Real Estate, page 16
Housing and investment in Slovakia
Institutions and organisations in construction and real estate
Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development
Green buildings slowly finding acceptance
Increasing energy bills as well as greater environmental awareness are making the general public and businesses alike think more about effective energy solutions that can be applied to buildings. But even though Slovakia is obliged to improve its energy efficiency in order to meet EU directives, interest in ‘green houses’ has been growing slowly so far.
The American dream, Slovak style
The American dream is proving illusory, recent reports from the US would seem to suggest, as the rising cost of petrol drives people away from the suburbs, where they are completely dependent on their cars, and back towards the cities and public transport. The opposite is true for Slovakia.A boom in suburban living is still underway in Slovakia and middle class customers still appreciate good projects with reasonable prices, experts say. The suburban model known to the world as one expression of ‘the American dream’ is partly copied in Slovak suburban areas – although while in the US the population of these neighbourhoods can be homogeneous (such as a community of golf fans around a course), in Slovakia inhabitants come from varied backgrounds, partly due to the fact that the suburban concept is still new and areas have not had time to develop distinct characteristics. The trend is by no means confined to Slovakia. According to Silvia Heleninová, operations director at the regional directorate of real estate agents RE/MAX Slovakia, her colleagues in other European countries are observing a similar development: clients from big cities moving to suburban locations, giving rise to satellite towns and villages with different qualities of housing and appearance, depending on the target group for each suburb.
Key developments in the real estate and construction sector
May 2010 A ten-kilometre section of the D1 highway from Sverepec to Vrtižer opens on May 30, including the elevated road over the town of Považská Bystrica, bypassing a regular bottleneck on the old road.
Caution is the sector's watchword
Slovakia’s economy has resumed the rate of growth it was registering before the financial and economic crisis struck, which has helped to inject some optimism into the slumbering real estate and construction sector. However, caution is still one the sector's watchwords given the continuing impact of the downturn.
A lively market for rental apartments
It can be said with little exaggeration that Slovakia is a country of property owners – the ownership rate for flats and family houses is among the highest of any EU country. Although the exact number of people living in rented housing is hard to estimate because some rental units are not registered with the tax office and are offered on the black market, the proportion of renters in Slovakia is likely to be well under 10 percent.
New highway plan tabled
More highways and better roads have topped the wish-lists of investors and businesses in Slovakia for the past two decades. But despite promises to build them coming from all sides of the political spectrum over the past 20 years, a cross-country highway linking the western part of the country with the east still remains unrealised.
Figeľ calls for a more realistic view of highway construction
Talking about highway construction is a popular activity for politicians. But the topic has become more of a political mantra than an actual strategy for successive governments, argues Transport Minister Ján Figeľ. He believes that the issue needs a more consensual, stable and sustainable approach. Figeľ, whose ministerial portfolio includes construction and regional development as well as transport, recently presented a new highway construction scheme that he says is realistic and pro-European in its approach. The Slovak Spectator spoke to Figeľ, whose department has also taken on the challenge of addressing the issues of illegal construction, deregulation of rents applicable in buildings returned to their original owners under the post-communist property restitution process, and adjustment of the country’s electronic highway toll system.
Factory-outlet centres coming to Slovakia
Slovaks should be able to find more brand clothing at better prices this year as the concept of factory outlet stores is coming to Slovakia and the first outlet mall with discounted prices is projected to open in autumn 2011. Slovakia is the only country of the Visegrad Group without an outlet shopping centre at this time but it should have two outlet centres along the western part of the D1 highway by 2012.
Residential real estate stabilises
Following the real estate boom of the mid 1990s and then the economic crisis and its significant decline in prices and construction output, the current situation in Slovakia in mid 2011 can be described as stable even though real estate brokers are reporting a higher level of interest among Slovaks in buying residential real estate and there are signs that developers are again cautiously preparing new projects.
Strong economic fundamentals fuel optimism
The memory of the global economic downturn is still keeping many businesses and investors in a cautious mode. But the positive economic growth registered in Slovakia throughout 2010 and the first five months of 2011 is fuelling a certain degree of optimism for the real estate market. Whether this optimism will be reflected in an upswing in major real estate deals and new projects will be tested in coming months. Though obtaining financing for construction projects remains tough, industry experts say that good projects can find funding when there is strong level of interest by future occupants or tenants.
Demand for warehouse and logistics space grows
The standstill in construction of new warehouse and logistics space in Slovakia in 2009 due to the economic crisis extended later into 2010 and the visible market trend was for logistics and warehouse operators and developers to focus on renting their available space in existing facilities and to construct new facilities only for specific clients on a build-to-suit basis. But industry experts now say that Slovakia’s low vacancy rate in logistics parks and the expected inflow of new foreign investment may spur the construction of new warehousing space for logistics and manufacturing companies.
ONGOING PROJECTS 2011 – an overview of new residential and commercial properties in Slovakia
For information about ONGOING PROJECTS 2011 in Slovakia click here.
Affordable price is the key
JFH Real Estate entered the Slovak real estate market at the top of the crisis. So far they aredoing well. What makes the difference?
The new strong company established on the Slovak market
YIT International Construction Services finalized the acquisition of REDING a.s., a Slovak construction company in October 2010. The completion of the transaction was approved by the competition authorities of Slovakia. YIT acquired 70 percent of the company’s shares from its founder Ladislav Veršovský. The company was established in 1997 and it has 150 employees.Reding’s net sales during previous years amounts to approximately EUR 30 million. The company operates as a general contractor, as well as a developer of residential and commercial projects under the name YIT Reding a.s.Mr. Veršovský will remain quite active in the company. In particular, he will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. He is also a shareholder with a 30 percentage holding. The company has a good market position in Bratislava and its neighbouring areas.
Extraordinary Measures Act ruled unconstitutional
The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (“Constitutional Court”) decided in its award dated January 26, 2011 that certain provisions of Act 669/2007 Coll. on non-recurring extraordinary measures applicable during preparation of certain construction of motorways and expressways (“Extraordinary Measures Act”), as amended, are at variance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic (“Constitution”) and with Protocol No. 1 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“Protocol”).
The purchase of a project land as a final step just before construction?
Do you have a short-term opportunity to acquire a site for construction purposes? What are the legal risks and what aspects need to be clarified before you decide to purchase such land?
Real estate portals in Slovakia
www.reality.sk
‘Sunflowers’ to sprout in Petržalka
CONSTRUCTION of a new city quarter called Southern City was launched in mid October in Bratislava’s Petržalka district. Known as Slnečnice (Sunflowers), Cresco Popper Investment is building 70 family houses and almost 200 apartments at the development site, the SITA newswire wrote.
Foreign investors still eye real estate here
THE CURRENT interest in making real estate investments in Slovakia is better now than over the last few years even though the country is not the first choice among the Visegrad Group (V4) in attracting investors from other parts of Europe. Nevertheless, Slovakia has good investment opportunities in several real estate sectors and Slovakia’s geographical position as well as its adoption of the euro gives it a competitive advantage in certain kinds of deals.
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