Fractional Ownership News

Fractional property market sees European sales surge

The last quarter of 2009 saw a surge in fractional property sales, with fractional consultancy The Best Group reporting £2 million of sales through 25 transactions across Europe since the start of November, according to OPP.
 
“What has made completions accelerate is a sense that properties could become more expensive in six months," Best Group CEO Brad Lincoln told OPP. “Part of the driver is people are seeing fractional finance coming through and are expecting prices to be driven up as the world comes out of the economic downturn.”
 
These sales follow the sale of all 43 fractional units at a Seasons Holidays resort in Spain to timeshare owners in November 2009.
 
“The key to success is in mixed-use resorts,” said Robin Mills, independent consultant and chairman of the Resort Developers’ Organisation (RDO) communications council. “If buyers aren’t comfortable with what you first offer then you can show them something else.”
 
However Taylor Woodrow de España has branded its venture into fractional ownership as a “fiasco”. “To be honest, fractional sales have been an absolute fiasco for us,” director general Javier Ballester told OPP. "I have to say that we received very few enquiries, both in our sales offices and in our telesales for fractional, maybe one enquiry for fractional for every one hundred traditional sales. We have abandoned completely the idea of selling fractional and we are now concentrating on the traditional way of selling.”
 
Jerry Cobb, chief executive of consultancy FOC, which was working with Taylor Woodrow, said fractional had proved difficult to sell in Spain due to the large discounts available on whole ownership properties: “We were very hopeful about Spain but fractional property has to be comparable and equitable,” he said. “If the premium involved is too much the client won’t bother with it. It will be spoiled by making the comparison with whole ownership.”
 

Don't forget to book your tickets for Fractional Summit 2010, Europe's largest business-to-business shared ownership conference, taking place in London on February 18 and 19.

20/01/10
 

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