Foreign Investment
Whenever I take a holiday, I like to take some time out of my trip to look into the real estate market/trends of the location. Not only can it provide a better sense of the global market, it allows me to provide my buyers with knowledge and experience in foreign real estate investment.
My most recent trip led me to Eastern Europe. The majority of my time was spent in Croatia, with brief stops in Germany and Austria. Although I didnt get much time to look into things in Germany and Austria, I did get the opportunity to speak with a few experts and see some properties in Croatia. Not too long ago (20 years ago), Croatia was admist a civil war as the former Yugoslavia disintegrated into 6 seperate countries. Although still volatile for a few years after, Croatia has come into its own, offering beautiful landscapes, safe environment and friendly people for the last 15 years. Although it still off the radar from most north american citizens, it has become a top destination for European tourists.
Although it has recently become a tourist mecca, it still remains relatively cheap. The main form of real estate is either apartments or condos. In more popular centers (island of Hvar, city of Dubrovnik) prime real estate will end up costing $150,000-200,000 for a modern 900 sq foot 2 bed, 1 bath condo. However, if you are willing to go a little bit off the beaten path, to some lesser known locations it is not unusual to find a similar condo in the $100,000 range.
Croatia is currently trying to enter the European Union. Of course the pro for this is that the economy should become a lot more stable once becoming part of this group. The down side could be however that prices of real estate will increase accordingly. My advice for buying in Croatia: Best to wait 6 months until a decision has been made one way or another as to whether or not Croatia will be able to join the union. It is a bit risky to buy there right now.
