EcoHouse Group’s decision to manage all global affairs from the headquarters in London could lead to Projects in Goiania.

Because of it’s size to population ratio Goiania is another city crying out for more a affordable housing. Back in 2009 the government did launch the minha casa minha vida (my house my life) programme and many developers decided to participate, some big, some small. One of the largest and most successful MCMV developers is EcoHouse Group.

Since 2009 EcoHouse have completed various MCMV projects in Rio Grande do Norte around their offices in Natal and earlier this year took the step move south to Rio Grande do Sul and launch Monte Alerge close to state capital Porto Alregre.

Nobody knows what the property giants next move will be but with the closure of their Singapore office last week (a move welcomed by many who found that dealing with local branches difficult when trying to get up to date information on new and current projects.) and the announcement that they plan to manage all global affairs from the EcoHouse Group global headquarters in London, UK, It’s clear to see that the company is focusing on their build operatations in Brazil for the time being and Goiania may very well be next on the list.

Read more at Investor news now

EcoHouse Group Bypasses Recife and Moves South to Rio Grande do Norte

Recife is one of Brazil’s largest coastal cities so you would think I would be a prime candidate for the Brazilian social housing programme (Minha Casa Minah Vida) but up until now no major social housing developer has starting building in or around the city. One of Brazil largest MCMV developers, EcoHouse Group who have launched various projects in Rio Grande do Norte have now moved their attention South to Porto Alerge in Rio Grand do Sul.

Recife’s population of well over four million people (about half the size of Greater London) makes it actually the fifth largest metropolitan area in the whole country so is in desperate need of additional housing.

It’s pretty much unique, sited as it is where two major rivers reach the Atlantic Ocean. The name of the city itself ( meaning ‘reef’ in Portuguese) refers to a nearby coastal feature; the beautiful coral reefs that abound in the shallow water.

It was one of the very first European settlements in Brazil but took a long time to grow to any significant size. After all, there are nearly three hundred years between the first small settlement in 1537 and its eventual foundation as an actual city in the year 1823.

Recife is the capital city of the state of Pernambuco which is situated almost exactly on the eastern ‘nose’ of Brazil, in between the neighbouring states of Paraiba to the north and Alagoas to the south. Recife is an important focus for both business and industry in the northeast. A great deal of both these areas is connected, directly or indirectly to tourists and other temporary visitors and the maintaining and developing of facilities for these people.

Other industries in the metropolitan area centre on food, energy and transport issues. An important example of this is the processing of sugar cane to produce either sugar itself or ethanol, a major source of fuel in Brazil. There is also a ship-building industry and an increasing expansion in the construction of oil platforms and associated equipment. In recent years, small and medium sized electronic goods have also become significant.

The city of Recife is noted for one other aspect, too; its facilities for higher education. These are well-known and respected throughout the north east and indeed the whole of the country. In particular the Federal University of Pernambuco is the largest (and many say the best) such establishment in the whole region.

Yet another feature and claim to fame of the city and its wider zone is its medical reputation. This has been helped along by a combination of government expenditure and investment from private sources. Nowadays Recife is widely regarded as at least the second (after Sao Paolo) centre of medical excellence.

As regards the Brazilian national passion, Recife was also one of the twelve cities to host the FIFA World Cup competition this year (2014).

EcoHouse Group’s latest Minha Casa Minha Vida development in called ‘Monte Alegre’ and is located just outside Alvorada, as always EcoHouse is raising funds though private investment where investor can get a massive 17% return in just months form a £21,000 investment.

EcoHouse plan to launch additional MCMV developments and expand their operations in Brazil, EcoHouse Group recently closed their Singapore office and plan to manage all global affairs from the EcoHouse Group global headquarters in London, UK, a move welcomed by many who found that dealing with local branches difficult when trying to get up to date information on new and current projects.

Property Giant EcoHouse a True Multilingual Company

Property giant EcoHouse Group is a true multilingual compnay, not only is the company founder and CEO Anthony Armstrong Emery fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Married to a native Brazilian woman but many of the companies 1000 strong workforce is also multilingual.

With offices in the United Kingdom, Brazil, North America, Singapore, Malaysia and most recently China EcoHouse Group Global chief of operations Deen Bissessar has stated that it is a growing requirement for EcoHouse staff to in fact be fluent in more than their native tongue.

Not many companies can boast such an impressive collection of global offices so early in their life, EcoHouse are modest about their success in the world of property development but it’s easy to see that they are here to stay and could in fact expand to become on of the world largest property developers

Brazil is growing in importance in the world. Not only is it the fifth-largest country in land area but it’s also ( with 200 million people) fifth largest in population too. As well as all that, it’s now well into the top ten of GDP global economies. In fact in the last few years it’s fiercely contending with the UK for sixth place in that listing. International trade and investment by, with or in the south American giant is becoming much more significant than in previous times.

All this makes the country’s official language, Portuguese, of increasing importance on the world stage. However, it’s often surprising for people to learn that there are over two hundred other languages spoken in the country. One must remember though that because of Brazil’s size, location and self sufficiency in many ways, comparatively few people speak a non-Portuguese language fluently.

This is slowly changing with the growth of international commerce and communications but is still a small development. English and Spanish are widely taught in schools and colleges and in fact the former has now replaced the latter as the main secondary tongue among educated people. This is probably because of the size of the USA and British economies (and their trade with Brazil)on the one hand and the fact that Brazil is surrounded by Spanish-speaking neighbours and trading partners on the other.

Of the couple of hundred languages which are spoken in Brazil, the vast majority are actually indigenous but remember only about a quarter of a percent of the people actually speak any of them. These are nearly all Amerindian people who speak pre-Columbian tongues (or at least their descended languages). Before European explorers and settlers first came to the continent, it’s estimated that there were about one thousand local languages spoken by six million native Americans throughout the Brazil area.

Nowadays of course there are far fewer. Nowadays, far more Brazilians speak Spanish, Italian, German or French (or others of European origin) as a second language as well as the country’s main tongue, Portuguese. To quote just one example, it’s been estimated that over three hundred thousand German-sppeakers immigrated to Brazil from German, Austria, Switzerland and parts of Poland and the Volga region of Russia.

The secondary language patterns in Brazil are usually regional in character. Significant minorities from, say, Italy or Germany settled in coastal areas in the nineteenth century and later, particularly in the far south in the states of Rio Grande do Sul or Santa Catarina. To this day, though, ninety-nine percent of people in Brazil are more comfortable speaking Portuguese than anything else.

Mato Grosso do Sul The Newest Brazilian State Opens MCMV Registrations

Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House My Life) Registration has recently opened in the state Mato Grosso do Sul, The government programme that is to be extended again in July allows Brazilian families on modest incomes to own their very own home thanks to subsidies from the state. The programme has been very successful in the North East that to property developers such as EcoHouse Group building quality homes for the programme.

 

Mato Grosso do Sul ( ‘Dense Forest of the South’) has only been a Brazilian State since the late 1970’s when it was split off from (the still existing) Mato Grosso. To this day the two similar names do still cause some confusion, especially with people from overseas or elsewhere in Brazil. At the time it was suggested that the new state should have a name that was clearly distinct; perhaps ‘Pantanal’ after the famous and wildlife-rich swamps and lowlands at the heart of the state. However, for good or ill ‘Mato Grosso do Sul’ has become the settled name.

The state is officially in the mid west part of the country but in practice can broadly be regarded as in the south. As well as sharing a border with Mato Grosso (the original). It is also next to the states of Sao Paolo and Parana. As well as this, of course it has international frontiers with Bolivia and Paraguay.

The new state has an area of about 350,000 sq Km. This is around the same size as Germany but of course the population of only 2.3 million is very much lower ! The natural beauty of the sparsely-inhabited state makes it very popular as a centre for tourism, both from within Brazil itself and from the wider world.

The capital and largest city is Campo Grande which has about 800,000 people. This is followed by Dourados with about a quarter as many and then the cities of Corumba and Tres Lagoas which both have populations of about one hundred thousand. These four metropolitan areas comprise about half of the total population of the state.

Agriculture is a much more important direct contributor to the GDP of Mato Grosso do Sul than for any other Brazilian state. In addition, this direct contribution of about a third is boosted further by the input of secondarily-related factors. The main farming activities focus on Cattle and other livestock, soya beans, sugar cane, wheat and corn (maize).

Industry contributes around 20% of the state’s GDP. Much of this is based, one way or another, on the important iron and manganese mining operations which have been a mainstay. In earlier colonial and imperial times, gold was also an important product and several ‘mini-goldrushes’ took place during the history of the region. Nowadays it is much less important. The general climate of the state (like its neighbours) tends to be tropical or subtropical.

In summary, Mato Grosso do Sul is a beautiful place to live and any Minha Casa Minha Vida homes that are built will be snapped up very quickly. Although, with EcoHouse Group currently building in both Rio Grand Do Sul in the South and Rio Grande Do Norte in the North East it’s hard to say whether it will be EcoHouse who decide to build in Mato Grosso do Sul.

You can keep track of EcoHouse Group current and future Minha Casa Minha Vida developments by visiting the companies Official Blog.

EcoHouse Group, Rio Grande Do Sul and Social Housing Investments

Now that Anglo-Brazilian property developer EcoHouse Group has a firm footing in the south of the country we take a closer look at Rio Grande do Sul and it’s neighbours.

The southern region of Brazil is an interesting one. One of the five main subdivisions of the country, it’s also the smallest, with rather less than ten per cent of the whole area. In fact the total extent of the three-state ‘southern’ includes Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and is about 575,000 sq km. This is after all smaller than the single state of Minas Gerais elsewhere in Brazil.

Read the full article Here.

EcoHouse Group Expand Their Operations South to Rio Grande Do Sul

The growth of the middle classes in Brazil is a big demand driver behind the current boom in real estate investment in the country. Natal, capital of the north eastern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte is a prime example of a new middle class district expanding because of this demand for new affordable homes.

Natal, is quickly becoming, is one of the fastest growing cities in north east Brazil with rapidly expanding suburbs and huge opportunities for new businesses and Brazilian real estate investment.

Brazilian mortgage lending hit R$79.9 billion in 2011, an increase of 42%. ABECIP expects a rise of 30% by the end of 2014 which is all thanks to the Minha Casa Minha Vida social housing programme that gives millions of Brazilians a real chance of getting on to the property ladder a task that was once though impossible for anyone but the mega rich.

The programme however depends on enough new minha casa minah vida qualifying homes being building to match the huge demand; this is where Anglo-Brazilian real estate giant EcoHouse Group (who have offices in London, Brazil, North America, Singapore, Malaysia and China) comes into the picture.

To build quicker and to cut out a lot of the red tape involved in obtaining Bank finance in Brazil, EcoHouse instead turn to private investors, offering them amazing returns with a 12 months turn around, this has allowed them to build not one, not two but three separate minha casa minha vida developments in Rio Grande do Norte and earn millions for investors over the last 4 years.

After this amazing success in the North East, EcoHouse have now headed South to the state of Rio Grand Do Sul, With its first project in state ‘Monte Alegre’ being built in the suburb of Alvorada which is just 16KM from the state capital of Porto Alegre.

New groundbreaking construction methods adopted by EcoHouse earlier this year will allow them to build new homes quicker than ever, and with an ever growing waiting list of mortgage approved Brazilian families eager to move into their new homes at soon as they are built, return on investment is guaranteed making minha casa minha vida investments the safest and most profitable type property investment around.

However, Just like their previous developments, Acro Iris, Casa Nova and Bosque there are a limited number of units to invest in, investors are advised to make enquires early.

For more information on Monte Alegre visit the dedicated Monte Alegre Investment website, or visit EcoHouse Group’s main website. http://www.ecohousegroup.com

Gold Mining in Brazil is big business but will it become the next big investment

With Brazil now an investment hotspot for many experienced and novice investors thanks to companies like ecohouse group making investments in property not only more profitable but safer should investors be looking at Brazil’s other abundant resources such as gold.

Gold has been mined and produced in Brazil since earliest colonial days in the early seventeen hundreds. In those times, the main focus of the industry was the town (later city) of Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais state, of which it was at one time the capital.

The city is and was around 500 Km north of Rio de Janeiro and it was expanded rapidly by thousands of adventurers and prospectors and their dependants, attracted by the prospect of rapid riches. For some people this ‘gold rush’ did transform their lives, but not all. However, enough prosperity did result to attract a second wave of immigrants in the 19th century. This time creative artists, architects and creative people of all types came to the area and created many of the beautiful buildings and artifacts which are still such an attractive feature of the city today.

In actual fact the settlement was only granted the more familiar name of ‘Ouro Preto’ in 1823 when it was changed from ‘Vila Rica’. This coincided ironically with a sharp decline in gold mining and was also as a result of the place being re-designated as an imperial town. At that time a number of higher education institutions also moved to the city. With the transfer of the provincial (state) capital to Belo Horizonte in 1897 a further decline in mining took place. Nowadays, and from the nineteen thirties onwards, the main industry in the area is tourism, although gold still does play a part.

These days, total gold production in Brazil is about seventy-five tonnes per year which does not compare with the really big world producers such as China (420 Tonnes per year), Australia (255) or the US and Russia (about 220 each). Taking into account total global production of around 2,800 Tonnes per year the nation’s percentage is indeed small. However, the Brazilian total is not insignificant and actual primary production of the precious metal is in any case only part of the story. After all, the South American giant is now the world’s sixth largest GDP economy and has considerable gold reserves, quite separate from actual mining. Expansion is now taking place again. The main centres of production are ( and will be) the Kinross Gold mine at Paracatu, 230 Km from Brasilia, the AngloGold sites at Cuiaba and Corrego do Sitio in Minas Gerais and the Chapata joint Gold-Copper mine in Goias. All four are attracting much interesrt and investment from domestic and international sources alike.

In summary, Investing in Dilma’s minha casa minha vida social housing programme through reputable developers such as ecohouse group is still the safest way to profit from this booming economy, but when the programme comes to it’s inevitable end investor should be looking to diversify their portfolios with commodites such as gold and silver as we’ll as luxury beach resorts that are also on the rise in Brazil

Anyone wishing to find of more about investing in Brazil should visit EH International. to see what type of investments are currently on offer.

Porto Alegre ready for World Cup

Last month, Brazilian property giant EcoHouse Group announced that its latest housing project, Monte Alegre, would be in the southernmost state capital of Brazil, Porto Alegre. This World Cup host city is possibly Brazil’s most passionate about football and was seen by FIFA and the Brazilian government as a safe bet to host a great tournament.

Porto Alegre is home to two of Brazil’s leading football clubs, Gremio and Internacional, and after much deliberation it was decided that Internacional’s Beira Rio stadium would be renovated in order to host the World Cup. This relatively simple (by the standards of Brazilian stadium construction) process was completed in February and the stadium looked ready to go. However disagreements between Internacional, the state government and FIFA over who should fund the fitting of media facilities meant that Porto Alegre went from a safe bet to one of the most ‘at risk’ stadiums.

Thankfully in April the problem was resolved and the Beira Rio stadium can now proceed with hosting five World Cup matches including Argentina v Nigeria and one second round match. Fans can now look forward to a warm welcome from the people of Porto Alegre, including buyers at EcoHouse Group’s Monte Alegre project.

In the other city where EcoHouse Group produces social housing, Natal, there were no such problems in World Cup preparations with the beautiful Arena das Dunas completed in January. The stadium was opened with a match between Alecrim, the team which EcoHouse Group sponsors, and rivals ABC.

Could Minha Casa Minha Vida Come to Joinville, Brazil’s German city

Social housing is now being constructed all over Brazil thanks to the government’s Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House My Life) programme. A major participant in this programme is Anglo-Brazilian property developer EcoHouse Group who began building under the scheme back in 2009, Now 5 years later and with almost a dozen developments to their name in the north east of the country they move south, announcing that their next project will be located near to Porto Alegre, state capital of Rio Grande Do Sul.
There was a lot of speculation early this year as to where EcoHouse Group would be building next, rumours where correct and their next social housing project was indeed in the south of the country but not Joinville as some had speculated.
Joinville is the largest settlement (but not the capital) of Santa Catarina State. Nowadays Joinville has rather more than half a million residents plus about the same number again in the surrounding metropolitan area. Many of the people in the city are of German descent and indeed some estimates put the total at over half. Of course, being of German ‘descent’ often means just partly rather than wholly.
The first Europeans to come to the area were German, Swiss and Norwegian immigrants in the year 1851 when the town was founded. In the decades that followed people from many countries came to Joinville but the largest component was a total of 17,000 German immigrants sent over the years by an emigration society based in Hamburg. These people were mainly agricultural Lutheran and working-class people who came to make a fresh start in a new land.
The name Joinville is actually French not German. It was chosen in the early 1800’s to honour the french Prince de Joinville (son of the king) who married a Brazilian princess. Although the royal couple had no connection to the area, a palace was eventually built for them here. It’s now a museum about the German 19th century immigration process.
Eventually ‘cash-flow’ problems meant that the Prince was eventually forced to sell nearly all his land in the south of Brazil. Holdings in this district went to the German, Senator Schroder who was a leader of the Hamburg Colonisation Society previously mentioned.
Nowadays Joinville is well known for its continuing German architecture, cuisine and general culture. Needless to say, though, there are also many other people in the city and area who have Portuguese, Italian or Dutch ancestors. Compared to many other regions and cities of Brazil, there are comparatively very few inhabitants of African or indigenous native American heritage. It’s also famous as a popular centre for exhibitions, trade fairs, business conventions and conferences and the like.
The economy today is centred on engineering, industry and manufacturing. In 2012 GM opened a vehicle plant. There are also (among many others) software companies like Datasul and Logocenter and large firms like Tupy, Tigre, Schulz SA and Dohler. Nearby, BMW has plans to launch a large factory producing luxury vehicles and this is due to open by the end of this year, 2014.
The economy of Joinville is generally regarded as doing well and for this reason inward investment, from both domestic and overseas sources is steady.

Will EcoHouse Group’s next project also be in Rio Grande do Sul.

It’s no longer a secret that property giant EcoHouse Group has launched their latest Minha Casa Minha Vida social housing development in the city of Alvorada in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, but if history repeats itself then Ecohouse will more than likely launch additional developments in the same state, one candidate is the city of Caxias do Sul.

Caxias do Sul has about 450,000 people in its area and is the second largest metropolis in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is only exceeded in size by the state capital, the harbour city of Porto Alegre, which has a population about three times as large. The two cities are about two hours’ driving distance apart. The early town of Caxias was first established by (mostly) Italian immigrants in the closing years of the 19th century. For the most part the incomers were farmers from Veneto in the north of Italy, but there were also others from Lombardy and Trento. A certain number of people (principally Portuguese speakers) also came from other coastal regions of Brazil.

In the year 1910 the town of Caxias do Sul officially became a city. On the very same day (1st June) the first railway line was inaugurated. From then on Caxias had a fast, reliable all-weather link to the outside world. It was vital as it provided the city a better access to markets on the one hand and an important provider of imports for the area on the other.

The original main industries in the area were centred on cultivating vines and producing wine, a product for which the area is still famous to this day. From those early times to now there’s also been a certain amount of wheat and corn (maize) production but this was and is relatively small-scale and mainly for only local consumption.

Industrialisation in Caxias do Sul started in a small way, mainly as a series of small-scale domestically based workshops. Gradually however, larger and larger units developed until nowadays really large factories exist, some part of larger national or international chains. A cross section of large companies in the metropolitan area would have to include Marcopolo (makers of truck and bus chassis), Randon SA (transport parts and systems), Tramontina (domestic silverware) and Todeschini (furniture).

Generally, the per capita income for the urban area is regarded as being one of the highest in the whole country. For this reason the district is a popular destination for immigrants seeking to move here from other parts of Brazil. The growing population does present certain challenges to the city (and indeed the State) government, regarding health and education services as well as public utilities. Central to all this is the need for more housing, especially for people on modest incomes. That’s where EcoHouse comes into the picture!

EcoHouse Group has changed the face of Brazilian Property Investment by introducing a safe, ethical and secure way to profit from a government backed housing programme, with the economy booming and scams and ponzi schemes a thing of the past thanks to the power of the internet there has never been a better time to invest in Brazil.

Anyone wishing to invest in this new project should do so asap before investing is closed, Interested parties should visit the Monte Alegre website and download a free brochure