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While European countries such as Italy, Spain, France, and Germany has seen property values skyrocket (especially anything near water) there are still very many lucrative places to purchase investment property for unheard of prices. While the United States is undergoing a fickle Real Estate market at the moment, those who purchase property as an investment may want to shift focus to the emerging countries in the European Union. Although the US Dollar doesn not buy as much as it once did compared to the Euro, there are still incredible deals in exotic locations for those bold enough to take a step out of their backyard. Today I’ll introduce you to three relatively unknown countries in Europe that are rapidly becoming the “In Thing” in investment property or even for an alternative to the fatigued lifestlye currently plaguing the United States.

#1- Croatia - Croatia is one of the most undervalued areas in Europe for Real Estate speculation. Although the Ex-Yu and the fighting between the Serbians, Croatians, Bosnians and Slovenians divided the country formerly known as Yugoslavia and has worried many Real Estate speculators there is still much beautiful Adriatic Real Estate for sale at good prices in Croatia. The culture is mainly Roman Catholic, Middle-European and Mediterranean people and the scenery is amongst the most beautiful in the world. From a brochure I gathered on one of my trips to the country of my families origin, Croatia, there is a passage, “Much has been said about the beauty of Croatia. “Heaven on Earth” has been described in many books by artists, in paintings and countless photographs. “God wanted to crown his creation, so on the last day he created the Croatian Adriatic from his tears, the stars and sea breeze”. This prose was writen by an author long ago about the splendour of this most beautiful and preserved ecological corner of the modern world.” According to the 2006 survey of the USTOA, the hottest new tourist destination for United States citizens is Croatia and many are choosing to purchase investment property after admiring the breathtaking beauty of the country and intermingling with it’s intelligent, friendly and accepting citizens.

Here is a beautiful view of Split, the economic and administrative center of Dalmatia on the Adriatic Coast of Croatia.

#2 - Cyrpus - The Republic of Cyprus is an island country in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey. Many British citizens have been choosing Cyprus as a destination for retirement because of the beautiful scenery, the temperate climate and the undeniable value. As with Croatia, much of Cyprus’ image has been tarnished because there had been decades of in-fghting between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots for control of the island. It is this constant strugle that has made many outsiders weary of making any major property purchases for investment purposes because ownership of property on the island could be held in jeopardy pending the outcome of civil turmoil. Any time there is an ongoing confilct in an area, the value of property decreases, however the Greeks and Turks have settled down over the last decade and have begun realizing that their tiny island nation has a value that is beneficial to both parties. Cyprus has been recently sought as a basis for many offshore businesses. This is due to its highly developed infrastructure. While Greek and Turkish are the official languages of Cyprus, however, the vast majority of the inhabitants speak English.

A view of Nicosia, the capital and largest city of Cyprus and the only divided capital city in the world

#3 - Latvia - The Republic of Latvia is located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, shares land borders with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south, both Russia and Belarus to the east. The attraction packed little nation has the fastest growing economy in Europe. It has had high GDP growth since 2000. In 2003, Latvia’s GDP growth was 7.5% compared to inflation at 2.9%. Unemployment was 8.8% in 2003, almost unchanged compared to the previous two years. Privatization is mostly complete, except for some of the large state-owned utilities. On May 1, 2004, Latvia joined the European Union. The capital, Riga,is a vibrant coastal capital and the countryside has many photogenic castles, music festivals and scenic river valleys. Latvians are as intent on revitalizing and nation-building as any newly independent nation. Visitors can witness first-hand the rapid transformation of this country that has only recently crept from under the doormat of history. Latvia is one of those ‘check it out before it’s too late’ places. This is true for property investors as well as tourists. In Riga, property in some areas rose by around 40%. This has been fueled by strong economic growth and EU entry. Most properties in the historic capital are renovations and there is a limited stock of such buildings. All this suggests that the rises seen in Latvia’s property market over recent years are set to continue.

Historic Old Riga, Latvia Skyline view from Vansu Bridge

In my next blog post I will be exploring more hot, sleeper Real Estate investments in South and Central America.