I have recently reserved a unit on a development in Calabria, southern Italy having first heard of it in a Sunday Times article back in January.

Having considered Bulgaria and Turkey, I decided that my money was better off in an established EU country. Fortunately enough Calabria is an emerging market within Italy and prices are a lot lower when compared to Italian cities, certainly Umbria and Tuscanny. A 100% mortgage is available and the current rates are only 3.86%

The EU and the Italian government are investing millions, if not billions into regeneration of the area. It is very unspoilt, similar to the Northern Costa Blanca as I remember it 25 years ago. Planning is very strict in the region and hopefully it will remain unspoilt.

Ryanair has recently started flying into the area which means flights are cheap, and there are talks of other budget airlines coming in soon. From an investment point of view, this is great.

If you are interested have a look at a company called First Step Abroad - they offered me a free inspection trip, the lady I dealt with was very helpful and I was able to buy a stunning beachfront penthouse apartment with sea views for less than £100k. At the end of the day, anything with a sea view, in my opinion, is a sound investment and you cannot go wrong for that kind of money.

Stuart