing we DO know >>>>

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-brazilecon31dec31,1,7294317,full.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=4&cset=true

GLOBAL CAPITAL
Brazil's now a Hot Commodity

From aviation to agriculture, it's an economy on the upswing
By Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 31, 2007

SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, BRAZIL -- For years, the joke in this country was that Brazil's economy was the economy of the future. The morose punch line, of course, was that the future never arrives.

But finally, it seems, the future is now.

Just peek into Embraer's Hangar F220 in this city north of the capital, Brasilia (Blogger note: Wrong. It is north of Sao Paulo) where this month the highflying commercial aircraft maker was putting finishing touches on a dozen gleaming planes being readied for delivery to airlines around the world, including Northwest, Air Canada, Tame of Ecuador and Virgin Australia.

Or visit the Odebrecht construction company, in Salvador in Brazil's northeast. It is managing billions of dollars worth of international public works projects, including its second $1-billion bridge over Venezuela's Orinoco River and a piece of the Panama Canal expansion.

Then there's Petrobras, the quasi-state oil company, whose engineers have launched deep-water drilling projects in places as far afield as Angola and close to home as Colombia and the Gulf of Mexico. Petrobras announced last month that it had discovered what may be the world's largest oil find in 25 years, in Brazil's offshore Tupi field. If that pans out, Tupi could propel Brazil into the ranks of significant oil exporters.

After several boom-and-bust cycles in recent decades, Brazil is in the midst of its best sustained economic growth since the 1970s. Optimism is high that the country may have turned the corner on the road to stability. And the emergence of companies like Embraer, Odebrecht and Petrobras on the world stage is one major factor in Brazil's improved fiscal health.

"The Brazilian economy is probably at its best moment in 25 years," said Paulo Levy, economist at a Rio de Janeiro-based think tank known by its Portuguese initials IPEA, citing four years of good economic growth.

Exports of manufactured goods and services have given Brazil's economy balance and helped foreign reserves climb to $167 billion, double the figure of September 2006. The country has paid down its debt, lowered interest rates and kept a lid on spending. Economic growth will come in at 5.3% this year, lower than the hemisphere's 5.7%, but quite a feat for a country that over the previous 10 years averaged only 2.5% annual expansion.

Foreign investors have taken notice, evidenced by the 44% increase in the Bovespa stock index this year, the fifth year of growth. That's a bigger percentage gain than in Russia, Chile or South Korea, even though Brazil's GDP growth this year will fall short of those countries. Brazilian companies have done a record 100 initial public stock offerings in 2007, five times the number of last year, with 70% of the money raised supplied by foreigners.

"That's good for Brazilian companies because it's a cheaper source of financing," said Reginaldo Takara, senior director in the Sao Paulo office of the Standard & Poor's credit rating agency. "Now they have partners instead of creditors."

Investors' improved perceptions of Brazil are also evident in the $30 billion that foreigners have plowed directly into Brazilian companies this year, a 60% increase over last year. The flood of foreign cash has helped spur the currency, the real, to double in value against the dollar in four years.

Also giving Brazil an enormous boost is the jump in commodity prices in recent years. The country is the world's leading exporter of chicken, coffee, sugar, soy, beef and orange juice.

Much of the foreign money now flowing into Brazil is coming from investors who expect the country's debt to receive an investment-grade rating from major firms such as Standard & Poor's over the next couple of years, said Gustavo Franco, a former head of Brazil's central bank and now an executive with Rio Bravo Financial Services in Sao Paulo, the country's financial center.

"If the experiences of Russia, Chile and Mexico are an indication, a ratings upgrade will produce a boost in equity prices, stock [price-to-earnings] multiples and earnings," Franco said. "That's what investors are anticipating."

Some institutional investors, such as pension funds, can only invest in countries with top debt ratings, Franco noted. If Brazil is able to secure that, it will drive demand and raise prices, he predicted.

About a quarter of Brazilian stock offerings this year have been launched by real estate investment companies targeting a housing deficit estimated at 7.5 million units by ABN Amro economist Zeina Latif in Sao Paulo. She expects a short-term boom in housing construction, fueled by long-term fixed-rate mortgage credit, which was not available in Brazil until recently.

The red-hot quality of Brazilian markets is all the more stunning considering the situation just five years ago. In 2002, leftist Workers Party leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the presidency by campaigning on promises to renationalize utilities that had been sold to the private sector. Investors fled, and stocks and the currency plummeted.

In something of a surprise, though, Lula has stuck with the fiscal reforms implemented by his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso. That, plus his "discipline" in limiting federal spending, Franco said, are big factors behind the current economic boom.

"Lula is a converted neoliberal," Franco said.

At the same time, welfare programs for the poor and elderly that give monthly handouts to one-third of the population have reduced the extreme polarization of wage distribution and helped turbocharge consumer spending, now growing at 15% a year, said Ana Carla Costa, an economist at Sao Paulo-based Tendencias consultants.

Wages are up and unemployment is down. Another encouraging sign for investors has been the rapid expansion of credit and banking activity. The number of bank accounts has grown 50% since 2001, while bank deposits and credit cards have doubled, said Nicola Tingas, the chief economist of the Brazilian Federation of Banks.

The value of outstanding loans is growing 20% annually. Analysts attribute the expansion to tougher bankruptcy laws passed two years ago that allow lenders to tap into borrowers' wages for repayment.

Of course, Brazil still faces serious challenges that could take the wind out of its economic sails. Lula has invested little in infrastructure, and Sao Paulo economist Roberto Troster said that was causing the nation to slip in world competitiveness.

Roads and ports are overloaded. Electricity demand is growing so fast -- 6% annually nationwide -- that power may be rationed as soon as next year if there is a cutoff of gas from Bolivia, which supplies half of Brazil's needs, or inadequate rainfall reduces hydropower output, said Adriano Pires, who heads a Rio think tank that studies infrastructure.

Taxes are 36% of gross national product, among the highest in the world, and bank federation economist Tingas said Brazilians receive little for what they pay. "You pay twice as much and you get nothing in return," he said.

A deep U.S. or global economic downturn would be damaging to Brazil's economy. For one thing, it would damp demand for its commodities, which account for 53% of its exports. Economist Troster said it was too early to declare that Brazil's economy had diversified enough and fundamentally changed. "We're not turning a corner, we're repeating a cycle," he said

At Embraer, management is less concerned about macroeconomics than maintaining a competitive edge and seeking out new market niches in an environment made more difficult by Brazil's appreciating currency.

It admits to growing pains such as difficulty finding qualified technical staff.

Booming demand for its 70- and 100-seat jets spurred the company to add a staggering 6,000 employees to its workforce this year. The company used to import foreign engineers to fill slots. Now it trains up to 100 engineers a year at its own master's-level, on-site engineering school.

After exploiting the mid-sized jetliner market over the last decade, the company believes it has found another niche in executive jets. Next year will roll out three private luxury models targeting the United States as well as booming emerging markets, such as Russia and the Middle East.

Such worries weren't even on Embraer's radar screen 15 years ago, when the company was primarily making propeller planes for the domestic market. Now, Embraer says it expects to soon become the third-largest commercial jet maker after Boeing and Airbus, passing Canada's Bombardier.

"Brazilian companies are starting to become global players," said Horacio Forjaz, the company's vice president. "We're in a virtuous cycle."

chris.kraul@latimes.com

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US Liquidity/BR Economy Firewall

Península de Maraú- The tip, Ponta do Mutá, Camamú Bay, top; Atlantic Ocean, bottom
http://www.acheiusa.com/acheiusa/arquivo/0176/materias/achei-brasil1.asp

"Crise imobiliária nos EUA não afetará o Brasil", diz Meirelles.

Presidente do Banco Central acredita numa taxa de inflação de 4,2% no ano que vem. O presidente do Banco Central brasileiro, Henrique Meirelles, não acredita que o país será afetado, em 2008, pela possível recessão norte-americana.

“Se isso acontecer, certamente terá efeito na economia mundial. Mas o Brasil está muito menos dependente da economia americana. Temos segurança de que o País vai crescer em taxas robustas no ano que vem, mesmo com os problemas nos Estados Unidos”, disseMeirelles.

Ele afirmou que as previsões de mercado mostram uma taxa de inflação de 4,2% para 2008, o que estaria dentro das metas fixadas pelo Conselho Monetário Nacional (CMN) para o BC, inclusive abaixo do teto da meta. Meirelles acrescentou que não se pode descartar intempéries na economia mundial, mesmo com o crescimento dos EUA em um ritmo forte. “Por um lado, a economia dá sinais de que está robusta, mas há o problema de crédito sério, que pode gerar diminuição do nível de atividade à frente. Não se sabe com certeza o que vai acontecer lá”, afirmou.

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Itacaré in the NY Times

Itacaré: One of the 53 Places to Go in 2008

Itacaré well known among the in crowd, is a major gateway to the Península. Brazil's only 6 star hotel ended up on several “it” lists 18 months before it opens. But Warapuru (www.warapuru.com), a lavish eco-resort, is expected to finally open next year. Designed by London-based Anouska Hempel, the resort has brought attention to Itacaré, an under-the-radar beach town on Brazil's north coast that draws celebrities, surfers and the elite of Rio de Janeiro. One of Brazil's top boutique hotels, Txai Resorts is located nearby, plus an abundance of rare Atlantic Rain Forest, both expansive and cove like beaches, and ecotours and adventures like rafting, 4WD excursions, rapelling, etc. I would not want to live in the middle of a 'circus', which is why the laid back Peninsula- which stretches 50 km north- is just fine with me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/travel/09where.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5087&em&en=5759e794ed852c18&ex=1197349200

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Top Investment: Brazil

Península de Maraú- Bromeliads, other typical native plants

Interesting facts on the explosion of the Brazilian real estate investment market (Portuguese).

href="http://www.administradores.com.br/noticias/brasil_um_dos_grandes_paises_para_investimentos/12852/">Brasil:

"Brazil: One of the Top Investment Countries"

Brasil: um dos grandes países para investimentos
13 de novembro de 2007
Por Cristina Salvador e John Markunas - Vera Moreira Comunicação

É fato. O Brasil conseguiu se posicionar como um dos países que pode ser colocado no mesmo patamar dos grandes países para investimentos globais. Queremos aqui mencionar de uma só vez dois setores que dão lastro a tal afirmação: o imobiliário e o turístico.

Vários fatores contribuíram para esse aceleramento. É indiscutível mencionar a queda da inflação, acompanhada do incremento da renda familiar, das contas externas e do conceito de risco país, além da adoção de uma gestão de infra-estrutura, onde efetivamente são aplicados os conceitos de sustentabilidade e de responsabilidade sócio-ambiental. Mas, não podemos deixar de lado que efetivamente, a adoção de uma série de medidas tomadas ao final de 2005, voltadas ao parque da construção imobiliária, muito contribuíram neste sentido.

O Brasil tornou-se competitivo, pois, ao contrário de uma série de países, prevê poucas restrições para a aquisição de imóveis por estrangeiros. O processo de aquisição costuma levar apenas de 10 a 90 dias para ser concluído. Porém, encontra como seus maiores concorrentes os países em grande desenvolvimento econômico como China, Rússia e Índia.

Não sentimos nenhuma insegurança ao afirmar que o Brasil se coloca, ademais, no radar dos investidores estrangeiros no mercado imobiliário, ou seja, vislumbramos um painel altamente atrativo do ponto de vista macro-econômico.

Vale ressaltar, ainda, que recentes alterações na legislação e a conseqüente adoção de novos instrumentos jurídicos, passaram a dar mais segurança ao vendedor e ao comprador numa transação imobiliária. Nesse sentido, está em vigor desde 2004, a Lei nº. 10.931 - Patrimônio de Afetação, que determina a separação da contabilidade da obra, das contas da incorporadora ou construtora, protegendo, assim, os compradores de uma possível insolvência do incorporador. Também chamada de "Lei do Incontroverso", esta norma determina que o comprador continue a pagar o valor principal da parcela da compra, excluindo-se a parte correspondente a juros e correções, no caso de uma discussão judicial sobre valores relacionados ao financiamento ou parcelamento. Além disso, este valor que discutido deve estar discriminado na respectiva petição judicial.

Ainda no âmbito de reforma legislativa, a Lei nº. 11.382 de 2006, que alterou alguns pontos sobre a execução no Código de Processo Civil brasileiro, trata da "averbação premonitória", trazendo mecanismos que reduzem o risco de fraudes à execução. Isso porque, dispõe que qualquer dívida oposta ao proprietário do imóvel, discutida judicialmente, deverá ser averbada na matrícula do imóvel. Assim, o interessado na aquisição de um imóvel poderá ter ciência se o bem em questão tem algum ônus ou gravame.

Além das disposições legais, uma outra forma de proteção disponível é o seguro de bem imobiliário. Este seguro protege o comprador contra uma enorme variedade de riscos de título como fraude, ônus prévios, defeitos e gravames ocultos nos títulos legais. Sua apólice atenua estes riscos e assegura títulos negociáveis bons e desembaraçados, e proporciona proteção ao comprador e/ou credor contra uma gama de riscos e vícios potenciais.

Esta apólice protege o investidor contra riscos básicos de falta ou perda da propriedade, bem como cobre todos os custos de uma demanda judicial, a fim de se defender contra reivindicações sobre propriedade. Ela também assegura contra defeitos e gravames relacionados ao título, e contra problemas de cumprimento de zoneamento, códigos e permissões.

Outros benefícios conferidos por este tipo de seguro também têm facilitado as operações de aquisição de propriedade, tendo em vista a simplificação de alguns procedimentos burocráticos usualmente adotados, como due diligences e análise de vasta documentação, que acabam por protelar o fechamento da operação.

Antes disponível apenas nos EUA, o seguro de bens imobiliários está se tornando um instrumento financeiro muito bem estabelecido para atenuar riscos nas aquisições, financiamento e securitização de propriedade, em sentido global, incluindo o Brasil.

É aconselhável que especialistas de áreas diversas, incluindo advogado especializado no mercado mobiliário, estejam presentes para assessorar todo o processo de investimento. Além disso, este deve assessorar a compra de ações na bolsa, caso esta seja a opção desejada, ou então, partindo para outras opções de investimentos, como os fundos de investimentos em participação, os títulos como letras hipotecárias, e os próprios Certificados de Recebíveis Imobiliários (CRI's), dentre outros.

Na área do Turismo, é certo que uma nova classe de investidores está presente, tendo como cenário mundial uma liquidez bastante acentuada, o que justifica, ademais, tal setor já representar o quinto maior Item da balança comercial brasileira.

Encabeçando a lista dos grandes investidores em Turismo Imobiliário os portugueses colocam-se no topo, sendo que logo a seguir os espanhóis, os franceses, os ingleses e até mesmo os nórdicos.

A procura dos estrangeiros encontra-se principalmente no Nordeste do Brasil. As praias paradisíacas, o clima agradável, o baixo valor e a potencial possibilidade de valorização dos imóveis, atraíram em 2006 um grande número de europeus para a região. Muitos deles procuram por oportunidades para aquisição da segunda moradia ou até construção de grandes empreendimentos voltados ao lazer. Nos últimos anos, grandes empresas estrangeiras começaram a procura por terrenos e os adquiriram para tais construções.

Segundo especialistas do setor imobiliário brasileiro, no que se refere aos grandes centros metropolitanos, atualmente existem diversas tendências, porém, as mais promissoras estão no ramo dos imóveis comerciais. Para as construções residenciais, buscam-se as "green buildings", ou seja, construções que valorizam a proteção e preservação ao meio ambiente.

Estamos atentos ao que o mercado oferece e buscamos participar de entidades e organizações que já atuam, tanto na área de certificações, como na sólida capacitação, adquirida ao longo dos anos, para suprir os investidores em questões relacionadas ao tópico "Segurança Jurídica para Investimentos no Brasil", como também quanto a quaisquer esclarecimentos em relação às "Leis de Uso de Ocupação do Solo".

A questão que se coloca é o que o investidor quer receber? Rentabilidade e segurança. E o nosso papel, como um dos alicerces de orientação e implementação, balizados pela experiência consolidada, é de fornecer garantias que contribuam para que o investidor consiga realmente obter aquilo que almeja.


*Cristina Salvador é advogada do escritório Miguel Neto Advogados - www.miguelneto.com.br e *John Markunas é Executivo da LandAmerica Financial Group - www.landam.com

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Transforming the Peninsula: 10 Easy Steps

Península de Maraú Tip- Continent & Bay/above, Ocean/below. (photo Juca)

Friend Neil in So Cal recently asked, "What about traffic (on the Peninsula)?"

"WHAT traffic?", I replied. There is none. Well, crabs, turtles, hawks, Land Rover® 'echo'-tours...

Until 2003, the Peninsula was populated mainly by fishermen, coconut farmers, basic small tradesmen, a few guest houses (pousadas), pioneer types, hermits, mavericks, ne'er-do-wells, outlaws. (There is still neither bank, post office, hospital nor much more...)


But the traffic is on its way. The local population has not a clue, whether good, bad or indifferent. But, "In the Kingdom of the Blind, the one-eyed man..."

Once both highways are completed (State of Bahia N-S Linha Verde ("Green Line") Tourism Highway BR-001 and Federal Peninsula Highway BR-030- watch out!

It will be interesting, at least academically, to watch the circus come to town. Who will lead the parade? Who will trail? Who will win? Who will lose?

Thanks to a privileged 'one-eyedness', an outline of the emerging development surge in Ten Easy Steps........


#1. First high-end developments led the parade:
Kiaroa Resort and federal government honcho Duda Mendonça's tropical palace.
(Completed, 2004)

#2. Developers, hotel chains, real estate investment groups position, bought up remaining large (several hundred to thousands of meters) beach front.
(Completed, 2006)

#3. Construction approvals (hotels, resorts, airport, marinas, ports, sewage treatment in Maraú, electricity, etc)
(2007- )

#4. Highways completed, advanced planning & bids in for new International Airport to be built an hour away
(By 1st quarter, 2008)

#5. Construction begins on #3. Land values soar, social displacement, the Península becomes a "destination"
(2008- )

#6. Highway traffic: Construction materials, surveyors, bureaucrats, workers' and public buses, real estate agents
(2008- )

#7. Construction completed and launch of vastly increased hotel and second home accommodation
(2008-2011)

#8. 'Camp followers' move in: Drug dealers, masseuses, whores, bandits, taxmen, government carpetbaggers
(2008, or the scent of money. Whichever comes first.)

#9. Infrastructure problems: groundwater, electricity, sewage issues, highway maintenance, crime, as local authorities struggle to keep up.
(2010- )

#10. Municipality struggling with the results of relatively unplanned development, environmental degradation, social issues. Corruption, an increasingly expensive 'solution'.
(2010- )



This will be first time I get to watch explosive development early in the cycle. But it can't be hard to guess what will happen, can it?

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The Gringos Are Coming!

Península de Maraú- Coconut Paradise along Cassange Beach

So, what took them so long......?

Local anecdote: A Carioca buddy's US friend is currently investing on average US$50M/month, acquisition range US$10M-150M/property- on behalf of a US REIT....

CNN article on US real estate investment funds (REITS) moving into Brazil and Mexico.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/IBD-0001-20341794.htm

U.S. Commercial Real Estate Bulls Run South Of The Border
October 18, 2007: 08:05 PM EST

Oct. 19, 2007 (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --

U.S. real estate investors are staking claims in Latin American countries where growth has returned after years of economic struggle. Property yields have hit 9% to 15% a year there, compared with roughly 5% to 8% in the U.S.

Take Brazil. While foreign investors drizzled just $143 million into Brazilian property in the first half of 2006, they poured in more than 15 times that in the first half of 2007, about $2.2 billion, according to Chicago-based real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle. (NYSE:JLL)

U.S. real estate investment trusts, private equity funds and other backers are behind much of the activity, though European investors are showing increasing interest, says Steve Collins, managing director of international capital markets for Jones Lang LaSalle.

"We think over the next couple of years you're going to see a huge boom in Latin America," he said.

In Brazil and Mexico, disposable income is rising and pent-up demand is lifting real estate returns.

Internal growth, tourism and foreign investment in other industries are boosting Brazil's economy amid retreating inflation. Plus, analysts expect Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) to upgrade the country's credit rating to investment grade next year.

Brazil's gross domestic product grew 3.7% last year. Mexico's grew 4.8%.

Brazil Buyers

The potential pitfalls hardly have dented interest in Brazil.

New York office investor and developer Tishman Speyer raised $500 million earlier this year to invest in the country. In August, it acquired a block-long landmark building dating to the 1930s in the heart of downtown Rio de Janeiro.

Tishman Speyer intends to rehab and modernize the structure, much like the Rockefeller Center redevelopment it launched in the late 1990s. Tishman Speyer also is developing four office towers in Sao Paulo. Construction of the first tower is expected to wrap up this month.

Brazil's rising retail sales, up 10% at midyear, are drawing American retail REITs.

REIT Moves

Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE:DDR PRF) (NYSE:DDR PRI) (NYSE:DDR PRH) (NYSE:DDR PRG) (NYSE:DDR) DDR last year acquired a 50% interest in Sao Paulo-based Sonae Sierra Brazil, which owns nine retail assets. The partnership will open a mall in 2009. Developers Diversified's initial stake was valued at $150 million.

Meanwhile, Chicago-based General Growth Properties (NYSE:GGP) GGP has acquired an ownership interest in eight centers since entering into a joint venture known as Aliansce Shopping Centers in 2004.

Aliansce is building four regional shopping centers in Brazil. Two are due to open late this year.

Aliansce had planned to raise $378million on Brazil's Bovespa stock exchange this summer, but withdrew amid the global sell-off. Aliansce will revisit the offering this fall, General Growth CFO Bernie Freibaum said in the REIT's second-quarter earnings conference.

"(Aliansce) doesn't need capital," he told analysts. "We want to take it public so we can utilize Brazilian stock market currency for potential future acquisitions."

Newstex ID: IBD-0001-20341794

Originally published in the October 19, 2007 version of Investor's Business Daily.
Copyright (c) 2007, Investor's Business Daily, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Investor's Business Daily, Inc. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

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NE Real Estate Boom (cont.)

Península de Maraú- Native fish traps, Camamú Bay (photo Juca Filho)

World's fourth largest airport under construction in Natal in the Northeast. 5 million holiday visitors per year are expected from Europe.

Ho hum. Feeling saturated by the flood of articles about the BOOMING NE Brazil holiday real estate market? I certainly am.

Not, apparently, Scandinavians, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Germans and the British. Five or six more published today- published in New Zeland and the UK.....


http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1383495

Europeans Buy Brazilian Spot in the Sun
Sep 28, 2007

With the phone ringing nonstop and customers queuing up, Leilo Moreira, a real estate agent in the popular beach town of Porto De Galinhas, cannot cope with the many foreigners wanting to buy their spot along Brazil's sun-drenched, northeastern coast.

"I have only one more beach-front lot available to build, I have more customers than I can deal with," said Moreira, who now gets half of his business from foreigners.

Investors are spending billions of dollars to build second homes for Europeans, fueling an unprecedented real estate boom in what was long seen as Brazil's most backward region. Prices in some areas have increased ten-fold in six years.

What began with a trickle of adventurous foreigners buying property to live the "tropical life" in the early 1990s is turning into a stream of seasonal ocean-hoppers looking for sun, fun and a touch of Brazilian charm.

"It's just marvelous here, a picture book beach and people with this contagious cheerfulness - they make my day," Jose Maria Jubells, a 60-year-old Catalan painter said from his new flat in Fortaleza, where he spends half of the year.

Developers are building at least 80,000 residences for foreigners in the northeast, according to the regional development association ADIT.

"Brazil is making a grand entry onto the European second home market," said Rodrigo Lowndes, executive director of Qualta Resorts, a Spanish group spending 1 billion reais ($538 million) on a complex in Pernambuco state with 4,000 homes.

Sales points include 300-plus days of sunshine, a vibrant culture, year-round warm ocean water, and no hurricanes.

Spaniards, Portuguese and Italians are the main buyers but new charter flights are bringing clients from Scandinavia and from Britain, one of the biggest second home markets.

Rising Prices

Rising prices of second homes in southern Europe were instrumental in putting Brazil on the global real estate radar. A beach house in southern Spain now goes for around 450,000 Euros, three times its equivalent in Brazil, brokers say.

From Caipirinha cocktails to domestic help, the cost of living is between 30 and 60 percent lower than in Europe.

"More Europeans are willing to hop on a plane for 7 hours (from Lisbon to Fortaleza) to improve their lifestyle," said Ruy Rego, of the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, which is building a 1.5 billion reais resort in Recife targeted mainly at foreigners.

In addition to tennis courts and golf courses, many residence resorts have concierges, security guards, and services to let unused flats.

In Rio Grande do Norte state, the construction boom is causing infrastructure bottlenecks.

"We can't implement all the proposed projects at the same time - roads, water, and permits all take time," said Fernando Fernandes, the state tourism secretary.

The Spanish Sanchez group begins construction in December of a 1 billion Euros complex in the city of Natal, including 20,000 residences, eight hotels, and five golf courses, Fernandes said.

More buildings, traffic, and fences worries some owners.

"The risk is losing the charm we all came here for," said Jean-Marc Panchaud, a Swiss who moved to Porto de Galinhas in 1988 when it was still a sleepy fishing village.

Authorities insist strict zoning and environmental requirements will preserve beaches, mangroves and dunes.

"I think we've learned from bad development projects elsewhere but we need to manage this boom properly if we want it to last," said Jose Antonio Simon of ADIT.


http://www.fairinvestment.co.uk/property-news-New-flights-boost-Brazilian-tourism-18295741.html

New Flights Boost Brazilian Tourism
28/09/2007

The availability of daily flights from Europe to Brazil could help to increase the number of tourists visiting the country.
A spokesperson for Property Frontiers said that most European cities offer flights every day to Brazil and the country is currently building another large airport in the north.

According to the expert, the new airport in the Natal region of the country is expected to bring a further five million visitors to the country each year - a development which could also boost the property market.

"Brazil is becoming increasingly popular with British investors for a number of reasons including its sunny, tropical, year-round climate, low property prices, rapidly expanding tourism industry and relatively stable economy," she remarked.

The relatively low property prices in the country could allow for "room for growth", she said, stating that prices have increased by up to 20 per cent in some areas over the last few years.

A spokesperson for Knight Frank recently said that Brazil has yet to see the same level of development as Dubai or Spain and so offers investors a certain degree of "exclusivity".


http://news.opodo.co.uk/articles/2007-09-27/18296532-Tourism-in.php

Tourism in Brazil 'Growing Fast'
27 September 2007

Tourism in Brazil is going through a phase of rapid growth thanks to substantial government investment, according to emerging real estate company Property Frontiers.

Interest from tourists is traditionally seen as an important supporting factor for real estate industries and a spokesperson for Property Frontiers said this is becoming increasingly evident in Brazil.

'Tourism in the country is increasing rapidly and in the first eight months of 2006, international tourist arrivals experienced a 4.5% growth from the same period of 2005,' she said.

The company representative explained that the Brazilian tourism industry has recently benefited from an injection of over $670m (£331m), much of which has been channelled into the north of the country.

'In the Natal region, the construction of the fourth largest airport in the world is underway and should bring in 5m travellers a year,' she added.

Brazil is accessible from many major European cities, with connections to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo available from London.


http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/travel-resources/travel-news/general-travel/airport-set-to-boost-brazilian-tourism/a-3-143-627/

Airport Set to Boost Brazilian Tourism

Social and exchange rate stability have helped to boost tourism in Brazil.

What's more, the Brazilian government's ongoing Action Programme for the Integrated Development of Tourism (Prodetur) is expected to open up the northern regions of Brazil to holidaymakers and facilitate further expansion in the tourism industry.

More than $670 million (£331 million) has been invested by the Brazilian government in the first phase of Prodetur as it seeks to improve on a tourism growth rate which is already in excess of four per cent.

As part of the project, the world's fourth largest airport is currently under construction in the Natal region of the country - a development which a spokesperson for Property Frontiers believes will greatly increase the number of travellers to the area.

"Daily flights are available from a large number of European cities, and to complement the construction of the world's fourth largest airport in the north, more and more flights are being scheduled to the country," she said.

"As far as Natal is concerned, European tourism levels, mainly from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK, are increasing at a rapid pace."

The spokesperson added that the number of tourists arriving in the country was up by 4.5 per cent in the first eight months of 2006 on 2005 levels.


http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/resources/property-news/property-investment-news/brazil-s-property-market-booming/a-2-55-514/

Brazil's Property Market Booming

Brazil is quickly developing a prosperous property market, according to new economic results.

With the largest economy in Latin America and the fifth largest country in the world, the region is benefitting from strong development in the real estate and tourism sectors. Goldman Sachs is predicting that Brazil could be a dominant force in the world economy by 2050.

There has also been a 134 per cent increase in tourist numbers during the period from 2002 to 2005 and the government is working towards increasing annual visitor numbers to around nine million a year – welcome news for those with holiday rentals in the region.

In addition, the ongoing work on the construction on an international airport in the city of Natal is planning a key role in improving access for tourists and developing the local infrastructure.

With its growing economy, Brazil the 5th largest country in the world, is benefiting from a significant expansion of tourism-related property investment.

In 2006, property lending doubled in Brazil and the construction industry is thriving and recently local banks did not offer broad lending to customers but with the stabilisation of Brazil’s economy, they have recognised the opportunity for investment.

An additional 8 million homes are needed throughout Brazil, but it’s not just the residential market that needs to be provided for. Brazil’s tourism sector is soaring as the country is experiencing a large amount of visitors to the country. A 134% increase in tourist numbers occurred between 2002 and 2005. The government is keen to see this expansion continue to a high of 9 million annually and are investing a great deal into the tourism industry and improving the country’s infrastructure.

Sunshine, natural beauty and first-class hospitality have transformed Brazil’s north eastern region into one of the most sought after tourist spots and an opportunity to invest should not be missed.

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British Investments Soar

Península de Maraú- Preparing to build within beachside coconut grove

Reported today (25 September, 2007) by a UK property investment site based on quotes from Knight Frank property firm and a Sunday Mirror article entitled-

"Brazil Increasingly Popular with British Investors"

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/resources/property-news/property-investment-news/brazil-increasingly-popular-with-overseas-investors-/a-2-55-624/

"The availability of cheap flights and booming economies means British investors are turning to the 'BRIC' countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China as viable locations for property investment, it has been claimed.

A report in a British Sunday paper suggests that while traditional hotspots such as Spain, France and Cyprus are still popular, BRIC countries are rapidly making up ground.

In particular, Brazil was highlighted as an attractive location for landlords to expand their portfolios given that a growing tourism industry and strong economy are acting to push up prices.

"Investors have been clamouring to take advantage of rising prices," the Sunday Mirror commented.

This view has been echoed by analysts at residential and commercial property firm Knight Frank, who believe that Brazil offers considerable opportunities to overseas investors given the housing market's early stage of development.

In excess of £20 billion was spent by Britons on overseas properties in 2006, the Mirror details."

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Best Boutique Hotel in Brazil

Península de Maraú- Pristine Cassange Beach (photo, Juca Filho)

Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as the "Travel industry's equivalent of the Oscar's", World Travel Awards announced September 17th the winners of the awards for 2007. Following a vote by 150,000 tourism professionals from 200 countries, the 14th Annual World Travel Awards Ceremony in New York City selected Península's 'Kiaroa Eco-Luxury Resort' (http://www.kiaroa.com.br/) as the "Leading Boutique Hotel in Brazil". Henrique Abreu, its Commercial Directo, received the award on behalf of Kiaroa Eco-Luxury Resort.

Top awards for Brazil:

Brazil's Leading Boutique Hotel Kiaroa Eco-Luxury Resort
Brazil's Leading Conference Hotel Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo
Brazil's Leading Hotel Copacabana Palace
Brazil's Leading Resort Casa Grande Hotel Resort & Spa
Brazil's Leading Spa Resort Kurotel Clinica E Spa
Brazil's Leading Suite Presidential Suite at Ouro Minas Palace Hotel

English:
http://www.worldtravelawards.com/winners2007-12

Portuguese:
http://www.mercadoeeventos.com.br/script/FdgDestaqueTemplate.asp?pStrLink=3,28,0,24296&IndSeguro=0

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Second Peek......

[PHOTOS REMOVED AT REQUEST OF SURF PHOTOGRAPHER CACAO FALCAO: "HEY, LET'S NOT CROWD OUR WAVES!" ]

Cacau's Secret Spot- (Photo, anon.)

It's a long story- don't ask.

But let's not make Cacau unhappy. Better leave the board at home.

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Shorty's Property Tips

Península de Maraú- Rare Atlantic Tropical Rain Forest behind beach.

The first property tips I ever received came from "Shorty". The first I paid attention to, anyway. "Shorty" was an old renegade on the side of a remote hillside on Kauai, the most northeast of the Hawaiian Island chain in the late 60's.

I lived with my Hawaiian 'kumu' on the North Shore of the island, between Hanalei and Haena where the road ends. One day I spotted a crudely lettered 'For Sale' sign up the gorge from Wainiha Beach. And I met "Shorty"....

A powerful, muscular fireplug, "Shorty" was terrifyingly manic. Balding 70 years old, he seemed much taller, as well as much bigger than 5 foot 5. He had a dominanting voice, a young black daughter from a liaison in the Caribbean, and many, many stories.......

Once he had been in a Mississipi jail and the Governor paid him a personal visit. It seems "Shorty's" case had received plenty of attention. "Shorty" was in jail for murder- age 14.

At 12, "Shorty" had been employed to supervise a road gang of 'darkies'. His first day on the job, he picked up the biggest stick he could find, handed it to the biggest buck 'negro', as they were called: "Here, bo. Ahm settin rat down undah thet tree ovah theah. You in chawge. You take ovah!" "Yesuh, massa!"

Lots of stories....

He had recently put his beautiful, view "mauka" (mountain) acreage a couple miles up the power house road at Wainiha up for sale. $10,000- remember, it was 1968. But it was "Shorty"'s simple property tips that stuck with me forever.....

#1. "Buy what they ain't any of!"

"Wherever I go in the world, it's what I do. Hard to find beachfront? Buy beachfront! On Kauai, there's plenty of beachfront, but nothin mauka. So go up country! Since arriving in the 1800's, missionary families like the Robinsons and Wilcoxes grabbed everything up country they could get their hands on to run cattle. So you know what I did, here, dontcha? That's right, I bought mauka."

#2. "Buy the best!"

"You know what this means, right? With a choice and the money, buy the best as you can. Whatever there ain't any of- a course!"

I went off that day, hemmed and hawed and surfed Hanalei Bay until springtime. Then went back up old Wainiha Road to make the deal. The price had gone up, "Shorty" said. 14 grand! Outraged, I complained it had only been a few months. Laughing at me, "That's the price, sonny. Take it or leave it." I left it.

And that's how I learned my own Rule #3:

#3. Don't quibble, it's just money. Do it.

But if you do choose to quibble, make sure you don't queer the deal! Because whatever it costs today, as Will Rogers said, "They ain't making anymore." Before you know it, the property's market value will be double what you paid. If it's "the best", it hardly matters what you paid.

True: A year or so later, Joey Cabell, champion surfer-skier, founder of The Chart House restaurant chain, bought it, instead of me. Joey sold it a few years later for 5 times what he paid.

To these three rules, I ended up adding a fourth. Works for marriage, too......

#4. Buy your passion. But don't forget the practical stuff.

****************************************************************

Ever since then I've recalled "Shorty"'s simple rules. And in the process, got a little carried away......

Costa Rica: My girlfriend from Rio and I spent 12 months traveling the country, looking for land and having a great time. Surfing and exploring those wonderful back roads, beaches, mountains, forests, jungles... Finally, we bought a government sponsored model dairy farm, the owner was after cheaper land to do beef cattle as this was going up. The place was the best we had seen, and there was nothing else like it. So, no quibbling over price, we bought it.

Kona, Hawaii: An exception that proves the rule. Just a "stop gap" place to live, we bought a house in a suburb high above the town. But here there was no passion- suburbia. We left for Brazil and sold it a year later.

Margaret River, Western Australia: The leading local real estate agent took four years. The brief was simple: "white water views". "Huh", he said, as he'd never heard the term. I explained ocean view property in California was priced by proximity as well as by how broad and close were the views. At last, he phoned me from Australia to advise the property we had been waiting for had come along. After a few phone calls to friends in Margarets, we bought it sight unseen. No quibbling.

Maraú Península, Bahia, Brazil: We raised a growing family in Rio, and for a time on the (recently trendy) Island of Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. 15 years later two of our children born in Costa Rica graduated from high school. We left to spend 10 years in Australia and Molokai (Hawaii). By this time, we knew the southern coast of Brazil pretty well.

On our return to Brazil four years ago, we spent 4 months exploring the coast of the northeast of Brazil we had previously known knew little about. From San Luis de Maranhao all the way to the Bahia-Espirito Santo border. Three quarters through our trip, we stumbled on the Península. An incredible Bay, sandy trails through the village, rain forests and lakes- it was love at first sight. Planning to spend the day, we had left a rental car back on the continent accumulating daily rates. We lef, unwilling to make a decision before seeing the rest of the South of Bahia. We continued on through Itacaré, Arraial d'Juda, Trancoso, Espelho, Caraiiva, etc. And came back as fast as we could. Four months more of research and at last we found what is, for us, the best of the Peninsula de Marau.


You may be thinking, is it really worth the time and energy, the endless looking? Definitely not for most people, if only because few have the the time it takes to do so. But the sort of places we love have nothing to do with square footage, gables, number of bathrooms, etc. It's about sense of place, landscape, topographic features and the magnetic beauty of the perfect place.

The time it takes to find an ideal is extreme. But the Search is a calling.

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Peek at a Peak

[PHOTO REMOVED AT REQUEST OF SURF PHOTOGRAPHER CACAO FALCAO: "HEY, PHOTOS ATTRACT THE CROWDS!"]

Cacau's Secret Spot- (Photo, anon.)

How're the waves? Get much surf?

I'd better not say. Cacau hopes you'll leave your board at home.

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Península Slideshow

Península de Maraú- a 5 Star rated YouTube slideshow.

Produced by Kecool- Alex, our friend and closest neighbour, who lives south of us several kilometers down the beach.

A slice of life on the Peninsula. There's so much more here, but Alex's show is worth a look!

(Click Here)

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Marau and National Tourism Plan

Maraú, the municipality of the Peninsula de Marau, on Friday became the focus of regional tourism investment under Phase II of The National Tourism Plan (2007-2010).

Collated from 26 Brazilian news articles.........

Powerful Minister of Tourism Marta Suplicy, former Governor of Brazil's most economically important state- announced 31 August the names of 65 regional investment focal points (including all capitals and a maximum 5 per state) selected for accelerated tourism development as part of Phase II of The National Tourism Plan. The primary goal is to raise regional tourism services to international standards.

Prioritized to receive expanded technical and financial investments, critera for selection was each region's capacity to attract and funnel large numbers of tourists, and expand its regional economy. Related criteria include the level of attractions, and basic and tourist infrastructure.

To help raise the quality of the selected tourist destination, the Minister has signed an agreement with the Fundação Getúlio Vargas to monitor competitive progress. An interrelated effort will be cultural development in coordination between the Ministry`s for Tourism and Culture.

The Ministry of Tourism will invest R$2M in Phase II of the regional tourist program. In a reference to the choice of the Christ of Rio as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Minister Suplicy said,`These will be The 65 Wonders of Brazil`.

Brazil's National Tourism Plan (2007-2010), launched Friday by Minister of Tourism Marta Suplicy, is available in Portuguese, only. However, Phase I 'Guidelines, Goals and Programs (2003-2007)' is in English on the net. Launched by President Lula and the previous Minister of Tourism, Phase I goals have all been in fact surpassed.

Tourism is now the number three foreign currency source of income after soybeans and iron. And it is widely expected to overtake them soon.

The National Tourism Plan has proven to be more than just a bureaucratic fantasy. Brazil's financial and political commitment to tourist infrastructure, services and training is impressive. As it should be, too. Tourism is environmentally kind as well as highly labor-intensive. The country's geometrically expanding young population needs jobs, and under Phase I, the goal of 1.2 M new jobs was met.


NORTHEAST MACROREGION DESTINATIONS SELECTED IN BAHIA:

14 Lençóis Chapada Diamantina
15 Maraú Costa do Dendê
16 Mata de São João Costa dos Coqueiros
17 Porto Seguro (Arraial d´Ajuda, Trancoso, Caraíva) Costa do Descobrimento
18 Salvador Capital

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10 Reasons to Invest in Brazil

Península de Maraú- building site overlooking lake and Cassange Beach

NewswireToday
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
08/23/2007

Brazil Property Group Market Intelligence Update provides 'Ten Top reasons to invest in real estate in Brazil today'......

"Brazil Property continues to be hot, but it has never reached the critical mass to produce rampant growth, as in Costa Rica, Florida or Las Vegas. This is about to change. Brazil for the first time is emerging from a status it hasn’t had since the 1960’s. Growth is picking up, foreign direct investment is up year after year, and the Brazilian stock market is as high as ever.

Reasons why Brazil Property has not increased in value as much as Costa Rica, for example, may be traced to investors' unfamiliarity with Brazil and the Brazilian market. Brazil is still seen as unstable by some, though the truth is the opposite. If you have title insurance buying property in Brazil, safety is not at issue. Once a person owns property State and federal laws makes lawsuits and foreclosures nearly impossible. Another myth is that foreigners cannot own property in Brazil" False. Property in Brazil is freehold. But it is worth being cautious with companies offering options other than freehold ownership or when an accredited title company refuses to issue full title insurance.

For the top ten reasons to buy property in Brazil today....

1/ New mortgage laws:
A. These laws create a better environment for banks to loan money
B. The banks are able to make a safer investment when lending
C. In countries without sustainable mortgage products, there is very little domestic demand for property because purchasers are forced to pay in cash for property. This creates low property prices
D. By the end of 2008, wide-open mortgage packages will be available
E. Right now falling interest rates are making mortgages more common
F. Due to the availability of mortgages domestic demand for property is increasing

2/ New ownership laws protect the buyer:
A. These laws are some of the best in the Americas, designed to make ownership more appealing
B. Ownership is far more secure in Brazil than many other popular Latin American destinations
C. This creates new international demand

3/ Easy access from Europe and North America due to new infrastructure:
A. The Government is supporting tourism projects all across the coast by increasing the availability or utilities and infrastructure
B. Government is financing the renovation of old airports and building new airports to meet the demand
C. The government has come to realize that tourism and property is a new form of economic growth
D. Currently Brazil is the 5th best infrastructure in the Americas
E. Infrastructure and access adds value to property and creates domestic and international demand

4/ Outstanding currency appreciation:
A. Currency appreciation that has taken place with the Brazilian currency is outstanding. In 2002, Brazil’s currency was almost 4 to 1 to the US dollar. Today it is 2 to 1. Its low was approximately 1.85 to 1 dollar July of 2007
B. If a person bought property in 2002, that person would have doubled their money with currency appreciation
C. In April 2007, the Brazilian reserve sat at $101 billion. As Brazil becomes more stable and builds up currency reserves, this appreciation will continue

5/ Undervalued Beach property compared to the rest of the Americas:
A. An acre of Beach Property in Florida goes for $10 million
B. In the Bahamas, an acre in accessible areas sells for $2 million
C. An acre of Beach property in Costa Rica sells for $100,000
D. In Brazil, acres bought in quantity are as low as $5,000 to $15,000 or single acres on the ocean for less than $55,000
E. This creates international demand and domestic demand

6/ Brazil has a large domestic population of almost 200 Million people:
A. This domestic population will embrace credit and mortgages and start buying houses and property
B. This will create domestic demand, demand forces property prices to rise
C. Costa Rica and Nicaragua have populations of roughly 5 million. These countries' real estate booms are not homegrown, but due to international speculation. This situation lacks long-term stability. Why buy a half acre on the ocean in Costa Rica for $1 million when you can buy it in Brazil for $35,000

7/ Currently the 10th largest economy in the world, Brazil will be the 5th largest in 2050 as ranked by Goldman Sachs:
A. When Brazil reaches its paramount in 2050, the beach property prices will be the same anywhere in the world
B. It is expected that beach property will continue to increase in value rapidly until 2050
C. This economic growth and stability creates international demand. It solidifies Brazil as a great place for real estate investors

8/ Pay little, get a lot:
A. In Brazil, construction costs are half what they are in the United States and Europe
B. Currency is also 2 to 1 to the dollar and almost 3 to 1 to the Euro. This money goes a long way on everyday purchases
C. This bonus can lure property buyers seeking an affordable standard of living, will create international demand

9/ Interest rates in Brazil are dropping fast:
A. If you look at rates 18 months ago they were at 18%. Today they are under 12% and falling every few months
B. These rates are falling because Brazil has a huge trade surplus and account balance due to its raw material export driven economy. This surplus has assisted in Brazil have sufficient currency reserves and eliminate deficit spending
C. Further exports of sugarcane ethanol to Japan, United States and Europe will further Brazil’s trade surplus and create a more stable economy allowing for interest rates to fall even lower

10/ Beautiful beaches:
A. Brazil is ranked for having some of the best beaches in the world. They feature white sand, warm water, warm climate and beautiful tall palm trees
B. Brazil has one of the longest tropical coast lines in the world."

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The Man Who Loved Islands

Península de Maraú- Islands along the Península on the Bay (photo Alex Uchoa)

D.H. Lawrence's long out-of-print novelette, The Man Who Loved Islands, is a very good read.

It is a metaphor for life, a morality play and a meditation. It may also be Lawrence's thinly veiled attack on a rival.

Contact me at the following address and I'll be glad to send a beautiful, .pdf version:

bob@maraupeninsula.com

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Island/Peninsula Nuts

Península de Maraú- the archetypal tropical paradise (photo Alex Uchoa)

"The Man Who Sells Islands", by Ronn Hall, Conde Nast Traveler, July 1997

Interesting article about the 30 year love affair of the world's leading exponent of island living, sales and philosophy- and their kissing cousin peninsulas. Dr. Farhad Vladi has sold over 2000 of them, and owns a few himself.

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"A few years ago," says Vladi, "I went through all my old notes and records trying to construct a demographic and psychological profile of island buyers. They seemed to have nothing in common—they were all types, from all age groups and backgrounds except for just one thing: All were very strong individualists, determined to put their own personal stamp on an island."

But of course, most island owners, Vladi says, buy for emotional rather than economic reasons. It's a subject on which he gets unexpectedly mystical: "You can sense the energy of an island as soon as you set foot on it," he says. "Some islands make you feel happy; others, quite the opposite...."

Technology has made it more realistic to live on remote islands. Hence a boom in buying them. Tempted? Dr. Vladi is the man to see, so Ron Hall did. THE MAP ROOM OF DR. FARHAD VLADI'S HEADQUARTERS, overlooking Binnenalster Lake in Hamburg, Germany, is organized with military precision. Mention any of the world's islanded coastlines or ocean archipelagoes and in an instant the correct large-scale map is being opened up for inspection. "Buying and selling islands," says Vladi, "is like planning an invasion."

Beneath the map archive, banks of filing cabinets stretch along the walls. This is the core of the Vladi intelligence system. Each of the world's three thousand or so islands of usable size and in private ownership has its own separate folder. Nothing is too obscure to be squirreled away for future reference: press clippings, historical notes, previous owners, brochures, sales prospectuses, photographs, planning applications, land-register records, tax assessments. "As soon as we get a hint that an island may be coming up for sale," he says, "we can look it up and make an immediate guess at what the market is likely to be."

Vladi flicks open a drawer devoted to France's Brittany coast and walks his fingers along the files. "I sold that island," he says, "and that, and that . . . But this island, Illiec, I would love to have a chance to sell. It's so romantic. In the thirties it belonged to Charles Lindbergh, who had bought it to escape his troubles in America. Charles Heidsieck, of the Champagne family, owns it now. Of course, I don't ask him directly if he wants to sell; he might be offended. But I keep in contact, and we have become good friends."

Vladi has been selling private islands for more than twenty five years. In that time, about five hundred have passed through his hands, some more than once. A handful of other real estate agents deal in islands, but none are so specialized or keep up such an extensive, worldwide network. In this tiny niche of the real estate market, Vladi is king.

He was still a university student, working toward a doctorate in economics, when he made his first deal. "I'd spotted a newspaper item saying that a tropical island in the Indian Ocean had been bought for just two thousand dollars. Nothing! It was this that changed my life. I knew from that moment on that I must have an island for myself."

Vladi wrote to the Seychelles Bulletin to say that he was planning a visit to the Indian Ocean in the hope of buying an island. Most of young Vladi's capital was used just getting to the Seychelles—it was in the days before low-cost air travel, and the Mombasa-to-Bombay steamer was the only way. When he arrived, the cheapest deal he was offered was Cousin Island (now in South African ownership) at an asking price of $100,000, far more than he could afford.

Disappointed, he returned home, where, to cut his losses, he approached a prominent Hamburg businessman to see if he had any interest in buying an island. The man bought Cousin unseen, paid Vladi a five percent commission, and was forever pulling out picture postcards of his island to show to business associates and cocktail party guests. It was the best free promotion young Vladi could have had. Soon he was being barraged with requests from other Hamburg businessmen to find islands for them. There was another bit of luck: The young lawyer whom Vladi had dealt with over the sale of Cousin was James Mancham, who shortly afterward was elected president of the Seychelles. Vladi was well placed to act as broker in the sale of seven of the fifteen private islands there, his first major coup.

The most spectacular of these Indian Ocean sales was to a member of the family of the Shah of Iran, who bought a coconut plantation island named Arros along with the neighboring atoll of St. Joseph in the Amirantes group. The Iranian Prince Sharam built an elaborate house there, along with a landing strip, conveniently within executive-jet range of Teheran. It was to become a valuable hideaway when the imperial family's fortunes collapsed in 1979, and it has since been a productive source of income: When the prince is not in residence, the island is rented out for millionaire holidays at five thousand dollars a night.

Dr. Vladi next turned his attention to Europe, whose Celtic fringe (Scotland, Ireland, and Brittany) is liberally sprinkled with romantic private islands, some grandly surmounted by castles, others devoted to simple farming. Vladi's main problem, in the absence of an open land register, was finding out who owned what. He joined a flying club and persuaded pilots to take him on reconnaissance trips along the coast, looking for islands displaying telltale signs of private ownership—a larger-than-expected house, for instance, or a modern high-tech jetty. Vladi followed up with coastal drives, talking to fishermen and picking up clues. As often as not, once a private owner had been identified, business followed.

During the 1980s, there was rapid growth in the island market. Vladi ascribes this to the reduction in the cost of travel, the increasing desperation to escape mass tourism, and such technological developments as wind and solar generators, satellite telephones, prefabricated and helicopter-transportable buildings, and improvements in water treatment and desalination, all of which have made islands more independent of mainland resources.

As Vladi's business grew, he set up an island-management branch in Nova Scotia, where a profusion of affordable islands has created the world's most active island market. The Bahamas, also with abundant private islands, proved to be another happy hunting ground, along with the South Pacific and, later, Australia and New Zealand. As a service to his clients, he started up an island-renting business, which in turn led to further sales.

For some of Vladi's clients, the pleasure of owning islands became addictive. The keenest buyer of all was a Swiss poultry tycoon named Dieter Kathmann, who, by the time of his accidental death in 1987, had bought no fewer than twelve widely scattered islands. His widow decided to go on adding to the collection, and not wishing to be left holding an unlucky number, bought two islands simultaneously, making fourteen.

Dr. Edward de Bono, the guru of "lateraI thinking," is another serial buyer. He currently owns three islands, all substantial: Green Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Reklusia in the Bahamas, and Tessera in the Venice iagoon (which now doubles as De Bono's seminar center). "He came to me," says Vladi, "looking for an entirely different kind of island, but when his eyes fell on a photograph of Tessera, he bought it, just like that. I suppose that's what you mean by lateral thinking." Later, De Bono introduced Vladi to a well-to-do woman friend who also bought three islands in different parts of the world—so that she'd have a year-round choice of climate.

Tony Curtis, who already had property on an island—in the mountains near Honolulu decided he would like to have something more exclusively his own. Vladi recently sold him Rocky Island, a simple but dramatic island off Nova Scotia, where he plans to spend his time indulging his other talent, painting. Curtis isn't the only film actor to have become an island addict: John Wayne loved his Panamanian getaway, Taborcillo. After Wayne's death, one of Vladi's first commissions was to sell Taborcillo for Wayne's successors.

"A few years ago," says Vladi, "I went through all my old notes and records trying to construct a demographic and psychological profile of island buyers. They seemed to have nothing in common—they were all types, from all age groups and backgrounds except for just one thing: All were very strong individualists, determined to put their own personal stamp on an island. This leads to a catch-22. The more trouble a seller has taken to develop his island, the less keen anyone else is to buy it. Money spent on development rarely gets a full return."

But of course, most island owners, Vladi says, buy for emotional rather than economic reasons. It's a subject on which he gets unexpectedly mystical: "You can sense the energy of an island as soon as you set foot on it," he says. "Some islands make you feel happy; others, quite the opposite. I remember visiting a tiny island off Arran in Scotland's Firth of Clyde. There was an old farmhouse there, which, as soon as I entered, I wanted to get away from fast. It was only later that I read of a murder said to have taken place there. A man had killed his wife for having borne him six girls when he wanted a son, and then buried her under the kitchen floor. Maybe these things affect others differently. The island was called Eloly Island, and it was eventually bought by Buddhists, who are perfectly happy there, so far as I know."

By now, needless to say, Vladi is himself an island owner several times over. Both Sleepy Cove in Nova Scotia and Forsyth Island in Marlborough Sound, New Zealand, belong to him, and others are held as "inventory" by his company. So where does he go for his own family holidays? The answer is surprisingly ordinary. Maui, he says. This, he goes on hastily to explain, is because his daughter loves Maui so much; they have spent such wonderful times there.

And which island, I ask, would he keep for himself if he could have any in the world and money were no object? Vladi turns over several in his mind. There is Galloo in Lake Ontario, with its six hundred head of deer, dramatic coastline, and rolling countryside laced with small streams. And there's Gallinara, the best placed of all Mediterranean islands, just off Monte Carlo, with Venetian fortifications, an old church, no beach, but a perfect sailing harbor. But the one Vladi really covets is Fregate, one of the Seychelles' granitic islands, with its old plantation house, roaming giant tortoises, rare bird species, and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world (Anse Victorin). It is one of the islands Vladi sold right at the beginning of his career to a young German industrialist who is currently redeveloping it as a small, exclusive resort. Vladi can now only look on in envy.

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"Invest in Brazil: Are You Nuts?"

Península de Maraú- Twilight over Lake Cassange (by Alex Uchoa)

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Invest in Brazil … Are You Nuts?
3 August 2007

Well no, actually. In 2003, Goldman Sachs selected Brazil, along with Russia, India and China, as one of the four “BRICs”—the developing countries that would share dominance of the world economy by 2050.

Its growth potential should come as little surprise when you consider that the country produces its own oil along with half the world’s exports of ethanol (a valuable additive to motor fuel). It already has the ninth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power and is on the verge of becoming one of the leading recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America (OECD).

Along with a blossoming economy (the largest in Latin America), the fifth largest country in the world is also benefiting from a dramatic expansion of tourism-related real estate investment. Until relatively recently local banks had not been offering large-scale lending to customers but with the stabilisation of Brazil’s economy they have seen the opportunity for investment. In 2006 property lending doubled in Brazil and the construction industry is booming.

Eight million more homes are needed throughout Brazil, but it’s not just the domestic market that needs to be catered for. Brazil’s tourism sector is rocketing as the country’s many blessings are being counted by an increasing number of visitors to the country. A 134% increase in tourist numbers occurred between 2002 and 2005 and the government – which is keen to see this expansion continue to a high of 9 million annually – is investing heavily in the tourism industry and improving the country’s infrastructure.

Significant government advertising spend focused on tourism has seen an influx of major tour operators and record numbers of international tourists to the region.”

Experience International recently attended the ADIT NORDESTE conference in Salvador, Brazil. ADIT NORDESTE (Association for Real Estate and Tourism Development in the North East) was set up in June 2006 by 40 renowned national and international companies in the fields of tourism and real estate (including the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism) to promote the north east region of Brazil to foreign investors. These companies have projects of various sizes in the fields of tourism and real estate in general amounting to over £1 billion.

One of the aims of the project is to boost the confidence of investors and real estate buyers. The companies that form the association are guaranteeing the legal security of the enterprises, including environmental and ecological zoning. And the area is worth preserving. According to NASA it has the second purest air in the world and along with Antarctica has “the most unspoilt environment on the planet”.

Sunshine, natural beauty and amazing hospitality have transformed Brazil’s north eastern region into one of the most sought after tourist spots on earth and an opportunity to invest in this fast growing area should not be missed.

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Brits Invest Here

Peninsula de Marau- An impressionistic Cassange Beach (Praia do Cassange)

From the Financial Times in May, on the new fund managed by Itacaré Capital Investments.

[Update: The IPO brought in $82 million in London. To date, capitalization is over $100 million. Warapuru Resort in Itacare is due for completion this year. Over 50% of its US$1M-10M home/lots were sold well before ground breaking on the resort.]

Itacare for Aim
By Jim Pickard
Published: May 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 21 2007 03:00

The exotic world of London-listed overseas property companies is soon to be joined by its first Brazilian group.

Itacare Capital Investments, which will fund resort developments in Brazil, is understood to be seeking to raise $100m (£51m) on the Alternative Investment Market.

Brazil is increasingly under the spotlight among "fly-to-let" investors who are turning their backs on Spain and France in favour of Morocco, Cape Verde and elsewhere.

Pedro de Miranda, founder of Itacare Capital Partners, which will manage the fund, is a former director of Dolphin Capital Partners, which has been Aim's most successful overseas property fund.

Itacare has drawn up a prospective investment portfolio of 11 schemes, including the Warapuru Resort in Bahia, designed by Anouska Hempel, which is Brazil's first six-star resort.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007


Update:

This IPO brought in $82 million in London. To date, capitalization is above $100 million.
Warapuru Resort in Itacare is due for completion this year. Over 50% of its US$1M-10M home/lots sold, well in advance.

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Marau Island

Península de Maraú- Beach silhouette at sunset

"No man is an island". But north of Itacaré lies a Península that, in fact, IS.....

How can a peninsula be an island? Do putative lables, dictionary definitions reflect essence? Ask anyone who lives here, who has tried to get from there to here. With access to our 50km X 5km wedge-in-the-ocean by boat, 5 car ferry, or air taxi, we try to avoid as a necessity what weekend off roaders elsewhere do for fun.

The Peninsula de Maraú may in fact be far more "island" than many islands are. Mythically, logistically, environmentally, climactically, psychologically.... it's more than a claim to poetic license. It's the day to day feel and reality of place: the essence of island living.

For a look at 'other islands', online forums on everything to do with island living, search, acquisition, sale and rent- a completely unrequested plug for the two major online island resources.......

"Private Islands Online" claims to be the "World's #1 resource for everything Private Islands. With the largest selection of private islands for sale and private islands for rent, we are the point of reference for serious Island enthusiasts."

http://www.privateislandsonline.com/

"Vladi Private Islands, Peninsulas and Very Special Properties" bills itself as "The website to habitable private islands.... 'Habitable' is the defining word among private islands. Being 30 years in the island business and having regular contact with over 2,000 island owners, nobody knows better than Vladi Private Islands in determining which islands are habitable and which are remote."

http://www.vladi-private-islands.de/tunnel.html

Islands, the stuff of almost universal fantasy. And reality, for a lucky few.....

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