Property investors double money in Poland

LONDON: Overseas property investors are doubling their money in Poland, data shows.

The eastern European country has retained its place at the top of Assetz quarterly property investment tracker, giving a total return on cash invested of 100 percent in the past year.

However, bricks and mortar in another recent entrant to the European Union — Bulgaria — are heading for a downturn.

While the country remains a strong position in the tracker, with annual returns of 71 percent, Assetz warns that Bulgarian tourist hot-spots show signs of overheating.

Rental markets are struggling in areas such as Sunny Beach and Bansko, where there is a “severe oversupply” of apartments and lack of demand.

The second quarter figures also show the UK continuing to perform well on the global stage.

The five major UK house price indices point to average annual house price growth of 11.1 percent — equating to an average of more than 20,000 pounds.

As a buy-to-let investment location, Britain also continues to prosper, lying in third place behind Poland and Bulgaria, with gross yields of 6 percent and a total return on cash invested of 68 percent.

France ranks fourth with total returns of 59 percent over the past 12 months, while the newest entrant to the tracker of investment hot-spots, Cape Verde, is also producing rosy returns.

The islands, off Africa’s west coast, have returned 40 percent on cash invested in the past year, boosted by low purchase costs.

Looking ahead, Assetz expects Poland, where a typical two-bedroom apartment costs just 50,000 pounds, to maintain its strong position in the table for the rest of 2007.

New French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s pledge to create a nation of homeowners through a number of tax breaks could spark a mini property boom in France, while the outlook for Cape Verde is also positive.

Stuart Law, managing director of Assetz, said: “Cape Verde is looking like a very interesting prospect, as tourism levels soar and the introduction of mortgages opens the floodgates to investors.”

But he warns investors must take a long-term view and ensure there is a strong rental demand to cover costs.

“Due diligence will become even more important during this next phase of the global property market’s cycle, and investors must be more selective to ensure they are not only buying in the right country, but in the right town or city, in order to benefit from the highest returns.”

Source: dailytimes.com.pk