Nestled between Montenegro and Greece, and sporting stunning unspoilt sandy beaches and the cheapest real estate prices in Europe, Albania is coming in from its long international isolation and emerging as the genuine final frontier in European beach front and investment property. For those of you who remember the boom in Croatia from 2001 and Montenegro in 2004, Albania in 2008 offers the same potential capital growth for the early mover. Coastal property prices in both Croatia and Montenegro have reached 3-4000€/m2, whereas Albanian frontline apartments are currently selling from 600€/m2 (with 80% financing - something unavailable to foreigners in Croatia and Montenegro) so there is considerable room for capital growth. Paradoxically, the main deterrent to investors - Albania' negative image - is perhaps the main reason to invest. The Albanian negatives - Kosovo, poor infrastructure, organised crime, corruption, weak political system - are helping to keep the Albanian investment secret from a wider audience, and most visitors to Albania remark at how the relaxed reality on the ground is so different to the negative stereotypes. Kosovo is moving towards independence with the tacit support of the EU and America, and should not impact Albania unduly; infrastructure is improving daily, with a new 50€ million terminal at Tirana airport, 40€ million being pumped into the port of Durres, and a very ambitious road building project, of which the two hightlights (the Dalmatian Corridor, linking Croatia to Greece, and Corridor VIII, which will connect the port of Durres to major Black Sea markets such as Bulgaria) will put Albania on the regional map and have an obvious positive capital growth effect to the early investor. Corruption is being tackled and Albania is climbing up the annual corruption league table while the mafia remains a myth to most Westerners living in Albania - Tirana is as safe to walk as any European capital, perhaps more so, and long-term expats working in high-profile fields such as telecoms report no influence from organised crime. Nato membership will happen in 2008 and EU accession talks are well on track with 16 member states having signed Albania's SAA by the end of 2007. The economy is booming, with a 6% growth predicted for 2008, as the Albanian diaspora continues to pour money into the regeneration of Albania. Foreign investors are not far behind - all 17 banks are foreign-owned and British Airways is flying directly from London. Albania received US$2.1 billion of FDI in 2006 and the EU has earmarked 11€ billion for the country's infrastrucure. With cheap labour costs, building costs are about 300€/m2. Comparisons are being made with Ireland a few decades ago as a growing percentage of the estimated 10 million Albanians abroad are returning to their homeland with cash, skills and ideas to reverse the brain drain. Albania is the only country in the region which offers interest-only mortgages, and with rates starting at just 5.25%, there has never been a better time to invest. Tirana is booming and expected to double in size over the next ten years as it has done in the last 10 years. With local market mortgage penetration of just 1% and with more money coming into the Albanian economy, locals are now buying younger - unlike neighbouring countries, the boom is being fuelled by local demand, a healthy state of affairs for an investment exit strategy. With prices for new apartments starting at just 450€/m2, there is no capital city in Europe close to these cheap prices. A cursory glance at many other East European capitals - Sofia, Warsaw, Bratislava, Tallinn, Bucharest - all show a huge rise in capital growth in the capital since 2002. Tirana in 2008 is available as 2002 capital city prices. Taxation is a headline 10% - for capital gains and corporation tax. There is no sales tax on purchase and so buying costs are much lower than other countries in the region. Of the coastal opportunities, Saranda is clearly the most interesting investment. Opposite Corfu (and connected by year-round daily catamaran) with prices a quarter of its better-known neighbour, it is quickly being discovered by foreigners looking for the last cheap beach front opportunity in Europe. Easyjet are to start direct UK-Corfu flights in 2008 and ever stronger rumours of an airport for Saranda will transform the resort in the coming years, with the capital gains to match. Full mortgage brokerage, rental and property management are available through an experienced Business Consulting legal and broker firm based in Tirana. ALBANIA PROPERTY INVESTMENT MARKET Welcome to the inaugural newsletter from Albania Properties, your monthly guide to the best property bargains and investments in Europe's hottest emerging market. If you do not wish to receive further newsletters, please reply to this email and enter 'Unsubscribe' in the subject line. Albania is starting to grab the property headlines in the British and Irish press with recent positive articles featuring Albania Property Investment and Albania Property Market overview in the Sunday Times, Financial Times and Sunday Express. With its unspoilt coastline and extremely cheap entry prices, as well as the availability of bank financing, there has never been a more affordable opportunity in Europe to enter an emerging market in Europe at the beginning of a property boom. A cursory look at what has happened at neighbouring markets in Croatia and Montenegro will give an indication of what will happen in Albania. Both these countries have better infrastructure and a more established tourism market, but all three share the same coastline and a rise in prices that will be mirrored in Albania. In Croatia in 2003, it was still possible to pick up an apartment with sea view for 550 euros per m2. Prices have rocketed since then and an apartment with sea view in a good location is hard to find for under 2000 euros per m2. Prices in prime areas such as Dubrovnik, are averaging about 4,000 euros per m2, with the highest recorded sale being a staggering 10,000 euros per m2. Montenegro has seen similar growth from a lower starting point, with average prices in places like Kotor typically reaching 4,000 euros per m2. Albania neighbours Montenegro and Greece and has 360km of almost virgin coastline with glorious sandy beaches to offer. It has three distinct advantages over Croatia and Montenegro for the early investor. The first is price: nobody is suggesting that Albania property prices will hit 4000 euros per m2 in a few years (but then nobody predicted that for Croatia or Montenegro), but the 2007 entry level for Albanian coastal property - about 550 euros per m2 is much cheaper than its neighbours four years ago. The Brits and Irish are already buying with our first featured coastal development of 103 apartments in Orikum selling out in weeks. Secondly, Albania offers much better options in terms of financing; whereas the rise in Croatia and Montenegro happened without bank financing options for most buyers, we are pleased to announce financing options of up to 80% of loan to value on a number of properties in Albania, including land, which is great news for all you developers. With prices of new apartments in Albania starting at about 20,000 euros, this means you really can buy your Albanian home with a credit card purchase. The third major advantage of buying now in Albania is the early mover advantage. Things are cheap partly due to the fact that the infrastructure is poor and also due to the fact that the foreign market has not yet fully discovered the country. Both of these are set to change, with major efforts on infrastructure already under way: a new 50 million euros airport terminal opened in Tirana in March 2007; another 40 million euros is being pumped into upgrading the port of Durres, a major trade artery for the likes of Bulgaria and other Black Sea countries; and two new motorways are planned - one linking Albania with Macedonia, Kosovo and the Black Sea, and, more interestingly for property investors, the construction of the so-called Dalmatian corridor, which will link Greece to Croatia through Montenegro and Albania. It does not take a genius to work out the positive impact this will have on property prices on the Albanian coast. MORTGAGE FINANCE As mentioned above, one of the advantages Albania has over its neighbours is the ready availability of bank financing. Albania Properties has been negotiating on your behalf with a leading foreign bank in Tirana to be able to offer mortgages to non-resident foreigners. In principle, a mortgage of up to 80% loan to value is available on any finished property and plot of land, with the value being determined by the bank valuation. The process is relatively straightforward thanks to our brokerage partner who will help you on every step. The Albanian property taken as collateral, and UK credit checks (including P60) required for British buyers etc, for more details please contact us and we can send you all the details. A decision is promised between 10-30 days. This product is very new to the market and we at Albania Properties are excited at the doors this will open to our buyers. Bank financing for off-plan developments is also available in certain cases where the developer is prepared to give the bank guarantees, and Albania Properties is in negotiations with developers in Tirana and we expect to be launching 3-4 new developments in Albania in the next month, all with bank financing. If you would like to be informed of these developments as soon as they come in, please contact us as we will be releasing a pre-launch brochure for interested parties. SARANDA Many of you have enquired about property in the south of the country, particularly Saranda, which is connected by daily 30 minute catamaran from Corfu. We are delighted to release our first listings in Saranda, the highlights of which are a stunning first row development (finance option not available at present but we are working on it) just 300m from the Corfu ferry, with uninterrupted views of the Greek island for just 550 euros per m2. TIRANA Tirana, as with all capital cities in the region, is experiencing large growth. The current population is approximately 800,000 and is expected to double in the next decade, as it is regarded as the only major business centre in Europe. An analysis of other East European capitals (Sofia, Riga, Tallinn, Warsaw, Zagreb, Bucharest, Bratislava and Belgrade) shows that prices in East European capitals is only going one way. There is very healthy demand for apartments in Tirana and this is also an excellent investment option, particularly with the bank financing options available. We will soon be launching a new development in the capital for less than 460 euros per m2. Albanian Properties is working on a research document for on capital growth in the region's other capital cities, to show the investment potential of Tirana. PROPERTY TOURS Albania Properties is also working on two initiatives to make the buying process easier for you the buyer. If we have sufficient interest from our clients, we would be happy to organise one or both of these - a property tour of Albania and a buying seminar for Albanian property to be held in the UK. We have many people expressing interest in visiting Albania to look at property, but the logistics mean that an individual tour is both expensive and an inefficient use of resources. We are looking at the option of offering an organised tour for a group of 10-20 committed buyers, which would be a 3-4 day tour of the country, all the developments we have on offer, as well as some plots of land and other properties of interest. The tour would also take in some cultural sites (for example UNESCO-protected Butrint, south of Saranda and would include meetings with lawyers etc. For those of you keen to proceed with a purchase on the trip, we could take a reservation fee and start the process then. If you are interested in such a tour (price still to be worked out), please let us know as soon as possible. If there is sufficient interest, we will start looking at some tentative dates. The other option we are looking at is to do a dedicated seminar in the UK, whereby Albania Properties and its partners would present the investment opportunity that is Albania, as well as various developments and other properties, again with the option of making a reservation on the night. Again, please let us know if you would be interested in such an event, as well as your preferred location. A final initiative we are working on and should be able to offer in a month or so is a furnishing package for those of you who have bought offplan. This would include kitchen fitting. We expect this to be a popular package, so please let us know if you are interested and we will send you details once we have finalised everything with our Albanian partners.