Finance Archives - Amora Escapes

Joy for landlords in South Africa

Rick Casey — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 09:13:11 +0000

Inflation, stagnant salary growth, and high interest rates have made homeownership unaffordable for many South Africans, resulting in rent escalations as demand grows—which is good news for landlords.

On 30 May, The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) Monetary Policy Committee voted to hold rates, keeping the repo rate at 8.25% and the prime lending rate at 11.75%.

The decision was unanimous. Since the start of the rate hike cycle in November 2021, rates have been hiked by 475bps to the highest levels in 15 years.

Several property experts have called the unanimous decision to hold interest rates as disappointing but expected.

However, what wasn’t expected was Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago’s strong indication that the repo rate probably wouldn’t come down at all this year, pointing instead to the second quarter of 2025.

“The stance of the Reserve Bank has been too hawkish. While inflation has moderated, the reality is that keeping the interest rate so high for so long has done little to bring down inflation, largely as it is not demand-driven but rather ‘imported’ into the economy,” said chairman of the Seeff Property Group, Samuel Seeff.

Even Standard Bank recently signalled concern that the level of home loan distress is rising.

This means homeowners will remain under strain for at least the next six months, making it unaffordable for many prospective buyers.

Evidence of this was noted in the latest TPN Tenant Survey Report 2024, which showed that 58% of respondents stated that financial obstacles are the main reason they choose to rent, with 48.1% explaining that they cannot afford to buy a property.

This proves consumers are struggling to deal with high interest rates, inflation, and limited job prospects.

For 9.9% of respondents, a poor credit record is a barrier to purchasing a property.

Additionally, due to the high expenses associated with homeownership, 11.4% of renters believe it is cheaper to rent, while 2.2% do not want to take on the debt of owning a property.

Good news for landlords

While being tough for tenants and wannabe homebuyers, the current market is a good news story for landlords.

The unaffordability of houses has meant that the demand for rentals has increased substantially since 2021, similar to when the SARB’s MPC started the rate hike cycle.

According to the latest Rode’s Report on the South African property market, flat vacancy rates nationally in South Africa have continually dropped from over 10% in 2020 to 7.9% as of Q1 2024.

This, in turn, has resulted in escalating rentals for landlords, with PayProp’s Rental Index Annual Market Report—2024 Edition noting that the average rent in South Africa sits at R8,598—an increase of R368 year on year and R147 above the previous quarter (Q3).

This trend doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, as TPN’s survey shows the majority of tenants aren’t looking to own property in the near future.

The survey showed that only 29.2% of tenants are considering taking the property plunge within five years.

However, the report warned that landlords must be mindful of the prevailing economic conditions.

TPN suggests that the current constrained economy requires property investors and practitioners to carefully navigate stressed consumers by implementing reasonable escalations, ensuring good payment behaviour, and keeping their premises occupied.

Source: Business Tech

The post Joy for landlords in South Africa appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Planning a Second Property as Investment? Things to Ensure Before Making the Plunge

Lorenzo Joe Hamilton — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:01:25 +0000

Having a property to rent out seems a pretty good proposition. It gets you a regular passive income, over and above your earnings.
However, it is not that simple. Here, we will take a look at whether it makes sense to go for a second property to get a rental income and as an overall investment.

Rental income: An attractive proposition

Earning a steady rental income via renting tops the list of several investors.

“It not only gives a sense of security to many buyers to own a property but also makes the property more lucrative with decent returns,” says Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Group, a real estate services company.

The other reason why many investors nowadays prefer to buy for rental purposes is because besides providing them a steady rental income, it also helps in keeping the property under use and therefore can be maintained.

Investors can pay off a part of their mortgage with the rental income received from tenants and also enjoy both rental and property value appreciation in future.

There is a also good possibility of receiving tax benefits including municipal taxes, and deductions on payment of principal and interest.

Challenges to be aware of

One should keep in mind that purchasing a property is a substantial initial investment. One would need to pay a down payment and EMIs or Equated monthly instalments on the property and that may fall way short of taking care of the mortgage.

According to Global Property Guide, average gross rental yield in India stands at 4.54%. By definition, rental yield refers to the annual rental value received from an income-generating asset, as a percentage of the property’s value.

This means that there can be a big gap between the EMI you pay and the rent you receive. For example for a property in a prime location in Mumbai which costs ₹3 crore, your EMI would be around ₹2.5 lakh at 8.40% interest. The rental income on the other hand would be in the range of ₹50,000- ₹80,000.

Besides, rental demand and appreciations are subject to market fluctuations and local factors and property values may not always increase. In addition to this, you may run the risk of having vacant periods and finding good, reliable tenants can also be challenging.

Managing a rental property is also time-consuming as you may require to deal with tenants, maintenance and repairs. “Managing a rental property is also time-consuming as you may require to deal with tenants, maintenance and repairs,” says Altaf Ahmad, CBO & Co-Founder, Azuro, a rental and property management firm, owned by Square Yards, a real estate marketplace.

Rental growth across cities

1BHK

CITYNAME	2021	2022	CHANGE %	2023	CHANGE %
Mumbai	29,638	29,741	0.3%	30,224	1.6%
Delhi	11,534	12,930	12.1%	15,285	18.2%
Bangalore	16,429	16,074	-2.2%	20,907	30.1%
Hyderabad	12,072	13,243	9.7%	15,331	15.8%
Pune	15,162	16,805	10.8%	17,072	1.6%
Gurgaon	21,762	16,298	-25.1%	18,181	11.6%
Noida	12,420	20,603	65.9%	24,864	20.7%

2BHK

CITYNAME	2021	2022	CHANGE %	2023	CHANGE %
Mumbai	50,202	53,596	6.76%	59,523	11.06%
Delhi	19,626	24,444	24.55%	27,504	12.52%
Bangalore	26,568	32,329	21.68%	34,782	7.59%
Hyderabad	22,035	26,303	19.37%	35,907	36.51%
Pune	22,482	25,094	11.62%	27,495	9.57%
Gurgaon	30,770	23,855	-22.47%	27,886	16.90%
Noida	16,822	18,499	9.97%	21,703	17.32%

3BHK

CITYNAME	2021	2022	CHANGE %	2023	CHANGE %
Mumbai	95,768	105,219	9.87%	125,184	18.97%
Delhi	45,251	39,510	-12.69%	52,771	33.56%
Bangalore	48,016	65,341	36.08%	55,980	-14.33%
Hyderabad	35,168	41,705	18.59%	64,098	53.69%
Pune	33,481	33,385	-0.29%	45,384	35.94%
Gurgaon	36,362	45,089	24.00%	56,022	24.25%
Noida	23,768	25,955	9.20%	33,089	27.49%

Source: Square Yards

What to keep in mind before buying for renting out?

“When investing in a home for rental income, one must consider the potential rental income the property can generate. Location is one of the most critical aspects to keep in mind while buying an asset for rental income, as that determines rental value and reaps a good resale prospect in the future,” says Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO, India, SEA, MEA, CBRE, a real estate services firm.

It is important to evaluate the neighbourhood, infrastructure, and accessibility. Another key consideration should be enhanced amenities like schools, hospitals, and retail spaces, which are significant for tenants and help maintain asset value in the long run. These features play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of an investment.

In a good location, the owner will also not find it difficult to find new tenants when previous tenants vacate.

“Besides , one should also look to buy from a large and listed developer because most of the time to capitalise on the best rates, an investor buys the property when either newly launched or when under construction. Since most large builders today focus on timely delivery it will eventually help the investor in putting up the property on rent on time,” says Puri.

However, getting a property by a prime developer in a good location will require a huge upfront cost in terms of down payment and also servicing large monthly EMIs.

Additionally, the return on investment may not be as high as other investment options, such as stocks or bonds. So it is a decision that one needs to take after carefully evaluating one’s finances and the pros and cons.

Source : BusinessInsider

The post Planning a Second Property as Investment? Things to Ensure Before Making the Plunge appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Evergrande Property Services Works to Ensure Working Capital Until Mid-2024

Victor Lyons — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 01:22:39 +0000

Evergrande Property Services Group Ltd (6666.HK) said, it would have sufficient working capital to meet its financial obligations up to mid-2024 through various measures aimed at boosting liquidity.

These include talks with embattled parent China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) on repaying 13.4 billion yuan ($1.89 billion) involved in a pledge, streamlining operating costs, and negotiating with suppliers to extend payables, it said.

“On the basis that all these measures can be implemented successfully … the group will have sufficient working capital to meet its financial obligations” up to June 30 next year, the company added in an earnings statement.

The firm is in focus as its parent, the world’s biggest property defaulter, gave creditors a basket of options in its debt restructuring terms to swap part of their debt into some equity-linked instruments backed by the unit.

The property services unit reported a net profit of 1.42 billion yuan ($199.85 million) for last year, reversing a net loss of 316 million yuan in the previous years, as it posted long-overdue financial results for 2022 and 2021.

The 2022 net profit was still 46.4% lower than the figure for 2020, the year before its parent slipped into a debt crisis.

The firm had total liabilities of 8.7 billion yuan last year, compared to 10.1 billion in 2021 and 7.1 billion in 2020.

In a note, its auditor said net current liabilites of 3.3 billion yuan by the end of 2022 indicated material uncertainties that might affect its ability to continue as a going concern.

Evergrande Property’s shares have been suspended since March 21, 2022, pending its financial results and an investigation into 13.4 billion yuan of seized deposits used as collateral for pledge guarantees by its parent.

The shares will remain suspended until further notice, the firm said in the filing.

($1=7.1069 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Source: Reuters

The post Evergrande Property Services Works to Ensure Working Capital Until Mid-2024 appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Province Retracts $580K Property-Tax Levy on Irving Crude-Oil Tank Farm

Garrett Townsend — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 01:39:56 +0000

Provincial property taxes of nearly $600,000, levied on Irving Oil’s deep-water crude-oil tank farm back in March, was an error that did not signal an end to a four-decade-old tax exemption on the site, according to the New Brunswick government.

Instead, the exemption has been reactivated and the tax bill retracted.

In a series of emails explaining why provincial property-tax amounts charged to the tank farm appeared in March, but have since disappeared, the director of communications for Service New Brunswick said the property briefly lost its tax exemption classification in an inadvertent internal computer incident.

“There was an activity to the property account that reset the classification,” wrote Jennifer Vienneau.

“It has been manually reset to the original classification.”

Service New Brunswick operates the province’s property registry and says an error caused Irving Oil’s Canaport oil terminal switch from ‘provincial rate excluded’ to ‘fully taxable’ in its system in March. (Karissa Donkin/CBC)

In March, the province issued property tax bills to all landowners in New Brunswick and for the first time in 42 years, it charged Irving Oil for provincial property taxes on a number of parcels that make up its Canaport crude-oil terminal.

All commercial and industrial properties in New Brunswick, from corner stores to nuclear plants, pay two property taxes, local and provincial, unless specifically exempted by legislation.

The tank farm pays full municipal property taxes to Saint John, but in 1981 it was awarded an exemption from paying provincial property tax by the former government of Richard Hatfield.

The facility sits on Mispec Point, next to Repsol’s LNG terminal at the edge of the Bay of Fundy.

It has a storage capacity of six-million barrels and receives shipments from ocean-going tankers that arrive from around the world multiple times each month. The tank farm feeds the crude to Irving Oil’s Saint John refinery, about eight kilometres away by pipeline.

The property-tax exemption was meant to help Irving Oil weather a significant drop in North American petroleum consumption, caused by the 1979 oil crisis. Those troubles resolved themselves long ago, but the tax exemption has persisted.

In March, Service New Brunswick posted a combined provincial and municipal tax levy of $357,070 on one Irving Oil property containing four crude-oil tanks at its Canaport terminal. Provincial taxes have since been removed, and the tax bill has dropped to $213,915. Other properties at the site have undergone similar reductions. (Service New Brunswick)

In its most recent 2021 accounting of the cost of exempting Irving Oil’s crude-oil tank farm properties from provincial property taxes, the New Brunswick Department of Finance valued it to be worth $674,929 to the company.

However, since 2021, provincial tax rates on business properties in New Brunswick have been reduced, and the value of the exemption in 2023 is closer to $580,000.

According to the finance department, the exemption’s purpose remains to “support the competitiveness of infrastructure that is important for economic development.”

Richard Hatfield was on record opposing special tax treatment for Irving Oil’s Canaport oil terminal, but the former premier’s government granted it a property-tax exemption in 1981, as sluggish petroleum markets in the U.S. caused the company financial trouble. (CBC NEWS)

There have been calls for the exemption on the tank farm to be terminated in the past, but action has yet to be taken.

In 2016, then opposition leader Blaine Higgs said the exemption should be reviewed and potentially cancelled, since the crisis it was created to help Irving Oil survive resolved itself in the 1980s.

“A lot of policies in government start for a good reason, but they never end,” said Higgs.

“There’s no exit clause, so it just doesn’t hit the radar again.”

In 2018, the New Brunswick Green Party put the cancellation of the property-tax exemption on crude-oil storage tanks into its election platform, but has been unable to effect that change in the legislature.

In March, Green Party Leader David Coon applauded what appeared to be the end of the exemption, when Service New Brunswick began showing full taxes being charged at the site. He said he is disappointed to hear that has been undone.

“It’s surprising,” said Coon in an interview this week.

“It seems unlikely they made a mistake, but maybe it was. It’s time for Irving Oil to pay their fair share on all of their properties.”

In this December 2016 interview with the CBC’s Harry Forestell, then opposition leader Blaine Higgs said he would support ending a provincial property-tax exemption on Irving Oil’s Canaport oil terminal, if a review showed it was no longer needed. (CBC)

Irving Oil did not respond to a request for comment about the tax change and whether a property tax exemption at the tank farm is still required by the company.

Irving Oil does not publicly report its financial results, but in 2022 oil companies across North America posted record financial returns.

Refiners like Valero Energy Corporation, which operates refineries in both the U.S. and Canada, and PBF Energy Inc., which refines and sells petroleum into eastern U.S. markets, each reported pre-tax profits in 2022 close to $3,000 US per barrel of their refining capacities.

Results like that, if duplicated by Irving Oil, would have produced more than $1 billion in pre-tax 2022 earnings.

Source: CBC

The post Province Retracts $580K Property-Tax Levy on Irving Crude-Oil Tank Farm appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Redevelopment of Hong Kong’s Only Private Low-Rental Housing Estate Pushed Back Further 2 Years, with 2,000 Flats to be Available by 2029

Aaron Maxwell — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 04:21:23 +0000

The redevelopment of Hong Kong’s sole privately owned low-rental housing estate will be pushed back by a further two years, the firm behind it has said, meaning its 2,000 flats will only come on the market in 2029.

The Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation on Friday said current residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate in Shek Kip Mei would be given until March 2024 to move out and surrender their units before redevelopment work began.

“We had to postpone the schedule to give the residents more time to decide their rehousing arrangements,” said a spokesman from the firm, which is associated with property giant Henderson Land Development.

The project is now set to be completed in 2029, instead of the previously estimated 2027. It aims to provide 3,300 flats – more than double the current 1,600 units.

About 1,300 of the new homes will be used for rehousing existing tenants, while the remaining 2,000 will be allocated to the Urban Renewal Authority to be sold as so-called starter homes. The initiative offers flats at below-market prices for first-time buyers who cannot afford to buy on the private market, but also do not qualify for public housing under the government’s Home Ownership Scheme.

According to the corporation’s spokesman on Friday, 82 per cent of current tenants, or 1,012 households, had submitted their eligibility assessment forms, which determine the number of people in a family and their assets.

Of them, 676 households were deemed eligible for rehousing and given two options: move back in upon redevelopment completion or leave permanently.

Both options would include allowances of varying degrees, depending on the number of people in the household.

Some tenants have cried foul and accused the developer of moving ahead without their agreement. Photo: Dickson Lee

A family of four, for example, would receive a rental allowance of HK$810,000 (US$103,000) and a payment of HK$54,000 to settle in interim housing on their own or apply for transitional housing through social workers.

Families would be given a one-off allowance of about HK$1 million, on top of a HK$27,000 removal payment, if they decided to depart for good.

Meanwhile, another 324 households were considered ineligible for rehousing for various reasons, including owning other properties, enjoying public housing benefits or no longer living in their flats.

These families would still be given a special removal allowance of up to HK$700,000, the firm said.

The remaining 12 per cent of residents, or 224 households, had not handed in their forms, with the organisation adding that it was “unclear” why they were being unresponsive since they were not in need of help from social workers.

He warned these residents may face repossession without compensation if they continued to refuse to hand in their forms.

“If we were forced to come to this final step but still offered them the same compensation, I think it would be unfair to the other residents who responded in a timely manner,” the spokesman said. “It poses a moral hazard.”

But some tenants have cried foul and accused the developer of moving ahead without their agreement.

Kate Au Yeung Kit-chun, who leads a group of residents from the estate refusing to accept the latest arrangements, called the corporation’s statements “outrageous” and accused them of running a “black box operation”.

She said many of the so-called unresponsive tenants had indeed replied by handing over an alternative form explaining why they rejected the arrangements, with reasons including that they wanted a “flat for a flat”, or that the firm had failed to respond to queries or clarify terms.

The corporation emphasised on Friday that residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate were renters, not homeowners.

The government has launched initiatives to ease the city’s housing crunch, including providing affordable flats for first-time homebuyers in 2019.

The Urban Renewal Authority offered about 500 flats in Ma Tau Wai as starter homes in 2019, which were sold at discounts of up to 38 per cent.

Authorities also plan to sell another site in Tsuen Wan for such projects in this financial year, with a target of providing about 1,000 affordable homes.

Source: SCMP

The post Redevelopment of Hong Kong’s Only Private Low-Rental Housing Estate Pushed Back Further 2 Years, with 2,000 Flats to be Available by 2029 appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Most Hong Kong Stocks Gain as Developers Rally on China Stimulus Bets while Tencent, Lenovo Restrain Market Advance

Julian Berry — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 04:17:19 +0000

Most Hong Kong stocks advanced as Chinese property developers jumped on speculation Beijing will stimulate the ailing housing market and restore growth momentum. Losses in tech companies kept optimism in check.

The Hang Seng Index rose as much as 1.4 per cent before closing with a 0.1 per cent loss to 19,099.28. The benchmark had risen 4.9 per cent over the preceding two trading days. The Tech Index slipped 0.2 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.2 per cent.

Developer Longfor Group surged 7.8 per cent to HK$18.34 while peers Country Garden jumped 6.2 per cent to HK$1.55 and China Resources Land strengthened 4.6 per cent to HK$32.95. Tencent Holdings fell 2.1 per cent to HK$331.20, while PC maker Lenovo Group lost 1.9 per cent to HK$7.37.

The Hang Seng Index clawed its way out of bear-market territory last week on stimulus bets, and mainland media published articles to drum up support for Chinese equities despite concerns about waning confidence in the property sector and lingering geopolitical tensions.

China’s top 100 property developers reported a 9.1 per cent rise in contracted sales in the first five months this year versus the same period last year, according to real estate consultancy CRIC. Even so, sales in 2022 amounted to only about 64 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

“As a property market hard landing has become increasingly likely and as the property fallout has continued to cripple the economy and financial markets, we believe Beijing will not sit idle,” Nomura said in a report on Tuesday. China’s recovery remains weak and stimulus may favour other priority sectors, the firm added.

Official reports this week may show more wobbles in China’s faltering economy. Exports probably fell 1.3 per cent in May from a year earlier, compared with an 8.5 per cent gain in April, economists forecast before an official report on Wednesday. A Friday report may show producer prices fell 4.4 per cent, after a 3.6 per cent drop in April.

Any unfavourable data “might tilt the balance in favour of additional and targeted PBOC stimulus in June”, Carlos Casanova, an economist at Swiss private bank UBP, said in a report on Tuesday. “This could be in the form of a reserve requirement ratio cut as well as continued support via liquidity operations and monetary aggregates.”

Elsewhere, Chongqing Xishan Science and Technology surged 41 per cent to 191.19 yuan on the first day of trading in Shanghai. Guangzhou Newlife Material rallied 38 per cent to 53.99 yuan on its debut in Shenzhen.

Other major Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.2 per cent after the nation’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points.

Source: SCMP

The post Most Hong Kong Stocks Gain as Developers Rally on China Stimulus Bets while Tencent, Lenovo Restrain Market Advance appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Iraqis Among The Top Buyers of Turkish Real Estate

Ross Collins — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 04:04:40 +0000

Iraqis have been among the top property buyers in Turkey over the past decade, according to real estate agents in Istanbul.

Over the past decade, more than 357,000 houses have been sold to foreigners in Turkey. Foreigners who receive a residence permit from Turkey for $75,000 dollars, and buy properties worth up to $400,000 dollars receive Turkish citizenship, according to the Istanbul Real Estate Chamber.

People from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq as a whole come in first place by purchasing 49,013 houses in Turkey in the past eight years, according to real estate agents and builders in Istanbul, according to the real estate chamber.

Architect Ahmed Etaiye, who is from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, is among those who wants to buy a house in Istanbul in order to obtain Turkish citizenship.

“This country is very attractive and interesting for Arab citizens and foreigners,” Etaiye told Rudaw’s Omar Sonmaz on Wednesday while visiting the office of a construction company in Aksaray, Istanbul, to buy a house.

“There is stability in all areas of life,” Etaiye said of his motivations to buy a house in Istanbul. “It is also very good for the future and investment. That’s why I want to get a house. After all, our culture is close to each other.”

However, due to the earthquake and the election process in Turkey, the sale of houses both for the domestic market and for foreigners has dropped by up to 30 percent. But experts say, with the arrival of the summer, the market movement will resume.

In 2022, 67,490 houses were sold to foreigners in Turkey. In the period between 2015 and 2023, people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region ranked first with the purchase of 49,013 houses

Mesud Tameroglu Mitehit has been running a construction company in Istanbul for 18 years. They sell the houses they build mostly to foreigners, especially to buyers from Arab countries. According to Tameroglu, it is still attractive and suitable for foreigners to buy real estate in Turkey despite the rise in their prices.

“Actually, now the price of houses has increased. This is related to inflation and the rise of the dollar,” Mitehit said. “However, Turkey continues to be attractive to foreigners. Therefore, Turkey is in both Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.”

Russian citizens are in second place with the purchase of 38, 187 houses, and Iranian citizens are in third place with the purchase of 38, 187 houses. In the sale of houses to foreigners, Istanbul ranks first in Turkey with 138,840 houses.

In Turkey, after 2012, some obstacles and restrictions for buying and selling real estate were removed for foreigners, allowing them to get residence permits after buying a house worth $75,000.

Source: Rudaw

The post Iraqis Among The Top Buyers of Turkish Real Estate appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Catella to Target New Ventures and Markets with Aquila Group Purchase

Salvador Cruz — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 04:01:17 +0000

European property fund manager Catella is buying a 60% stake in Aquila Group as part of a plan to expand into new businesses and markets.

Nasdaq Stockholm-listed Catella said it has agreed to buy the shares for €9.6m from Aquila Group’s management who will remain minority shareholders.

Aquila Group, which holds €1.4bn in assets under management, consists of Aquila Asset Management and the real estate investment fund management company Axipit Real Estate Partners.

Catella operates in 12 countries and has over €13bn in assets under management.

The acquisition of Aquila Group will complement its existing corporate finance operations in France as well as the continued growth of its pan-European platform, Catella said.

Christoffer Abramson, CEO of Catella, said: “The acquisition of the majority of Aquila means that we add another piece of the puzzle in place on our growth journey.”

The acquisition will provide “strong synergies with our existing operations in France and Europe, while the entry into the French fund business for private investors is of great strategic importance”, Abramson added.

Jean-Marc Sabiani and Gilles Barbieri, founders and managing partners at Aquila, said: “The partnership with Catella will give us extra power in our strategic journey of transforming into a global player in real estate savings.

“Aquila has a successful history built on local expertise, and as we now join Catella’s European network, we form a very strong team, internally in Europe as well as on the French market.”

“This partnership is a very important component in our endeavor to take the next step on the group’s profitable growth journey and to be an attractive partner for investors globally. We are now significantly strengthening our position,” said Abramson.

Source: IPE Real Assets

The post Catella to Target New Ventures and Markets with Aquila Group Purchase appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Lincoln Property Company Names Maria Stamolis Chief Investment Officer

Sean Potter — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 03:50:29 +0000

Lincoln Property Company (“Lincoln”), a global, full-service real estate firm, today announced that Maria Stamolis has been appointed as Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Management. In this role, Ms. Stamolis oversees the company’s investment activity across its global portfolio, which currently comprises approximately $3 billion in assets under management invested in over $6 billion in assets for separately managed pension fund portfolios. She is also responsible for broadening Lincoln’s relationships and offerings with institutional investors.

Lincoln’s Co-Chief Executive Officers David Binswanger and Clay Duvall shared in a joint statement: “With institutional investor demand for real estate increasing significantly in recent years, there is substantial focus on the growth of our investment management business. Maria has a long track record of success in launching and managing both debt and equity platforms and portfolios across a broad spectrum of real estate property types, and we are thrilled to add such a high-caliber leader to our team to drive the growth of a critical part of our business.”

Ms. Stamolis brings over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate to her role at Lincoln. She joins the company after 16 years at Canyon Partners, where she most recently served as Partner and Co-Head of Real Estate. At Canyon, Ms. Stamolis contributed significantly to the growth of the company’s real estate investment platform, helping to oversee approximately $5.5 billion of debt and equity capital across two hundred transactions over the last 10 years.

Additionally, Ms. Stamolis was integral to establishing the real estate emerging manager platform, the Canyon Catalyst Fund, in partnership with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”). The fund invested across commercial real estate product types in the Western U.S. alongside early-stage, high-performing emerging managers within a framework of mentorship.

Prior to Canyon Partners, Ms. Stamolis held senior roles at real estate firms Karney Management Company and R+B Realty Group/Oakwood Worldwide. She began her career as a project manager for the developer center for Housing Partnerships in New York City, going on to serve as a portfolio manager at both GE Capital and MBL Life Assurance Corporation.

“I am honored to join the Lincoln team as the company embarks on its next-generation growth plan while building on its long-standing history of success,” said Ms. Stamolis. “Lincoln has deep roots and significant relationships across the real estate landscape, and I am thrilled about the opportunity to lead the growth of its investment management platform.”

In addition to Ms. Stamolis’ appointment as CIO, three additional senior executives will join Lincoln’s investment management team. Vernon Chin, Senior Managing Director; Rob Bilse, Managing Director; and Carly Marano, Director, collectively have more than 50 years of experience in capital markets and investment management, and they will contribute to fundraising and the development of asset management strategies, as well as transaction activity. Mr. Chin and Ms. Marano worked extensively with Ms. Stamolis at Canyon Partners and were key members overseeing the CalPERS emerging manager program, as well as investment management more broadly. Mr. Bilse previously served as Director and Head of Capital Markets at PATRIZIA Property, where he led the North American business and brand strategy.

The growth of Lincoln’s investment team follows the appointment of David Binswanger and Clay Duvall as co-CEOs. Both Mr. Binswanger and Mr. Duvall, each of whom have spent their careers at Lincoln, were elevated from their previous roles as Senior Executive Vice President of Lincoln West and Executive Vice President of Finance, respectively.

Source: Yahoo! Finance

The post Lincoln Property Company Names Maria Stamolis Chief Investment Officer appeared first on Amora Escapes.

Real Estate Industry Proposes Solutions for Problematic SFDR Regulations

Sherman Henry Reeves — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 03:46:37 +0000

Three real estate industry bodies have produced a set of proposals aimed at EU regulators to solve problems arising from the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

A working group comprised of Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate (INREV) and the Investment Property Forum (IPF) have published the SFDR Real Estate Solutions Paper, which aims to support SFDR’s goal of preventing ‘greenwashing’ while also avoiding some of its counter-productive effects.

Earlier this year, a report by INREV argued that SFDR, in its current guise, could have the unintended consequence of diverting capital away from real estate investments that make the most positive environmental impact and even encourage greenwashing.

The newly announced proposals come ahead of an anticipated review and industry consultation on current SFDR rules.

In a statement today, INREV, AREF and IPF said SFDR “should be supported in its ambition to accelerate decarbonisation of financial market activities, including the built environment, and to inhibit greenwashing”, but they also said a number of solutions were needed to solve “challenges” surrounding its application to real estate.

The paper proposes remedies for several challenges that involve:

Differences in the calculation methodologies between SFDR and recommendations of the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD);
Inconsistencies with energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings among EEA member states;
Confusion surrounding what should be included under the mandatory principal adverse impact (PAI) “exposure to fossil fuels”;
Treatment of energy-inefficient assets under the PAI.

“The working group has provided a valuable service to the real estate industry in identifying potential solutions to the challenges presented by the SFDR and I have been pleased to be able to contribute,” said Abigail Dean, head of strategic insights at Nuveen, chair of the INREV ESG committee and Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) board member.

“I appreciate the leadership shown by AREF, INREV and IPF and the thoughtful approach that they have taken in exploring the issues and bringing in views from across the real estate investment sector. The EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance and the SFDR are critical to encouraging the flow of capital into sustainable solutions and I hope that this consultation response and the recommendations within will help the regulation to better achieve that goal.”

Aleksandra Njagulj, managing director, global head of ESG real estate at DWS, vice-chair of the INREV ESG Committee and ULI Sustainability Product Council member, said the working group of “industry ESG specialists approached the task diligently and proactively, looking to illustrate the specificities of real estate investment management and the nexus with SFDR”.

She added: “The result is an extensive analysis of the questions posed alongside with potential solutions. We trust the feedback and suggestions will be well received and serve to improve the next iteration of regulation.”

Julie Townsend, vice-president and ESG lead for Europe and Asia-Pacific at PGIM Real Estate, ULI UK Sustainability Product Council member and co-chair of the BBP investor working group, said: “SFDR has had a huge impact on the commercial real estate sector. If we can get the instruments the regulation lends on correct, we can make the impact entirely positive.

“Additionally, if we can make the instruments it leans on translatable across the Americas and APAC, a business like PGIM Real Estate takes this positive impact beyond the EU and right across the globe.”

Melville Rodrigues, head of real estate advisory at Apex Group, AREF Public Policy Committee member and IPF member, said: “SFDR has laudable aims in laying down harmonised transparency rules and integrating ESG factors into investment decisions and financial advice. Constructive engagement between regulators and market stakeholders are key to achieving SFDR real estate regulation.

“Regulators and stakeholders have shared goals, like accelerating net-zero pathways and attracting capital for transition strategies. We hope our paper facilitates industry debate and regulator engagement, so SFDR works appropriately and efficiently for our real estate sector.”

Lonneke Löwik, CEO of INREV, said: ”INREV has worked hard to help regulators to understand the importance of disclosure requirements that supports allocation of capital to vitally needed real estate transition. The paper supports this important effort.”

Source: IPE Real Assets

The post Real Estate Industry Proposes Solutions for Problematic SFDR Regulations appeared first on Amora Escapes.