Holiday property investment

British investors have lagged behind other Europeans, such as the Germans and the Italians, in recognising the potential of Croatia , once part of Yugoslavia. Some areas such as Dubrovnik and Hvar Island have already experienced strong capital growth and this is expected to spread along the largely unexploited Dalmatian coastline, stretching from Slovenia in the north down to Montenegro, which includes more than a thousand islands. Croatia property prices are rising fast, having more than doubled in the past three years. But, they are lower than the South of France and if you buy now in the right location, any profit you make will be tax-free after three years. When competitive mortgage deals become available after EU admission in 2008/9, property values are likely to rocket. After decades in the doldrums, the property market in Zagreb, the beautiful and often forgotten Croatian capital, is moving up after the arrival of Oracle, Siemens, Te-Com and Coca-Cola. Demand exceeds supply f...

T his year’s property hotspots in Mallorca will be business premises and middle-priced holiday homes. The shortage of business premises in Palma and other large cities means the price of these properties is set to rocket. Meanwhile in the domestic market, the luxurious end of the market will stay stable whilst the mid-range, more-affordable property market will be buoyant. There is no sign of the foreign investors drying up as industry insiders claim that currently 700,000 Europeans are thinking about buying a second home somewhere in the south Mediterranean region. Mallorca is set to stay as one of the most sought-after destinations for holiday homes due to its safety, culture and cheap airline connections. However, a different type of investor is heading this way. Instead of large holiday homes on a golf course, purchasers are seeking smaller boltholes near airports for that long weekend away from base. The mid-range property priced around 400,000 euros is set to become the most soug...

It is not every ski resort that has a large, colourful Picasso sculpture of a woman's head in the middle of its village, with other modernist pieces by the likes of Bury, Vasarely and Dubuffet scattered around. Nor can other resorts claim to be the architectural vision of one of the Bauhaus movement's most famous sons, Marcel Breuer, designer of the Unesco building in Paris and the Wassily chair. But Flaine considers itself to be a bit different. This perspective is likely to be put to the test in the next few years as the Grand Massif resort sets out on an expansion programme to get back on the map after years in the doldrums. Leading this initiative is Canadian developer Intrawest, which has announced that Flaine will be the site of its second project in Europe, following the success of its village of Arc 1950 at Les Arcs, which is virtually sold out and nearing completion. Intrawest has shaken up the standard of holiday property development in the French Alps. Its cosy fo...

The holiday home property wave has broken but, for the time being at least, living on millionaires' row means there won't be a wipeout. While other beach house sales flounder, luxury home markets in locations such as the Gold Coast, Portsea and Margaret River have powered into 2006. In those markets, multi-million-dollar houses and apartments are selling strongly while other agents complain of their worst lead up to Christmas in a decade. On the Gold Coast, PRDnationwide agent Doug Green sold three luxury homes for more than $13 million in less than three weeks in the lead up to Christmas. More here .

Second home-seekers who desire an overseas property in France can effectively get a holiday home for free following the introduction of a new type of mortgage. The emergence of interest-only leaseback mortgages is expected to help the French property market compete with Bulgaria and Turkey where overseas property investors have been turning of late. It means the borrower of an interest-only leaseback mortgage can purchase a leaseback property in France, cover the cost of their mortgage and still use the property for a few weeks a year themselves as a holiday home, according to property investment firm Assetz. The French leaseback scheme was introduced by the French government 20 years ago to increase tourism in areas such as the Cote D'Azur, the Alps and Paris by increasing the amount of quality holiday accommodation. Under the scheme, investors purchase a freehold property and lease it back to a pre-selected property management company earning guaranteed rental income for at leas...

A one bedroom apartment at Noosa’s premium Netanya beachfront resort has been sold to a Melbourne business man for $2.3 million, the highest price ever paid for a one bedroom apartment in Noosa. The same property sold in 1996 for $520,000. A Roma businessman and property owner bought a similar, 75 square metre beachfront apartment on the top floor of the Hastings Street resort last year for $1.79 million, setting the value of the property at more than $23,866 per square metre. The new price represents a per square metre value of $31,500. Real estate agent Klaus Tschech from Noosa Richardson and Wrench, said Noosa beachfront property has grown on average by 20% year on year for the past 15 years. "Noosa only has 650 metres of beachfront property so real estate in this premium location will always be a good performer," he said. Netanya Noosa's tariff for a one bedroom penthouse terrace apartment for the 2006 high season is $4,3...

People wanting to make maximum returns on a property investment abroad should head to Romania, it has been claimed. House prices in the country are expected to soar four-fold over the next 10 years as Romania's economy benefits from its entry into the European Union in 2007, according to Channel 4 programme A Place In The Sun. It has put Romania at the top of its list of the 20 best places in Europe to make money on property in the coming decade. It said house prices in the country currently average just £17,000, but predicts £100,000 invested now could be worth £514,000 in 10 years time due to the impact EU membership is expected to have on the property market. Anybody who bought property before the country joined the EU was likely to be in a very strong position as hoards of investors were expected from 2007, it added. Poland, not the most obvious destination to buy a second property abroad, was named second on the list. But the programme expects £100,000 invested there...