Own place in the sun. Where and how to buy a house by the sea for the price of an apartment in Most? Forbes

Own place in the sun. Where and how to buy a house by the sea for the price of an apartment in Most? Forbes

Italy

After the crisis in 2008, most Italian real estate experienced a steep fall, except for areas such as Lago di Como or the Ligurian Riviera, which are among the evergreens among foreign buyers. Although big cities like Milan and Rome were already breaking records on the residential market before the pandemic, in many regions you can still buy for a bargain today. Here you can also come across real estate offered in exchange for reconstruction and maintenance. "An interesting investment opportunity can be the auctions that are expected after covid," says the owner of Mediterranea Lucie Pilipová Gaffi.

Where: Ligurian Riviera, Lakes Como, Maggiore and Garda are among the constants on the market, the areas of Montferrato and Langhe in Piedmont with their vast vineyards under the protection of UNESCO or houses around Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca or Arezzo in Tuscany are popular "In Umbria you can buy a stone home of similar quality thirty percent cheaper, properties twenty kilometers from the coast often drop to half the price," says Pilipová Gaffi. She herself recommends the area of ​​Venice, from where it is close to the Alps, to the lakes and to the sea, and the prices are favorable.

How much: In February 2021, the average offer price was slightly over 45,000 crowns per square meter.

What to watch out for: Real estate appreciation in Italy is one of the lowest in the EU, last year it was 1.6 percent, and the prospects for higher returns are poor. Italy's economy is not in good shape, suffering from an aging population, the fourth highest share of total unemployment in the EU, but real estate prices can be negatively affected in the future even by small reserves of fresh water.

Real Estate

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Banks' mortgage enthusiasm has been low in recent years, as has new construction. Therefore, expect that in seaside resorts there are mainly older properties on the market, in which you will have to invest more. In the case of renovation of historical buildings, you will have to respect the regulations of strict monument protection.

Spain

Summer from Easter to All Souls' Day, good air connections and a wide range thanks to massive construction in the past twenty years. Next to Croatia, the Iberian coast is the most common destination for Czechs who are looking for living on the beach. The prices of small apartments in cheap parts of the coast can start at 100,000 euros, but even more mobile investors will find their way. After the mortgage crisis in 2008, prices fell for quite a long time, often by as much as half, but since 2016 they have been steadily rising.

Where: The Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca areas are particularly popular with Czechs. To the west of Malaga fly the fashionable luxury resorts of Marbella, Puerto Banus, Estepona. "An interesting development with new construction directly by the sea is taking place in the eastern direction, where you can now buy real estate at significantly lower prices," says Jan Rejcha from the Rellox company. Prices are also more favorable in the vicinity of Valencia, where direct flights from Prague also go.

How much: The average price of apartments or smaller terraced houses on the Costa Blanca (around Valencia) does not exceed 32,000 crowns per square meter, in the province of Malaga, on average, you can fit in 58,000 per square meter. In premium Marbella, the price suddenly jumps to over a hundred thousand per meter.

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What to watch out for: In Spain, most holiday apartments are in condominiums with a reception, where you will have to pay administrative fees for the maintenance of the common green and swimming pool. Therefore, expect higher operating costs - for a two-bedroom apartment, you should be able to fit in five thousand euros per year.

Your own place in the sun. Where and how buy a house by the sea for the price of an apartment in Most? Forbes

The tax burden is also quite high. However, the property transfer tax of eight to ten percent is only paid for "second-hand" properties. Expect VAT of ten percent of the property price for residential housing and 21 percent of the property price for commercial properties.

In addition, there is a law in Spain that if someone breaks into your long-empty apartment and settles there, you can do nothing about it - such self-proclaimed "tenants" can even apply for permanent residence at your address. So the extra investment in the alarm is more than worth it!

Bulgaria

An apartment in a three-star hotel resort on the beach for the price of an apartment in Most? You can make a similar dream come true in Bulgaria. On the Black Sea coast, you will have to settle for a lower standard of services and quality of infrastructure than is customary in the rest of the EU, but the local economy, level of services and real estate prices are growing every year.

Where: The area around Burgas and Varna is of greatest interest.

How much: New apartments by the sea can be purchased from 26,000 Czech crowns per square meter, older ones for half that. After the pandemic, the offer on the market increased significantly.

What to watch out for: In Bulgaria, the usable area of ​​apartments also includes the share of common home spaces, so the actual area of ​​the apartment itself can be significantly lower. The market is mainly apartments in serviced complexes, so expect management fees of eight to sixteen euros per square meter per year.

Portugal

What Portugal seems to be losing in the glamor of seaside destinations. However, you will find the same luxury properties as on the Spanish Costa del Sol, but at half the price. The low cost of living here is also attractive for foreigners.

Where: According to Eurostat, real estate prices rose by 7.4 percent last year. "They held their highest in the traditional strongholds of foreign buyers, in Lisbon and the Algarve holiday region," says Peter Yusufi, general manager of CzechRepublic Sotheby's Int. Realty with the fact that three interesting projects of foreign brands will open in the Algarve this year.

What to watch out for: Real estate prices in the country fell dramatically after the last crisis, but they have been rising since 2015 and the pandemic has not changed anything. During the recession, the local government introduced a number of programs to support foreign investors - for example, a ten-year exemption from tax on income from sources abroad, including pension, if applicants spend at least half the year in Portugal. Last year, however, this tax burden rose from zero to ten percent.

Majorca

Mediterranean climate. Over 600 km of coastline with more than two hundred beaches and 25 ports. In addition, 24 golf courses where you can play all year round. And the Serra de Tramuntana limestone mountain range, included in the list of natural monuments of UNESCO. Mallorca offers many beauties, but it will not be cheap.

Where: Forty percent of the island is occupied by nature reserves with limited construction. You will therefore find most of the premium real estate in Mallorca in the south-west, which has benefited from extensive investment in infrastructure in the 1990s. The demand for apartments here is about a third lower than the demand for villas. Building plots with a view of the sea are decreasing, so developers are mainly focusing on rebuilding and renovating older buildings.

How much: Inland, prices range from 70,000 to 170,000 Czech crowns per square meter, while you can buy a house in the southwest of Mallorca with a sea view for 200,000 to 350,000. For an apartment in the historic center of Palma, prepare 170,000 to 300,000 crowns per square meter.

What to watch out for: If you purchase a property up to 400,000 euros (slightly over ten million crowns), you pay an eight percent property tax, up to a purchase price of 600,000 euros it is nine percent, payments up to a million euros are taxed at a rate of ten percent and more expensive real estate then eleven percent.

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