(AG Real estate)

"KPMG Golf Business Forum, which was the topic of the last AG Real Estate issue, was held in the luxurious resort of East Mediterranean golf complex called Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus. Aphrodite Hills complex is located 17 km east of Pafos and is one of the examples how a global trend is incorporated into the local environment.

Aphrodite Hills is a golf complex who is offering besides the golf course some other leisure and tourist attractions at the place where Goddess Aphrodite was born. Total project investment is 150 million GBP. The biggest investor is Lanitis Development Company, banks and private investors.

On an area covering 234 hectares there is a 18 hole golf course, a five star Intercontinental Aphrodite Hills Hotel (with 290 bedrooms, 4 restaurants and 3 bars), de luxe Spa with health centre, four championship standard tennis courts with an academy and villages with luxury villas. It has been built on two hill plateaus divided by an abrupt ravine, but all resorts elements are carefully interconnected and perfectly planned. The 18 hole golf course (length 6,299 m, par 71) has been designed by Cabell Robinson, with a luxury clubhouse, golf academy and a professional shop. Golf courses spread alongside the resort and alongside all villages, so that golf lovers can have the opportunity to see fairways and greens from the terraces of their apartments and hotel rooms or can even live near by.

For the love of life

The village within the complex makes a typical urban and architectural mixture of modern and traditional Cypriot styles. The project has been designed with full respect of natural environment and is very much ecology aware. The project is also under protection. The recultivation of whole area has been performed with some autochthon and some exotic plants species. The olive trees and the carob are dominating since 7,000 of them have been planted. If you happen to get married at this place, you will plant your own olive tree and will become thus a part of Aphrodite kingdom. The village square is built from local stone and villas have huge gardens planted with domestic Mediterranean and some exotic colorful vegetation like Olea europea, Quercus coccifera, Pinus silvestris, Pinus mugo, Pinus halepensis, Pistacia lentiscus, Pistacia terebinthus, Hibiscus sp, Nerium oleander, Styrax officinalis, Genista sphacelata, Calycotoime villosa, Lithospermum hispidulum, Phaganalon rupestre, Agapanthus africanus, Thymus capitatus, Sarcopoterium spinosum and various shrubs and perennials. Palm trees, cocconut trees and similar exotic plats are hard to find, even if their maintaining is possible.

Many properties have the option to install solar panels and there is a water recycling system in place to minimise waste, because water is a big local problem and gardens and courtyards need intensive irrigation. Houses and villas are of custom designed type.There are diferent types of real estate which are possible to buy or rent. As the owner of the house, you are the owner of the land and you are entitled to various benefits (reduced club memberships, discounts on spa treatments and etc.), provided inventory srevices and monthly maintenance, housekeeping and maid service, gardening, pool cleaning and tailor made 'welcome' fruit packages can wait you at the table when you decide to come.

Most of the owners of these houses and villas find golf resort as their second home.

If Gods played golf, this would be their temple

A number of different real estate options are available: apartments, townhouses, villas and private plots on which to build 12 custom-designed or pre-designed villas. There are four resort villages: Theseus Vallage, Zephyros Vallage, Helios Heights and Orpheus Vallage. Helios Heights for example, consists of four small villages: Dionysos, Zeus, Apollon and Poseidon. Helios Heights has 72 homes; 56 apartments and 16 townhouses overlooking the Mediterranean and the golf fairways and next to the tennis complex. Each building has its entry piazza and parking spaces, acess to swimming pools adult's and children`s pool, gardens, courtyards and terraces and inside, bedrooms, childrens room, spacious dinning room, kitchen and bathrooms. Other villages have more or less the same elements, with different views, larger or smaller, but one thing is guaranteed, you live just like Greek God.

Golf real estate owners are 40% golfers and 60% non golfers. The main buyer’s motivation is lifestyle and approximate age is 35 to 55. The biggest golf real estate markets are UK and Ireland, then Germany, France and Italy. American market, although huge, is interesting mainly for American buyers. Emerging golf real estate markets are Russia, South Africa, Spain, but also Croatia, Bulgaria, Morocco, Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey. Unfortunately, golf course by itself is not sufficient to sell the resort real estate. It is most important to have all the other facilities like Health Spa, Beach Club, a choice of quality hotel and restaurants, water sports and attractions, children’s facilities, tennis, horse riding and beautiful natural environment. The buyers are prepared to pay up to 50% of the value of their "primary home" (52% use this house as a “second home”). Direct sea views command premiums of up to 50% and golf fairway views up to 15-30%. In the UK buyers are ready to pay €400.000 - € 1.5 million for villas and €250 – €500.000 for apartments and townhouses.

Maja Gligić, dipl.ing PA

„Green Decor“ Beograd

Ahava4u@verat.net