Many property investors and developers are suffering under the effects of the credit crunch.  With mortgages getting harder to find both buying and selling property has been difficult, as well as getting the credit needed for buying the tools, supplies and labor needed to develop the property.

With that in mind developers have started looking further afield to see where they can make money stretch further, and where the buying market is more buoyant and less risky than it is in many of the major nations.  Unfortunately the credit crunch has caused recession and economic uncertainty in most of the world.

However there are some markets that are still showing good growth, and it these small gems that developers are seeking to work in.

The growth of the Albanian property market

One such gem comes in the surprising shape of Albania.  At first this may come as a surprise, Albania is not a country on many peoples lips, in fact few know where it is or what it can provide.  But further examination shows it is a perfect country for property investors and developers, with a lot going for it and the likelihood of further property price growth very high indeed.

It should be noted that Albania has one of the weakest economies in Europe, which is why for so many years it has been ignored for international development and investment.  This has turned out to be of benefit to the Albanian property market.  Whilst other markets saw house prices boom and then bust with an influx of investors, developers and speculators Albania was able to make consistent and solid growth.

Whilst before this growth was not of a level to interest investors recent crashes in the worldwide property market, coupled with large foreign investment in the Albanian economy has made Albania a far more lucrative proposition.

Reasons for the growth

So Albania is now seeing property growth far in advance of its European counterparts whilst still remaining very cheap (and so allowing for new developers to get a foothold), indeed it’s land and property price comes in at 75% cheaper than its Easter European neighbors such as Greece.  With such a small cost of starting up many people are prepared to take a risk at the Albanian economy.

Furthermore there has been significant investment in Albania by multinational corporations.  Hewlett-Packard and Citroen have both opened up centers near to the Capital city of Tirana, and where big business goes the banks follow, with many Western banks getting footholds in the country.

Because of the influx of wealth and banks more people are starting to be able to get mortgages, something that was virtually unheard of in Albania until recently.  With more and more people now getting access to the kind of credit they need to buy a house there are far more potential customers for property – and it is really starting to show.  For the last two years house prices in Tirana have increased 30% year on year, quite a return on investment.

So whilst the property markets of much of the world suffers there are gems to be found, Albania is certainly proof enough of that.

tirana

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 9:46 pm and is filed under Investing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.