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.

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.

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.

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

Brazil, first Property and now a Leader in 21st Century Fuel

With it’s growing economy (seventh largest in the world) and upcoming sporting events, Brazil is currently seen as a very successful country with an ever growing popularity, this is also evident by the growing number of companies currently investing in the country, one of the success stories of the last few years has been the growth of award winning Anglo-Brazilian property developer EcoHouse Group who invested heavily in the countries social housing programme, Now the country has turned its attention to renewable energy sources.

For some years now the world has been increasingly concerned about petroleum. Growing political volatility in some parts of the globe, increasing difficulty in extracting oil, indeed ‘Peak Oil’ fears themselves have all contributed to the worries about this vital fluid. After all, so much of transport and industry depends on it. It’s estimated that about half of all the oil that was ever produced by nature is still in the ground. The problem is that the half we still ‘have’ in reserves is the less-accessible half. The basic problem

But there are alternatives and the universal dependency can be challenged. Renewable energy sources have their uses but even so they are limited and in some cases (e.g. nuclear) face problems that scare some people. The problem is what to do next?

A major option in some countries (including Brazil) is vegetable-derived fuel oil, usually called ethanol. Of course the stuff has been around for decades but only recently has it become a really major player on the Brazilian fuel scene. In fact, the country’s ethanol industry is respected throughout the world for its scale, its quality of product and the general sustainability of the industry.

In Brazil, most ethanol is extracted from sugar cane grown in the country, so it is a domestically sourced and assured product. Statistics show that Brazil now produces 25% of all world ethanol used as fuel and production is now running at over 20 billion litres per year. This puts the country in second place in the world (behind the United States) but it is rapidly progressing towards the first place.

Government legislation insists that a certain minimum percentage of ethanol (combined with gasoline) is used in vehicle fuel in the country. Currently the figure is around 25% but this figure is adjusted from time to time to take account of occasional seasonal shortages. There is a growing number of cars and other vehicles which are designed and built nowadays to be able to use any combination of the two basic fluids. The first model capable of using only non-carbon fuel was the Brazilian Fiat 147, first produced in 1979.

Usually the various blends available on the market have names that show the percentage content of ethanol; E22, E25, E100 (pure ethanol) and so on. Well over 95% of new vehicles produced in Brazil are designed as ‘flexible fuel’ consumers.

You can learn more about the economy and investment opportunities in Brazil by visiting the website below.

Information Supplied by EcoHouse Group Developments Limited, UK, Brazil, Canada, China, Asia

Written by A Emery B.A, M.Ed., Cert.Ed

The Economy of Natal Grows as Minha Casa Minha Vida Expands Throughout the State

In recent years the Brazilian city of Natal has been steadily growing in importance in the north-east of the country. In fact this coastal city whose name means Christmas has over a million people (over 1.3 million in the wider metro area) and is becoming better and better known, not just throughout the country but among people abroad too. Natal is not only the largest city in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, it’s also the capital and for both reasons tends to dominate the north eastern ‘bump’ of the country jutting out into the Atlantic.

The minha casa minha vida (my house my life) social housing programme has featured prominently in the area thanks to the Anglo-Brazilian property giant EcoHouse Group who have offices in the city and have build a number of social housing developments in the area over the past couple of years. This far eastern location within Brazil means that Natal is the closest major city to both Africa and Europe, a fact that has a major impact on (for instance) the regional and national tourism industry.

This is an important source of income for the area This activity is comparatively recent, at least on any real scale, and only got off the ground really about thirty years ago. In the area of Natal proper, the relatively short (10Km) but vital ‘Via Costeira’ (in English ‘Coastal Highway) has been very important in boosting easy communications near the city. Not only are there many excellent and popular beaches in the district but no less than ten major golf courses are in the process of being built within reach of the city. Investment in the Natal area is enormous, targeted on infrastructure and building projects. Last year over eight percent of all inward foreign investment to Brazil was directed to Natal.

Nowadays this route is where one can find all the main hotels of the area, serving famous tourist destinations such as the largest cashew-nut tree in the world, the Forte dos Reis Magos and of course the beautiful clear waters of Maracajua. There are also the imported dromedaries on the coastal sand dunes and last but not least the famous off-season carnival, the so-called Carnatal.

As one of the host cities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup later this year, good communications with the wider world are of course essential. The Augusto Severo International Airport provides good links, both to many other parts of Brazil and also of course to a number of overseas cities.

Directly or indirectly the economy of Natal is heavily dependent on tourism and related ‘visitor’ activities. But other significant concerns exist too, there are more than a dozen university-level education centres, there is also an important regional HQ for the oil industry and of course the specialist fishing concerns.

Find out more about Brazil’s Minha Casa Minha Vida social housing programme and how investors are making it big through these free resources, visit minhacasaminhavidabrazil.com/investment

After the success of the minha casa minha vida housing scheme Brazil now Invests In Space

One of the fastest growing investment opportunities for Brazil these days is something many people find surprising. The subject or commodity in question is simply…space. No, that doesn’t mean the huge expanses of the Universe beyond our planet but rather something very much more down to earth.

It is in fact actual storage space for physical items, mostly manufactured goods awaiting shipment to end-user customers. In particular this includes the clients in Brazil of online retailers, a rapidly growing sector of sales and marketing. All around the world the online sales industry is growing by leaps and bounds and the South American economic giant is certainly no exception. After all, it’s now the sixth largest GDP economy in the world.

This means that Brazilian storage space in warehouses and the like is at a premium and will certainly become more so as the online sales industry continues to develop. It’s true that the country’s rate of growth has slowed a bit in the last year or two but absolute growth is still happening. The knock-on effect is that this particularly healthy area of retail does require more and more infrastructure.

The expansion is impressive. Warehouse space in Brazil is currently doubling in size. The larger cyber-retailers include well known names such as Wal-Mart and Arezzo (based at Cajamar, near Sao Paolo). Overseas investors are also getting in on the act and this list includes the Goodman Group and Prologis Inc. (based in California but currently operating over four million square feet of warehouse space in Brazil)). The firm has constructed massive warehouse facilities for leasing, an opportunity that is rapidly being taken up. In addition, the Rio Company B2W Cia Digital is adding ten new warehouse complexes in various states of Brazil over the next twelve months or so.

Online sales in Brazil are expected to increase by twenty percent this year, to the equivalent of over fifteen Billion US Dollars. This will only serve to increase the demand for temporary storage and warehouse space before shipping the goods to their final destinations.

At present it’s estimated that there are over eighty million square metres of warehouse space in Brazil, the world’s sixth largest GDP economy. Commentators forecast that this will need to double over the next five years or so. Probably, that target will not be fully achieved. This is because a lot of it will require completely new built premises as much of the older property cannot be easily expanded for a variety of reasons. However, everyone will strive to reach that goal. All in all, this area of the economy continues to provide excellent investment opportunities. It’s a good bet that one of the largest companies currently investing millions in Brazil’s housing sector, EcoHouse Group will also turn it’s attention to this new and up and coming commodity, after all the EcoHouse Group’s EH International brand already invests millions around the world in other sectors including land, roads, office blocks and student accommodation.

Watch this space for updates or visit the EcoHouse Group main website for updates and news about the latest projects and investments.

Interested in Minha Casa Minha Vida or other short term Investments? Download the FREE Resources : Here!