CANADA:STUDIO AND one-bedroom suites in a waterfront apart-hotel, The Rosseau, in a tourist resort two hours north of Toronto, Canada, are still for sale from $294,000Cdn (€195,000).
Units in The Rosseau have been on sale from plans for a while, and the apart-hotel - JW Marriott's first hotel and spa in Canada - is due to open at the end of the year. The 179-unit five-star apart-hotel is part of Red Leaves, a large resort being built on 1,300 acres in Muskoka, a cottage country area in the province of Ontario that has been a popular holiday spot for over 120 years. (Hollywood celebrities like Stephen Spielberg and Goldie Hawn own holiday homes there now.)
Red Leaves will have a championship golf course, marina, theatre, and a 700-acre nature reserve with trails for hiking/biking/cross country skiing.
Martin Keane is one Irish investor who bought a unit in Red Leaves a while back and has just bought another, an 84sq m (900sq ft) open-plan unit. Keane, who runs his own security company in Athenry, Co Galway, will sign contracts next month for two properties he has bought in Red Leaves, sight unseen.
"I'm buying for investment, it's a good return, and I like the fact that Red Leaves has more to offer than just a golf course - everybody's sick of golf courses."
People who buy one of the apart-hotel "condominium suites" are offered a guaranteed monthly rent for four years on their unit that the developer says is equivalent to a 7 per cent annual return. They can also use their suite for one week a year. The rental pool is managed by Marriott International. After four years, the owner can sell their unit, or opt for more usage, up to nine weeks a year. McCarthy Associates is the selling agent.
• www.redleaves.ie
• www.financialconsultants.ie
