Adriatic Coastline investment from £20k!!

jdmat1 · #1 13-09-2007, 08:26 AM

Apartments for sale with stunning sea views over the Bay of Vlores in Albania. Completion due mid 2008.
Tipped as the last true European Hotspot -do you wish you bought in Montenegro and Bulgaria 5 years ago?
Finance available on 60% of purchase price. New motorway from capital will half journey time from Tirana. Already a popular resort with Italian tourists.
For more details, contact info@iqpropertyinvest.co.uk

propertastic · #2 14-09-2007, 09:59 PM

Do you have any actual figures on the amount of tourists that are currently holidaying in Albania?

I gave some thoughts on the possibilities of Albania on a recent entry on my blog.

While prices there are certainly interesting and are bound to increase over time, I wonder whether it's going to see the massive growth of other Balkan coastal hotspots in the short term.

The difference between Albania compared with Montenegro and Bulgaria is that the latter two have always been big resort destinations in the days of the USSR and so had at least some tourist infrastructure in place, which just needed to be modernized.

This was certainly never the case with Albania as it was even a pariah state by Warsaw Pact standards.

The bottom line is: so who is going to rent these properties when they are finished? I just don't see much of a demand for tourist rentals until the Albanian Tourist Board really starts marketing the country as a serious choice for anyone other than intrepid backpackers.

If you can afford to sit on the property for a while, I am sure that there will be good capital increases to come but without rental income coming in, I'm not sure what potential there is for the jet-to-let investor.

jdmat1 · #3 15-09-2007, 04:05 PM

Propertastic - you raise a very good point - especially as most investors do want comfort that the properties can be rented out.
In 1997 Albania had 119,000 overseas tourists. In 2001 - this rose to 353,000
2004 saw 645,000 people visit Albania. The trend at the moment is that this trend is growing at around 100,000 tourists pa. See www.instat.gov.al
Whilst these statistics offer comfort, what is important is the localised trends.
The Bay of Vlores area is already establishing itself as a localised hotspot for the Italians because of its natural beauty and improved access.
This is not going to produce 20 weeks rental for a while - but with Capital growth projected at 15 -20% pa and at a great entry price - it is an excellent compromise.

propertastic · #4 15-09-2007, 08:54 PM

Thanks for coming back with some real data.

It always gives me a lot of confidence in a sales agent when they don't claim the earth and are able to counter potential criticism with facts.

I think that, for an experienced investor who is putting together a balanced portfolio aimed at medium and long-term growth, Albania would definitely be worth serious consideration. After all, I can't see that there is much risk of prices going down in the future.

For the beginning investor who is short on cash and needs to fund his financing through rental income, this would probably not be the best basket to put all ones eggs into though.

Would you agree with this assessment?

jdmat1 · #5 16-09-2007, 09:01 AM

Absolutely agree with all of your points. Although, for an initial investment from under £8,000 - we've seen a few first time investors taking a 'punt' or investing with another first time investor. One example is where 4 friends put £2k in each! Not bad for units that have uninterupted sea and mountain views!
For any serious investor, I would advocate a balance to any portfolio - perhaps looking initially at localised hotspots with EU countries with aspiring EU membership countries.
The Albania investment brochure is not on our website yet, but I can forward by email if you wish.

propertastic · #6 16-09-2007, 08:12 PM

I think that these types of investment are fine as long as people are prepared for a 'worst case scenario'.

I myself have been guilty at putting a small amount down in cash and then forgetting that I'm going to have to make monthly payments for the rest of my life on the rest that I borrowed.

If the secondary market doesn't develop for a while and all buyers are speculators, then it might not be possible to flip it on completion and then, if the tourist business doesn't develop, it could be difficult to rent out as well.

Conicidentally, my partner met with a developer from South Africa yesterday who is involved in a number of projects in Eastern Europe. He said that he looked at Albania, but didn't think that the infrastructure was in place yet (he mentioned that it is very common to be without electricity for a couple of hours on a daily basis).

Do you know if this is really the case?

jdmat1 · #7 16-09-2007, 08:40 PM

Don't know about the effectiveness of the electricity supplies. Takes me back to the 80's when we stayed in Corfu!
True emerging markets will not have infrastructures in place - in my view, that's why they are exciting investments. For example, the main road to the Bay of Vlores is a single carriageway road that's seen better days. But right alongside this - the new dual carriageway is a third complete and will half the journey time.
The EU have pledged 11 billion euros to develop the infrastructures which will assist in Albanias' EU accession in 2014.
All other economic measures look promising too- GDP is growing at 6%pa - faster than the average EU member countries. Foreign direct investment grew fourfold last year to over $2 billion.

infoberlin · #8 03-10-2007, 12:06 PM

yes. real cheap.

Adriatic Coastline investment from £20k!!
with 700.000 tourists a year and per capital income of 100€/month

or
Berlin investment from £20k!!
with 7 million tourists a year and per capital income of 1500€/month

of course, Albania surely is the better bet.
Why not buy penny stocks in instead? They might rise even more...

I am not saying Albania is the wrong place to invest --- but 20K seems to be a stiff price tag by any comparison.
Or is 100% FINANCE available ??

INFOBERLIN.ORG

jdmat1 · #9 04-10-2007, 08:52 PM

See Specialists in the sale of discounted off-plan worldwide properties for investment purposes » IQ Property Investments Limited » Welcome and all will be revealed!
I know I'm selling Albania and it may be for the more intrepid investor, BUT - it's all relative to risk/ reward.
I won't criticise Berlin as I've looked at the city myself - but you can't compare Berlin and Albania!
Check out the full investment document. We've also published a Country Guide for Albania to answer those all important questions.

propertastic · #10 04-10-2007, 09:34 PM

Just out of interest, what kind of yields can an investor in Berlin property expect to see at the moment?