Luxury Real Estate News Round Up

The 4th Qatar International Real Estate and Investment Exhibition (Q-Rex) was opened by HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Khalifa Al Thani, Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning at the Qatar International Exhibition Center yesterday. The Peninsula
Qatari Diar is one of the major sponsors for the exhibition, which runs until 28th of this month. Qatari Diar is wholly government owned and also owns 45% of the other main sponsor of the event, Barwa Real Estate.
The Four Seasons luxury resort “Aviara,” near San Diego, has taken the unusual step of adding security guards and locking owners out of their own properties after owners attempted to remove the company for mis-management. Owners and operators are fighting more often and more intensely as the economic downturn reduces the number of guests and forces down rates while owners struggle to cope with debt payments on their multimillion-dollar properties, say industry analysts. New York Times
“More Signs of High-End Housing Trouble,” says the Wall Street Journal. More housing pain may be on the way for high-end housing markets that had until recently avoided the worst of the housing bubble. Wall Street Journal
Beach erosion on Australia’s Gold Coast is threatening luxury homes. High seas pounded the coast for several days bringing the coastline uncomfortably close for some owners. The World Today
A 19th century French Chateau near in Languedoc has been converted to luxury apartments. Chateau Les Carrasses was originally created by famed architect Louis Garros in 1886. The walls of the castle are embedded with French history and, listening closely enough, it might still be possible to hear the murmur of bygone days. French Chateau for sale
A new luxury community is being planned for Lake Tahoe’s shores. A 19-acre lakefront property that has housed a mobile home park since the 1960s is poised to be developed into the first multifamily residential complex to be built on the shores of Lake Tahoe in more than a quarter-century. SF Gate
Three men in Northern California have been charged in a $200 million Ponzi scheme. They apparently used the money to buy an 80-acre castle estate. The defendants allegedly began peddling construction and real estate projects and other “investment opportunities” across California in 1997. CBS5
Two men were arrested in London last week for a similar fruad involving £50 million and a third will be arrested “by appointment,” this week. So much more civilized than the Californian police. :) BBC
We predicted back in 2008 that we would be seeing a lot more frauds, and certainly the British Financial Services Authority (FSA) have been busy this year.