Best Places To Buy Property In Europe
For the past few years the property market in Europe has been volatile
. The value of real estate has been badly affected, but that just means you can find a lovely home abroad at a bargain price.
This is especially true in areas such as Cyprus, Portugal and Spain. Prices that were at their peak in 2006, have now dropped to a more affordable level provided you can get a mortgage.
Therefore, if you're planning to invest in property, it would be wiser to look at places such as Portugal, Cyprus and Spain, where you can buy much more for your money.
Where to buy
A few countries that will most likely become winners in the changing European housing market are the following:
Turkey. Although Turkey has experienced a huge economic crisis in 2001, it has been undergoing a comprehensive IMF-backed restructuring program that is cleaning up the country's financial systems and creating strong economic growth. A great number of foreign speculators are flocking to the country's property market.
Germany is known in the financial industry for its stability. The prices of property here are still low compared to other places in Europe. A lot of the real estate purchases are being made by foreign investors.
Portugal is a modern country with a rich culture, which is very attractive to tourists. Portugal in general is one of Europe's most pleasant places to live, and the real estate market is becoming attractive to savvy investors and people looking for a Spain alternative.
Bulgaria is experiencing a real estate boom, with the British and the Germans claiming the largest number of property purchases. It's certainly high time that this diverse land of pristine snow-capped mountains and picturesque beaches became appreciated. In addition to its real estate boom, the country is experiencing an all-time high in tourism as well.
Cyprus has one of Europe's fastest growing property markets. The country has a robust and stable economy that is favourably looked upon by the European Commission and the IMF. Although its current buyers are mostly British pensioners, the number of young investors is growing as well.
Financing
The debt crisis, along with the austerity measures that some European countries are putting in place to address this crisis, plus new financial regulations and a weak lending market might pose challenges for financing real estate purchases in popular European cities. Many banks are currently unwilling to finance investments in property.
Chinese banks, however, continue to aggressively lend out money for real estate, as evidenced by the Bank of China's refinancing of an amount of $800m for an office tower in Manhattan last year. Two Chinese banks have also set up shop in London, making themselves accessible to European customers who might be looking for bank to shoulder the costs of purchasing properties.
In addition, other finance companies such pension and sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies who are looking for high-yield assets might be willing to release the required funds for property purchases.
Because the overall wealth of European citizens continues to increase, there would be no lack of interest in purchasing properties, no matter what obstacles there may be.
The profitability for the long-term period of these investments are still up for analysis, there are lots of luxury Portugal property for sale and bargains to be had in Turkey and Cyprus. These countries will undoubtedly drive the long-term returns of European housing investments up.
by: Robinson Jackson
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