Is Europe’s Last Dictator Bowing To Capitalism? After seeing next door neighbours Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia enjoying the fruits of having attracted massive inflows of foreign investment, it seems Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, wants in and is set to ease the heavy restrictions which have all but cut off foreign investment into this Eastern European country. However, the transition from closed market to just a partially open market will not be as smooth as in other former Eastern Block countries which may make investing in property in Belarus a hair-raising experience for speculative overseas property investors seeking to turn a quick profit.

Continue reading ‘A Partial Property Market in Belarus’

EU ascension seems to be a sure-fire way to boost your real estate prices and three members of the Baltic State are actively generating strong interest in attractive off-plan investments.  Former Soviet controlled Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all joined NATO and the European Union in 2004 with their investment appeal further increased as Ryanair and Easyjet started to offer low cost city connections.

Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2002 also played a major part in putting Tallinn, Estonia’s capital city on the map. According to the Telegraph, Estonia was Europe’s property hotspot last year with an annual survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reporting a house price boost of 28 percent in Estonia compared to the UK’s 3 percent. Much of this can attributed to capital city investment and neighbouring Finland which provides much of its investment.

On the market with Arc-Property : A 15 minute drive from Tallinn’s main business district, the Karneri project features apartments in twin residential towers on a quiet, side street location. Just 100 metres from the western shore of Kopli bay, apartments overlook a nature reserve to the north-west and the old town to the north east. Within close proximity is the Rocca Al Mare shopping centre, the Saku Surhaal Concert/Sports Arena and a large supermarket. The only development in this area is the Estonian Open Air Museum, a vast collection of traditional Estonian buildings joined by trails through the woodland. Prices start from £57,600 and the apartments can be purchased with a deposit of only 20%.  

Continue reading ‘Look East for rock bottom off-plan property’