By Christopher Reynolds
Los Angeles Times
I arrived in the eerie Mexican town of Mineral de Pozos in the middle of a half-sunny afternoon, with shadows creeping all over the adobe…
I arrived in the eerie Mexican town of Mineral de Pozos in the middle of a half-sunny afternoon, with shadows creeping all over the adobe buildings, the [...]
By Olivia Chen
Inhabitat
Sitting among the canopy of a jungle forest near Yelapa, Mexico, these V-Houses by Heinz Legler are quite possibly an eco-adventurer’s paradise. The treehouse-like structures are lofted 16 feet above the ground and open on all sides to offer panoramic views of the tropical surroundings. Although the rooms measure only 16 feet by 16 feet, [...]
Francesca Levy
Forbes.com
Prices slide, even in the glitziest neighborhoods.
Once, if a neighborhood made Forbes’ list of America’s 500 Most Expensive ZIP Codes, it meant buyers were prepared to spend big bucks to call it home.
But in 2009, even in these exclusive enclaves, home prices took major hits. Though Alpine, N.J. (07620) tops our list with a [...]
Chris Palmeri
Business Week
On vacation last week I watched a lot of real estate reality shows and realized just how quickly they can get outdated in this horrible housing market.
Some of the shows do reflect the post-bubble reality. A show on HGTV called Real Estate Intervention follows a guy who looks and acts like a [...]
Vallarta Botanical Gardens in cooperation with the Puerto Vallarta Department of Parques y Jardines has embarked on an ambitious new project called Ciudad de las Bugamvilias to beautify our city. Between now and November 1, 2009, 5000 new bougainvillea plants will be installed in the city’s median strips, traffic islands and city parks. The public [...]
Poorly performing hotels are an unfortunate casualty of the recession, which is causing an increase in the number of distressed sales. Here we examine the tools you need to employ to maximize investment in a distressed property.
In general, distressed real estate represents properties hurt by unusually high vacancy levels that cause a sharp and swift [...]
(HOLLYWOOD, FL) — They are bucking the Gods of Condo Sales.
That’s what condominium industry analysts were saying privately Friday, Aug. 21 as they watched legendary Miami condo developer Jorge M. Perez and Donald Trump Jr., son of the equally legendary Manhattan developer Donald Trump, pitch their $355 million Trump Hollywood condominium community to lenders, sales [...]
MEXICO CITY, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Mexico’s economy, slammed by a drop in U.S. demand, has sunk to its low point and recent data shows signs of growth, the government said on Sunday.
Mexico’s economic output was down 1.1 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, a much smaller decline than in the [...]
Christine Delsol, Special to The Chronicle
Friday, August 21, 2009
Queen Elizabeth II’s annus horribilis has nothing on Mexico’s tribulations of 2009. Travel alerts based on escalating drug cartel violence, the global spread of the U.S. recession and the H1N1 flu outbreak in Mexico City have kept tourists away in droves, but the hit on its third-largest [...]
By DAVID LEONHARDT and GERALDINE FABRIKANT
New York Times
The rich have been getting richer for so long that the trend has come to seem almost permanent.
They began to pull away from everyone else in the 1970s. By 2006, income was more concentrated at the top than it had been since the late 1920s. The recent news about [...]
It is easy to imagine the future when there is a consensus on which businesses operate and how to manage them. Motivated by greed, investors and managers make predictable decisions in proportion to their own capabilities and resources.
Nowadays not only the market is being dominated by fear, but also it is being seriously questioned the [...]
By MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Mexico enacted a controversial law Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging free government treatment for drug dependency.
The law sets out maximum “personal use” amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities will no longer [...]
By Emily Schmall
Bloomberg.com
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co., ranked by Institutional Investor magazine as the top brokerage for Latin America equity research this year, made Mexico its top country pick for the region on the prospect of a second-half economic recovery and fiscal reform.
JPMorgan’s Latin America equity strategist Ben Laidler boosted his year-end [...]
Villa Los Arcos & Villa Mirador
Max: 100 guests
San Miguel de Allende by the Sea. Exquisite and expansive private beach within the gated residential community called El Banco.
Casa Amore
Max: 200 guests
Gorgeous and ornately world class 11 bedroom villa on spectacular Ranchos beach at the Punta Mita Resort.
Papelillos
Max: 80 guests
Dreamy as can be for a bare-footed bride. [...]
by BRENDA WILSON
NPR
A lot of towns and cities in the United States virtually empty out come August. Traffic almost becomes manageable as the local denizens decamp for the beach, the mountains or the heartlands. The escape from toil may be just the breather the body needs to restore itself.
Whether you spend your free moments playing [...]
SIGNIFICANT SALES
Rising Home Prices Make Headlines
The first reported increase in U.S. home prices, after 34 straight months of decline, made headlines around the world. May’s Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index results, released at the end of July, were consistent with other housing indicators and represent a significant shift, fueling hopes for a global economic turnaround. [...]
By Ann Wilson Lloyd
Globe Correspondent / August 16, 2009
TRONCONES, Mexico – Franklin the Turtle is the favorite storybook friend of our grandson Waylon, 3. Imagine his delight at herding hundreds of baby Franklins into the twilight surf during our three-generation family beach vacation at this surfing village near Zihuatanejo, on the Pacific coast.
“Can I keep [...]
By Dan Levy
Bloomberg
Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. homeowners cut their asking prices by $27.8 billion with some of the biggest reductions in Nevada and Florida, states hardest hit by the property slump, Trulia Inc. said.
Owners slashed prices by 15 percent in Nevada and by 13 percent in Florida and Arizona in the year through Aug. [...]
Articlesbase.com
Puerto Vallarta prizes itself because of its rich cultural and historical value. It is also one of those cities of Mexico that try to indulge in historical and cultural traditions in order to keep them alive. Some of these traditions lie in the depth and heart of the colonial Spanish culture which is extremely rich [...]
Tagged bull fighting, bull fights, bullfight, bullfighting, bulls, charro, mark callanan, mexican, mexico, plaza de toros, puerta vallarta, puerto vallarta, toredor, toro, torosAlanet News
With Mexican discount airline Volaris offering new flights from Oakland to Guadalajara and Toluca (31 miles west of the Mexico City) since last month, and to Tijuana beginning Aug. 28, Bay Area travelers finally have direct access to low-cost flights to Mexico. It’s a bright spot in a shake-out year for the no-frills airlines [...]
VirtualVallarta.com
Dine is proud to announce that Club Punta Mita’s Pacifíco Jack Nicklaus Signature course will be the site of the Riviera Nayarit Classic golf tournament, a part of the Canadian Tour. Dates will be September 28 through October 4, 2009, and will feature more than 120 of the top players in the Canadian Tour. The [...]
Kaiser Health News
Medical Tourism News
Efforts to standardize quality measures for medical tourism are underway as Mexico tries to attract medical tourists. Such efforts come after the swine flu outbreak significantly hurt Mexico’s tourism industry, which ranks third as the country’s source of foreign income.
The Houston Chronicle reports: “Uninsured, under-insured and not sure Obamacare is [...]
BY JOHN PRICE
Latin Business Chronicle
Experienced Latin American investors understand that today’s financial crisis will present discounted buying opportunities to those with the authority and boldness to quickly negotiate an acquisition and the cash to pay for it.
Six years of rapid growth in the region invited a lot of new players into the market, overcrowding supply [...]
Hotelsmag.com
8/10/2009
10 August 2009 – London, UK – As the first country in the world to experience an outbreak of the now widespread A(H1N1) influenza virus, Mexico has been really hard hit in terms of tourism demand over the past three months. Preliminary estimates from the Mexican Government put the impact so far at around US$200-$300 [...]
KATHY STRONG
SPECIAL TO THE DESERT SUN
AUGUST 9, 2009
The most beautiful and prestigious coastlines in the world claim their own “Rivieras” – from the south of France to California’s most desirable strands. In Mexico, it can be found in Riviera Nayarit, about 30 to 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. Defined geographically by 190 miles of [...]
By: Tonie Auer, Contributing Correspondent
CPN Online
Bargain prices for namebrand merchandise. No, it isn’t a sale at Macy’s or Nordstrom, it is the current market for resort properties. The sale of the exclusive ski lodge for the rich and famous in Big Sky, Mont.–the Yellowstone Club–was finalized this week for $115 million. Reports show that the [...]
After an initial slow down last year, the first half of this year saw at least 10 investments in travel companies. These investments ranged from companies providing online reviews, recommendations and bookings to rental management software.
Venture capitalists are being attracted by the billions spent on travel each year: Forrester Research predicts online travel alone will [...]
August 9, 9:39 AM
Denver Travel Industry Examiner
Joseph Sobin
Even as economic forecasts improve, there has been a proliferation of vacation home rentals entering the marketplace, while demand subsides and hotels are offering bargain rates. Thus, it is more important than ever to correctly position and price a vacation home rental to maximize exposure and generate demand.
While [...]
A vast, arid, haunted region between Mexico and the ‘dark soul of American imperialism’
By James Green
Boston Globe
August 9, 2009
“Imperial’’ appears to be a book about people and places in the California-Mexico borderland, but it might be best described as a bunch of books and a raft of notes, arranged in a way only the author [...]
By Steve Holland
Reuters
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Reuters) – Leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada — also known as “the three amigos” — begin a summit on Sunday in Mexico to talk about simmering trade issues and the threat of drug gangs.
U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon [...]
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press (AP)
WASHINGTON — When President Barack Obama visited Mexico in April, the now-global swine flu epidemic — unbeknownst to the White House — had just begun there and an Obama aide returned home sick.
What could have become a diplomatic downer, however, ultimately turned into a bright spot.
Obama was never in danger, the [...]
By MARC LACEY
NY Times
August 9, 2009
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Ahead of President Obama’s arrival in Mexico on Sunday night for a summit meeting of North American leaders, immigration was prompting significant behind-the-scenes debate. But it was Mexicans entering Canada, not the United States, that was the contentious issue.
Too many Mexicans, the Canadian government complained, were fraudulently claiming political asylum in Canada, [...]
Miguel and Alexis of La Punta Realty – Christie’s Great Esates visited San Miguel de Allende a few months ago to welcome Joanie Barcal of Allende Properties to the Christie’s Great Estates luxury real estate network.
Our shooters had a blast with this photogenic town and only wished we had more time. Here is a video [...]
Summit Will Discuss ‘Buy American’ Trade Provisions
By ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON and DAVID LUHNOW
The Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama will travel to Mexico on Sunday to attend his first summit with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts, in a meeting that the latter hope will shed light on how the U.S. plans to address trade disputes involving Mexican [...]
The St. Regis Mexico City hotel, of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide chain, opens its doors.
St. Regis has moved into Mexico City with a 189-room hotel located on downtown’s exclusive Paseo de la Reforma. Architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects used floor-to-ceiling glass panes to create an iconic building that rises 492 [...]
Todd Parker, Special to Vancouver Courier
Friday, August 07, 2009
Jalisco state is best known for the white sand beaches of popular resort town Puerto Vallarta, but this geographic and historic heart of Mexico is said by locals to have given the world three much more important things: charros (progenitors of North American cowboy culture), silver and [...]
GUADALAJARA, Mexico–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With hotel occupancy over 80 percent in Puerto Vallarta, and exceeding all expectations, Jalisco, home to the symbolic traditions that embody Mexican culture, is showing that the tourism industry is at a stage of full recovery.
Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico as far as economy, industry and culture is concerned, is doing [...]
Alan Ferguson,
Canwest News Service
It’s a simple enough matter to hire a guide and a mule in this town and go riding off in search of buried treasure in the caves of the Sierra Madre mountains- but you had better beware of The Curse of the Sunken Mine.
San Sebastian is a mere 70-minute drive [...]
A Seaward Orientation
A COMPOUND IN PUNTA MITA OPENS TO THE PACIFIC
Architecture by José Vigil/Interior Design by Adriana Olmedo
Text by Patricia Leigh Brown/Photography by David O. Marlow
Published August 2009
Mexico is a country of exuberant visual procession. Its zocalos, or central plazas, are filled with elderly couples strolling arm in arm, roving children eating ice cream, romantically [...]
Inspirador Estate in Arizona, Historic Evermay Estate in Washington, D.C., and Marsha Mason’s New Mexico Organic Farm and Estate, Featured in Inaugural Property Podcasts
New York, NY, July 25, 2009 –(PR.com)– In a first for a high-end real estate network, Christie’s Great Estates launched a series of luxury lifestyle video podcasts this month, providing potential homebuyers [...]
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