Europeans' new real estate mantra: Go west

Real estate news By Shelley Emling
Published: March 1, 2007

LONDON: Emboldened by the strength of the pound and euro, Europeans are eyeing real estate across the Atlantic, while the weak dollar is forcing Americans to think twice about property in Europe.

William Thompson, vice president of sales at Newfound Property International in London, said that, for example, luxury properties at the 200-unit Ocean's Edge Resort on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts are selling quickly, thanks in large part to Britons who are taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate. "These buyers are taking a bet on the currency," he said. "I can't predict where the dollar is going, but it seems to me to be a very nice time to buy if you can use pounds. And it could be very good for buyers if they use pounds to buy a dollar property and then the dollar strengthens."

At Ocean's Edge, which is scheduled to be completed in January 2009, the one-bedroom beachfront apartments overlooking the turquoise waters of Cable Bay start at $315,000, or ?160,076. That is much less than the average price of a London property, which just hit ?250,000 for the first time. "The Caribbean is definitely very attractive for Europeans right now, because it gives them the ability to buy dollar properties," Thompson said, adding that about 70 percent of the sales at Ocean's Edge had been with buyers based in Britain.

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