If you are looking to diversify, expand or even start your property portfolio, consider Europe as your next investment destination.
Europe is home to such a wide range of countries offering diverse real estate opportunities: it has everything from emerging market economies with huge potential for high growth rates, well-established city-based rental markets offering great returns, and even of residential homes that offer the investor a slow investment. Burn your capital outlay.
Here is an overview of the potential on offer in the top ten European countries for property investors at the moment.
Bulgaria – Bulgaria achieved accession to the EU in 2007 and as a result is receiving massive domestic and foreign investment, especially in infrastructure and construction, and the whole country is benefiting from the amount of money being spent on it.
Those who buy now in Bulgaria are buying in a period of projected growth in the short and medium term. In addition, they are buying to target the burgeoning tourist market that heads to the beautiful beaches of the Black Sea coast in summer and to the snowy mountains of Bulgaria’s ski resorts in winter.
Croatia – A country that is tipped to be a full member of the EU in 2009, Croatia offers real estate investors commercial and residential real estate opportunities. The number of international companies establishing bases in Croatia has increased substantially in recent years and there is a demand for the development of office and light industrial space.
In addition, Croatia has a strong tourism market that offers real estate investors more opportunities to target short-term rental returns or to buy off plan or develop for resale in the Croatian second home and holiday home market.
Cyprus – There are two real estate economies in Cyprus: you have the well established real estate market of the Republic of Cyprus where an investor should be looking to target the retired audience or the tourist market and then in North Cyrus you have an emerging economy that currently offers huge growth potential.
Property price increases in North Cyprus have been consistently in the double digits for the past three years and there are no signs of a slowdown in sight.
Czech Republic – Prague is considered by most real estate investors to be the only city worth targeting in the Czech Republic, but the other cities in the country, such as Brno, also offer investors the opportunity to purchase residential accommodation for rent at the national and expatriate professional population. Property price growth has been fantastic in recent years and rental rates are increasing every year.
Estonia – Real estate investors should target the local market in Estonia and consider looking for opportunities in the capital city of Tallinn. The Estonian economy is growing at an astonishing rate, giving the local population more purchasing power, which in turn has a direct effect on the Estonian real estate market.
Basically, as local demand increases, prices can increase, and as local purchasing power increases, it can sustain these price increases. A real estate investor can buy this growth now and should expect the growth period to be sustainable at least in the medium term.
Hungary – Property investors heading to Hungary’s capital, Budapest, in 2004 – 2005 enjoyed up to 15% growth in underlying property prices and although these growth rates have slowed, there is long-term potential in Hungary.
There is local and expatriate demand for property to buy and rent in Budapest and the local economy is benefiting from foreign direct investment and strengthening. This means that there are long-term growth prospects throughout Hungary. Furthermore, there is an emerging market within the Hungarian real estate sector and that is the tourism market which offers an investor the opportunity to participate in residential and commercial real estate ventures targeting this growing market segment.
latvia – Latvia is benefiting from significant foreign direct investment that has helped establish the Latvian economy as one of the fastest growing in Europe and Latvians are on track to receive one of the five largest wage increases in the world. All of this means that, locally, people can afford to spend more on property, either in the form of payable rental fees or payable property prices, and property investors can buy off-plan and move to the local market once completed or even buy to rent. the capital city of Riga or in the coastal port cities.
Poland – Having joined the European Union in 2004, Poland has received massive aid and investment as a result, which has dramatically improved the country’s infrastructure and led to a strong period of economic growth.
Many European and international companies have established bases in Warsaw and Krakow and the demand for accommodation in these cities alone has really skyrocketed. Real estate investors are targeting Poland because it offers a low-risk, high-potential real estate market. Furthermore, investor confidence in Poland is high because the Polish government has already shown that it has a strong commitment to maintaining the good economic growth rates that their country currently enjoys.
Romania – Romania joined the EU in 2007 and offers the real estate investor such exciting opportunities: where else in the world can you buy anything from a castle to a factory at such ridiculously low prices?
Those with a strong appetite for paperwork and red tape will make their fortunes in Romania’s real estate market, but for the rest of us it is an economy to watch carefully now that it has joined the EU because it should be easier and more attractive. for targeted real estate investors.
Turkey – Turkey is on track to join the EU sometime around 2010 following the agreement that it should start accession negotiations in 2005. Since then, Turkey’s economy has been granted “Market Economy” status , the country has received billions of dollars of funds from the Middle East in its property. The interest of the sector and investors from all over the world in the Turkish real estate market has skyrocketed.
Most of the opportunities exist in Istanbul or along Turkey’s southern coast, where hundreds of thousands of tourists flock each year. Property prices in Turkey are currently unbelievably low, so with all the positive data and news coming out of Turkey recently, there is only one direction prices are going to go: up!
There are so many opportunities available to an investor in Europe that those who are serious about real estate gains should carefully consider the continent!
