Just 5.23 million passports were issued in the year 2008-9, compare to 6.2 million in 2006-7. The cost of passports and the increasing trend for holidaying closer to home has seen the demand for passports fall by more than 10 per cent over the past two years.

The increase in passport prices is also putting UK holidaymakers off renewing until the last possible moment before a trip.

The cost of an adult passport has increased from £66 in 2006 to £72 in 2007. With another rise earlier this year, the price currently stands at £77.50. Thus, renewing a family of four’s passports could cost in excess of £300.

Home Office Permanent Secretary Sir David Normington said, “What has been happening in the last two years is that demand for passports has been falling and we think that is because, as the recession has come on, people are delaying renewing their passports.”

When compared to other holiday costs, such as cheap flights on budget airlines and bargain hotel rates – all of which have been falling to try and attract cash-strapped holidaymakers – the cost of passports seems ever higher.

I recently flew to Stockholm, Sweden for the weekend with my partner – our combined flights £60, Ryanair cost less than the renewal of one passport.

It’s the same story in the USA too. The U.S. airline industry is projected to carry 41 million fewer passengers in 2009, a decline that will continue through 2010, according to Boyd Group International. U.S. passenger levels may not again reach 2008 levels until after 2014.

Waiting times for a US passport have now been slashed by a quarter and there are 12 million requests for new passports rather than the predicted 17 million.

The Identity and Passport Service has also cut its staff due to the lack of passport demand.

For more information on overseas properties and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

TheMoveChannel.com’s September Top of the Props chart, which tracks the interest of visitors to the site and finds the most popular countries each month, found France had topped the props last month.

Primelocation’s findings tallied with those, with France, Spain, the USA, Italy and Portugal taking the top five places in their index, significantly outperforming the sixth to tenth placed countries.

Last month also saw search levels up 10 per cent compared to August, indicating that consumer confidence in overseas investment property has begun to return.

But, whilst confidence is coming back, investors are still wary of putting their money into less stable or well know locations, thus they are looking to well established countries with a history of stability.

The property portal’s international development manager, Ann Wright said, “Given the recent turbulence we have experienced, a certain amount of caution remains and interest is currently concentrated in the traditionally strong and established markets.”

In terms of sales, Ms Wright believes there could be a wait between investors’ intentions to buy and actual sales.

“Although property prices in the top three countries are attractive, having fallen substantially in the downturn, the pound is not particularly strong against the euro or the US dollar at the moment and buyers may hold off, watching the market for the most lucrative time to make the purchase.”

TheMoveChannel.com found that it wasn’t just residential investors targeting France – commercial investment property in the country was on the up too. The country is fast emerging as the second-most popular market after the UK following a static first quarter as a result of the ongoing hangover from and continual effects of the economic crisis. The French property investment market is now on the move again, with investment levels doubling in the second quarter of this year, the biggest increase for that period in Europe.

For more information on overseas investment properties and the property market in general, please visit http://investment.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

Puerto Vallarta beachfront condos

By: Jim Scherrer

With the incredibly fine winter climate, proximity to the US and Canada, and the amenities offered, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico has long been recognized as a great resort destination as well as retirement haven for North Americans.

Beginning early in the 21^st century, Vallarta, as with many other resort destinations, began an explosive period of growth. Developers from around the world flocked to Vallarta in order to cash in on the baby boomer retirement plans. Within a short period of time, most of the finest beach front and hillside properties were snatched up and planning began in earnest. Tower cranes were erected, dotting the skyline throughout the city, and construction workers from neighboring states rushed to the area for employment.

As soon as the above projects were announced, the developers threw up beautiful sales offices and prepared for the land rush. These nice, spacious, air conditioned offices typically had comfortable lounge areas with new furnishings, pretty magazines, sometimes piped in music and perhaps a few free margaritas. They were typically staffed with English speaking, well dressed, experienced, professional sales personnel. Most of these new offices had multiple sales cubicles with the capability of negotiating two or three contracts at a time; some even had counters where the buyers could get in line to wait their turn for such a unique opportunity to own a piece of Paradise. Granted, it never quite reached the point that it did in Florida, where they were holding lotteries and drawing lucky buyer numbers out of a hat!

During the first few years of the decade, the North Americans were grabbing up the new condos at such a torrid pace that many of the construction projects were 30%, or more, sold out before they even broke ground. Pre-construction pricing of 10-20% off their suggested list price was frequently offered to owners of condos previously built by the developer. After all, these privileged speculators had earned the right to have the first chance to scoop up the most desirable condos at what seemed to be reasonable prices; few could afford to pass up such a no-brainer investment opportunity!

Meanwhile, as the tower cranes started whirling around and the thousands of construction workers, looking like a huge colony of ants, began their construction, the beautiful buildings started coming to reality. Money was flying in every direction and it seemed as though everyone that came to town had an extra half a million dollars to spare for their retirement dream residence. Of course, during those years, re-financing and second mortgages on North American real estate with highly inflated values was commonplace; the herd had a feeling of easy money and never ending wealth!

With the herd of somewhat naive buyers in town, the question was never whether or not they should buy a condo; it was which condo they should buy. They were virtually knocking down every real estate office door in town (approximately 80 in the area at its peak!); it was definitely a seller's market. The developers would usually negotiate 5-10% off list price in order to give the buyer a sense of satisfaction that they had received a good deal, still leaving the developer with a substantial profit margin; everyone was happy as the good times rolled on!

By the middle of the decade, the local real estate market was humming on all cylinders and new projects were being announced almost daily. The Mexican Tourism Board announced plans for developing a new 20 mile stretch of beaches north of Vallarta and planning was underway for another 20,000 new condos. Obviously, as long as the stampede continued, they would continue building and prices would continue to escalate, resulting in a tripling of real estate values during a short 7 year period of time, i.e. the old rule of supply and demand was in full force; keep coming and we'll keep building!

Well, as always happens, a global recession hit in 2008. However, this time it was much deeper than most had ever experienced, severely impacting the PV real estate market as the demand virtually disappeared overnight. Developers and speculators were left holding thousands of new unsold condos creating the greatest buyer's market ever experienced in this part of the world, i.e. the supply (glut) of new condos far outnumbers the demand. Consequently, the developers and speculators are on their knees just trying to recover their costs, often discounting by 30% or more while many of those fancy real estate offices in PV were forced to close and those remaining open are doing so on shoestring budgets and reduced staffs.

The herd mentality has been clearly demonstrated on a daily basis for a number of years all over the Vallarta area and is still in play, except now the buyers are all following each other in the opposite direction; postponing purchases until someday in the future when the economy is more certain, i.e. until the coast is clear. The masses seem to feel a sense of urgency to purchase when their peers are doing so and feel no sense of urgency to purchase when prices are at the lowest levels possible. During the past year, it has been absolutely amazing to see the herd of what appear to be intelligent, educated buyers walking away from once in a life time opportunities because there's no line up of buyers. It's as though everyone's afraid to be a contrarian; consequently, they'll end up buying later at a higher price.

Buying into a given real estate market is essentially the same as buying into the stock market. Why does the herd always insist on buying high and selling low? The developers are never going to sell below their cost and current prices are as low as they'll ever be; bargain opportunities are everywhere but once they are recognized and scooped up by the savvy buyers, the prices will surely start escalating again.

We thank our lucky stars for having bought a villa in PV twelve years ago (before it was the in-thing to do) and have seen it more than triple in value. Of course, anyone buying today at these severely depressed prices could realize a short term gain of 50% (or more) on their investment, if and when the economy ever recovers. However, knowing the way the herd mentality reacts, the majority of buyers probably won't return to the table until it's too late to take advantage of the current situation with its tremendous real estate values.

Are there any contrarians out there? Are there any retirees or about-to-be retirees that have any money (or credit) left? If so, you'll never find a better time to take advantage of a seriously depressed and overbuilt real estate market. Pack your bags and come on down for a week of fun in the sun this winter and check out the phenomenal opportunities that await you in Puerto Vallarta. With the current availability of mortgages in Mexico, this is a rare opportunity to buy low and perhaps someday in the future, sell high; it's a great concept! Disregard what the herd is doing and remember just one thing; they're usually wrong!

(Please see Puerto Vallarta PHOTO GALLERY)

Jim Scherrer has owned property in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 26 years and resided there for the past twelve years. The mission of his series of 70 articles pertaining to retirement in Puerto Vallarta is to reveal the recent changes that have occurred in Vallarta while dispelling the misconceptions about living conditions in Mexico. For the full series of articles regarding travel to and retirement in Vallarta as well as pertinent Puerto Vallarta links, please visit us at PVREBA.

Puerto Vallarta as see from nearby beach

By: Jim Scherrer

For more than 50 years, the de facto world currency has been the US dollar with many of the world currencies being pegged against it (some countries have even eliminated their own currencies in favor of the US dollar). As an example, Canadians feel a sense of wealth when the Canadian dollar is on par with the US dollar; the opposite when the Canadian dollar devalues to .70 US dollar, i.e., when the Canadian dollar will purchase only 70 cents worth of US goods and services. The following graph shows how the Canadian dollar has strengthened from $.77 US to $.96 US or by 25% during just the past seven months.

Canadian dollar versus US dollar--past 7 months

Currently, the global economy is changing and as the US dollar continues to erode, many foreign currencies have strengthened significantly relative to the green back. Consequently, savvy Canadians should now be looking at currencies outside of the US and evaluating their own newfound purchasing power in those foreign countries. For instance, the Canadian dollar has virtually exploded in value recently relative to the Mexican peso. The graph below depicts how the Canadian dollar has risen in value from an equivalent of 7.1 Mexican pesos in 2003 to 12.6 pesos today in 2009.

Canadian dollar versus Mexican peso--past 6 1/2 years

Now, let's compare this increase in the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar to the increase in purchasing power of the US dollar, both relative to the Mexican peso. The graph below clearly shows that during this 6 ½ year time frame the US dollar increased in value by a bit more than 20% relative to the Mexican peso whereas the Canadian dollar increased by a whopping 75%!

Canadian and US dollars versus Mexican peso--past 6 1/2 years

It's quite understandable, that toward the end of 2007 when the Canadian dollar reached par with the US dollar, the Canadians were major buyers of real estate in Mexico. However, by March of 2009, the Canadian dollar had slipped to a low of $.77 US and Canadian buyers were virtually eliminated from the Mexican real estate market.

Next, let's closely review the Canadian and US dollars relative to the Mexican peso during the past year. Because the recent strengthening of the Canadian dollar has far outpaced the US dollar relative to the Mexican peso, you'll see that during the past year, the US dollar has barely appreciated in value over the Mexican peso while the Canadian dollar has exploded in value by nearly 25%. The ramifications that this phenomenon has had on the Canadian purchasing power in Mexico are addressed below. 

Canadian and US dollars versus Mexican peso--past year

During the past decade many tourist zones and retirement havens in the resort areas of Mexico experienced exponential growth. Along with this growth came significant real estate price appreciation; so much so that real estate prices in many Mexican resort cities were no longer within reach of many Canadian retirees, especially when the Canadian dollar plummeted in value in 2008. Well, we have good news for you fortunate Canadians holding those wonderfully strong Loonies; that's no longer the case!

In Puerto Vallarta, real estate prices of recently built condos have dropped by anywhere from 20-35% during the past year alone. This reduction in value was caused mainly by the global recession, however the swine flu scare and the media hype over the border town drug war (1,200 miles away!) were also contributing factors. With the tremendous glut of unsold new condos recently introduced to the market by developers combined with the many condos that were purchased at pre-construction prices by speculators now just trying to recover their investment, PV is a true buyer's market.

Last year you could buy a $400,000 condo with all the amenities and breathtaking views for 10% off list price or for $360,000. Today, you'll have no problem finding that same condo offered at $300,000. Okay, that seems like a pretty nice savings of nearly 17% but remember, these Mexican condos are all priced in US dollars; Canadians must now evaluate these costs in terms of Canadian dollars! A year ago when the Canadian dollar was worth $.77 US, $360,000 US dollars was equivalent to $468,000 Canadian dollars. Today, with the same condo selling for $300,000 and the Canadian dollar worth $.96 US, it will cost only $315,000 Canadian dollars. That's a savings of $153,000 Canadian or 32.7% (as opposed to the apparent 17%) in just one year!

Until as recently as 4 years ago there were no mortgages available to any North Americans buying resort property in Mexico. At that time, a number of US based mortgage companies introduced mortgages to US citizens buying property in Mexico but not to Canadians. That all changed a couple of years ago when the major mortgage companies finally made the same mortgages available to Canadians. These fixed and variable rate mortgages require at least 20% down and can have terms for as long as 30 years at rates generally about two points above those in the States or at approximately 7% at this time.

It is the opinion of many that the Canadian dollar will continue to strengthen. After all, the Canadian banks didn't make all the foolish sub-prime no-doc loans that were made in the US, the Canadian unemployment rate is somewhat less than in the US, and Canada is rich with natural resources with worldwide demand. Knowing this, it seems only logical that having a mortgage in Mexico based on US dollars would be a very wise investment; it would be paid off with ever strengthening Canadian dollars.

Let's assume we bought that condo for $300,000 US ($315,000 Canadian) and made a down payment of $100,000 US ($105,000 Canadian). A 30 year fixed rate 8% mortgage of $200,000US would result in payments of $1,467/month US ($1,528 Canadian). Of course, if and when the Canadian dollar again reaches par with the US dollar, your payments will be reduced from $1,528 to $1,467 Canadian. Now, let's get a little aggressive and assume the Canadian dollar will reach $1.05US. At that exchange rate, your monthly mortgage payments would drop to $1,397 Canadian. It's not too far a stretch to predict an annual savings of $2,000 Canadian or more based solely on the exchange rate differential. Of course, if the Canadian dollar were to plummet for some unforeseeable reason, these mortgages can be paid off after 2-5 years (depending upon the loan) with no pre-payment penalty.

Finally, let's evaluate the cost of living in Mexico. For starters, let's assume that a year ago we were considering a lifestyle in Vallarta based on a budget of $10,000 pesos per month. With the annual inflation rate in Mexico of 5%, the same goods and services in Mexico will be $10,500 pesos this year. A little more than a year ago, when the Canadian dollar would purchase 9.5 pesos, $10,000 pesos was equivalent to $1,052 Canadian. Today, with the favorable exchange rate of 12.7 pesos per Canadian dollar, the $10,500 peso budget will cost a mere $827 Canadian, i.e., a savings of $225/mo or a 22% reduction in the cost of living in just one year!

In summarizing, it's obvious that the time has never been better for Canadians to explore the opportunities that exist in Mexico today. International monetary circumstances are ideal for Canadians concurrently with the condo supply and demand equation in Mexico heavily tilted in favor of the buyer. In terms of Canadian dollars, you can expect to find incredible condos at 30-35% lower prices than just a year ago and your cost of living will be 20-25% less than it was a year ago.

Of the nearly 50,000 expats living in Vallarta, we estimate that close to 30% of them are Canadians. Needless to say, the winter weather in Puerto Vallarta is more conducive to most outdoor activities (excluding snow boarding and ice hockey!) than anywhere in Canada. So, why hesitate? Come on down this winter and have some fun in the sun with your fellow countrymen and while doing so, save a significant portion of your nest egg on your retirement residence in Paradise. It's now certainly well within your financial reach and as they say, "if you snooze, you lose"; you'll never find a better time or place to invest those Loonies than now in Mexico! 

Jim Scherrer has owned property in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 26 years and resided there for the past twelve years. The mission of his series of nearly 70 articles pertaining to retirement in Puerto Vallarta is to reveal the recent changes that have occurred in Vallarta while dispelling the misconceptions about living conditions in Mexico. For the full series of articles regarding travel to and retirement in Vallarta as well as pertinent Puerto Vallarta links, please visit us at PVREBA.

Once the global economic crisis really started to hit home, the vast majority of countries saw the amount of foreign investment interest dwindle rapidly.

In a bid to boost the stalled economy, the Government decided to look at restructuring the Trinidad property tax system and alongside that meant a rise in property taxes.

Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira said the Government proposed to introduce a new four-tiered property tax regime on January 1st, 2010 and this it would be based on the present market values of properties.

Residential properties will be taxes at three per cent come January 1st, with commercial properties being taxed at five per cent and agricultural properties at one per cent.

These planned increases could see some unlucky property owners facing an increase of between 100 per cent and a whopping 600 per cent on top of what they currently pay.

Critics of the plan are deeply concerned that it will have a negative impact on both the rental and buying sectors in the country.

Whilst it is expected that some owners will sell up in a bid to avoid the higher taxes, others, both local and international property/ buyers, will be far less inclined to buy.

Property owners and tenants of rental properties alike are all expected to be affected by the new rules. Rents will increase as property owners will have to pay higher taxes, thus forcing them to up the price they charge their tenants to cover the costs.

In Trinidad, property taxes are tied up with mortgage payments, so another negative effect of the new rules is that mortgage payments look set to increase, something which could force even more to rethink their purchase or get out of the market altogether.

Foreign buyers are predicted to be looking to countries with more favourable tax regimes following the announcement, which would be bad news for the Trinidad property market, tourist sector, and economy – the latter obviously relying heavily on both of the former.

For more information on international property/ and the market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

Always a favourite with British investors and holidaymakers, property in France scaled the chart to claim victory in August and even nabbed third place too.

So what is behind France's dramatic rise? Well, industry experts are busy predicting that traditional locations will emerge victorious from the global market downturn.

Mortgage specialist, Conti, found that British investors are sticking to ‘proven' locations that offer less risk.

Its latest Hot Spots report found that France created the most interest from investors, accounting for 31 per cent of enquiries received by the company so far this year.

Spain, another traditional hotspot, followed with 22 per cent. The credit crunch has been particularly hard on Spain, with hoards of unsold apartments lying unfinished as developers fell foul of the credit crunch.

Now, huge discounts have led to the bargain hunters circling again, pushing demand for Spanish property back up.

For France and Spain, enquiries have increased considerably with the countries accounting for 53 per cent of all 2009 enquiries so far, compared with 29 per cent in the same period last year.

And, as our Investment Property Watch chart found, interest in the USA declined.
Conti's Operations Director, Clare Nessling, says, "British buyers are sticking to the more traditional overseas locations, especially those with history of providing good rental returns.

"The smart investor is no longer simply looking to where the best bargains for a swift return can be found, but to where security lies for a longer term investment," she added.

And France isn't just of interest to those investors looking for residential property or holiday homes – international commercial-property investors looking for prime assets are beginning to target the country too, as it emerges as the second-most popular market after the U.K.

Investment levels in France doubled in the second quarter, the biggest increase for that period in Europe.

"Nine out of 10 investors we meet cite France as a top-three target country, alongside U.K. and Germany," said Giles Wilcox, Head of real-estate adviser Savills PLC's European cross-border investment.

France's lack of volatility attracts buyers of both the residential and commercial ilk, many of whom are looking for a low-risk, established market in which to invest in these troubled economic times.

According to the Investment Property Databank Index, throughout the crunch, France has held up better than many other markets in Europe.

While the U.K. property capital returns fell around 26 per cent last year, capital returns in France fell only about six per cent.

Other movers and shakers

Snapping at France's heels was Portugal in second place and Brazil in fourth. Surprise entry Canada took fifth place, followed swiftly by far-flung paradise Thailand. Morocco made an appearance at number seven. Last month's winner the US of A had to be content with eighth place on August's chart, but the country shouldn't feel too down – it also took ninth place. Rounding off the chart was Turkey – proving it's not just for Christmas.

For more information on investment property and the market in general, please visit http://investment.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

If you are keen to enjoy a good value holiday (and who isn’t?) then word on the street is to check out eastern Europe.

New research by Tesco Travel Money has found that there are some brilliant bargains to be had in countries such as Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria.

The capital of the latter, Sofia, offers particularly good value while one-week holiday expenses in Bulgaria for a family of four are less than in Brighton in England.

And its not just Tesco that tipped Bulgaria is the cheapest holiday destination.

Teletext Holidays’ ‘World's Best Value Breaks Report’ found that the country was cheapest when measured against a variety of factors, from the cost of flights, food, drink and accommodation, to the quality of accommodation and the weather.

It also found that flights cost an average of £58 and the average taxi journey cost £1.45, while a three course meal with service costs just £7.

As with most of the eastern European countries, Poland has long been synonymous with cheap and cheerful food and accommodation.

A beer in a Warsaw bar is around £1, while a two-course meal with wine can cost as little as £10-£15. A night at the cinema typically costs £3 a head.

The capital of Warsaw has been named as one of Europe's most culturally affordable capitals. You can check out one of the Polish National Philharmonic’s performances for a mere £9.

A Tesco Travel Money Spokesperson said, “Those looking for a bargain break would be wise not just to look into the cost of travel but also the expenses they are likely to incur once they are there.

“If families really want to holiday on a shoestring then they need to do their research to really make their money go further.”

For more information on properties overseas and the market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

The ship has already created a wave in the shipping industry and it seems that it deserves all the hype.

Royal Caribbean International will launch the ship, which is 23 metres longer than the current largest passenger ship, the Independence of the Seas, on December 12th.

Weighing in at a whopping 220,000 tonnes, it’s a wonder this ship can even stay afloat, let alone carry 5,400 guests. It was constructed across 13 different ports in Norway, costing a massive £755 million.

More of a mini city than a ship, Oasis of the Seas has streets with lamp posts, parks, small lakes and even cinemas.

The shopping mall of the ship will be the biggest shopping mall ever, on both land and sea, plus nightclubs, swimming pools and spas.

The ‘Neighbourhood concept’ themed areas are: Board Walk; Royal Promenade; Pool and Sports Zone; Vitality at Sea Spa and Fitness Centre; Entertainment Place and Youth Zone.

The cabin rooms will be divided into various categories, from split level family cabins up the luxury President's Suite.

Currently undergoing sea trials, the ship will be based in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, USA and will take its first cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, with ports of call at Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten and Nassau, Bahamas.

Starting on May 1st, 2010, Oasis of the Seas will alternate its Eastern Caribbean itinerary with the Western Caribbean itinerary, which will call at Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination in Haiti; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

As if all this wasn’t enough to get you back in the water, in 2010, Oasis of the Seas will be joined by a sister ship, Allure of the Seas, which is expected to be even bigger.

For more information on property in the property in the UK and overseas and the market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

Ever wondered which streets are really paved with gold – well, now a new survey conducted by UK-based news and wealth analysis provider Wealth-Bulletin can tell you – it has put together a list of the world's ten most expensive residential streets – and Avenue Princesse Grace in Monaco is the top of the props…

Just one measly square metre of space on the prestigious Avenue Princesse Grace in the tax-haven of Monaco will set you back a whopping £73,000.

Properties on the avenue, which is named after the iconic Hollywood star Grace Kelly, who was married to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, change hands for up to £25 million – and many of them are fairly modest four-bedroom apartments.

You will get a view of the Mediterranean though and a bolt hole in possibly the most exclusive enclave in the world. If you’re paying that amount for an apartment, you’ll probably be mixing with some of the Monaco regulars like most of the wealthiest elites from the Middle East that visit the principality at least once a year, a smattering of Russian billionaires and, of course, the glamorous Monaco royal family.

Prices of properties on this street have not escaped the wrath of the credit crunch, which values plummeting by as much as 12 per cent over the last year, but the super rich are starting to flock back in, boosting prices skywards once more.

If you can't quite stretch to Monaco levels, how about a home on the world's second most expensive street – Chemin de Saint-Hospice, in Cap Ferrat in the South of France. Here, a square metre of prime real estate in one of the 15 luxury houses will only set you back a mere £60,000.

Another bonus is that the street is only a stones throw – well, 30 miles to be precise – away from the number one Avenue Princesse Grace, so you can rest assured your neighbours will be rather well-heeled too.

Across the pond in New York, the famous Fifth Avenue would cost you £43,000 per square metre. Fifth Avenue has the most iconic status of all the streets on the list. The Avenue stretches from Washington Square in lower Manhattan, all the way up to Harlem, but the residential properties in the Upper East Side of the Avenue that attract the sky-high prices. Some apartments are likely to sell for as much as £36 million at exclusive addresses like Plaza Apartments, linked to the famous Plaza Hotel, and 834 Fifth Avenue, where the press baron Rupert Murdoch bought an apartment for £26 million in 2005.

Other streets paved with gold include Kensington Palace Gardens in London and Avenue Montaigne in Paris, which is close to the Élysée Palace, official residence of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

For more information on international property and the market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650

Two stunning and well-known locations in Australia and one in New Zealand have made it onto the shortlist for the global contest to select the new Seven Wonders of Nature – but sadly, not one place in Blighty has made the cut…

The natural landmarks of the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru (Ayres Rock) in Australia have been chosen as finalists from a long list of 77 worldwide hotspots competing to be named one of the new seven Wonders of Nature.

Twenty-eight finalists have been chosen via public voting from an original list of 441 nominees from 222 countries.

The New7Wonders of Nature competition is expecting to attract more than one billion votes from all over the world as voting draws to a close and the seven winners are announced in mid-2011.

Organiser Bernard Weber said, “This campaign should contribute to the appreciation – to the knowledge – of our environment and not just the one in our country but worldwide.

“If we or our children want to save anything, we should first appreciate it,” he added.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s biggest coral reef comprising more than 3,000 individual reef systems and beaches, whilst Uluru in the Northern Territory is the world’s largest monolith.

Over in New Zealand, the stunning Milford Sound – a fjord in the south west of the wild South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site – was also named as a finalist.

These two natural icons are up against others including the Grand Canyon in the United States, the Amazon Rain Forest, Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

The competition is similar to that for the seven Man-Made Wonders of the world chosen in 2007.

The winners then were the Colosseum, Italy; the Great Wall of China; the Taj Mahal, India; Petra, Jordan; the Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil; Machu Picchu, Peru; and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico.

The full list of finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature is as follows:

Amazon
Angel Falls, Venezuela
Bay of Fundy, Canada
Black Forest, Germany
Bu Tinah Shoals, UAE
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
Dead Sea
El Yunque, Puerto Rico
Galapagos, Ecuador
Grand Canyon
Great Barrier Reef
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
Jeita Grotto, Lebanon
Jeju Island, South Korea
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Komodo, Indonesia
Maldives
Masurian Lake District, Poland
Matterhorn/Cervino, Switzerland/Italy
Milford Sound
Mud Volcanoes, Azerbaijan
Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines
Sundarbans, India/Bangladesh
Table Mountain, South Africa
Uluru, Australia
Vesuvius, Italy
Yushan, Chinese Taipei

For more information on UK and overseas property and the market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information as well as images and interview possibilities, please contact:

Dan Johnson

Managing Director

www.themovechannel.com

0207 952 7650