GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES

The GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES Real Estate Team is representing and supporting Mazatlan's premier resort community, Estrella del Mar, an 816 acre real estate community ideally situated on 3.5 miles of secluded beachfront and poised to become one of Mexico's fastest growing resort communities.

This premier resort is coming off of an active 2011, which included the introduction of the newest Mazatlan Hotel, thte Wyndham Las Villas, and the opening of the Phase III condominium residences.  Over $50 million in resort property enhancements have been made to Estrella del Mar during the past 18 months.

This outstanding resort is located less than 10 minutes from the Mazatlan International Airport and 45 minutes from downtown Mazatlan.  The resort offers a wide variety of outstanding amenities and facilities, including the new 68 room Wyndham Las Villas Resort, the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Championship Golf Course, a full service spa, spectacular pool complexes, and two full service on-property restaurants.  Estrella del Mar is the home to one of Mexico's largest sea turtle sanctuaries, giving visitors the opportunity to help preserve one of the world's endangered species.

Condo residences at Estrella del Mar start at $295,000.00 (U.S.) and home sites at $89,000.00.  Each condo residence features state-of-the-art finishes and has been designed to maximize views of the ocean and the golf course.  Each condo unit has a private walk-out patio with immediate access to the swimming pool and beach, or a private balcony providing outstanding panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. 

The condo residences are constructed to meet the highest U.S. standards; the interior design features granite countertops, GE Profile appliances, travertine marble flooring, natural finish solid wood cabinetry, a kitchen island, a laundry room, central heat and air conditioning, solid wood doors, and Internet access and satellite television.

Mazatlan can be reached daily by direct flights from Houston and Dallas.  Estrella del Mar offers complimentary shuttle services for homeowners and guests between the resort community and the airport.

For additional information on this outstanding residential resort community in Mazatlan, please contact us 24/7:

Bill Gottfried, Broker
GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES
tel:  713-299-0653 (direct global 24/7)
email:  billgottfried@gmail.com

Danielle Gottfried, Managing Director
GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES
tel:  713-299-8116 (direct global 24/7)
email: daniellegottfried@gmail.com

www.har.com/GOTTFRIEDESTATES

GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES continues its international expansion with the formation of a cooperative partnership with the leading Real Estate Brokerage in Belize, an increasingly popular country and real estate investment market for Texas property buyers and investors.

Bill Gottfried, Broker and a Partner in GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES, along with his Wife, Danielle Gottfried, states, "We are tremendously excited to be open for business in Belize, we are now in position to successfully represent our Texas, Canadian, and European clients' real estate interests in this outstanding market.  Belize is gaining worldwide attention as a high priority real estate market and we are privileged to be able to support our clients' interests in this great market. We look forward to working with our clients and supporting their interests in Belize."

GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES represents clients in Houston, the Texas Hill Country, and in a number of international real estate markets, including Mexico, (premier coastal and inland areas), Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Spain, France, Monaco, Greece, Russia, and in the Arabian Gulf Region. The GOTTFRIED TEAM is involved in real estate marketing, sales, investment, and development.

    "We are always interested in supporting our clients' real estate interests, whether they have investment interests in Texas, or in international areas.  We support our clients 24/7/365 wherever they have investment interests. We are in a global real estate economy, and we are excited to be Houston based with a global reach", adds Gottfried.

For additional information on GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES, please contact us:

Danielle Gottfried, CIPS, CNE, TRC
Managing Director
Certified Short Sale Negotiator
tel:  713-299-8116 (global 24/7)
email: daniellegottfried@gmail.com


Bill Gottfried, CIPS, CNE, TRC
Broker and Managing Director
tel:  713-299-0653 (global 24/7)
email: billgottfried@gmail.com

THE RUSSIANS ARE ON THE MOVE IN REAL ESTATE

The Cold War may be over and confined to the dustbin of history, however, a new chapter is being written on U.S. – Russia relations, and this new chapter includes Russia’s interest in real estate, including real estate in the U.S., and increasingly in Texas.

When thinking of Russia, many of us think of images from the 1965 movie “Dr. Zhivago” starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christi that portrays Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution.  Times have changed dramatically in Russia and, over the past 10-15 years, Russia has become an increasingly important player on the World economic stage:

• Russia is the largest country in the world encompassing 6,601,668 sq. miles
• Russia’s GDP in 2010 was on the order of $2.223 trillion, making Russia the 7^th largest economy in the World just below Germany and just ahead of the United Kingdom.
• Russia is the World’s second largest producer of oil and gas after Saudi Arabia, producing 10.1 million barrels/day, at $100.00/barrel, that’s serious money.
• During the days of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union, including all of the Soviet Republics, was the World’s largest producer of oil and gas, ahead of Saudi Arabia.
• Russia is the second largest exporter of crude oil, after Saudi Arabia, and the World’s largest exporter of natural gas.
• Russia is the World’s 3^rd largest exporter of steel and aluminum.

(Source for this information:  Central Intelligence Agency data.)

However, it has not been smooth sailing since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s.  Economic reforms in the 1990’s privatized most industries with notable exceptions in the energy and defense industries. The economy went through a number of boom and bust cycles during the late 1990’s and early-mid 2000’s. The Russian economy was one of the hardest hit by the 2008-2009 global economic crises as oil prices declined dramatically and the foreign credits that the Russian banks relied upon disappeared. The economic decline bottomed out during 2009 and the Russian economy started to grow back again into positive territory during 2010. Over the past year, oil prices in the area of $100.00/barrel helped propel the Russian economy forward during 2011 and Russia enters 2012 on a positive track.

In the real estate sector, IntermarkSavills, a leading Moscow Broker, advises that the average price of Moscow residential real estate increased from approximately $84 per square foot in 2003 to $372 per square foot in January 2010 and $474 per square foot as of August 2011.  Sotheby’s Moscow office reported that the total sales of luxury apartments in Moscow during 2010 were approximately $1.2 billion, a high level of investment by any measure.

Russians with equity to invest put their funds into real estate, the preferred asset class during the economic crisis, and, as Sotheby’s Moscow office points out, there is still a large housing shortage in Moscow and Russia as a whole, contributing further to real estate value appreciation.

On the commercial side, Morgan Stanley’s real estate fund recently purchased the St. Petersburg, Russia Galeria, a five story shopping mall, for $1.1 billion which makes the Galeria transaction Russia’s largest commercial property deal in history.  According to Jones Lang LaSalle, 2011 was a hugely successful year for real estate in Russia with a total of $8.2 billion in commercial property deals.  Jones Lang LaSalle points out that the Galeria transaction is a reminder of why investors remain interested in Russian real estate.

How does all this translate to Russian real estate investment interest in Texas?  The “in-bound” business from Russia into Texas is growing.  Singapore Airlines now operates direct/daily service from Moscow to Houston bringing upwards of 325 passengers from Moscow to Houston every day, over 2,100 passengers per week.  This is a new “in-bound” international buyer/investor demographic for Houston. The cooperation in oil, natural gas, and energy development between Texas based companies and Russian enterprises further enhances the investment flow from Russia to Texas.

Russian Nationals view real estate as a solid and stable investment asset.  Houston, and other areas of Texas, represent excellent investment opportunities for our Russian colleagues and our Russian friends are increasingly interested in residential, commercial, farm and ranch, and land investments.  The Consulate of the Russian Federation in Houston advises us of increasing interest in Texas real estate by Russian investors.  Russia is on the move in international real estate, and Russian investment in Texas will continue to grow. Interestingly, FIABCI, the international real estate federation, is holding its 2012 World Congress in St. Petersburg, Russia, further evidence of Russia’s importance in the global real estate scene.  As REALTORS, we need to pay attention to this emerging buyer/investor opportunity.

For additional information on Russian real estate investment, and opportunities for international buyers and investors in Texas, please contact us at:

Bill Gottfried
CEO/Broker
GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES
Houston, Texas USA
tel:  713-299-0653 (direct global 24/7)
email: billgottfried@gmail.com

Please join me at the link below along with Real Estate Radio Expert Guests Bill and Danielle Gottfried, Managing Directors of Gottfried International Estates. Bill is also the 2012 Vice-Chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors.  Listen to the GOTTFRIED TEAM, TOMORROW, Saturday, March 10th at 3pm on 1070 AM KNTH for Real Estate Radio Experts!

The GOTTFRIED Team has generated over $1 billion (US) in real estate property listings since 2006, including residential, commercial, farm and ranch, and land properties in the U.S. and in international markets.  Listen as Bill and Danielle Gottfried share their real estate expertise from an international investor perspective looking at opportunities in the Great State of Texas!!  Find out why….  Texas Is Open for International Real Estate Business!

My goal through Real Estate Radio Experts is to be your eyes and ears in Houston's local real estate market and bring you the Truth by being your Trusted Link to the real estate experts.  The discussions we have with the experts each week help separate the misinformation that is prevalent in mainstream media from what is actually happening in the local Houston real estate market. 

The Real Estate Radio Experts will help you with your real estate transactions….tune in Saturday at 3pm on 1070 AM KNTH!!!

SELECT, "Listen Live" AT THIS LINK…http://www.1070knth.com/

I am totally honored and humbled to be selected to be this week's Greater Houston Builders Association "Newsmaker of The Week".   Thank you very much GHBA, I am humbled and thankful and appreciative, thank you.

This is the GHBA citation:

       "Bill Gottfried is the managing director and Broker of GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES, a Houston-based real estate company, active in marketing, sales, investment and development in Texas, Mexico, Central America, Europe, and the Arabian Gulf.

Bill has been privileged to work with GHBA’s Custom Builders Council, Sales and Marketing Council, Green Built Gulf Coast, and the Education Committee where he helped develop GHBA and Houston Association of Realtors cooperation in educational programming.

Bill and his wife Danielle, who is a partner with GOTTFRIED INTERNATIONAL ESTATES, are active supporters of HomeAid Houston's fundraising activities. They served as Hole-In-One spotters at the 2011 HomeAid Houston Golf Tournament and earned their stripes dodging golf balls during this outstanding event. Bill and Danielle were the No. 1 ticket sales team for HomeAid’s Project Playhouse in 2011.

The GOTTFRIED Real Estate Team supports home builders and land developers in the Houston area, Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country. The GOTTFRIED Team is the only real estate company in Houston with their own model home, representative of a “build on your lot” residence for the close in areas and the Hill Country.

Bill has served on the boards of directors for both the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) and the Texas Association of Realtors, and he is the 2012 vice chair of the Texas Association of Realtors International Committee charged with supporting international investors who are interested in residential, commercial, farm and ranch and land development in Texas. Bill also serves on HAR’s Multiple Listing Service Committee, Technology Committee, International Advisory Group, and is chairman the International Website Design Committee responsible for providing information on real estate investment and development opportunities in Houston for international buyers and investors.

Bill is a graduate of The University of Tulsa and The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He began his career as a U.S. Naval Officer in the Middle East managing petroleum shipments in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Yemen. Bill and Danielle have been married for 29 years and enjoy previewing real estate development opportunities in Texas during their “time off.” Bill can be contacted at billgottfried@gmail.com, and 713-299-0653."

Thank you again GHBA, I am very, very appreciative.