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Once again, it’s been another week of changes, trials and tribulations. Here’s a round up of some interesting luxury, North American and World stories that were in the news this and last week. If you read anything in the news that you think should be in next week’s blog, feel free to comment on the posting. And I hope our readers in Canada had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Luxury Real Estate News

Athens extends its Luxury Scope (International Herald Tribune) In the last few years, the luxury products market in Greece has increased a great deal, which has inspired a range of luxury building opportunities, including a high retail mall

Concierge Auctions Pleased With Results of Luxury Real Estate Auction (PR-Canada.com) Our partner, Concierge Auctions, have completed a successful Auction in Florida. With the state of the current market, auction houses are finding more properties available for sale at both ends of the market.

Gulf’s, Indian real estate markets to be among best: Survey (India Times) Looks like the luxury market in India, China and the Middle East is still growing, and will outperform all other areas of the world. So that second home in Dubai could be an excellent investment….

General Real Estate News

Buying a condo, one piece at a time (The Real Deal) One innovative way of allowing people without a down payment to get a home is a rent-to-buy scheme, which is currently being tried in Brooklyn, New York. Tenants pay an expensive monthly rent, but do not need to put any money down, so it is a way of saving for your new home, while living in it.

Escape…to the City? This week’s Realestock Blog Post: Many people are choosing to leave their lives in Suburbia and move back to the city…with their kids and pets in tow. Is this a good move? It is worth giving up land and space to be closer to your workplace and favorite coffee shop?

Former Muppet house sells for $28M (The Real Deal) When I first saw this headline, I assumed that it was about Kermit and Miss Piggy’s old place. Unfortunately not….but a nice story nonetheless

From Albawaba.com: Sorouh Real Estate Selects Hill International as Project Manager for Six Towers at Shams Abu Dhabi Hill International (NYSE:HIL), the global leader in managing construction risk, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by Sorouh Real Estate PJSC, one of Abu Dhabi’s leading real estate companies, to provide project management services for Gateway Towers 3 to 8 at the Shams Abu Dhabi development.  The four-year contract has a value to Hill of approximately AED 128.6 million ($35.0 million). Construction of the six mixed-use towers is expected to cost approximately AED 5.9 billion ($1.6 billion) and be completed by May 2012.  The six towers will have a total built-up area of approximately 1.1 million square meters (11.8 million square feet).  In addition to these projects, Hill is providing overall program management services to Sorouh during design and construction of the entire Shams Abu Dhabi development which includes residential, office, hotel, retail, entertainment and parking facilities, including Sky Tower, a 74-story residential and commercial skyscraper, which will be the tallest building in Abu Dhabi upon its completion.   In addition, Hill is providing project management services for Tameer Towers, a mixed-use waterfront development located within Shams Abu Dhabi. “Sorouh is proud to partner with companies that adhere to our own commitment to professionalism, international best practices, and creativity. Hill International reflects these innovative and dynamic attributes and I look forward to working closely with our partners on this exciting development,” said Mounir D. Haidar, Chief Executive Officer of Sorouh. The Gateway Towers will be hallmark features of the Shams skyline,” said Raouf S. Ghali, President of Hill’s Project Management Group (International).  “We are honored that we have the continued confidence of Sorouh and we expect that this development will be a major success,” Ghali added. Abu Dhabi-based Sorouh Real Estate PJSC is one of the UAE’s leading real estate companies, with projects worth more than AED 45 billion under development.  Set up in June 2005 with a capital of AED 2.5 billion, Sorouh is now one of the largest real estate developers on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market.  In March 2008, Sorouh had a market capitalization of approximately AED 20.7 billion and approximately 40,000 shareholders. Sorouh has more than 200 employees, working in master-planning and master-development and related fields, and is working on some of the most important developments in Abu Dhabi, including Lulu Island, Shams Abu Dhabi, The Gate District at Shams Abu Dhabi, Alghadeer, Saraya and Golf Gardens.  In addition, Sorouh has developed partnerships with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Rubicon, Inc. to explore the development of entertainment opportunities within Sorouh’s real estate portfolio. Sorouh has received international recognition for its outstanding projects. Recent awards include: • Best New Business - Middle East Business Achievements Awards 2007 • Best Commercial Project for the Gate District - Abu Dhabi Cityscape 2007 • Best Development, Central Park, Shams Abu Dhabi - CNBC Arabian Property Awards 2007 • Best Customer Service Company, Real Estate Category - Middle East Excellence Awards Institute  2008 For more information on Sorouh, please visit their website at www.sorouh.com. Hill International has 2,000 employees in 70 offices worldwide providing program management, project management, construction management and construction claims and consulting services.  Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as the 11th largest construction management firm in the United States.

-Albawaba.com