Property developers have been searching the world for new markets.  The credit crunch has limited the opportunity for developers to make money in many different ways.  Difficulties gaining credit has limited buying power whilst the same problem has also cut the number of potential customers available for developed property.  Coupled with many people having less money to spend anyway, with job losses becoming all to common in much of the Western World it is far from surprising to see people considering other markets to develop in.

So international markets have become the destination of choice, with developers studying statistics of many different countries trying to assess where will provide the best RoI (return on investment) for their time, money and efforts.  And where is proving to be most popular?

Albania

That’s right, Albania.  Most people aren’t even aware of just where Albania is (Northwest border of Greece in Europe) but it is fast becoming one of the worlds biggest property hot-spots.  It has huge potential as a country for those who are looking to build or develop property for profit.

The country is one of the poorest in Europe, with a small but fast growing economy and exports limited to mostly textile based industries.  But by looking a little deeper property developers are starting to see real benefits in investing in the area.

Property prices

Property prices in Albania never underwent the mass rise that most of the Western World did, and so it has also managed to stay free of most of the crash that the world is now going through.  Rather than suffering the 2% month on month contraction of the property market that the EU is going through Albania is actually seeing modest growth in the property sector.  Also unlike much of the EU all it’s new projects and developments are going ahead, with little to no cancellation.

It is this growth in property prices that is especially appealing.  All over the Eastern European country prices are rising at steady rates, but it is in the countries capital of Tirane that property prices are performing best, with annual growth of 30% far from uncommon.

Foreign Investment

Another reason to believe that property prices in Albania are likely to continue to rise is the level of foreign investment that has started.  Large foreign companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Citroen have set up offices in the country, whilst many international banks have started opening up offices in the region.

Economic Growth

The potential for Albania as a country is only just starting to be realized.  The number of tourists coming into the country year on year is increasing exponentially, increasing the need for holiday homes and the amount of money being brought into the country.

The economy itself is starting to improve dramatically upon its poor history, with growth at 6% for the last few years running, outstripping much of Europe for growth.  Such new money, foreign investment and growth is showing that Albania really is a country with huge property development potential.

tirana1

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Property Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.