SEARCH From over 300 features and guides on this site
BUYING ABROAD
Buying In Slovakia
Poprad, where Sky Europe flies to from the UK, is the nearest airport to the Tatra Mountains’ ski resorts.
Slovakia is the Czech Republic's less well-known Eastern neighbour, bordering Austria, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine. Once part of a unified Czechoslovakia, landlocked Slovakia has been independent since 1993, a full member of the EU since 2004, and its property market is beginning to appeal to British buyers.
Slovakia, not to be confused with Slovenia, first appeared on UK property buyers’ radars when easyJet began flying to the country in 2005. Bratislava, the country’s capital, is usually the first city most people visit. Dubbed ‘mini-Prague’ because of its architectural similarities, Bratislava is situated on the River Danube and its old town's medieval highlights include St Michael's Gate, and St Martin's Cathedral.
Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital, has been dubbed mini-Prague because of its striking architectural similarities.
"Bratislava has an attractive cobbled square and city centre," says Nick Dare of investment and development agency Dare Property. "Work is now underway on two major riverside schemes as the value of the river as a focal point is being exploited for the first time. Petrzalka is by no means a new area in Bratislava, but for investors targeting local tenants and future buyers, it offers good potential."
But Slovakia is not only about Bratislava. Dare points to the north for other striking areas. The High and Low Tatra Mountains are worth a look. Straddling the border of Slovakia and Poland, the area is visited by large numbers of Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Czechs and Slovaks, but not yet by Britons. With direct flights to Poprad via Sky Europe from Britain, this is rapidly changing. The area offers year round activities, including golf, tennis, spas, aqua parks, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, and paragliding.
Located 10 minutes from the city centre, apartments at Medokys start at £29,000 through The Right Move Abroad.
Away from the ski slopes, Michael Johns of agents The Right Move Abroad picks another city as his prime spot. "Banska Bystrica, situated in the country's centre, is currently being linked with a new highway to Vienna via Bratislava," he says. "A university town with a population of over 650,000, an estimated 140,000 people will be moving into the town to work in the finance sector over the next five years."
The upturn in local demand in Banska Bystrica and elsewhere is being financed by competitive mortgages that are available to non-nationals too. "Mortgages for foreigners at rates of 5-5.5% are available locally," says Johns. "They are typically 70% LTV (Loan to Value), but can be found for up to 85%, with up to 30-year terms. A mortgage arrangement fee is from 0.3% -1%. Banks will expect the mortgage to be repaid before the borrower reaches the age of 65."
The availability of finance caused an uplift of around 10-15% on Slovakian property prices last year. In 2007 more of the same is anticipated. "Reputable real estate agents and developers are expecting overall growth of 10–13% per annum on the residential real estate market over next couple of years," says Johns. "A lack of accommodation will be the driving force behind the increasing value of properties."
Currently, the Slovak government estimates that 45-50,000 new properties would need to be built in order to meet their immediate needs.
Other factors contributing to making Slovakia a good investment include the country’s central European location. Commuting time to neighbouring Vienna, where house prices are more than double Bratislava, is only 30 minutes now a new highway linking the two cities has opened. Slovakia, it seems, is no longer living in anyone’s shadow.
