The British Are Coming.... To Chicago!

America: the top property hotspots for investors from Great Britain

British Buyers just have to work out when prices will stop falling - and where the hotspots are!

By Helen Davies
The American sub-prime mortgage crisis that started in the trailer parks of the poorer parts of the country is starting to spread to the middle classes. Property prices are plunging and repossessions are on the rise. According to the National Association of Realtors (Nar), America’s largest trade body, sales slipped 2.2% in December and 22% against the same period in 2006. And last month the Case-Schiller house price index revealed prices in December fell by 8.1% year on year, with an overall 8.5% decline in 2007. So even with the weak dollar, as America faces a downturn, is it a good time to buy?
Yes, according to Sean Conlon (www.conlonandco.ie), an Irishman who runs a billion-dollar property empire in Chicago. “The current downturn and repricing going on in the American economy is providing potentially the biggest real-estate buying opportunity I have seen in 20 years,” he told a conference in January. “It is the perfect storm.”

Where the investors are heading:

Chicago: Building is already underway on the Spire, set to be the tallest residential skyscraper in the world. The 150-storey tower will rise 2,000ft over Lake Michigan and its iconic status and prime prices — starting at £385,000 and going up to £20m for its penthouse — mean that Shelbourne Development, the Dublin-based developers behind the project, believe prices will stay up.
“Not only is Chicago the birthplace of the skyscraper, it is the fourth-largest economy in the world,” says Dominic Grace, head of new homes at Savills, which is marketing the Spire (Savills; 020 7409 9998, www.thechicagospire.com). Elsewhere, building is underway at the Trump Tower on the Near North Side, which will feature a £4m penthouse. Prices for XO Condominiums will start at £110,000 for a one-bedder rising to £1m for a three-bed penthouse, through Winkworth (020 7691 4269, www.winkworth.co.uk).
America is not a market for the novice and, as with any financial investment, it is important to do your homework over the short, mid and long-term and seek independent specialist legal, financial and tax-planning advice.