Is a real estate investment in Kiev, Ukraine, attractive?
My previous piece on the Ukrainian economy, which you should read, started with the insight that residential prices are down 75% from their peak in Kiev, Ukraine. Generally speaking, a 75% drop in prices in a capital city, with a few years of consolidation at the...
An ambiguous case – is now the time to invest in Ukraine?
I’m often asked if a real estate investment in Kiev, Ukraine, is a smart move. From a peak of over USD 3500 per m2 in 2007, prices dropped for over a decade to slightly over $1050 per m2 in Q2 2019. I’ll examine the Kiev real estate in a future article, but in the...
10 Learnings from a Real Estate Investment in the United States as a Non-Resident Foreigner
Non Americans are almost all familiar with scenes of people striking it rich in real estate in the United States. People speculate, flip, use credit, become rich and then sometimes lose it all. It’s a vast and attractive market, not just for the potential returns, but...
How to start a company in Uzbekistan as a non-resident foreigner
So you have a business idea for booming Uzbekistan (read this) that requires you to start a company locally? You might think it’s very Soviet, complicated, expensive, and that legal help is required. Some lawyers won’t hesitate to overcharge you. Guess what, it’s...
The Impact of Demographics on Real Estate Investing in Eastern Europe
Real Estate has been booming in Central & Eastern Europe over the past few years. Investors who got in on cities like Budapest, Warsaw, Bucharest, Prague, Sofia have made very decent returns since 2014/2015. Prime Budapest properties can be had for less than 3500...
A Real Estate Investment in Tashkent, Uzbekistan?
Making a real estate investment in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is an attractive proposition. One can find core downtown properties at about $1,000 per m2, and gross yields that can reach 8-11%. In a world of negative interest rates and low yielding real estate, the...
How to obtain a residence permit in Uzbekistan
Why would anyone want to obtain a residence permit in Uzbekistan? Sure, it’s a beautiful place for an amazing adventure & history-packed vacation, but living there? Well, yes, an increasing amount of foreigners want to obtain a residence permit in Uzbekistan. The...
The Pros and Cons of a Real Estate Investment in Astana, Kazakhstan
I recently spent a few days in Astana, or Nur-Sultan (its new name), and decided to analyse whether a real estate investment in that part of Kazakhstan is worth it. Kazakhstan got its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and has since been rebuilding itself...
The Case for Investing in Uzbekistan
Is investing in contemporary Uzbekistan a viable option? Maybe you haven’t heard much about Uzbekistan, or can’t really place it on a map. But back during the early silk trading days, you would have. Cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand were at the core of the silk...
A case study of a Real Estate Investment in Bulgaria
Negative yields are already here in Europe, and according to Alan Greenspan on their way to America as well. What to do with your money? Gold should be part of your portfolio, but cannot be the only one. A real estate investment in Bulgaria can be an option. If you...
Real Estate Investment in Montenegro
Is there any money to be made in real estate investment in Montenegro? The short answer is yes, but one needs to have a very targeted approach. Most people haven’t even heard of this little Adriatic country of 600,000 souls which got its independence from Serbia in...
A Real Estate Investment in Shkoder, Albania?
Is Shkoder, Albania a good destination for real estate investment? An easy day drive away from the beautiful Bay of Kotor in Montenegro and its exciting real estate investments, I figured I would head out to Shkoder, Albania. The city comes out regularly as one of the...