Post by bribers on Oct 20, 2009 21:20:59 GMT 1
ok i will widen the debate and confess to making, for me, an extremely good profit on croatian coastal property. the secret was luck and timing. the luck was meeting my future croatian wife and the timing was 2003.
back then the future of croatian real estate was rosy. the perceived wisdom was that the short cuts to happiness was 1) buy stone ruin, renovate and sell; 2) buy a plot, develop, and sell on; or 3) buy an apartment, rent for 5 years and sell. Through circumstance rather than judgment, i did none of the above, and none of the above proved to be the best strategy.
the money, in my experience, was made on two fronts - ruins and land. so many ruins changed hands and, in what (didn't seem so at the time but was) was a hyped market, stone ruins assumed 17th century tulip proportions, changing hands for large profits (one example on hvar - 43k, 85k and 150k in 18 months, with the last buyer buying as an investment. the second route to happiness was land. not to develop but to hold and sell. agri land 0.5 euro to 2 euro/m2, building land 25 to 100 euro/m2 (both within 3 months). not all examples above including me unfortunately but you get the picture.
any investment in 2003 and 2004 seemed a good one as people were early in the market. for those who got out in 2005 it almost certainly was. but, just as the market appeared, so it disappeared. i would be surprised to hear many stories of investors post 2005 making a good profit (exceptional circumstances excepted).
the reality as i see it of the 2004 investors who did not sell is a lost op due to greed in some cases. one example of a 2004 buy for 75k, who turned down a 2006 offer of 150k only to sell in 2009 for 95k. they are not alone.
there were four types of buyer in 2004 - a) the buy to flip, as prices cheap (no longer the case); b) the fly to let (no longer due to short season and stupid bureaucracy); c) the developer to build apartments (no longer due to lack of planning and stupid bureaucracy); and d) the buyer in love with croatia looking for the holiday home (5% of the market back then and the only group still looking, apart from a stronger local, Zagreb-based buyer).
so in summary, a lot of money was made in croatian coastal property. but although nobody realised it at the time, the bubble had already burst by mid-2005, which was when most people came out to buy. will croatia come back? in my opinion, up to a point but there will never be a killing. there is, however, money to be made in property in the region, but not in croatia. if you are feeling brave enough, PM me for more details.
back then the future of croatian real estate was rosy. the perceived wisdom was that the short cuts to happiness was 1) buy stone ruin, renovate and sell; 2) buy a plot, develop, and sell on; or 3) buy an apartment, rent for 5 years and sell. Through circumstance rather than judgment, i did none of the above, and none of the above proved to be the best strategy.
the money, in my experience, was made on two fronts - ruins and land. so many ruins changed hands and, in what (didn't seem so at the time but was) was a hyped market, stone ruins assumed 17th century tulip proportions, changing hands for large profits (one example on hvar - 43k, 85k and 150k in 18 months, with the last buyer buying as an investment. the second route to happiness was land. not to develop but to hold and sell. agri land 0.5 euro to 2 euro/m2, building land 25 to 100 euro/m2 (both within 3 months). not all examples above including me unfortunately but you get the picture.
any investment in 2003 and 2004 seemed a good one as people were early in the market. for those who got out in 2005 it almost certainly was. but, just as the market appeared, so it disappeared. i would be surprised to hear many stories of investors post 2005 making a good profit (exceptional circumstances excepted).
the reality as i see it of the 2004 investors who did not sell is a lost op due to greed in some cases. one example of a 2004 buy for 75k, who turned down a 2006 offer of 150k only to sell in 2009 for 95k. they are not alone.
there were four types of buyer in 2004 - a) the buy to flip, as prices cheap (no longer the case); b) the fly to let (no longer due to short season and stupid bureaucracy); c) the developer to build apartments (no longer due to lack of planning and stupid bureaucracy); and d) the buyer in love with croatia looking for the holiday home (5% of the market back then and the only group still looking, apart from a stronger local, Zagreb-based buyer).
so in summary, a lot of money was made in croatian coastal property. but although nobody realised it at the time, the bubble had already burst by mid-2005, which was when most people came out to buy. will croatia come back? in my opinion, up to a point but there will never be a killing. there is, however, money to be made in property in the region, but not in croatia. if you are feeling brave enough, PM me for more details.